I can feel a XXXX coming on. Brewery tour Brisbane Australia

How's it going Steemers???

Now I don't know about you but I LOVE BEER !!!!
And so do most Australians, now for the QLDers we can't go past a Milton Mango or a Castlemaine Cranberry.
That is our slang. Milton Mangos are the XXXX Gold

image from the internet

Which is a mid strength beer

And the Castlemaine Cranberry, which is my favourite, the XXXX Bitter

image from the internet

This is a full flavour beer, so if you're a hipster and all your personality consists of is having a beard and enjoying craft fruity beers, This beer is NOT for you.

The Castlemaine Perkins XXXX brewery is a Brisbane icon and is located right across the road from the Milton train station in Brisbane's west.

So last weekend we rounded up the troops and visited the home where the amber dream is made, and went on the factory tour.

Starting of was a safety briefing, as we were on a tour through an operating factory. So hi vis vest and safety glasses where provided. Then we start the tour in a little cinema which schools us on the history of this fine beer.
Some quick facts

• The XXXX brand started in 1924 by the Castlemaine brothers who had a couple of breweries in VIC and NSW then they made the move up to sunny QLD from VIC and the company (XXXX) was born in 1957.

• Beer was originally labelled by X’s. The more X’s the better (ie, stronger) the beer. The brewers back in the day used to keep the XXX brew for themselves and as time went on and they mastered the brew, XXX was the standard ale going around. A German brewer added his style of ale and they joined forces brewing until they perfected the recipe and developed the delicious XXXX we know and love today.

• There are many theories behind who the XXXX mascot actually is. Some say he’s the companies former direct, Paddy Fitzgerald, some say he was a newspaper salesman from the Fortitude Valley. The true identity remains a mystery!

• The XXXX brewery had the first operating telephone lines in Brisbane which was a huge step forward in modern technology for QLD. The beer orders were coming in so fast that they needed the phone line to keep up with the orders from the head office in the CBD and get them ready with the quickness at the brewery

Back in the day they used these utes to deliver the golden ale

The brew house pumps out 1 million liters of brew a day for QLD consumption.

And over 250 million liters a year goes out to all those thirsty QLDers.
They have the Brewing process dialed in an environmentally conscious, reusable and sustainable way. One of the bi product, left over yeast, is used to make every Aussie's favourite..... Vegemite

Back in the day the best part of working at the brewery was they would give each employee 2 beers at smoko and 2 beers at the end of the shift. Now some of the workers came up with a brilliant idea to keep drinking while working, their tactic was to paint a milk bottle white and fill it up with beer so they could walk around the factory while they were working and have sneaky beers. HAHAHA pretty good idea if you ask me.

There still is a wooden XXXX Bitter Ale keg that they serve at only 2 places in the world. The XXXX brewery at Milton and The Breakfast Creek Hotel in Newstead, Brisbane. Personally I think this tastes the best from the wooden keg .

There is lots of the companies memorabilia on display from over the years which is quite interesting to check out.

At the end of the tour we are given taste test of all the different beer they brew at the factory. The beers include

• XXXX Summer
• XXXX Gold
• XXXX Bitter

They also brew Little creatures and James Squire as well.

And they also have a great food menu , I highly recommend the half kilo ribs and half kilo wings combo :)

XXXX is an absolute QLD icon and is a major supporter of many sporting events including the famous State of Origin NRL series which is a football match between QLD and NSW.

Here is a classic XXXX TV ad from 1986

So if you are ever in Brisbane and are interested in beer, I recommend you check out the XXXX brewery tour.
For more info on the tour check out this link

https://www.xxxx.com.au/thexxxxalehouse/xxxx-brewery-tours/

Thanks for stopping by :)

TIP EM