MORRISON BREWERY IRISH RED ALE
There be dragons! That said I’d cross uncharted waters to get my hands on this MORRISON BREWERY IRISH RED ALE
Origin – Launceston, Tasmania
ABV- 5.2%
Size- 330mL bottle
Style- Red Ale
At the time of writing, it seems there's just about as much debate as to the future of the Morrison name, particular that of our current or to be former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, as there is around the history of the family name. While some believe its roots date back to ancient Scotland in the Viking era, others are of the opinion that it's of Anglo origin from the United Kingdom in the 1420s. But while there's doubt around the origins of the name (and the likely future of one particular Morrison), there's little uncertainty around the future of Tasmania's award-winning family brewery.
Founded by Paul Morrison along with his wife, sister and her husband, the Morrison Brewery is located in the riverside city of Launceston, in northern Tasmania made famous by Boags Brewery which originated there in 1883. However, with James Boag and his son, also named James, long since passed away, and the Breweries independence vanishing with its multi-national buyout, Paul in 2011 rightfully concluded the town needed another family-owned and operated brewing business. Not only did the locals of Launceston promptly get behind the new venture, but it also wasn't long before Morrison's beer was being served much further south, to patrons at Hobart's legendary New Sydney Hotel.
Buoyed by the early success, Paul gave up his job in the apple isles apple orchard and set about refining his style. Though, unlike most craft brewers in Australia who tend to take their lead from the US and lavish their beers with powerful New World hops, most of both the core range and their seasonals, including this flagship Red Ale are inspired by traditional ales from the UK and Ireland. From the ruby-red pour, this full-bodied Irish Red that collected silver at the 2016 Australian International Beer Awards is inviting. The aroma is all about the malt, with hints of sweet caramel through toffee to roasted biscuit. The mouth itself follows the nose, perhaps with the addition of some lingering sweetness, before finishing with just enough bitterness to tidy it all up at the backend.
With family recipes this good I wouldn’t be surprised to see his name someday recorded as one of the best in his game, as is the case for Van and James in theirs.