(Photo Credit for featured photo of flight goes to Christina Martinez of the Leader. We’re all still working on getting good photos before drinking the beer – SMH)
The Ranga is my first beer from Platypus Brewing, and it tastes great! I’ve never had an Australian beer, so I didn’t know what to expect, but something told me Platypus would be churning out great beer – call it a hunch. It starts off clean and sweet and the sweetness continues all the way through until the after taste. It’s a mild sweetness, though, and it’s followed by a mild bitter aftertaste with some mild fruity notes that I can’t quite identify. It’s a really well-balanced beer.
When looking for a comparison, macro or craft, to put The Ranga up against, I’m drawing a blank.
I gave it a 4 star because it’s terrific. The story behind how I got it is probably what makes it so great. This weekend, between the four of us, we hit 7 breweries – a record to behold. Chris stopped at Platypus, tried a few beers, and figured this Ranga would be the best to bring over and share, so he grabbed a growler. The irony here is a “Ranga” (pronounced rang-ah) is Australian for a red-head, and Chris is a self-proclaimed ginger! I don’t speak Australian, but I think the term comes from Orangutan – O-Ranga-Tan because they’ve got red hair. Chris is a Ranga!
The Ranga beer was crystal clear and reddish amber with a ton of creamy head that sticks around a while as it laces down the glass. It has a silky mouthfeel, and medium body, but somehow the sweetness and low ABV makes it feel fairly light at the same time.
I expected great beer from Platypus Brewing, and I love when I’m not surprised.
Currently, all their artwork for each beer is largely homogenous, compared to one another. It’s red (duh) with their platypus and white type featuring “The Ranga.” There’s also a repeating pattern of the word red ale in the background. This is a common theme with all the art I’ve seen from them. The tap handles remind me of reporter microphones – a big red cylinder, with a white box in the middle, but instead of the foam ball windscreen, it’s a platypus that looks like he’s diving down.
I’m going to make a bold assumption here but I think The Ranga Red Ale is only available at their taproom for now.
The Ranga is terrific – I really dig this beer, and I hope that it’s an indicator of things to come. I have a few friends from Oz, and they’re all really passionate, down to earth dudes. I’ll have to sit down with these guys to confirm, but I’m guessing they’re no different. You been to Platypus yet? What’d you think?
Anthony's a Houston native, a Creative Strategist at https://ledgeloungers.com/, an adjunct instructor of Visual Communication at Lone Star College, and a UH Coog that loves good beer almost as much as he does his city. Anthony lives to help others and that's found a home helping some of the coolest breweries on earth with creative and marketing projects that can be seen on our Portfolio page. Fueled by hoppy lagers, sessionable IPAs, and gangster rap, he's ticked his way through H-Town, rocking the most unusual Nikes he can find. When he's not writing for us, he's with his family or very patiently rooting for the Rockets.
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