I haven’t been reviewing beer much on here of late, even though I’ve been drinking shedloads of the stuff.
Time to rectify that.
Nomad are literally one of my ‘locals’, with the brewery just 5km from home. Interestingly, there are 2 other breweries within about 500m of Nomad, with the (much larger) Four Pines almost within spitting distance, and all 3 located in what is one of the least sexy suburbs on Sydney’s northern beaches, Brookvale.
‘Brookie’, as we’ve always known it, is better known for its oval, brothels and smash repairers rather than anything beer related, which is kind of fun too – A contrast between heavy industry and the much trendier notion of beer production (which is still industry).
I went to school in Brookie and have fond memories of ‘hanging out’ at the local McDonalds as a long haired teenager. An idiot teenager I was too.
Anyway, the beer. Like all of the Nomad brews this comes with a twist – the addition of dried fingerlime peel. I can’t taste much lime personally, but that doesn’t mean much. Rather, it’s more like an American west coast IPA in style, if less wildly hoppy and more malty. English IPA meets American IPA, if you will.
What I do like is the depth of flavour. The bitterness (IBU 55) doesn’t overwhelm, and the fact that the brewery is so close means freshness is not an issue.
Drink well, drink local.
There are interesting quirks in the packaging as well, the Italian translation on the label a nod to Nomad’s partner brewer, Italy’s Birra Del Borgo, and the wide mouth/narrow neck bottle also a feature of Sydney craft brews.
We drink hard here in Sydney.
At circa $25/6pk this is priced about right in context of good local brews, and the quality and balance is really quite good. It’s definitely a ‘hoppy’ and serious ale style rather than a sessionable lager, but I wouldn’t call it overpowering or excessive. Just real.
Ultimately this gets a thumbs up from me. Great local beer. 4/5
Alcohol: 6%
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Just put a few more of these into the fridge. Great beer