Even though the beer in the photo that accompanies this blog is of a beer called Reschs Pilsener, it would appear that there never was a brewery just named Reschs.

The name comes from threee German immigrant brothers Edmund, Emil and Richard Resch. In Keith M Deutsher’s book, he says they made beer in the NSW towns of Wilcannia, Silverton and Cootamundra, under the name Lion Breweries. In 1895 Edmund moved to Sydney and took over the Waverly Brewery, located in the suburb of Waverley, two years later. Three years after that Ed bought a brewery in the suburb of Redfern and transferred everything from the Waverley Brewery to the one at Redfern.

Even the name. Which must have caused a bit of confusion at the time. I mean, who would expect to find the Waverley Brewery in Redfern? The name Resch’s (yes, with an apostrophe) got tacked on in front of “Waverley Brewery” in 1929, after rival Sydney brewer John Tooth took it over. Then, CUB took over Tooth’s in 1983 and shut down the Waverley Brewery.

Somewhere along the line the Resch’s lost the apostrophe and became Reschs. As for the Reschs Pilsener, I have no idea if it was being made while Edmund ran the company or if it popped up afterwards. The can says “since 1897”, though I assume that’s a reference to when Edmund bought the first brewery. I do know it was popular in the 1970s, where it was nicknamed The Silver Bullet, because of the colour of the can. Wikipedia says its become popular again with the trade crowd but that’s news to me.

It has an odd aroma, one which, if I’m reading my own notes correctly, resembles carpet (though I could be wrong on that). Flavourwise, there’s a bit more sweet malt than you get in most Australian macro lagers. But it also tastes a bit thin and watery, with a hint of dishwater to boot. So I don’t reckon I’ll be switching to the Silver Bullet any time soon.