It’s not all reporting on fetes and council meetings in our local newspaper. We have been testing a few of the local craft beers that the area has to offer.
Commercial micro beer brewing is growing in popularity and offers a drinker a much broader range of types and tastes of beers compared to their mass-brewed cousins, so long as you know where to look.
Our local area is home to three fairly new brewing companies; Nomad Brewing, Dad & Dave’s Brewing and Ekim Brewing. Australian beers are majority ruled by lager, and that’s great, but these new labels offer a large scope of tastes and contents.
Nomad Brewing is based in Brookvale and offers three varieties of beers. All Pale Ales, Nomad have a straight pale ale, an IPA and a Saison pale ale. They pitch themselves as beers for hipsters, or ‘nomads’ and invite drinkers to join them on a “long trip to the world of better beer”.
Dad n Dave’s Brewing is a father-son operation based in Curl Curl. The love of beer from both Dave and his dad has created one of the sweetest yet strongest pale ales on offer anywhere in Sydney.
Ekim Brewing Company is a small craft brewing company, based in Mt Kuring-gai. The owner of Ekim’s is of Danish extraction who brews six kinds of beers fit to feed the appetites of Vikings. He believes his strength lies in the beer being “made in small batches with only malt, hops, yeast, water and a rebellion against mass produced brews.”
We had a group of three people sample each of the following five beers and here are our results:
 Ekim Brewing Slammer is produced by Ekim and provides a unique drinking experience. This is Tequila-spiked pale ale which has a sweet flavour, finished at the end by the kick of tequila. 6% alcohol with Sorachi Ace hops, this beer is brewed with Agave Syrup and Epsolon Tequila to create a highly unique brew which will find a dedicated but small audience. |
 Dad & Dave’s #1 Pale Ale has a soft fruity smell from its one malt and one hop varieties. With a good mouth feel, Dad & Dave have produced what they call a craft beer that is not too crafty. In other words, it’s a simple, drinkable crisp lager. Very refreshing and smooth, this beer would be great on a sunny afternoon on Curl Curl beach. |
 Ekim’s After the Battle Pale Ale is another uniquely named beverage offered by Ekim. Apart from a great name, this soft tasting, golden pale ale smells slightly of citrus and passion fruit and doesn’t haunt your mouth for long after your initial sip. Using Simcoe/Citra combination of hops and a dry-hopping process, there are good aromas without harsh bitterness. At 5.4%, this beer will sort you out whilst having you believe you are drinking a normal beer. |
 Ekim’s Viking IPA is a sweet smelling American-style IPA which is not as fruity or bitter as the Nomad Sideways Pale Ale although still quite bitey. Although it has 6.4% alcohol this a beer that doesn’t have that “boozy” after taste unlike many other strong beers. |
 Nomad Sideways Pale Ale from Nomad Brewing Co. smells strongly of a sweet mix of fruit. The taste is strong and long lasting with a bitter bite. At 4% you’ll have a regular beer-drinking night and thoroughly enjoy what you drink. A great beer for summer. |
 Ekim’s Berserker is the final tested beer of the Ekim Brewing Co. and the favourite amongst our group. This Amber Indian Pale Ale mixes the solid roasted toffee notes of an IPA with the strong bitterness of a malt brew. It tastes great and at 7.2% allows you to choose whether you remember your night whilst also enjoying its strong flavour of another… and another… |
These beers are just a few of the many our local area provides. We sourced all of these bears readily from Sydney Wine Merchants at Terry Hills.
Micro-brewers like Dad & Dave, Ekim and Nomad may take a little extra effort to source, but it’s nice to know you’re supporting a small, local company whilst enjoying a refreshing drink.
