Southwark Bitter ‘I’ve been faking it for years’ Poster

By the turn of the century lager beer was becoming the most popular beer in the eastern states, and in 1902 the South Australian Brewery set up a new department specially designed for the production of lager beer.

The Adelaide Brewery of Syme & Sison was taken over in 1902, and the Walkerville Co-operative Brewing Co., one of the main competitors was acquired in 1938. Walkerville had previously purchased the Torrenside Brewery in 1898, and had relocated to that site in Winwood Street, Southwark. At the time of takeover the Winwood Street premises were renamed the Nathan Brewery, to be changed again in 1949 to the Southwark Brewery. When the West End Brewery premises in Hindley Street were closed in1980 and demolished in 1983, all brewing operations were then carried out at Winwood Street Southwark.

Southwark Bitter was originally an ale. When Australia like the rest of the world took to lagers in a big way, this beer went along for the ride. But it isn’t like every other adjunct lager in two important respects. It kept a darker malt and it has a lot more bittering hops than you will see in a typical lager. The malt character is a legacy of its origins as an ale. The bitterness is a result of how SA Brewing marketed their beers. Simply, their West End beer was their draught beer. Southwark was the beer you bought at the bottle shop to take home. Not being refrigerated thru the supply chain, Southwark upped the bittering hops as a preservative.  Australian beer drinkers from outside of South Australia have always understood Southwark to be different, and often not in a good way.

As for the beer itself it’s a very well made beer. It has a fair amount of malt and caramel sweetness and the bitterness is a good thing in a hot climate. It pours a good clean head and leaves ample lacing.