30 September 2015 - Best Beer HQ
Barrow Boys’ Pedlars Pale review
ABV: 5.3%
What: Inspired by the colourful fresh produce in Melbourne’s bustling markets, Barrow Boys Brewing Co.’s Pedlars Pale is a fruity, hop driven ale.
Apparently dry hops have been are added after fermentation to impart resinous and fruity character to the beer. The brewers have used Vic Secret for this, as apparently it’s a pretty new variety of hops, grown in Victoria, with hints of passionfruit and pineapple.
Meanwhile, the beer is bottled with some residual live yeast, which gives the beer a hazy appearance and helps to maintain its natural freshness.
Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
Where: This beer’s funky bright-green label caught my attention as soon as I sat down in the trendy dumpling bar. My wife and I had been exploring Melbourne’s many eclectic laneways for hours, and it was time for a beer and a bite to eat.
Wherever I go in the world, I always like to try the local beer (check out my travel blog here). So I was pleased to see the brewery that makes the beer in the bright green label – Barrow Boys Brewing Co. was based in Melbourne.
I said, “I’ll have one of those,” as I pointed at the bottle. “And some pork dumplings, please.”
Tastes like: The pork dumplings were amazing – but I guess you’re here to find out about the beer. Well, to be honest, the beer was a little bit disappointing when compared to the dumplings.
For me, the Pedlars Pale was extremely average, and just didn’t measure up to the other Australian pale ales I’d enjoyed recently (for instance, see my review of Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, which I loved). The hop profile was more subtle than I was expecting – or perhaps I just needed something with a bit more zing to cut through the spiciness of the dumplings?
Either way, it’s not a bad beer by any means. It’s certainly refreshing, with a nice, sweet, aroma of tropical fruits. It gets top marks, too, for its funky beer label; in fact, it looked so cool that I opted to drink my beer straight from the bottle, instead of pouring it into a glass.
Is it the best beer ever? Other beers are definitely better; however, other beers are definitely worse, too.
Pedlars Pale by the Barrow Boys Brewing Co. in Melbourne is a worthy attempt to put an Australian spin on the American pale ale but, to my mind, it just doesn’t come close to some of the similar craft beers I tried in Melbourne.
Try it for yourself, though, and feel free to send through a second opinion.