Snowy Mountain Brewery

Snowy Mountains Brewery - taste counts

A single question to the local barman is behind the birth of Snowy Mountains Brewery. When Kevin ONeill took refuge in a Snowy Mountains resort watering hole after a day on the slopes, he decided hed better take a pull of the local beer while he was there.

"My wife Alison and I had been on skiing trips to resorts in other parts of the world, and it was always customary to try the local brew - skiing resorts like those in Colorado tend to make their own beer. When I asked to try theirs and the barman couldnt accommodate, I realised our home resorts were distinctly lacking in one vital ingredient... a brewery and local beer!"

From an idea hatched in 2004, the Snowy Mountains Brewery name and its selection of premium micro beers is building a reputation on taste alone.

"With your standard mass produced beers, price is a major factor, but when it comes to micro beers you are basically fighting for peoples tastebuds," Kevin said.

"You have to work hard, keep refining your product and hope it tastes better, you want something thats very local or unique. With our specific market, the taste is what counts."

Each Snowy Mountain Brewery beer has its own distinct characteristics. The Award-winning Crackenback Pale Ale is a delightful interpretation of a classic style but lighter in body than traditional pale ales. Bullocks Pilsner is a modern take on the traditional style first brewed in 1842, in the Czech town of Plzen with complex malt flavours and a spicy floral hop bouquet. The Razorback Red Ale is an impeccably balanced beer with a medium body, four combined malts providing its rich malty sweetness, nutty and biscuit characteristics with a deep copper-red hue.

Kevin is particularly satisfied with the plaudits afforded the Charlottes Hefeweizen, which was awarded Australias best wheat beer at the Australian Hotel Beer awards in October. Released in June, their new baby is a top fermented, unfiltered wheat beer with a pale cloudy appearance reminiscent of a high-country white-out.

"To win an award with a brand new beer is very special. You usually spend time establishing it, getting some feedback and maybe tinkering with certain elements. To come straight out of the gates and win a major award is a great feeling for us."

Snowy Mountains Brewery is making a name for itself with lovers of premium beer, all thanks to a chat with the local barman.

Crackenback Pale Ale

Award-winning Crackenback Pale Ale is a delightful interpretation of a classic style with the Australian palate kept in mind. Although lighter in body then traditional pale ales, this was done to help with the hotter days of summer.

Our Pale Ale opens with bright, perky high notes of maltiness, orange blossom and segues into a delectable hoppiness. This assertive complexity of flavours and aroma, combined with a clean finish goes especially well with spicy cuisine.

Highest quality Australian two-row malted barley is combined with a small portion of lightly kilned specialty malt to give the beer its deep golden to amber colour. Our Pale Ale is an all grain beer with no added sugar or preservatives.

Chinook hops provide a soft bitterness, while generous quantities of premium Amarillo and Cascade add unique spicy flavours and a fragrant aroma. The hops are used at the end of the boiling process to give the beer its finishing floral bouquet.

Crackenback Pale Ale is a full flavoured Pale thats smooth and easy to enjoy compelling the drinker to grasp another.

Snowy Mountains Crackenback Pale Ale is an excellent accompaniment to many starters or salads with spicy complexity and is stimulating to both appetite and great conversation.

Crackenback Pale Ale...Go on have a Crack!

Bullocks Pilsner

Bullocks Pilsner is a modern take on the traditional style first brewed in 1842, in the Czech town of Plzen.

Bullocks is rich with complex malt flavours and a spicy floral hop bouquet, and after a hard day on the slopes goes down like a well waxed pair of skis.

Use of the finest pilsner malt as our base grain, and a good measure of speciality Munich malt gives rise to a deep golden-hued, light to medium bodied beer, topped with a long lasting clean white head and a crisp balanced finish.

Bullocks is a delightfully flavoursome Pilsner with liberal helpings of the traditional German Hallertau and noble Czech Saaz hops, giving it a pronounced but soft bitterness that does not linger.

Bullocks is a brilliant Bohemian style pilsner, with a delectable clean, crisp true-to-style taste. It complies with the "Reinheitsgebot", the German purity law of 1516 which decrees that nothing should be added or used in the beer other than barley, hops and water. Therefore, we use no sugar, preservatives or other adjuncts.

Bullocks is stimulating to the palate and ideal to accompany most any seafood or white meat, main or entrée, on a warm sunny day with friends and family.

Bullocks Pilsner... Grab the Bull by the Horns!

Razorback Red Ale

Razorback Red Ale is an impeccably balanced beer (some say as balanced as those who seek out this fine drop!) With a medium body, four malts in combination provide its rich malty sweetness along with its nutty and biscuit characteristics ... and its the roasted malts used in the brew which give Razorback its deep copper-red hue. It is perfectly balanced by the unique hop flavour of premium American Simcoe, with a citrus aroma and a hint of taste of citrus. On the palate the hops comingle with the malt to draw out the sweetness. Forget the woollies, this is a wonderful winter warmer!

No, our red was not named after the classic Australian cult movie, Razorback (a favourite of both Spielberg and Tarantino) ... instead its namesake is the pristine Razorback ridge located in the Koscuiszko National Park near Yarrangobilly Caves and Talbingo.

Charlotte's Hefeweizen

Charlottes Hefeweizen is a top fermented, unfiltered wheat beer with a pale cloudy appearance reminiscent of a high-country white-out (Like your favourite snow dome, tip the bottle once to release any sediment). Four malts - Wheat, Pale, Munich and Crystal - combine to make Charlotte full bodied and her fruity aroma, with a mild bitterness, is thanks to a mix of Willamette and Cascade hops. Taste the cloves, banana and vanilla which come from our specialty yeast used and youll find Charlotte a refreshing beer with a clean crisp taste, perfect in summer or after a hard day on the slopes.

Charlottes Hefeweizen is named after Charlotte Adams, a pioneering female who was the first woman to climb Mt Kosciuszko in 1881. Her spirit embodies how we feel about Snowy Mountains Brewery - a can do attitude!


Review: Snowy Mountain Brewery has created four unique favoursome beers that rival the true european taste. Tested internally, our beer critics all found their own favourite, so why not try some try some Snowy Mountain Beer today and support fellow Australias, there is a beer to suit every taste... the best Australian European style beer.

To find out more, log onto www.snowymountainsbrewery.com.au

*The legal age for alcohol in Australia is 18*