Cornella Brewery have a history of dual releases, with the two beers often as alike as chalk and cheese. Their first releases for 2025 are no exception, though they do share one crucial quality: they're both perfect companions for an Australian summer.
With four beers now under the Old Town name, alongside one or two standalone releases, it's clear Cornella Brewery's flirtation with traditional English beer styles has blossomed into a fully-fledged romance. English ales aren't often considered summer quenchers, but Old Town British Golden Ale is here to challenge that perception.
Golden ales were Britain's original summer beers long before lagers stole the spotlight, and Cornella's take is a modern homage. Thanks to the relatively young UK hop variety First Gold, this beer features hints of orange marmalade and floral notes balanced by subtle earthy and spicy undertones. Brewed with a mixture of UK and Australian malts and a touch of wheat for good measure, it's a light-bodied, sessionable beer with a crisp, dry finish, perfect for warm-weather sipping.
So, if you think a marmalade-flavoured ale calls for a duffle coat and wide-brimmed hat, think again. Cornella has crafted an English ale fit for the Australian summer – let alone an English one.
Speaking of summer sippers, Cornella have also revived their playful XPA-lidocious moniker for 2025, though the brew has little in common with the recipe of its 2017 predecessor. Now cheekily labelled an XXPA, by their own admission the new version is essentially an IPA crafted with their XPA philosophy at its core. The resulting brew is extra pale, low in bitterness, refreshing and approachable, while still managing to pack in abundant tropical hop character and subtle pine notes. It's a moreish beer that goes down so smoothly you won't need any sugar to help it along.
Daniel Ridd
Published January 22, 2025 2025-01-22 00:00:00