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
Tax Deductible Work Trip from Bright Brewery (Bright, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
6.5/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 6.5
(Can) Pours clear amber with small white head. Good aroma with notes of caramel, herbal hops and fruit. Medium body with bright carbonation. Good taste. Plenty of hops on a light caramel / biscuit malt base. The hops deliver some decent bitterness that steadily grows through the palate. Good IPA.
Tried from Can on 05 Aug 2025 at 12:20
SimonF (3468) reviewed
Stubborn Imperial Stout 2025 from Bright Brewery (Bright, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
8.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8.5 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8.5
(Can) Pours black with small tan head. Lovely aroma with toffee and chocolate and hints of alcohol. Excellent mouthfeel. Full bodied with good very fine carbonation giving a soft creamy texture with some stickiness. Great taste - rich and well balanced. There’s a dark toffee sweetness throughout. Chocolate is layered on this throughout most of the palate. Towards the end there is a rising bitterness and a bit of alcohol burn that provides a great balance. The bitterness has has burnt sugar character with hints of soy. Very enjoyable.
Tried from Can on 02 Aug 2025 at 14:28

SimonF updated a beer: Black Diamond brewed by Bright Brewery
1 year ago

SimonF (3468) reviewed
Black Diamond from Bright Brewery (Bright, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
(Can) Pours very dark brown with small tan head. Nice aroma. Pine, citrus and some woody notes. Medium body with plenty of bright carbonation giving a great mouthfeel. Very tasty too. Plenty of hops. There’s some nice bright citrus notes and a good bitter finish. There’s a bit of dark chocolate / burnt toffee notes. Very good.
Tried from Can on 30 Jul 2025 at 13:54
SimonF (3468) reviewed
No Country for Hazy Beers from Bright Brewery (Bright, Australia 🇦🇺)
1 year ago
7/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
(Can) Pours clear golden amber with good white head. Pleasant aroma with a complex hoppy aroma with a mix of fruit and herbal notes. Medium body with plenty of fine bright carbonation. Good taste too, with plenty of hops. There’s some stone fruit at the start, but after that the happiness is pleasantly but assertively bitter with a long finish. Biscuit malt lurking in the background. Very enjoyable.
Tried from Can on 27 Jul 2025 at 12:31
SimonF has a new beer style achievement
Level 12 for Pale Ale ticks with a total of 350 ticks of this master style.
POW Hazy Pale Ale from Bright Brewery was the one that did it!
1 year ago