Plenty of zesty zip in Zytho Brewing debut beers

The first two beers from a new yet strongly backed Australian brewing group prompted a reach for a variety of dictionaries.

Zytho Brewing has released a Zesty Pale Ale (4.6%) and an India Pale Ale (5.4%) in colourful yellow and blue cans as its debut products.

While the name might be fresh on the beer scene, the team behind the label certainly has plenty of experience.

Tribe Breweries in NSW produces the beer for Pinnacle Drinks, which is an arm of the Woolworths group.

Now there will be plenty of turned up noses and accusations that Zytho is just a name brand for a big supermarket and liquor chain.

Well, the latter is correct. But that shouldn't detract from the accessibility of the fluid in the can. Indeed, the Zesty Pale Ale and IPA will be easy to get through BWS stores - and there are plenty around the country.

Tribe also knows beer. It has already scored major wins through its Stockade, Mornington Peninsula and Chao Siam range. And then there is the millions of litres it has done as a contract beer maker.

So Zytho is a well-made, easy drinking beer range.

On sampling the Zesty Pale Ale and IPA, The Sip’s team was immediately taken by how accessible the beers were on first taste.

There is nothing over the top, yet certainly very little understated in either product.

We don’t like the word sessionable at The Sip HQ. But after flicking through the Macquarie book of words we couldn’t find another set of letters that better described the easy drinking nature of the Zytho duo.

The Pale Ale has the right level of citrus without the drinker feeling he has sucked a lemon. The IPA was piney but at no stage does the taster consider they have licked the bottom of a coniferous cone.

These are definitely six-pack buys because the consumer can certainly handle more than one without experiencing the legacy of taste bud gymnastics.

But the IPA certainly has plenty of mouthfeel.

So what is Zytho? Well, it creates a great logo that is striking on the cans.

However, according to the multi-language dictionary Zythos is Greek for beer. And we recall that Age of Pericles physician Hippocrates, the father of medicine, subscribed to the theory beer to have medicinal properties.

It might not be true for Zytho Brewing. But a session with either the Zesty Pale Ale or IPA can quickly take away the stress of a working week.

Zytho Zesty Pale Ale ($24/six-pack) and Zytho IPA ($26/six-pack) are available from BWS stores nationwide.