Matilda Bay’s a curious case.
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It was Australia’s first craft brewery, established in 1984 in the Sail & Anchor Hotel in Fremantle.
It would eventually get taken over by Carlton and United Breweries, who in turn are now part of the SABMiller multinational beer behemoth.
Since the big brewers took over, it seems as though they’re not sure how to market and sell this thing called “craft beer”.
While the other old-school craft brewery that got taken over by the big guys – Little Creatures – does everything right in the eyes of craft beer geeks, Matilda Bay seems to do everything wrong.
Little Creatures – owned by big brewer Kirin – have seen the heritage of the label respected. And they’ve kept the portfolio of beers to a minimum.
Matilda Bay, on the other hand, have gone a bit overboard with their range.
They have no fewer than 10 different beers – and for some strange reason, five of them are pale ales.
And while they have an iconic range of core beers – including Redback, Alpha and Dogbolter – they’ve now decided their future lies with Fat Yak.
So they’re looking to create a series of Yak beers. Fat Yak and Lazy Yak are already out there and Wild Yak is coming. Guess what – they’re all pale ales.
Another thing I don’t get is why the beer in the photo at the top of this story isn’t available more often. Dogbolter only turns up in bottle shops every now and then (I was able to pick up a four-pack from Crown West Cellars last month).
I can’t work out if there’s a pattern as to when it’s available as it just seems so random.
Which is a shame because Dogbolter is an incredible beer. In the Matilda Bay stable, the beer geeks put Alpha in at No1 but I reckon Dogbolter is better.
It’s a dark lager (yes, lager can be dark) that gives you lovely aromas and flavours of chocolate and caramel. It's a perfect thing to drink in the cooler months.
And I reckon the chocolate notes would even do well with a rich chocolate dessert. As long as you let the beer warm up in the glass first.
It’s truly a beer that deserves a much bigger fanbase. So go and try it – if you can find some.
Glen Humphries is the 2016 AIBA Australian Beer Writer of the Year.