SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS BREWING PECKITTS
Taking a class in how to sew I proved to myself you can teach an old dog new tricks. A little education was all that was needed. Perhaps it's been a while since you talked with a mate. Maybe you never have. Either way, it's never too late to learn. Crack one of the 'educational aids' from this box with a friend and give it a go.
Origin – Bowral, New South Wales
ABV – 5%
Size – 375mL can
Style – English Special Bitter
The Southern Highlands may be just a 90-minute drive southwest of Sydney, but its string of villages and idyllic landscape have you forgetting all about city life. You can stay in a 19th-century estate, feast at a hatted restaurant or visit the childhood home of Don Bradman, including the water tank where he practised his technique with a stump and golf ball. And when done drinking in the spirit of the local boy who lifted Australian spirits through war and depression to become the game's greatest-ever batsman, you can head for a drink at the Southern Highlands Brewing Kitchen & Taphouse.
Since opening the doors in early 2018, curious locals, thirsty visitors and long-time fans of their hand-crafted brews have tramped a steady path through the stylish front doors. But it hasn't always been that way. Indeed, when founders Cameron James and Ben Twomey opened their brewery in a barn in nearby Sutton Forest, the craft beer scene was nearly non-existent and a local population amongst the oldest, if not the oldest, in the country. Even getting the green light took an age, with the local council never having approved anything like it before. But their persistence paid off. Folks did come, and as they say, the rest is history.
From either the brewery or the Taphouse, you'll find a range with playful names such as the Firkin Helles (a sessionable lager) and Tighthead (a robust and reliable IPA) in a nod to their love of football – the lads first meet on the rugby field at the Bowral Blacks. They also have a porter called The Goodfather, with a dollar per litre sold donated to brain cancer research. Both James and Twomey lost their own fathers to the disease. Then there is this Peckitts ESB. Named after the Yorkshire-born George Peckitt – who loved everything about Southern Highlands except for the lack of a proper Old English pub - so he built one. It's a traditional English ale combining light floral hops with a mouthful of rich caramel and toffee goodness within its gleaming copper body.
It's a pretty average beer in same way that Don was a pretty average cricket!
