For some it’s sours, for others it’s stouts. For me, the category I’ve had to work hardest to acquire a taste for in my craft beer journey (yes, journey) are mid-strengths. Given I started drinking craft beers in 2016, I’ve been spoiled with local mid-strengths, a collection joined in spring 2023 by Beaches' Mid Tide Manly.
Delightful aromas of white wine grapes await anyone who can bear to pry this beer from the tins decorated with picturesque, iconically Manly can art. It holds a nice, delicate head and pours an Aeroplane jelly yellow, the colour of an old warm lightbulb. Tasting it might be a good idea, though...
“Oh man!” followed my first sip – this is a mid that doesn’t lack flavour. Proceedings commence with a tingling floral sweetness, the faintest sprinkle of spice, before finishing with the main attraction: a full-bodied maltiness. Mid Tide punches above its weight and, at a convenient-to-track one standard drink per can, is an easy choice for anyone who needs to drive across the Spit Bridge later.
I’ve no idea who the next mid-strength convert will be but there’s a good chance they could be turned with a tin of Mid Tide Manly in their drinking hand.
Benedict Kennedy-Cox
Published October 28, 2023 2023-10-28 00:00:00
