What do you do when the wife kicks you out? Drink beer of course!
So I got home from work today and my wife gave me that look. You know that look where you know that you're doing something wrong? The only problem was that I had no idea what it was that I was doing wrong. I was standing in my kitchen making myself my first meal of the day after working all morning. But apparently this wasn't the right thing to be doing.
After some prompting and prodding she finally let on what she was annoyed about. I was in the house.... Apparently, I was meant to be out all day today. She'd been busy with work, volunteering and socialising for the past couple of weeks and was looking forward to having the house all to herself for a day, so apparently my presence was not wanted.
So feeling rejected and unwanted, I put on my "going out" shoes and sat in car staring at Apple Maps for a while. Where should I go? I have no plans at all. My friends are working so there's no hope of finding someone's couch to land on for a few hours. But there's always beer! So I searched for a brewery that I haven't been to before. It worries me a little that there isn't a brewery within 20 kilometres of my house that I haven't been to more than once, so I searched further afield.
Eventually I landed on That Little Brewery which is located in Ferntree Gulley and is about a 35 minute drive from my home. So off I went.
This is a funky little brewery set right out the back of a small industrial estate. When I walked in the door to the brewery I realised I was standing in the office and had to walk through another door so that I could reach the bar itself. But when you get in the bar it's a real treat. The brewery has a real retro design with leather couches about the place and old gaming systems and funky artwork on the walls. They specialise in sour beers, which I'm not a fan of, but they also do a great range of ales (or so I'm told) so I figured they're worth a shot.
We didn't start out too well given that no tasting notes were available. This is a little strange in addition to the fact that they don't appear to have a website. What was even more entertaining was that I was handed my paddle of beers without being told which beer is which. So I suppose it's time for a guessing game!
That Little Brewery
American Pale Ale
Of the beers on my paddle, this one was the easiest to identify given that it wasn't dark. There are some fantastic fruity notes in the aroma and I was hit with an immediate bitterness on the palate. This pale isn't hoppy at all, and a little on the watery side. It's obvious that the brewers of this ale enjoy sour beers, which tend to be a little watery from my limited experience.
I did enjoy the aroma of this pale though, that was the highlight for this beer. But the lack of hops and the watery nature of the beer was a real let-down.
Choc Raspberry Stout
This beer presents subtle notes of raspberry with stronger notes of chocolate in the aroma. There is a very mild sweetness, along with a more pronounced sourness on the palate with some mild chocolate flavours which makes this stout all too confusing. The raspberry flavours brings some tartness in addition to the sourness so this is quite a complex stout, but not necessarily in a good way. It's not a bad stout, but I found the sour nature of it to be a little strange. This wouldn't be my go to stout at all.
I'd love to know how much Gose they used in this stout, I can't imagine that they didn't use any. The sourness lingers for way too long on the palate so I don't think I'll be going near this beer any time again in the future.
Pompous Pig Imperial Stout
This is more like what I was expecting from the stouts in their line up[. This is a big meaty stout that packs a solid punch. Weirdly though, there's bugger all aroma here. But with that said, this is a bitter, not at all hoppy, and very dark stout.
It's strong at 8.5% so I was glad that I only had a 200ml glass of this stuff along with the other 3 beers. And even though there wasn't much in the way of aroma, I really appreciated the flavours and simplicity of this stout. It is quite simply a traditional stout and nothing more.
Squid Ink Black IPA
I suspected when I saw this on their menu that this IPA would be the highlight for me. Again, the aroma is lacking a little. But the mouthfeel on this beer is quite incredible. I don't write about mouthfeel much but it does have quite a high importance when you are drinking a heavier style of beer. The mouthfeel on this beer is soft and warming, no doubt partly due to the 6.8% alcohol content. There's definitely some bitterness to this beer which lingers on your palate for some time after your last sip, but not in a bad way as with the chocolate raspberry stout.
This Black IPA probably should be had at a warmer temperature than how it is served. I found that the longer I sat on it, the more the flavours and aromas would present themselves. There was even a subtle sweetness to this beer as I let it warm.
It's also possible that this isn't actually the black IPA. This could indeed be the Imperial Stout and that the last beer was the Black IPA. Either way, this is an enjoyable beer and one that I rate quite highly.
Overall Rating
Overall, I'm quietly fond of this brewery. I don't enjoy a sour beer or a Gose which is what this brewery specialises in however this is the type of brewery that my wife would be a huge fan of. My wife enjoys a sour beer and the design of this place is definitely to her taste. It has a real retro and nerdy feel that would make her very happy indeed.
I wouldn't come back here for the sours but I could sip on this Black IPA for a long time. It's definitely the one beer that this brewery does that would get me excited every time I thought of coming back. It's also convenient that this brewery is in one of my favourite parts of Melbourne - Ferntree Gulley.
The Beer Data
| Beer | Type | Origin | ABV | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Pale Ale | American Pale Ale | Ferntree Gulley, Vic | 4.9% | 3.8 |
| Choc Raspberry Stout | Stout | Ferntree Gulley, Vic | 6.8% | 3.5 |
| Pompous Pig | Stout | Ferntree Gulley, Vic | 8.5% | 4.0 |
| Squid Ink | Black IPA | Ferntree Gulley, Vic | 6.8% | 4.5 |
I do hate it when they mess up the paddle. Last time I went to a stout night event at The Union in Newtown, got a paddle, and then find out that the bartender flipped over the paddle when she gave me the beer. Took me a long time to figure out which is which.
What was even funnier is that even the taps weren’t labelled with what the beers were. So even as the guy poured the beers I had no idea what they were. Basically, I’m not actually certain that I got each of the beers right in this post.
Good brewery though. I’ll head back for sure.
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