Renaissance Elemental Porter

After Renaissance's less than impressive debut I can't say I was amped about this one - but then it's a porter so it's likely doing something right.

Fluffy milk head certainly aids the 'chocolate stout' act along nicely also, though it does dissipate flakily over time. Slight choc, slight coffee notes on the nose, both indistinct and quite light.

Flavour wise it's rather standard without hitting any high notes. There's a pleasing lack of wateriness about it (though it should not be confused for deep or complex), and a lasting slightly bitter aftertaste too. It's not as sweet as expected, and that is a good thing.

I think this could be a bit stickier in terms of mouthfeel but it strikes me as a reasonable beginner chocolate stout and certainly a far more accomplished effort than their ill-fated IPA. 7.5

Fraoch Heather Ale

I had thought 'heather ale' was a name for this beer actually but it turns out it's a style, using heather, that's been brewed for up to 4,000 years. Impressive.

Smells slightly vegetative certainly.. bit of sourness there too, ale notes. Clean, deep grass flavours come through on the taste, it's clear and easy drinking with a bit of difference from the norm too, sort of herbal finish on it is quite refreshing really.

A thumbs up for this, probably the only heather ale ever to grace the tracker. Give it a go. 7.0

Nørrebro La Granja Stout

The first challenger from Nørrebro, and a coffee stout at that.

This indeed smells of coffee, but interestingly more of cast off coffee grounds than a full blown cup of espresso.

The pour is really quite amazingly watery, with little to no head. At this stage I'm gearing up for another euro blasting. But the taste is in fact rather pleasant. It's not a long lasting or incredibly involved progression but there are notes of milk chocolate, coffee, chicory and roasty flavours that carry you through. Easy drinking due to the light mouthfeel.

Not my favourite stout but a fine effort in its own way and very approachable. 7.5

North Coast Old Stock Ale 2012

Another barleywine, hooray!

This one's a fair bit removed from the frankly excellent other two tested - pours a totally different hue and with a more docile (read: elusive) head characteristic too. Sits heavy and portly in the glass.

Orange and marzipan come through on the nose.. quite light compared to the others and given its power at . Quite sticky in the mouth, heavy feel, malty flavour profile, some dark fruits in there too, bread, pudding, sultana, alcohol.

I'm aware this is one to be cellared etc ideally but at present all I can do is review what's in front of me - and at this stage it's just not that crash hot. Like Michael Clarke pre-captaincy, North Coast continue to talk a good game with a lot of fans but not really deliver at the highest level, to my palate at least. 6.0

De Ranke XX Bitter

Things with "X" and "Bitter" in the title rightfully don't have the best reputation in this country.

This beer seems to come from finer stocks, though I'm not really sure why they call these beers 'bitter' at all - while there's a sour edge to the nose, the dominant characteristic of the taste is a caramel sweetness backed by malt. It's refreshed throughout and particularly in the aftertaste by that typical european hop flavour.

The Belgian yeast etc is pretty apparent on this one, primarily on the finish as expected. Pretty drinkable really without being very exciting at any stage. Reminded me a lot of a number of ESBs I've had.

Not my favourite style of beer but hey, it's worlds away from XXXX. 7.0

Ommegang Hennepin

Grabbed this out of the fridge in a hurry because it had a funny name. Then realised at the counter it was a US brewery and laughed. Then realised it was a saison and got a bit disappointed.

Cue joyful scenes when it turns out to be a quite lovely drop!

Pours with a snow white head, nice semi opaque yellow wheat colour, lovely nose in line with the traditional saison palate. It's not quite as sour as others I've had, instead quite sweet and almost sugary, but in a highly drinkable way. Mouthfeel is slightly effervescent but again, works really well for this beer. And to top it off, it  is a velvet assassin with 7.7% of punch. Very classy.

Looking forward to a retry of this one - the best saison I've had by a distance, and has reopened my mind to the style. Recommended. 8.0

Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude

Righto, another chapter in the beer challenges saga.. for this is a beer with a reputation.

It's apt to paraphrase the label at this point: most people say you can't make a beer with more than 5% peat malt.. so these guys went ahead and used 100%. I was expecting this to pour the colour of a scottish swamp but instead it's remarkably light, though oily in texture.

The nose is where the peat really comes to the fore - my word this is boggy, quite remarkable depth of smokiness tending on bacon but also very much vegetable matter, like a compost heap. This smell does everything it can to kick your nostrils in as you try to taste the beer. Once you actually get there, the beer itself is relatively calm in fact - it's smoky as all get out, and leaves you feeling dry of throat. But always everpresent that odour.. hmm. I can see why this polarises.

The kicker? This isn't even the worst (?) one. There's an imperial version. It's 10%. And it's lurking malevolently in the fridge. Sigh. Um. Worth a try I guess? 5.0

Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

Beer Geek Brunch - Weasel edition: so named because it uses those famous coffee beans that have been, ahem, run through a civet.

It's familiar but highly pleasing territory as you open this one, like coming home, beautiful heavy pour, pretty red-mocha head, well developed nose pressing all the right buttons regarding coffee, slight chocolate, and roast. In short, a Mikkeller stout.

Taste wise it has more coffee throughout than the previous Beer Geek range, bit more vanilla / milky nature to it too, very smooth indeed for its heft. Oatmeal roasty flavours, total class act as always. It's not as sharp coffeewise as you might expect, instead really quite creamy, makes it easy drinking and a fine companion to nurse for a while.

I'd recommend this beer to just about anyone. Superb. 9.0, maybe rising ..

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

Weyerbacher is apparently a US brewer .. not German as I had mistakenly assumed.

No-one could be in much doubt after having a go at this one though - it's a mighty big double IPA with stacks of hops and malt all over it. It sits beautifully in the glass, a dark burnt amber colour with a super head, and generates pineapple and malt notes in aroma.

9.0% alcohol is well hidden and it's due to the crafty combination of bitter and malty this beer develops as you drink. Hops, bitterness, malt, fruit, warming non-intrusive booze, it's all there and balanced beautifully.

This is how DIPAs should be. Delicious. 9.0

Beer Here Lupulus APA

From the growler no less!

Like the rest of the world (seemingly) I've been on a bit of an IPA bender of late and as such have lost a bit of enthusiasm for the world of 'normal' pale ales. Wasn't really looking forward to this one that much to be honest, at just 4.7% it all pointed toward a very bland experience. But then..

Biscuity sort of nose on this, then a bit of fruit / stone fruit hops - very nice indeed, and indeed that same profile comes through on the taste. It's pretty much all you want in an APA for me - mouthfeel nice and fresh out of the growler and a well balanced progression of flavours that renders it highly drinkable through the pint and indeed beyond.

A malt driven beer, this is not explosive but it is a fine, fine beer and a paragon of the style. I'm starting to wish I went to the event while the brewer from Beer Here was in town.. 8.5

Little Creatures Single Batch: The Quiet American

The long awaited new single batch from the crew at Little Creatures, and an interesting one at that, combining American hops (Cascade, Chinook) with what is essentially a Belgian Tripel.

It's tough to get your head around and to be honest, a bit hard to get your mouth around to begin with too. Pours a little sticky and heavy, minimal head, low aeration.

The hops are apparent early, giving it a sweet character a lot like their eponymous pale ale. But from there things turn with a sweet sugary Belgian character with cloves and other spices comes to the fore. It's a little bit syrupy on the finish but pretty drinkable.

I think this beer will take a bit of time to get to know, so glad I picked up a few extra. In terms of rating.. I think Belgian beer fans will probably have a go at this as it's not to the level of authentic Tripels I'm sure. But I'm happy with this as something that is quite unique and what seems a genuinely ballsy attempt to take things forward. Good stuff. 7.5

Mountain Goat Steam Ale

Time to revisit an old classic.

In all honesty I wasn't sure how this would fare.. been drinking some good solid beers since first encountering this one early in my craft career. Pleasingly however it holds up quite well indeed for what it is, with a nice snowy head and light body, pleasant wheat malt nose, and fizzy .

At this point on first encounter you're likely expecting (fearing) lager town. But it moves above that with a nice english malt and barley tea like character, rounded flavours.

Not world changing but a fine entry beer into craft, and a perennially drinkable light session beer in the style. 7.5

8 Wired Batch 31 Imperial Stout

Fresh from the successes of Batch 18 we strolled into #31 expecting good things.

This too is an imperial, but scaled down a little at 11% abv and in fact quite different to the previous release. It's a smokier nose and far smokier taste than before, without the plum pudding / christmas cake characteristics that were dominant in Batch 18 and many other imperials. Bitterness is held in check here.

This is a quality beer and easy, enjoyable drinking. I preferred the previous edition of this particular line however for its deeper content and less bacon like tendencies. 8.0

Stillwater Cellar Door Saison

A wild squealer appeared!

And was summarily dispatched of course, but not before informing us the qualities of this highly regarded saison drop, with a fine snow powdery head and light glass presence.

So far so good, but I just couldn't quite get going with this one. It's saison through and through but I didn't get much spice, more sort of lemony character. Not enough malt backbone or farmhouse depth for me to really rave about I'm afraid. Slightly disappointing. 6.0

Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

So, what is a 'winter ale'? Searching about I see it's a variety of an old ale. So, what is an 'old ale'?

Who knows. But this is a reasonably heavy, thick, hard going sort of a beer, probably well suited to its job as winter warmer. It's dark in the glass, malty, with lashings of caramel and a bit of a peppery spicy finish. Perhaps my bottle had aged slightly but I didn't get too much hops going on.

All of which is fair enough, but it's just a bit unremarkable to me. I'm prepared to admit that if sampled in a wood cottage in the snow, this would likely score higher. But for now I'm fine with other alternatives. 6.5

Mikkeller / Three Floyds Boogoop

Growler time! And what better way to start than with 2 whole litres of a barleywine that clocks in at 10.4%?

That's 16.4 standard drinks right there, so even with a couple of people, depending on the character this could well have been a struggle. That it vanished with no trouble other than a lingering feeling of sorrow was a very good sign.

Pours beautifully this, attractive orange colour and a creamy lasting head that roils and furls. Aroma presents big hops, backing malt and various fruits, all really well balanced and enticing. Full marks for presentation.. this is mouthwatering.

Lovely mouthfeel to this, it's as heavy as befitting a beer of this girth but easy drinking too, warms the throat without bashing you about with its alcohol at any point. Notes of orange fruit and malts start the profile, followed by a wash of bitterness. All really top drawer stuff, very classy.

In short, bloody delicious. Just wish there was more.. 9.5

Mildura Brewery Choc Hops

Have to wonder if this was supposed to be out in Woolies in time for Easter?

Regardless, it pours blacker than expected, though the insubstantial chocolate coloured head is soon gone. Slightly fizzy character to this with hops evident early, slightly empty middle, bit of vanilla character to back up the expected cocoa.

Having now tried this on a number of occasions I find it a pretty pleasing drop on the whole, successfully crafting pretty much everything you want in a chocolate porter. Well worth a go at its price range when you've got the craving for something a bit sweet. Underrated, and recommended. 7.5

Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

Had heard these guys are pretty well regarded, though I'm not sure what 'East India' does differently?

Apparently, East India is the land of 'surprisingly little hop bitterness but pretty reasonable beer nevertheless' (I'll update wikipedia later). The beer has a malty caramel nose more in line with an APA than an IPA, and backs it up with similar taste. It's headless but fizzy.. just slightly too aggressively carbonated for mine but it's in keeping with the candy nature of the taste. Was surprised when I found it was 6.8% actually, tastes far more docile than that without the bittering presence of the hops.

So, yes. A fine beer and look forward to trying more from Brooklyn. 7.0

Mornington Witbier

Trying to complete the set from this pleasingly consistent brewery, we now have the witbier.

This pours foamy, soapy and clingy, nice enough colour and bouquet of primarily hefeweizen style banana and citrus. Taste wise.. slight coriander if you search, but pretty typical belgian white fair, slight spice.

It's all just a bit underwhelming unfortunately.. rather than there being any glaring flaws, it just feels like a poor version of Blanche de Namur. Fair effort but probably the weakest from this stable. 5.0

Cascade Stout

Yes, it's from Cascade, of Tasmanian fame.

But to cut to the chase, it's really not a bad beer for the price and availability. There's no indication on opening the bottle that the beer is even alive - no pop, no response from the liquid, nothing. I like that. 5.8% not a bad mark for the ABV either.

On pouring it's a pretty one note but pleasant enough choc nose, and the taste is pretty likewise. It's a little watery as is common with these, and finishes with that odd note strangely common to macros.. just not quite as smooth as it could or should be.

Overall though and much like its cousin from the Coopers stable, this is a good choice in circumstances when you don't have access to much else. 5.5

McLaren Vale Drk

After the last two from these guys I approached these as a gourmand restaurant reviewer would sidle up to a local dive, grimly determined to write it off with little if any mercy.

Contrary to expectations though this is a tasty enough drop in a blue collar sort of way. You're greeted with an aroma of choc cherry caramel scents which is quite nice. The beer itself is malty with slight roastiness and a burnt caramel character that is pretty damn good.

It's a little watery but I'm just pleased my expectations were proven wrong. This is their best beer by a distance. 7.0

Warka Strong Ale

Fozzie bear. There, I said it.

This beer however is not very muppetty at all, to its immediate detriment. Instead it's a clumsy brute of a beer, at once too sweet and too bitter after an ESB style caramel apple flavour profile in a finishing hops sort of sense. Alcohol at 7.5% comes through too strongly on the nose and the taste, it's sticky and quite difficult to drink cold or not.

I've had worse beers strictly in terms of just taste but the other elements really let this down. As such Warka gets an 'avoid' label, but no 'shit'. 2.5

Marston's Oyster Stout

Tools and oysters indeed.

Nice creamy head on this, very attractive. Then you smell it and oh dear, it's all metallic sourness and arse I'm afraid, backing up a piddly 4.5% abv. Unfortunately the taste follows this trend, sweaty sort of watery caramel, metallic notes.

Having given this a few days now and still feeling oddly sick when I think about it, I have to ponder if this now qualifies as bad as our other recent contender. It's a lucky escape for Marston's from only the second flat zero ever awarded, only because I'm not sure if it's this beer, or the style overall that is the real culprit here. 0.5

8 Wired Batch 18 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Special batches (yum) of imperial stout (yum) from 8 Wired (yum)? Well, if you insist, I guess.

12.5% ABV and 4.9 standard drinks to the bottle puts it squarely in the big leagues, and it's got a red tinged angry head on it too which soon subsides.

Has a big and slightly worrying nose, a bit like Basil Zempilas. There's plum pudding there, dark fruit, with a bit of chocolate and alcohol in the background, and just a slight tinge of coffee.

Bang, the taste on this is pretty immense, and it unfurls a big covering bitterness from about halfway through. The alcohol is warming throughout but not bitey. It's a drink for smooth jazz sipping over a good long time with some contemplative thoughts and possibly, just possibly, a cigar.

It does have a bit of an oaky barrel finish to it too which sets it all off just nicely. I'm glad it wasn't a bourbon barrel or this thing would just be insane. All in all, a fine beer indeed. Shame there aren't more. Yet. 9.0

Tuatara Aotearoa Pale Ale

This one came by recommendation, another longneck kiwi from across the lake.

This .. was highly drinkable. So drinkable I don't really recall too much about it, save that it was as smooth as a baby Harrison Ford.

Several NZ hop varieties in this including a bit of Sauvin which gives it a bit of vanilla, it's really well put together and gently comforts you without really ever waking you from your coma. Cruisy at 5.8%, you can't really say anything bad about it but then I feel you wouldn't necessarily want to just boredom yourself away on this forever either. Sometimes it's nice to have a bit of rugged in there too. 8.0

North Coast Old No. 38 Stout

North Coast, of Rasputin Imperial fame.

Hmm.. pours pretty watery, with no head. Taste is a little watery too, not quite as full as it could be. At least the flavours are good - roasty, with slight choc, tannin waxiness, typical stout profile.

Not overly complicated or worldbending in a world of much competition but fine for a drinking stout. Don't know that I'll be knocking myself out for more North Coast though despite the typically glowing reviews elsewhere.  7.0

Brewdog Hardcore IPA

Biggest IPA so far I think at an arrogant 9.2%.

Oh yeah this smells pretty damn delicious - it is a big, big hop IPA. This is clearly not just talk and I for one am pleased.

Pours with a slightly offwhite head, dark colour of the beer, feels heavy in the glass. Little bit of malt alcohol on the nose once it's in the glass but not overwhelming. Tastewise you get a rather bitey kick of bitterness after a sweet start consisting of mostly melon and stonefruits.

You don't taste much alcohol here, which is some achievement really. It's a little heavy, not super drinkable but good for the content for sure. Nice aftertaste too. Will certainly buy again, it may move up from a preliminary 8.0

Fuller's Past Masters XX Strong Ale

Confession: I bought this thinking it was a stout. Imagine my surprise (rage) when I realised I'd bought both something by Fuller's, and an English Strong Ale at that.

Then imagine my bewilderment when it turned out to be pretty damn good. At 7.5 this is a calm beer of the toffee and caramel class, but sits well, with a little coffee and slight 'imperial' alcohol vodka tastes at the end. Aroma's not great.. but I can put up with it.

One of the better beers of this type I've had. 7.5

Mornington Pale Ale

Nearly pocketed all these monsters now, just the wheat to go if I'm not mistaken.

This one pours light, ultra light, with a thin head that nevertheless holds quite tenaciously. And to its credit it's not too watery in the mouth either. Instead you get pineapple flavours, mild malt, and light fruit salad in a pretty quenching summer mix.

Good stuff and highly sessionable if a bit sweet - but at least it tastes genuine. 7.0

Moon Dog Henry Ford's Girthsome Fjord

This beer is bloody fizzy.. odd as the bottle was sedate. Nice dark solid brown colour though.

Wow. You can tell from the aroma you're in for something definite here. It might be good, it might be terrible, but it will leave you in no doubt about what it's trying to say. According to the bottle there's six types of malt, six types of hops, and three types of yeast in this and they positively clamour for attention here.

Burnt oolong, earthy hops, chocolate roast .. sort of a really hoppy, really roasty, really burnt, porter brown ale. Worth trying for any beer nut but maybe not easy drinking as such. Oh and did I mention (notice?) it's 8.1% ABV? Mental as anything. I like it. 7.5 8.0

Diamond Knot Brewing Industrial India Pale Ale

Bit of a mouthful in the title, but a surprisingly nondescript bottle here. Particularly given it was $25..

There's a lingering lacy head on this, and the nose is very malty, with a bit of fruity guava. Mouthfeel is smooth, full, and lovely. The flavour is quite complex, put me in mind slightly of Hopwired.

But then, it's not quite to that level of grassy loveliness, and indeed appears a bit stuck between the two poles of "India Pale Ale" and a fully fledged "Double IPA". Because of this it does neither brilliantly and ends up falling short of a good score. You could get a better IPA or DIPA easily at a good bottle-o. Hell, you could buy both and still be ahead. 7.5

Mikkeller Beer Hop Breakfast

Mister Mikkeller and The Philosopher's Stout.

Similar character to its twin in terms of the quality pour and body, but this certainly lashes with a lot more bitter grassy hops embedded in the ol' cat o' nine ales. Quite bitter and aggressive, bit confronting but certainly well made at 7.5%. You don't get any alcohol, just all the beautiful layers the gypsy embeds in these beverages.

If I had to choose, I'd go with the Beer Geek Breakfast instead. But this too was a quality drop and well recommended for those who enjoy hoppier stouts. 8.0

Green Flash Double Stout

Pictured with its passionate lover Mrs Cheap Pudding From Woolworths.

These two hit it off freakin beautifully and I think it's mostly due to the quite arrestingly bitter nature of the stout. Really, this gives a lingering bitter coffee kick that's kind of abrasive in isolation but the perfect thing for a sweet dessert. The combo of stout and pud is well known but depending on the stout sweetness it can all get a bit overwhelming. This will not give you that problem. Try it at your next dinner soiree. But beware its 8.8% ABV kick.

Lovely head, creamy as all get out, beautiful aroma, def a big double stout with solid black content. Good stuff. 8.5

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

I just love them big bottles of stout.

Had assumed from the bottle (perhaps naively, looking back at the red star logo) that this was a standard english stout, but from the plum pudding nose you become instantly aware of it's Leninist roots.

You get lovely round oily stout first up, then it moves into fruit tones, and finishes up dry roasty coffee. Pretty damn good, but contrary to the label marketing I found this kind of slow going due to its Ruski nature. A good beer to sit with over a long evening with a book. Or a bear. 8.0

McLaren Vale Ale

Ok - now that it's not a lager, can Vale pull something out?

Hmm. Fancy packaging, yes. But even after drinking two of these on separate occasions I still had to look up to find out what this was even supposed to be. American Pale Ale, I'm told. I couldn't really get past "Um. Ale?" personally.

If you analyse this forensically you can find a little bit of apple, light malt, caramel, and sugar. But I suppose the best you could say is that it's inoffensive, insofar as it's utterly forgettable.

After a bit of thought, I had come to think this would be reasonable as a sort of gateway craft conversion beer. But then I'm not sure it has the punch to do that even. Disappointing. 4.0

Kooinda Valhalla Golden Ale

Woohoo, another Kooinda to try!

Can't say golden ales are typically my favourite but these guys have a good record so far.

Turns out this has a caramel nose, caramel opening notes, then a rather surprising caramel midsection before some caramel comes in at the end.

That's not to say it's bad - in fact I found it quite drinkable - but it's not Kooinda's best. 7.0

KJD Brewing Chocolate Cherry Porter

Another NZ brewer - would KJD be joining the ranks of the exalted with 8 Wired and Epic, or the bargain basement slop shop crew of Monteiths, Kaimai?

For a choc cherry porter to be served at room temp, this pours and tastes watery and thin.. so you lose a bit of motivation there. Then you have a whiff and there goes the rest of it to be replaced with trepidation. It's pretty much sourness and alcohol sadly.

Taste wise I can sort of see what they were going for. It's very much 'real' cherry, ie pretty sour, no real sweetness, and I can definitely respect that. But for it to work it needs a richer, fuller, more rounded end to it with malt and backing chocolate. They seem to have forgotten this bit completely though, as with the label the 'cherry' bit is the biggest part .. but then Chocolate and Porter don't even exist.

So, a bit of a shame really. Nice idea, poor execution. 2.0

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

So the common consensus on Sierra Nevada of late has been pretty bloody positive.

Enter Torpedo Extra IPA, which certainly pulls things back to earth with a thud, exhibiting the same sort of problems as the stardard pale ale. It's too fizzy, and too artificially sweet candy tasting.

There's also a lack of blasting hops for mine. It's kind of a standard IPA level I guess but where's the "Extra"? Where's the torpedo? At least it's up there in ABV - but then it seems looking at ratebeer, it's oddly rated through the roof by the wider community much like the pale ale. This is mystifying to me.

A bit meh overall. I find myself putting this in with Squires, and that's never a good sign. Buy the Rye IPA instead. 5.5

Brewdog Trashy Blonde

I knew a Scottish blonde once. But she wasn't a lot like this.

Indeed, her body was strengthier than this rather cooperative drop and she lacked the sort of lemon honey flavours this thing has going on. But then she wasn't as artificial either. This tastes a little of manufactured sugar.

Still, in both cases, you could do a lot worse. 6.5

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale 2012 edition

This is one of those 'celebrity' beers, which are immediately tweeted about by their beer purveyors on entering stock, and then sell out almost instantly. The bandwagon was mounted, and the wallet emptied.

It's also the first barleywine on record.. 9.6% and daarrrrkk pour out of the bottle. Looks like a heavy rye or something at first glance. There's slight carbonation but not intrusive, and a nice lingering fluffy head.

Wow, this is a riot of flavours. There's orange there, stringent bitterness throughout, and heavy malt disguising the alcohol, which really doesn't manage to make its presence felt in aroma or taste. Heaps going on throughout the mouthful including pine and slight honey (?) but it's not hard to drink at all.. certainly not compared to most other things at this sort of range. Even appreciate the oily sort of mouthfeel, it's just right. Really enjoyed this a lot and recommend to anyone coming into winter time, if only to give you a break from all those excellent stouts and porters.

Not sure specifically if it's this beer, or the style that I'm digging but regardless this is a very pleasant way to imbibe nearly 3 standard drinks to the bottle. Looking forward to cellaring a couple and charting the improvement (or otherwise) also. If they last that long. 8.5

Thoughts on Eagle Bay Brewing

Third time to this picturesque spot also, time to run through the range quickly and post some preliminary thoughts.

Eagle Bay's Kolsch is probably the best I've had, does everything it's supposed to as a light and highly drinkable ale dominated by light malt flavours rather than hops of any description, bittering or otherwise. Nice mouthfeel too.

Vienna's up second, this one's an example of the other side of lager, light bitterness and quenching. Not my favourite style, but a reasonable effort for what it is.

Beer 3 is the Mild and this is where things start to shine. This is right up there with anything else I've had at the 3-4% range, lovely caramel malty English flavours, muted mouthfeel, tastes good at all temperatures. Great for anyone driving out to this place, with this beer you don't feel you're missing out in the slightest.

Next up is a pale ale, definitely of the American school, this puts me more in mind of LC's Pale Ale than anything else and that in itself is high praise. Quite complex and well balanced between fruity flavours, bitterness, and malt - highly respectable.

Seasonal beer this time was an IPA and with the standard IPA blurb about it being a hop avalanche of overwhelming bitterness it's easy to see they're jumping on the bandwagon popularity of this style in recent times. On drinking it though it's clear this is the first one they've done. There are hops in it yes, but it's far more reminiscent of a wet hopped pale ale than a fully fledged IPA. Still good but doesn't scratch my hop fiending itch.

And finally a nice ESB, again english flavours, quite nice depth of flavour here, could drink a few of these in a session, particularly in winter.

Lesson from this time: I really, really miss their porter. Please make it again. Seriously. Please.

Thoughts on Duckstein

Time to post a few thoughts on Duckstein as it's now the third time I've sampled through their range.

Can't have been too bad considering how quickly the tasters evaporated!

These guys do a good range throughout but oddly it's the Pilsner that's probably the most accomplished of the lot, great taste in this, highly drinkable, a fine example of the style fresh off the vat. Dunkel goes down ok with malty character, and the Altbier sports nice peppery spice notes at the end. The other stalwart from the tasting range is a Hefeweizen that is traditional to the style, predominately banana and lemon, pretty drinkable.

The one seasonal drop this time was a Pale Ale - ie, the only non-German beer in the lineup, and interestingly it was pretty poor, falling well short both of other pale ales, and of the quality found in Duckstein's offerings. As a comparison I found their seasonal oktoberfest beer to be far superior in the past.

So if there's a lesson here it's stick to what you're good at. But all in all a reliable and faithful German brewery, more than respectable. Massive bloody roast pork meals they do there too.

Mornington Peninsula Brown Ale

Further provisions from the crew from Mornington peninsula.

This brown ale shares more in common with a porter than a more caramel based brown, and to my tastes at least that's a good thing. Dark brown and sedate in the glass, you get a nice mouthful of rounded roasty flavours tending toward coffee and a bit of light milk chocolate. All pretty pleasant before a toffee malt aftertaste.

For the price point this is pretty drinkable. It's your grunt brown ale to fill out the ranks when you can't afford all stars. 7.0

Newcastle Brown Ale

Right on the cutting edge of craft brewing technology, this blog, what with reviewing a mass produced commonly available ale seemingly brewed by Heineken and such like.

Took me a moment to work out what was wrong with this photo, but indeed the bottle is totally clear. Not sure how that works? Beer is pretty damn brown though, bit more fizzy than I was expecting, very low head that evaporates instantly. Smells mostly of bittering hops. Oh boy.

The taste has a little bit more going for it, there's notes of caramel and very slight nut under a pretty drinkable lid. Still slightly too fizzy, bit aggressive early for my liking particularly for this style. Bit of bitterness but it's all  a bit characterless and watery.

A check of the label and yes it contains glucose syrup, caramel, and carbon dioxide. Still, as these things go, I've had far worse. 4.0

McLaren Vale Dry

Bugger, bought this pretty much by accident trying to get some of McLaren's other stuff on here.

4.5%, "australian dry lager", pithy insubstantial head, very light. Minimal aroma. Not motivating. In terms of taste it's a bit better than the preamble would lead you to expect - there's a little bit of sweetness there backed by malts. Kind of apple like tastes.

Not a great deal of complexity, though that clearly wasn't the aim here and I don't want to line this up on purpose just to smash it. I'll rate it not bad as a sort of a gateway lager conversion tool.. still miles behind Knappstein and the like though. 4.5

Mash Brewing Rye The Hop Not

Had tried this previously at a tasting and enjoyed .. but that was before becoming an utter beer nob.

At the time this seemed a shining and exciting example of what rye could do in a beer (this was novel to my inexperienced past self), and what Mash in general could do (as it seemed pretty drinkable and characterful).

Now it seems pretty damn insipid insofar as what rye can do .. and I have to say, a pretty good representation of Mash themselves who have a rather disappointing portfolio of beers and ciders across the board (and as a sidenote, a pretty terrible restaurant to back them up).

It's all just ok, so my new, insufferably arrogant, unfeeling self gives this but 5.0 out of a possible 10.

Holgate Temptress Porter

People had recommended this one - and the one previous encounter (though fleeting) with a Holgate DIPA had turned out positively too.

Still: wow. Looks attractive. Smells attractive. And my word does it taste attractive.

This is brewed with cocoa and vanilla beans and it shows - very sweet milk chocolate flavours, vanilla edge in clear sight throughout and no real bitterness at all, but above and beyond that the beer has a lovely milky flavour and mouthfeel too that really improves it beyond the norm. It's funny that people find black beers so bewildering because this has to be the best beer for kids I have yet encountered.

If I had to find a downside it's that there's not too much character beyond these sweet notes - but then, there doesn't need to be. If you're in the mood for a coffee / roasty / hoppy / imperial porter, drink one of those. If you just want a sweet chocolate variety, you could go a lot worse than this fine effort.

The only puzzling thing is it suggesting it be enjoyed with either choc desserts (fully agree) or .. meat pies. Huh? 9.0

Bridge Road Chevalier Saison

As a top 10 finalist this too was on tap.

Pours with a flat head, and a pretty average saison nose. Mostly wheat, lemon, very slight spice.

Bit watery in the middle taste-wise, no real spice, kind of ok aftertaste. A bit cheap and nothing this, doesn't quite match up to its visions of grandeur.

The Nogne O collaborative india saison version was far and away better than this. Ie, worlds apart. Even Temple's effort was better than this by some margin. So I'm starting to wonder if Bridge Road only really do things with 'india' in the title really well.

With other breweries (Kooinda, Mornington etc just off the top of my head keeping to places that bottle) producing quality pale ales, IPAs and the like, I have to ask if this was only included in the top 10 because the previous saison wasn't available on tap, and they wanted some sort of variety in the countdown? 5.5

Stone & Wood Pacific Ale

Had drank this several times before but with no photo, it's against the rules of the blog to review it.

Cue it coming second in this year's Critics Choice Top 10, and a chance to hit it at the Sail and Anchor.

You can see how light this is from the photo - damn near transparent - and the taste is similar. Mostly passionfruit, bit of grapefruit, only a very slight malt aftertaste. Mid aeration. Quaffable.

It's a beer you think you should get sick of, but you don't. Probably the most easy drinking beer in Australia. But Hop Hog is better and a worthy winner this year. 8.0

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

Hohoho, back to Mikkeller in what seems to be his natural habitat: dark beers.

Given the name of this we made sure to test it in its own natural habitat also: breakfast.

It's a pretty angry looking pour with a small but violent ochre red-brown head, and indeed an angry nose on it too. Absolutely flat out of the bottle; no hint of bubble. Roasty flavours dominate with a backbone of coffee and a bit of dark choc. The feel is slightly abrasive on the throat though, probably due to the big bitter hop content there is in this beer also. It all feels expert though, as if the roving gypsy's really enjoying himself here, having fun with his pet sport.

Next time, I'm putting this up against some bacon, egg, bbq tomato, and hashbrowns. I'm certain it will shine. 9.0

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Edit: after putting away some more of this and finding myself thinking about it constantly I'm bumping it up to 9.5. Do yourself a favour, seriously.