Tasted in 2025:

Beerfarm Milk Stout: Australia Stout, 5.5% (Beerfarm Brewery) Very bitter. Burnt chocolate, burnt coffee. Oak, plastic, black malt, astingency. The lactose is not really doing any work here, because this is not sweet or creamy. 3/10
Betty’s Lager: Australian Lager, 4.5% (Pirate Life Brewing) Light and malty, corn, some grass. But also some cardboard. A bit acidic and a bit too dry. 3.5/10
Betty’s Pale Ale: Australian Pale Ale, 4.5% (Pirate Life Brewing) Tropical fruits, lemon zest, slightly toasted, honey-like malt, delicate hops. Some orange blossom swimming beneath the surface. Smooth body and medium carbonation. 7.5/10
Cheeky Monkey West Coast IPA: Australian IPA, 6% (Cheeky Monkey Brewery) Lots and lots of pine. Dry. Quite bitter. Light malty grains. The citrus in this is quite mellow, and is mostly grapefruit. 5/10
(Froth) The Captain: Australian Lager, 4% (Froth Craft Brewery) Corn, cereal and bread crusts. Refreshing, straightforward, but bland. 4/10
(Froth) Dont Be Draught: Australian Lager, 4.7% (Froth Craft Brewery) Quite grassy, leafy, a little bit of peanut and a hint of lemon. Sour grains, and a bit of a salty tang. 4.5/10
(Froth) Golden Hour: Australian Pale Ale, 3.5% (Froth Craft Brewery) Bitter hops, some biscuits and a little bit floral. A faint taste of hay and grass; slightly dusty. Quite fresh, but unsubstantial. 4.5/10
(Froth) Hopmouth: Australian XPA, 4.7% (Froth Craft Brewery) Hoppy, but not as much as the name would suggest. Dry-ish, lean, bright and light. Spoilt by a hint of wet sock. 5.5/10
(Froth) Rollin Home: Australian Steam Ale, 4.9% (Froth Craft Brewery) Smokey. Burnt caramel. Very light citrus. Faint tobacco and some peppery spice. A little bit resinous. Mild drinking, and not a lot of bitterness. 7/10
(Froth) Stoned Over: Australian, Australian Hazy Pale Ale, 5.5% (Froth Craft Brewery) Stone fruits, honeydew melon and wood. Not just the fruits, but the peach and apricot stones too. Huge amount of hops. Digestive biscuits. It has an almost chalky element to it that is quite drying. 8/10
Jindong Juicy: Australian Pale Ale, 5% (Rocky Ridge Brewing) Slightly sweet, with medium hops. Not as juicy as advertised, but there’s some mango in there. Very flat, with low carbonation which doesn’t suit how light it is. 4/10
Little Creatures: Australian Pale Ale, 5.2% (Little Creatures Brewing Co.) Distinct hops, lots of citrus. Juicy and fresh. Quite acidic. 5.5/10
Nannup Ginger Beer: Australian Ginger Beer, 3.5% (Nannup Brewing Co.) Nice fiery bite, though not overpowering. Ginger flavour is clear, with some lemon bite. Good, balanced, natural-tasting sweetness. Medium carbonation. I don’t think I’d guess it was alcoholic if I didn’t know. 6/10
Nannup IPA: Australian IPA, 5.9% (Nannup Brewing Co.) Distant yeast. Lemon, peach, apricot and flower petals. A little bit oily and a bit flat. Smooth and bitter finish. 5/10
Nannup Kolsch: Australian Kolsch, 5.1% (Nannup Brewing Co.) Brisk and sharp lemon zest, with some grapes and passion fruit in the background. Bright grains, some dough and a touch of bubblegum. I was not expecting a world class Kolsch in rural Australia. 8.5/10
Nannup Stout: Australian Stout, 5.8% (Nannup Brewing Co.) Deep, deep milk chocolate. Very malty. Fresh coffee, almost-burnt toast, rounded with brown sugar. A little bit of char and a very faint hint of vanilla. Light bodied, but feels appropriately so. One of the best stouts I’ve ever had. 9/10
Nannup Trail Ale: 3.3% (Nannup Brewing Co.) Brown bread, mineral, slightly roasty. Faint caramel and light malt. A bit thin and very coppery. An interesting hint of nutmeg. 5.5/10
Nannup XPA: Australian XPA, 3.5% (Nannup Brewing Co.) Kiwi and grapefruit, underripe mango and a little bit of cough syrup. Grassy, with some drying bitterness and a crisp finish. 6/10
Running With Thieves Hazy Pale: Australian Hazy Pale Ale, 5.6% (Running With Thieves Brewery) Herbal and hoppy. It’s fruity with cantaloupe and honeydew, but it isn’t juicy. Big hit of skunk, fading into a quick, subdued and sour finished. Mouthfeel is quite chewy. Very low carbonation. 4.5/10
Swan Draught: Australian Lager, 4.8% (Swan Brewery) Grainy. Can’t detect any hops. Clean, dry, basic, bland, light. Over carbonated. 3.5/10
White Rabbit Dark Ale: Australian Dark Ale, 4.9% (White Rabbit Brewery) Toasted malts, hoppy bitterness, some roasted hazelnuts and a hint of herbs. Very slight bitter chocolate. A little bit musty. 6/10

Before 2025:

Sydney Brewery Speak Easy Black IPA: Australian Black IPA, 6% (Sydney Brewery)

Surprisingly citrusy and light bodied, but with lots of caramel and toffee. Not as much roasted malt as I’d like and very bitter on the end. 6/10

Sydney Brewery East Coast IPA: Australian IPA, 7% (Sydney Brewery)

It’s strong on the usual pine and citrus of this style, with some pineapple thrown in. It’s medium bodied, medium bitterness and quite juicy. I tend to like IPAs, which is handy because they’re everywhere, and this is a slightly above average version. 6.5/10

Sydney Brewery Lager: Australian Lager, 4.7% (Sydney Brewery)

Negligible hops, mildly lemon taste and very thin mouthfeel. Not as clean and crisp as I’d like, especially at this abv where there isn’t much flavour. 5/10

Sydney Brewery Pale Ale: Australian Pale Ale, 5% (Sydney Brewery)

Quite a lot of bitterness, slightly herbal with quite a bit of lemon and grapefruit. Light on the hops and on the floral side. A bit unbalanced and not clean enough. 5/10

Sydney Brewery Double Oat Cream IPA: Australian IPA, 7.5% (Sydney Brewery) Soft esters and creamy maltiness, but also strong on the tropical fruits and citrus piths. Not harsh though, more like a lemon meringue pie. Very smooth and bright with a thick mouthfeel. 8/10
Sydney Brewery Smooth Talker Porter: Australian Porter, 5.5% (Sydney Brewery) A little heavy on the coffee with faint citrus. Roasty with medium bitterness, but slightly thin. Smooth, dry finish. 6/10
Sydney Brewery Lumberjack Rye IPA: Australian IPA, 6.5% (Sydney Brewery) Quite full bodied and malty. There’s a very light spice to this and some citrus and a slightly herbal and pine finish. It’s a bit more interesting than the other endless IPAs, but it is slightly harsh. 6/10
Sydney Brewery Tropical Ale: Australian Pale Ale, 4.6% (Sydney Brewery) A bit light on the tropical flavours. Well, a bit light on all flavours and on the carbonation. It’s slightly hoppy with some faint citrus. 4.5/10
Tooheys New Lager: Australian Lager, 4.6% (Tooheys Brewing) It smells like wet grass and tastes sour at first with malty sweetness on top. Pleasant graininess. Slightly watery and thin. Highly carbonated and quite dry. 4/10
Atomic Hazy: Australian Pale Ale, 4.5% (Atomic Beer) Mildly bitter with moderate body. This is quite malt-driven. Bright and hoppy with lots of lemon with a little pear and a hint of biscuit. 6/10
Atomic XPA: Australian Extra Pale Ale, 4.2% (Atomic Beer) XPA seems to be the trend brew in Australia, not quite toppling the IPA but creeping up. This is lightly bitter with the hops tasting a bit medicinal. A little bit of cereal. Finish is a bit tinny. 5/10
Atomic Mando Sour: Australian Fruited Kettle Sour, 4.2%  (Atomic Beer) It tastes like sour chewy sweets – very sweet but also puckeringly sour. I do actually like the idea, and the sherbet sensation in a beer is interesting, but a whole schooner is a lot. It’s a fun thing to try, but far too OTT to seriously drink much. 5/10
Stone & Wood Pacific Ale: Australian Pale Ale, 4.4% (Stone & Wood) Quite a bit going on here. Juicy and tangy. Lots of tropical fruits, with mango standing out, and faint lemongrass. Lovely hoppy flavour. Light bodied with medium carbonation. Punchy for the abv. Good session ale. 7/10
XXXX Summer Bright Lager: Australian Lager, 4% (Castlemaine Perkins) It’s got a light grainy taste and is generally inoffensive.  Light bodied, crisp, medium carbonated. All the things you’d expect from a tame summer BBQ lager. 4.5/10
Great Northern Super Crisp: Australian Lager, 4.2% (Carlton & United Breweries) Very highly carbonated, which makes it too sharp. The very mild taste is of lemony cardboard. It is slightly floral, but mostly watery. 4/10
Balter XPA: Australian Extra Pale Ale, 5% (Balter Brewing Co.) Fruity and fresh, with mango, passionfruit, pineapple and prominent hops. There are some stone fruits in there. It’s mellow with a slight twang. It’s both easy drinking but a bit more interesting than your average XPA. 7/10
Coopers Original Pale Ale: Australian Pale Ale, 4.5% (Coopers Brewery) Biscuits and bread. A bit doughy. Mildly bitter and slightly spiced with black pepper. Roundly fruity, mostly orange. There’s a bit of bubblegum on the finish. 6.5/10
Tooheys Old Dark Ale: Australian Dark Ale 4.8% (Tooheys Brewing) Smells like dirt. Tastes heavily of coffee and burnt toffee. It’s quite malty, a little smokey and pleasantly sweet. Dark fruit and nuts. Not enough bitterness. Richard loved this, but he is in a world of XPAs and IPAs when all he really wants is a good dark ale or bitter. 6.5/10
Wandana Harmonic: Australian Lager, 4.4% (Wandana Brewing) Smells of white wine, and has a hint of Chardonnay on the first sip. I hate white wine, so I’m bracing myself for a pint of misery. It does get better. It’s crisp and zesty and very refreshing, but it’s slightly too sweet and grassy. 5/10
Wandana Dark Side: Australian Porter, 4.7% (Wandana Brewing) Very bitter. Full, heavy, robust and rich. Lots of dark chocolate, roasted malt and some stone fruits. Carbonation is soft, which suits it. 7.5/10
Wandana Roadie: Australian Pale Ale, 4.5% (Wandana Brewing) Very hoppy and a bit resinous, but the finish is clean. Hints of orange and pine. Surprisingly solid at the abv. 7/10
Wandana Mullum Madness: Australian IPA, 6.2% (Wandana Brewing) Big and meaty. Very funky with a bit of skunk. There’s a faint taste of lavender. It’s quite out there. There are so many IPAs around, but this one really stands out. 8/10
Byron Bay Premium Lager: Australian Lager, 4.2% (Byron Bay Brewing Company) Light bodied with moderate carbonation. No hops at all. There’s a bit of honey and it’s very lightly grassy. That is mostly it for flavour, but it’s very clean and super crisp which makes it a decent summer session lager. 5.5/10
Little Dragon Ginger Beer: Australian Alcoholic Ginger Beer, 4% (Stone & Wood) A bit bland; it only tastes faintly of ginger. No fire at all. Medium to low sweetness. Ginger beer is the only soft drink I really like, so I was really disappointed in this alcoholic version. It’s dangerous though because it’s too much like lightly flavoured sparkling water to take seriously, and can be downed as such. 3.5/10
Carlton Draught: Australian Lager, 4.6% (Carlton & United Breweries) Metallic and mineral twang and quite vegetal. Very little hops. Highly carbonated. It has a strange chemical aftertaste. 4/10
Iron Jack: Australian Lager, 4.2% (Legendary Brewing) Grainy with a bit of apple. Medium carbonation. It feels quite heavy and sluggish for a lager. Not bad, but not very refreshing. 5/10
James Squire 150 Lashes: Australian Pale Ale, 4.7% (Malt Shovel Brewery) Little bit of orange and biscuits. Quite a bit of lemon, malt and some caramel sweetness. Bitterness is low. 6/10
Linville Lager: Australian Lager, 3.5% (Australian Beer Co) Mild malt and lightly bitter. A little bit of honey. It’s crisp, clean and refreshing. Decent summer session lager. 5.5/10
Power’s Ultra Smooth: Australian Lager, 4% (Carlton & United Breweries) It was recently brought back after being discontinued for a number of years, because Australia definitely needs yet another low strength, light, generic lager. Light on the malt, slight citrus, but not very crisp. 4.5/10
Victoria Bitter: Australian Lager, 4.9% (Carlton & United Breweries) There is a chemical taste which crops up in a couple of these Aussie lagers. It’s earthy and grassy, with a bit of citrus. It’s a bit too much on the bitter side for me. 5/10
XXXX Gold: Australian Lager, 3.5% (Castlemaine Perkins) It’s thin, but then in Queensland this stuff is akin to holy water. Grassy and bitter, with a little bit of biscuit and lots of corn. When it’s absolutely ice cold this is good for what it is – a BBQ session lager. 5.5/10
XXXX Bitter: Australian Lager, 4.4% (Castlemaine Perkins) Grain and light malt. A metallic note which makes it a bit astringent. It’s light and crisp and has high carbonation. 5/10