Grew up in England and developed a taste for English ales. Traveled a lot to Belgium and surrounding countries and grew to appreciate these European styles. Traveled to USA a fair bit, starting in the dark days when it was a beer desert, and then enjoying the flourishing microbrewery scene. Moved in 1994 to Australia which was then a beer desert, so grew to appreciate the excellent Aussie wines and my own homebrew. Now there is a flourishing microbrewery scene in Aus, which is great. I travel a lot to Asia, which was generally grim for beer, although with some interesting pockets of excellence there if you looked hard; but now several countries have good craft beers. I was a RateBeerian for 18 years (Oct 2007 until its demise in 2025), with username Pyobon.

 Activity
SimonF (3468) reviewed
Hoptimist American Pale Ale from Hound and Stag (Gold Coast, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
(Can) Pours slightly hazy golden amber with big off white head. Aroma has subtle citrus with notes of pine and bread. Medium body with nice bright carbonation. Good taste. Citrus start, some light caramel malt and some nice herbal hops delivering a pleasant bitter finish. Very drinkable.
Tried from Can on 11 Aug 2025 at 13:28
SimonF (3468) reviewed
New World NEIPA from Hound and Stag (Gold Coast, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
7/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
(Can) Pours opaque, maybe murky, amber brown with nice dense white head. Nice aroma - citrus and pine. Full bodied with good mouth filling carbonation. Plenty of hops in the flavour with a resinous quality throughout the palate and some pleasant bitterness in the finish. Some citrus at the start and some balancing caramel malt rather in the background. A nice hoppy hazy IPA.
Tried from Can on 10 Aug 2025 at 13:24

SimonF updated a beer: New World NEIPA brewed by Hound and Stag
1 year ago

SimonF (3468) reviewed
Dad Bod Oat Cream IPA from Hound and Stag (Gold Coast, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
7.4/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 7 Overall 7.5
(Can) Pours opaque golden amber with big dense white head. Great aroma - creamy and fruity - mango and pawpaw. Great mouthfeel too - full bodied, smooth with bright carbonation. There’s plenty of hops with a good bitterness through the palate and into a long finish. There’s a nice fruitiness up front - orangey citrus and tropical, and a general creaminess through the plate. Maybe a bit of alcohol towards the finish too. Very nice.
Tried from Can on 09 Aug 2025 at 13:31

SimonF added a new beer New World NEIPA by Hound and Stag
1 year ago

SimonF (3468) reviewed
Your Shout from Hound and Stag (Gold Coast, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
(Can) Pours cloudy golden yellow with small white head. Pleasant aroma of tropical fruit. Full body with great mouth filling and prickly carbonation. Hops dominate from the tropical fruit start to the pleasant bitter finish. There’s some subtle sweetness in the background. Very enjoyable.
Tried from Can on 07 Aug 2025 at 13:23

SimonF added a new beer Your Shout by Hound and Stag
1 year ago

SimonF added a new brewery: Hound and Stag located in Australia
1 year ago