AU2010 - Beer Appreciation Night @ Five Islands Brewery

The Five Islands Brewing Company (FIBC) was established in 2001 and is named after the five islands located just off the coast of Wollongong.

 

 

Only 50 metres from the beach, FIBC was the first brewery in the Illawarra, and is currently Australia’s largest micro-brewery.

 

 

Producing twelve varieties of chemical- and preservative-free beers, …

 

 

… we were lucky to be able to join the Beer Appreciation Night to get a taste of these local gems.

 

 

The night started off with Shaun giving us an overview of the major ingredients involved, as well as the brewing process, ... 

 

 

… before walking us through the various flavours of beer. The first glass served for our tasting was the Belgian wheat beer, which is similar to the commercially available Hoegaarden.

 

 

Next was the South Peach beer, a beer specially dedicated to all the sweet tooths. Based on the recipe for the American ale, peaches are added at the end of the brewing process, giving the beer a sweeter side to its bitterness.

 

 

Then came the Dapto Draft, a beer that is usually recommended to people who don’t like beer. I suppose this is due to the light bitterness and moderate carbonation.

 

 

We were then served their only non-self brewed beer, the Longboard, an Australian pale ale that is common in the area …

 

 

… followed by FIBC’s best selling beer, the Tall Boys Spring Ale.

 

 

During the beer tasting, we also got to try their award winning beers, such as Rust, a silver award winner at the Australian International Beer Awards.

 

 

The Dirty Deeds Dunkelwizen, a dark wheat beer with honey sweetness, was then served to soften the bitterness of Rust.

 

 

Last but not least, we were served the Bulli Black, another silver award winner at the Australian International Beer Awards. Being the most alcoholic beer in the brewery, it was also one of the favourites due to the aromas of dark chocolate and cocoa. It did actually tasted a bit like coffee at first.

 

 

After trying out the eight varieties, guests were challenged to finish a whole cup of hops (a type of vine used in beer making). One guy did, and he won two jugs of beer.

 

 

And since it was a Thursday night, we were also entertained by live music …

 

 

… throughout the night, while hanging out at the bar.

 

 

Thanks to Mike (brewery owner) for having us!! It was really a fantastic opportunity for us to learn about the production and varieties of FIBC’s beers, while tasting them for free!!!!

 

 

Five Islands Brewing Company
Cnr Crown & Harbour Streets, Wollongong, NSW 2500.
Phone Number: +61 2 4220 2854