The first brewery was set up by Mr Moss in Melbourne in 1838. She-oaks grew near the site and it is thought that for this reason colonial beer was known for a long time as "she-oak". Throughout the nineteenth century, colonial beer was also variously called "swipes", "tanglefoot", "colonial", "jerrawicke", "squirt", "sheep wash", "stringy bark", "shearer’s joy", "catch up", "lube" and "shypoo". Poor beer, affected by the heat and wild yeasts, came to be known as "colonial twang".

A shanty pub on the Victorian goldfields which slyly served questionable brew

The Brewer’s Lament a poem penned by an English brewer in 1857 explains the difficulties faced by brewers in Australia’s unforgiving conditions:

The beer that I turned out at Burton

Gave me cash, credit, fame and renown;

I’ve brewed here on the very same system,

But as "swipes" it’s known over the town.

Captain Cook, when he found this island

Should have asked for some recipes grand

How to brew beer that will stand the climate,

Not "fret" and go sour on your hand.

Wild yeasts are the curse of the country,

Bacterium sure thrives by itself;

The weather’s hot, murky, and sultry,

And brewing brings very poor pelf.

Kangaroo "sheoak’s" a very poor article,

Sugar’s the principal ingredient of same;

Hops and malt make up the smallest particle,

Chemicals, dirt, yeast and water make poison the name.

"Tanglefoot", "swipes", any name you give it,

Won’t make it smell sweet or alter its taste;

The "twang" still remains, the book looks decrepit,

‘Tis of energy, time, and material a waste.

The following poem was printed in the Bulletin in 1880 explains the effect of such beer on the drinker:

COLONIAL BEER

A pot of beer, the beady bubbles breaking;

A hand outstretched to grab the pot and all;

An hour of jollity, a sad awakening;

An awful headache and a taste like gall.

An angry wife, in manner all unbending;

A voice, "You’re drunk", a stumble and a fall,

A Yankee broom upon your head descending,

And then you feel your wounds – and that is all.

But the questionable quality of the beer didn’t dampen enthusiasm for the product. Reverend J. Byrne observed in Twelve Years Wandering in the British Colonies 1835-1847 that "[f]rom high to low, the [Sydney] merchant, mechanic, and labourer, all are alike a thirsty community; the bar rooms of the hotels and inns are as much crowded as the taps of the dram stops. Drink, drink, drink, seems to be the universal motto, and the quantity that is consumed is incredible; from early morning to dark night, it is the same - Bacchus being constantly sacrificed to."

As brewing technology improved, so did the colonial beer. However, the traditional bottom-fermented ale was bound to lose out to a new upstart, the top-fermented lager.

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