Quaffers: Chris Shanahan beer reviews

Alas, some so-called “premium” beers sometimes seem defined more by price than by quality. Among the amazing range of outstanding local and imported beers now on the market (just look at Plonk’s range of about 1300 products), lurk some pretty plain products.

The US – home to perhaps the biggest, most diverse, fast-growing craft beer industry ­– also makes some of the plainest, large-volume beers imaginable.

A flyer with a recent sample from Coors, for example, proclaimed the beer was, “brewed to be the world’s most refreshing beer” – a notion that rings true if we accept water as the perfect refresher.

The bottle proved more interesting than the beer as the snow-capped mountains on the label turn blue when “your Coors is super cold and ready to drink”, says the flyer.

Hawthorn Premium Pale Ale
330ml $3.65
Is it generosity of spirit – or just that Collingwood supporters would drink anything – that allows us to applaud a beer from enemy territory? Deep gold-copper coloured Hawthorn Pale Ale offers the rich smoothness of a five-malt blend, seasoned with exotic flavours and bitterness of hops from New Zealand, England and the United States.

Four-star rating

Dainton Impale Ale
330ml $4.65
The Dainton family’s mid-golden colour pale ale starts with a resiny hops aroma and finishes with lingering hops bitterness – giving it some resemblance to the American pale style. However, the mid-weight palate leans to the more restrained English style. The mid-weight malt, however, means the hops really take over in the finish.

Three-star rating