Posts Tagged Review
Brew Review – Gage Roads Premium Lager
Posted by jeb in Rants & Reviews on 13 October 2009
Gage Roads Premium Lager
I picked up a six pack of Gage Roads Premium Lager this week at the local Woolies for around $15. This is a craft breweries attempt at a mass market beer and it does hit its mark, albeit only when on special. Woolworths has recently purchased a stake in Gage Roads so we may see more of their brews in Woolies at decent prices. You could take the stance that this is big corporations buying up and ruining craft breweries but I prefer to see it as an opportunity for good value, high quality beer to be in my belly.
The beer is, in essence relatively boring; however it is a clean, easy to drink lager. It has a balanced flavour with a little bit of hops, a little bit of maltiness and not enough of either to offend anyone, or alternatively get them too excited. I didn’t get any of the “spicy, lemony hop flavour” proclaimed on the web site but there is definitely a sweet, pleasant maltiness balanced by just the right amount of hops. You may as well drink it out of the bottle as it has a thin head and looks generally disappointing poured.
The beer’s easy drinking qualities make for a good session beer and there is a pleasant, non-offensive aftertaste which is very important if you plan on drinking more than 3 or 4 of anything. Despite the above painting a picture of a boring beer sometimes that is exactly what is required. If you go into the bottle shop with a friend and they go to pick up some extra dry or similar mixture of carbonated glass shards that costs about $15, slap them and grab some of this instead. It is at most going to set you back an extra dollar or two and is a pleasant experience that most beer drinkers will enjoy.
7/10
4.7% alcohol
www.gageroads.com.au
Mighty Angus – Mighty Awesome or Mighty Awful?
Posted by Savage in Rants & Reviews on 2 October 2009
Mighty Angus
Ronald has never been the one to shy away from trying his hand at something a little bit different.
In its early days, the Big Mac was unlike any other. The burger’s special sauce and three piece bun was pushing the boundaries in all the right directions. In more recent times Ron’s flirtations with the menu haven’t always followed the same path of glory. His foray into fish and chips was definitely out-side the box and altogether uninspiring. However, it was his disastrous attempt at a German themed pork burger, the ‘BurgerMeister’, that gave people reason to think that the red-haired clown had started to lose his Midas touch.
In an unashamed attempt to ride off the back of MasterChef’s success and the Australian public’s growing interest in gourmet food, Ron has had another dalliance with his al la carte menu, promoting the latest creation as something ‘a little bit fancy’. Today I wrap my lips around a Mighty Angus burger to decide whether it should join shaker fries in the hall of fame or fall straight into the bin with the easily forgotten McPrawn cutlets.
The first thing that hits you about the Mighty Angus is its sheer meatiness. If meatiness was measured on the scale of Richter, this burger would be off it. Whilst I’m not entirely convinced that this burger patty is substantially different to a quarter pounder patty it does appear to be slightly thicker. Cheese, bacon and onion are all well proven accompaniments for big, fat pieces of meat and this simple fact has not been lost on the creative geniuses behind the Mighty Angus burger. The mayonnaise is satisfactory and the relish, whilst no where near as good as my Nanna’s, did leave me wanting more. Perhaps the only thing letting the burger down was the sourdough roll… which was not so much sourdough as a poor imitation dusted with flour.
Overall the Mighty Angus is a win for McDonald’s. After enduring the weak offerings of new tastes menu for several years it’s great to see them getting back to their roots, keeping it simple and delicious.
4 ½ stars
