Endeavour Growers Bright Ale: Beer by the bucket

Endeavour Growers Bright Ale demonstrates how a beer can be both complex and “sessionable” – brewer’s jargon for a beer you can drink by the bucket.

Andy Stewart brewed Bright Ale from Australian malted grains and hops. He used two barley varieties – Gairdner pale pilsner and Vienna – and wheat. The latter no doubt accounts to a large degree for the beer’s lightness and briskness.

The galaxy and vic secret hops work perfectly with the light, tasty palate, giving aroma, flavour and pervasive bitterness that refreshes without ever taking over.

The beer recently rated third in the English summer ale class at Denver’s World Beer Cup. Endeavour Growers Bright Ale is available at Local Liquor, Jim Murphys, BWS, Vintage Cellars and 1st Choice outlets.

Endeavour Growers Bright Ale Vintage Beer
★★★★½
330ml 6-pack $19.99

Endeavour packs a lot of flavour for a 4.2 per cent alcohol beer. The ‘'vintage beer’' description indicates sourcing of Australian hops and malted barley, each from a single harvest. The ale’s a pale lemon-gold colour, with an appealing herbal, hoppy aroma and light but deeply flavoursome palate, balancing malt with refreshing, lingering bitterness.
Four-and-a-half-star rating

Maisel’s Original Hefe-Weissbier
★★★
500ml $4.95

On its bottle-conditioned beers Cooper’s gets away with a “best after” drinking date. But Maisel’s, also bottle conditioned, seemed past its best just days before its “best by” date. Perhaps it was poor storage, but this otherwise attractive, mid-gold amber wheat ale had lost the fresh edge that would normally put it among the best.