Stone and wood

So one of the reasons I was excited to head up to Byron Bay was to enjoy the weather, surf and drinking Stone and Wood, especially drinking Stone and Wood, especially drinking Stone and Wood in their Brewery, especially drinking Stone and Wood on the beach, especially dri... OK, you get what I am trying to say here! 

But, a quick tweet to find out opening times I was shocked and horrified (I am being a bit dramatic here...) to find out they don't have a brewery bar and tours are just during the day. So my immediate thought was - "well how am I going to blog about Stone and Wood then?" So over the course of the weekend, I drank the various Stone and Wood beers in pubs or back at our cabin. So below is a few pictures! 

Drinking Garden Ale in the Railway Pub

A Pacific Ale at the Beach Hotel

Drinking Stone and Wood Lager back at the cabin

Drinking the Garden Ale at Great Northern Hotel. 

You find Stone & Wood everywhere up in Byron!! Awesome.

So the Pacific Ale is just a great beer, and up in the humidity, by the beach when you are hot and sweaty, the Pacific Ale becomes even better. Its light body and upfront aromas of fruits and passionfruit just make this such a refreshing beer! 

The lager is really full of flavour - not like your usual lagers, and if it is possible, the lager has more 'weight to it' than the Pacific Ale. They advertise this beer as German style and I get it and would agree. A good european style lager. My only slight 'reservedness' on this is, well if you want a great German Beer, then drink a German one - what I love about the craft scene here in Aus is that it creates new styles or blends styles or does deviations on styles and this is just a good German style lager.

I tried the Jasper Ale but it was too hot for it, so I will talk about it in a winter blog - by the fire, up in the Blue Mountains and this beer would be awesome, in summer on the beach, it didn't work for me. 

And onto my favourite - the Garden Ale. I haven't really come across it down in Sydney, and I have to say, if you see it on the list - you have to try it. It was fantastic! It is a low alcohol beer, which means you can just smash em, there is malts in there, but no bitter finish. You get a "wiff" of fruit, but nothing too much - you get a little of everything, with a medium body which makes it a great beer to drink after a few stronger crafties like a Belgian White Ale etc... 

So, gutted that I couldn't see the guys brewing it and having a few in their [non existent] brewery bar, but it is amazing that everywhere stocks these up in Byron, and if it is hot - go for a Pacific Ale, if it winter, tell me what the Jasper Ale is like, and if you see the Garden Ale, grab it in the pub before it runs out...