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THE great thing about being classified as a ‘mad brewer’ is that you can get away with anything.

From the crew at James Squire (who produce some outstanding beers) comes the latest in their Mad Brewer range - Orchard Ale.

The Mad Brewer beers are a strictly limited release and generally push the boundaries of what can be achieved through brewing.

However I must ales add that not all their drops are for the general beer consuming public.

Orchard Ale has a rich bronze colour and a very distinctive aroma.

When a beer is advertised as coming from the Black Forest region of Germany, you would naturally expect it to be good – if not great.

Furstenberg comes from that famous beer brewing region and while it retains that typical German beer aroma thanks to a generous blend of malts and hops, it doesn’t have that same full bodied flavour which its Bavarian cousins do.

It is still brewed in pure German style (no additives or preservatives) which you be grateful for if you have a few but it is lighter in nature to many German beers, almost like a blonde.

When I first tired the Hummingbird Blonde Lager, I wasn’t sure if it was a beer flavoured cruiser or a fruit flavoured beer?

Either way, I really am none the wiser.

I don’t know why it is in the beer section because I find it very hard to define as a beer.

Even to look at this drop from South Australia, you can’t believe it could be classed as a beer.

Recently I had some friends of mine return from a holiday to Thailand which naturally prompted the all important travel question, “what did ya think of the beer?”

Last year I went to Phuket in Thailand and enjoy a healthy quantity of Singha beer so I thought they would be commenting in Singha.

“Mate the Chang was great!”

Chang – hmmm I had heard of it but didn’t partake it so when I saw some in the local supermarket liquor outlet I was compelled to get some.

It is a refreshing lager, honey golden in appearance with a distinctive aroma of malts and barley.

I’ve always been intrigued by India Pale Ale because it doesn’t come from India nor is it pale in colour.

Despite the funny name, which incidentally has something to do with the way it was brewed and seemed to be very popular with the English folk trading in India in the 18th century, I was drawn to the Gage Roads India Pale Ale at the local and thought – “here’s a go!”

Gage Roads Brewery is based in Western Australia and what those crafty West Aussie knew for a long time is only now being discovered with some ease on the east coast.

A big hard thirst needed a big cold beer – or so we were lead to believe.
When it comes to brands, there are few beers that could go past VB.

It was no surprises that the tried and true’ VB product evolved to deliver VB Gold (a mid- strength) and now we have VB Raw, a low carb lager which is the latest mainstream beer to go ‘natural’.

Raw boasts that it is made from just four ingredients – barley, hops, water and yeast – meaning there are no additives or preservatives.

This is a trend sweeping through all our major brewers and as drinkers, we are benefiting.

Want to stand out this festive season?

If you are one of those who likes to impress friends by drinking something they’re not, get yourself some Peroni Leggera.

Get some what? – I hear you ask.

It’s an Italian beer from the famous Peroni brewery and it’s a low carb naturally brewed mid strength drop, ideal for summer.

When it all comes down to it, beer is really a very simple thing to make.

There are essentially four basic ingredients – water, barley, hops and yeast and it is what you do with those things which really determine the kind of beer you have.

Following this simple approach, James Boags has released Pure, a Tasmanian lager made in the finest traditions without any preservatives or additives.

The end result is a crisp, refreshing lager with a slightly bitter aftertaste which isn’t overpowering.

FIRST there was Pure Blonde, then Naked Blonde and now Maxx Blonde – confused?

This latest release onto the Blonde market (which is a trendy way of saying low carb) comes to us from ‘across The Ditch’ and should proved to be pretty popular over the summer months.

As is the case with many premium beers these days, Maxx Blonde boasts no preservatives or additives and is low carb.