Ginger beer… lets face it, it’s not really beer. Whatever, I’ll drink it anyway.
The Basics
Matso’s is a brewery in Broome Australia. They have only recently started sending bottles over to the East Coast and I vaguely recall seeing the labels around. They have a Japanese sounding name and a pretty neat little backstory as to how the name came about. You can check it out on their about page: http://www.matsos.com.au/about-us. Their website is pretty interesting as a whole, especially the blog. Each post reads like it was written by a marketing shill however there is some decent stuff about beer and Australian beer history. Worth a look if you are into that sort of thing.
I grabbed this bottle from Swords at the Queen Vic Market Melbourne. They had a couple others on the shelf; one a mango beer, and the other a dark lager. This one is 3.5%, so obviously made for a long Broome afternoon sitting in a beer garden etc etc.
How does it look?
Curious, would describe my thoughts when I saw the bottles. A big Japanese character on a red background. I won’t say I like it but it achieves it’s goals and gives a little away about the history of the beer.
The beer itself looks like ginger beer. Ginger in colour (as in the colour of ginger, not people with ginger hair… check out some theories on that colour confusion here: http://ask.metafilter.com/83177/Explain-the-ginger).
Not really much more to say about that.
How does it smell/taste?
Again, like ginger on both counts. It has quite a hot ginger kick at the end which is a little interesting but as a whole it’s sugary and fizzy.
When should I drink it?
On a stinking hot day, this might be really good. If you like sweet drinks or drink a lot of ginger beer then this might be something you would reach for at a barbeque or beach party.
The Verdict
That’s pretty much where this beer leaves me at. It’s a ginger beer, it tastes like one, ehh… I guess it’s ok. It is what it is. The end.
If you are looking for a beer with some ginger in it then I can recommend the Hitachino’s Nest Real Ginger Ale. That’s a quality brew and will satisfy beer lovers more so than this.
What a half assed review that was.
there are ginger beers (I dont really call them beer) and beers with ginger (these ones are really beer), the latter has malt. With the former, the non beer, add some rum and you have one kick arse drink.
Nice to see the new layout/template btw. Thinking about a new one myself, havent decided yet
Ginger beer and rum. I might try that!
I do like the idea of making a beer that has some ginger in its flavor profile. Perhaps a pale ale with a bit of ginger for a mild “kick”, maybe or even better, a wheat beer with some ginger and cloves.The clove taste coming from the yeast produced esters.
Cheers!
David Ivey
Black Bucket Brew Inbox Magazine Editor
Wasn’t that half-assed! I liked the Ginger Beer. Someone (maybe Matso’s) said use it as a mixer.