A Beer Revolution, Straight out of the West

Article by: Jane Rawson, January 2008

'The best cold beer is VB' - it sounds like an advertiser's fabrication, but for most of Australia's brewing history it's been the terrible truth. With competition like Fosters, Melbourne Bitter, Carlton Draught, Tooheys New, XXXX, Swan and West End - a range of watery, fizzy lagers only bearable when ice cold - VB's claim was perfectly legitimate.

But things are changing. In fact, things have been changing since 1984, when a little brewery called Matilda Bay opened up in the Sail & Anchor pub, Fremantle, Western Australia. In 1988, Matilda Bay started exporting its flagship brew, a German-style wheat beer called Redback, to the rest of the country, and everyone who wasn't already blind drunk on Carlton Draught exclaimed in horror, 'what's that flavour doing in my beer?'.

Twenty years later Australia is just about over the shock, and more and more of us are ditching the big brand beers in favour of microbrews. Sydney's James Squire, Melbourne's Mountain Goat and Adelaide's Coopers now flow from beer taps around the country, but if you want to down a few really micro microbrews, Western Australia is still the place to go.

At most of the breweries listed below, you can hand over around $15 for a beer 'paddle' holding shot-sized glasses of whatever brews are on tasting. Most breweries serve food, and those outside of Fremantle and the Swan Valley usually have lawns or a playground to keep the kids occupied.

Fremantle: waterfront brews

Start your binge - or 'tour' - in Fremantle, the historic port city a thirty-minute train ride south of Perth and its international airport. Unfortunately, you can't visit the Matilda Bay brewery, but who really cares when Little Creatures is open for business every day of the week. This top spot overlooks the Freo harbour and pours the Little Creatures mainstay pale ale (a fresh, hoppy brew) as well as a pilsner, a malty top-fermented bright ale and the low-alcohol Rogers, perhaps the best light beer in the country. They also serve a lamb kebab that will blow your mind. In Freo you can also visit the Sail & Anchor - it's no longer the home of Matilda Bay but does have its own in-house brewery. It's a nice pub, but you might want to go there before Little Creatures to avoid a feeling of anti-climax.

Margaret River: a pale ale with a chardonnay chaser

South of Perth, Margaret River has a mammoth reputation for wine, but its breweries are elbowing in on the action. Bootleg was one of the first breweries to open in this region; back in 1994 its claim to be 'an oasis of beer in a desert of wine' was thoroughly justified. These days they pour a butt-kicking Raging Bull dark ale and a crisp, hoppy Wils Pils, with new beers coming on tap all the time. Their outdoor tables and playground and their no-nonsense bar make this one of the most popular breweries with locals.

You'll get a lot more shtick and glitter at Colonial Brewing Co, around since 2003. Their theme-park decor and fusion bistro food pull the tourists, but behind the professional gloss there are some excellent beers. If you love a citrusy, coriander-flavoured Belgian farmhouse beer, you have to drop by in summer and taste the seasonal Witbier. Nearby, Cowaramup is a much more modest operation, and a great spot for a quiet Hefferweizen.

Swan Valley: ein kleines Deutschland

To the east of Perth, the Swan Valley has become a great day-trip for foodies, and even more so for beeries. Henley Brook is where most of the action's at, and Duckstein Brewery is one of the most popular stops for tourists getting a taste of the Valley. Duckstein camps up its German origins, with oompah bands, meals consisting entirely of pork products and animatronic midgets clad in Lederhosen welcoming you at the gate. If it's brewed in Germany, Duckstein probably makes a version of it, and their huge range means there's something here for just about any palate.

If low-key is more your style, try Ironbark, where the middle-aged barman is more-than-likely wearing stubby shorts and a blue singlet and the stereo is probably cranking Cold Chisel. There are no paddles in this homey place, but you can sing along to 'Bow River' while you down one of their delicious wheat beers or a slightly cough syrupy cherry ale. At the opposite end of the decor spectrum, MASH Brewing (with it's own myspace) is all clean lines, plasma TVs and stylish merchandise. Fans of Corona (whoever they are) will love the brewery's Mex, but the simply named Pale is probably the best of the bunch.

The southwest: more than just forest

Still thirsty? Beer fans willing to head further afield should get down to the tall trees of Pemberton, where a spot of bushwalking is perfectly topped off by a few cold ones at Jarrah Jacks. The best bitter will quench your thirst; for desert, try a Christmas puddingy porter. The south-west has a real talent for porter, in fact, and Tanglehead in Albany, on the coast, makes another rich, dark brew, the Deep Water Porter. They also have a great restaurant and a really choice wine list if you're finally sick of the amber stuff.