By Annette Shailer
Matilda Bay’s Alpha Pale Ale has taken out Champion Draught Beer at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show.
The pale ale beat 84 other entries from 19 breweries including pilsners, wheat beers and lagers in the prestigious competition, which looks for excellence and innovation in beer production.
Matilda Bay head brewer, Scott Vincent, was honoured by the win but not surprised at the success of his brewery’s take on the North American-style pale ale.
“Matilda Bay is all about the love of beer and when it comes to brewing we don’t take short cuts. We experiment with the most interesting styles, we use the best quality ingredients out there and most importantly, we brew beer with flavour,” he said.
“The only thing I love more than brewing Alpha Pale Ale is drinking it and I’ll definitely be knocking the top off a bottle or two to celebrate with the rest of the brewing team at The Garage”.
With the overall quality of entries this year deemed “outstanding” by the judges including the Chairman of Judges, Grahame Latham AM, Matilda Bay additionally earned a Gold medal in the Golden Lagers – Pilsner Style for their Bohemian Pilsner.
Alpha Pale Ale is a distinctive full-malt ale with a big hop nose and citrus notes.
Matilda Bay, based at The Garage brewery in Dandenong, Victoria, also brews Fat Yak pale ale, Redback wheat beer, Beez Neez, Dogbolter dark lager and the newly released Big Helga ‘Oktoberfest’-style lager.