Straddie Brewing Amity Pale Ale

Amity Point is a little fishing village at the northwest corner of Stradbroke Island, and it’s one of the most easygoing places you can imagine. It’s a top spot for watching the sun set over the water (not many places on the east coast of Australia where you can do that!), watching the pelicans, watching the boats, or just watching the clouds float overhead.

For such a laidback spot, it makes sense to have a laidback beer. Amity Pale Ale is clear as the sky on a Queensland winter’s day, and the nose is summery like the easygoing sweetness of tinned pineapple. Start drinking and you may cop a surprise when that first mouthful hits with a stomp of bitterness, almost blending resin and walnut. But keep at it and you’ll find that hop bitterness fade back and join with a malt breadiness, and the two join forces to keep you going back sip after sip.

Mick Wüst