Twang is a tiny little brewery run out of a shop front in the suburb of North Melbourne, in well, not surprisingly Melbourne, Australia. They literrally have a 300 Litre set up, which sits next to the stairs as you walk from the bar to the generously named 'Beer Garden'which is really just the driveway.
It is not the best brewery I've ever been too, it's probably not in the top hundred breweries I've been to, but it's local and they are giving it a go, so when they said they were having a 'neighbourhood festival involving them and a lot of other North Melbourne business (most of which are a lot better at what they do that Twang we thought we would give it a go, and I have to say it didn't disappoint.
So let have a look at some of the beers.
Well they certinaly take the prize for the weirdest looking first round of beers at a bar ever. On the right is a Red IPA which is quite obviously Brown and looks more like a chai latte than a beer, but it was the end of keg. It actually tasted okay, just okay, not great, but it was a reasonable start.
And the Mug, well this is something I've never tried before a Mulled Hazy IPA. I've heard of Mulled Wine, on a winter's day, as this was, it was like 8 degrees Celcius outside I've even been known to seek out a Mulled wine. Would it work with beer, well this was served at 65 degrees, in a mug with a big old stick of cinnamon in it. It’s a concept which works okay, Wouldn't say it tasted particularly 'beery' I suspect is has sugar or honey or something in it as well as the spices which made it a little on the sweet side, but it was enjoyable, so much so that I did get a second one later in the afternoon.
The Food was a highlight though - In particular the Cornish Pasties from a local bakery called Bobby's. I understand most of the world won't understand what a cornish pasty is but think a tightly wrapped meat parcel, perfect for a winter's day (or eating whilst underground in a coal mine)
But there was more beer to drink -
At the front is a Hazy IPA which is the beer of the day so far. It solid, Fresh and fruity, admittedly not particularly hazy, but I'm not judging this for the beer competition so if it tastes good then what do I care if it's true to style or not.
At the back is a Collaboration beer with Foreigner Brewing, who I've never heard of, but apprently are in Brunswick which is like 6km from here. There is clearly too many breweries when something 6km away is not even on my radar. The Beer was another Hazy Pale Ale, which is even less hazy than the first one, and really was disappointing, almost no hop character, it was smooth drinking to the point of almost not being there, I'm all for easy drinking, but this is too much.
After some more food from local superstar restaurants Manze (which is Melbourne best, and potentially only Mauritian restaurant) and Whitebark (who do amazing small plate locally sourced amazingness and current holder of my 'meal of the year' trophy for 2025) it was back to the beer
And last but not least the Mango Smoothie Sour
This tastes like the tropical fruit drink you used to get as a child. That came in a milk carton style container, it was very sweet, but from a time where sugar was good for you so kids could still drink it. Anyway this beer tastes like you left it outside for a few days in the sun and it’s starting to turn, but in a good way. It was sweet and tart all at the same time
So there you go, Twang Brewing's Festival, not the best festival I've ever been to, but not the worst, and better still the place was packed at 2pm in the afternoon, which is fantastic for them, because I desperately want them to succeed, because they deserve to.
