Today I visited Green Beacon. The site itself is a spacious warehouse-style affair with a very long wooden bar, their beers on tap, and bottled wine. It was clean and well set out but very "new-ish" and I wonder how it will settle in. The bar food menu was reasonably priced ($8 pie of the day, $10 sandwiches, etc) with some sharing and tasting plates which looked competent. Your girlfriend won't be angry if you take her there, although you might get taken to the antique furniture place across the road afterwards to pay the piper for masquerading your brewery trip as a couples afternoon.
They appear to be promoting their take-away "squealers" and "growlers", which are prominently advertised and shelved. The "squealers" (1 litre bottles) are $10, $15 to fill, so $25 to walk out with one. This is too expensive and it makes no sense, if they're trying to promote this as a way to buy beer. The filling price is at or slightly below the price of a regular six-pack, but a six-pack has almost twice as much beer (6 x 330ml = 1.98 litres). I don't know why a plain brown bottle (that carries advertising for them) costs $10. You can buy premium bottled beer with swing-tops without paying $10 extra for the bottle. There were also 1.89 litre (half gallon) growlers which were $24 to fill. This is slightly more reasonable but again, you can buy a six-pack of a top of the range six-pack and get the same amount of beer for the same price. At the Brewhouse (Clarence Corner) they fill a 2 litre growler for $15 with a range of excellent beers. The bad economics makes it a gimmick or like you're paying a New Farm tax.
Having said this, I did pick up two bottles as they're well-sized (about the girth of a 2 litre coke bottle), and squat, so they fit well in a fridge door or in a shelf.
The mid-strength 3.3% they had on tap as a special - I can't review as it was it was watery rubbish. Doesn't get you drunk. Expensive. Doesn't taste like anything. It's like being asked to review being mugged as a shopping experience (it's in the negatives, innit?). I'm not going to score it. Trying to summon the necessary vocabulary would exhaust my mental resources. They didn't take it seriously, why should I.
Turning to the proper beer, I picked up a litre of the Windjammer IPA. 45 IBUs. It pours with a rapid and foamy head which rapidly dissipates. The attack is very bitter which will be pleasant to IPA fans but may be offputting to others and mask the flavour. On the nose it is herbacious and grassy with a hint of hay and is very pleasant. The mouth feel is crisp, a little acidic. Thoroughly enjoyable although I can't help but observe that with a little less bitterness, the perfume would step into the breach and serve to differentiate it from too many other similar beers, especially given it's limited distribution means you need a reason to search this beer out. Overall, Green Beacon Windjammer IPA 6.5/10.
Similar to Burleigh Brewing Company's 28 Pale Ale, approaches but falls short of (and as a matter of impression after a few of both, mews feebly at the feet of) better IPAs like Prickly Moses' Raconteur IPA or Vale IPA. The hops drive it, it doesn't drive the hops. For those unfamiliar with those, it's like a very expensive Little Creatures Pale Ale. I'd buy at a good price, and if I lived in the area might be a regular pilgrim but only if they sorted out their price structure.
