Westmalle Trappist Dubbel

Something about the colour of this label makes me happy.

It certainly evokes the colour of the beer itself pretty well: an attractive leathery brown. The nose has a little bit of port / sherry going on and for 7%, comes across as a little bit intimidating first up.

The taste is a bit less overwhelming thankfully, putting across fruity alcoholic notes for the main. Not a lot of chocolate for a dubbel, probably not a beginner's beer either, but big and complex if you like them that way. Would probably go well with roast meat or similar sorts of big heavy dishes. Good stuff. 7.5

Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale

Yep, a beer based on a doughnut.

And not just any doughnut: a bacon maple effort. Hence the frankly awesome bottle. It's a smoked beer at heart, with maple syrup in there too. The label actually suggests there's actual bacon in there too, which puzzles me somewhat. Do they put it in the mash?

Regardless, both key elements stand out on the aroma, and in flavour - it really does smell and taste like smoke, vague bacon, and maple syrup. Which sounds like a "hurr hurr funny" sort of a beer that you can't really drink, right?

Wrong. It's actually pretty bloody drinkable too. Odd, yes. Difficult, absolutely not. Top stuff, much respect! Only real problem is the nagging feeling of loss that we can't get those donuts here as a combo.. 8.5

Boon Oude Geuze

Back to lambic land for a vintage effort from Boon.

This is traditional geuze, ie a blend between old and young lambics to create a referment and that harsh sour + clean fizz effect you get with these. It's somewhere between Fonteinen and the reigning champion 100% Bio in terms of sourness I think, so you get a fair bit of wheaty grain character, but also a burst of genuinely sour stuff to refresh you also.

It's good stuff but still makes me think wistfully of Cantillon (it's not the only thing of course. Everything up to and including frogs, bedsheets, and christmas carols make me want it). Still - this one retails for around $15 for the big bottle where I am at the moment, which is comparatively not bad. Well worth a go at that price, may be a nice intro gueze for people to have a try of at your end of year functions too. 7.5

Uncommon Brewers Golden State Ale

Another tallboy can from these guys - this time, it spends some length telling us that it's 'organic', whatever that means.

There's no head on the pour, which sticks true to the name with a very golden patina. The nose delivers far more lemon and wheat-beer aromas than expected. I'd been gearing up for some sweetness and depth given the belgian yeast used, and roast poppy seeds thrown into the mash but it's mysteriously dry.

So you start off drinking this and coming across witbier-esque notes from the start, a product of the yeast of course. Then someone in your drinking party says "Orange and Poppyseed Muffin" and you're done for - it's all you can taste thereafter. A belgian baker's muffin, and in a glass no less.

I found this far from 'quaffable' despite the claims. At 6.4% abv it probably needed to be right on the money to be a session beer in any case but it's a little sweet and sticky. I'd like to try it without the belgian yeast (ie with a cleaner ale strain) to be honest as the poppy notes are nice, but overall it's not something you'll ever really go back to. 5.0

Coney Island Sword Swallower Steel Hop Lager

Sword swallower? How risqué.

In any case this produces a flattish amber pour and promises an IPA styled beer produced with lager yeast. It's surprisingly high abv for the style too at 6.8%.

This beer smells malty, sort of amber ale territory almost, with vague indistinct hops. The palate is comprised mostly of mid level malts, with backing hops and a clear lager finish.

I can sort of see what they're going for here but to be honest, feel like the aim is a bit arse-about. If you hop up a pilsner, you can produce something that's easy drinking yet with a bit of character to it too. If you take a perfectly good ale and use lager yeast .. well, you lose a lot more than you gain in my opinion. The lower fermentation temp and dryer finish take a lot out of the malt complexity and you're left with something that's just not that memorable. I certainly wouldn't session this, nor drink it for fun or interest.

Ok as an experiment I guess. But again, who is this for? 5.0

La Sirène Saison

Great bottle and label.

I was quite surprised to see it was Australian actually - no disrespect to domestic producers, but this is a quite different approach to any other I have seen. Perhaps it's a good thing to help raise beer in the public consciousness to its rightful artsy state - but the beer will need to deliver too of course.

This is quite strongly carbonated and fizzes dramatically despite a sedate upbringing and weeks in the fridge. The nose is predominately lemon citrus and backing spice, not much funky yeast character as such.

Taste-wise it feels a bit faint on the whole, nice farmhouse bite first up, but a little watery, and lacking real funk that would push it closer to greatness. I feel like this is pretty smashable quaffing or session-wise as it finishes quite dry, but there's other beers that do that and they may give you a bit more delight along the way too.

Good try, not quite there yet. 5.5

Pretty Things Jack D'Or Saison

Fair bit of anticipation for this one after Pretty Thingseses' auspicious debut.

This is a change of pace as a 'Saison Americaine'. At 6.5% it's perhaps on the lighter side of things for (modern) Saison and pours an indistinct orange hue with a very low slightly disappointing head.

The aroma is of orange peel first and foremost and a cast of big spice in the background. Taste pretty much follows those lines, bit of green pear there too but the mouthfeel is quite oily and without any sourness / funk / carbonation to cut through it, it gets a bit heavy. Lasting spice is a nice touch, and it does have a quenching sort of finish to slake a thirst.

I want to like this more but, while there's not a lot wrong, it's just a bit sort of standard. 7.0

Grottenbier Bruin

So, a petite bottle of oud bruin which I believe is put together by that king-of-the-witbiers, he of Hoegaarden fame, Pierre Celis.

Oh also it's been aged in a grotto which certainly contributes a whole new layer of funky flanders magic. The aroma in particular is nicely sour and, while it's not as prominent on the taste, there are some plumlike traces that combine with the confident brown notes (?) to form a nice companion to have a chat with.

It's not the sort of beer that shouts about what it's doing - instead it's quite reserved, a soft conversationalist. If you take the time to listen though you'll find all sorts of interest. 8.0

Bear Republic Pete Brown Tribute Ale

Big bodied brown here, gives the impression of more than its stated 6.5%.

Its dark heavy brown-amber body pumps out a slightly too-sweet nose that made me fear a bit for the balance of the beer, but first impression is not too bad. Nutty, chocolatey sort of rich brown character, and flavoursome.

At this sort of low % I like a US Brown to be sessionable - ie either hoppy (to an extent) or dry enough so that you can send it back with efficiency. This beer's a bit too sweet for that and gets cloying quite quickly. Not bad beer, but not quite to my taste either. 7.0

Red Duck (&Kissmeyer) Tasting Paddle

So, more by accident than design, we'd ended up with a veritable platter of beers from Red Duck. Enter the man-size tasting paddle!

I think I'd mistaken these guys for a sensible brewery in the past given their relatively restrained labelling. From this selection though you know you're in business with a serious brewer. Four beers first up that are all both ambitious and - it turns out - bloody excellent to boot.

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First up, Gnaume, which a golden lambic. Yes, a golden.. lambic. So sweet and sour notes interact here - saison-esque, maybe witbier sort of notes are initially evident but soon washed over by a wave of good lambic funk. Taste-wise it's actually pretty grain-like, the sour notes are pretty restrained on the whole, producing a remarkably drinkable beer with not too many off notes at a 6.2% abv.

Spicy more than sour overall, much less extreme than expected but it all comes together pretty well, tastes like a meshed effort between styles and pretty much in line with the description. Dry finish belies the lambic character but makes it pretty drinkable. Very interesting but unsure how to rate. My only real issue is it smells more like a sour beer than it is.. funky yes, sour no. Not necessarily a bad thing but not quite compelling either. 7.5

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Jesus.. to be honest I'd been kind of dreading this one. 11.3% alcohol 'bread beer' made with no hops, but lots of raisins and sultanas. I don't know but that sounds like something pretty damn intimidating.

Ra here is flat as a tack, deliberate of course but I must stress it is completely without fizz. It also has a massive sediment presence, and a big nose that's initially pretty hard to handle, nail polish alcohol notes, bad Year 12 drinking memories, reminds me of agave tequila in particular. So - let's not mix any words - this is a fucked beer with regards the look and nose. It makes me pray for the Swan Lager drinker that, after countless cartons of slop decides one day that 'you know what.. I'm going to try this craft beer thing' - that he doesn't choose this. My god it's .. intimidating.. colour and aroma.

Then you summon up the courage to drink it and - what? - oh this is lambic? And not half-way sour like the previous one. This gives your jowls that sort of locked-up quality they get with sucking a lemon.. delicious. Not sure if this was how the Egyptians had their beer but wow this is good shit.

It's probably not for the unadventurous, but this is a full on sour effort that ticks all the boxes. Ignore the label's claims of sultanas and raisins, there's no real sweetness or character there, maybe just a faint edge of sugar. It's just their 'sour dough yeast' efforts and expert process doing the job here. I love the taste of this, absolute brilliance, so impressed particularly given the appearance and aroma being so frightening. Great. Love it, highly recommended. 9.0

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No, this doesn't smell like a pony - unless it's perhaps been smothered in mead first. For this is a braggot - a mix of mead and beer - and has a pretty beguiling nose really of amber notes, caramel and honey. No real alcohol aroma despite the 13.7% elephant (horse?) in the room.

This is evidently flat as a tack again, no aeration whatsoever, they've used buckwheat honey for the mead here hence less grain presence probably than normal. It's a clean entry, grainy floury notes, then it takes on that meady character before rounding out a spicy, slightly sour, then heavy honey finish.

Not as sort of enjoyable as Ra above if you're into sours, but then if you're a mead and/or braggot freak you'll be full into this. My only real issue is less ale character comes through than expected, which is fine, but I'm not convinced this is a beer at all to be honest, more a modified version of that honeyed alcohol. So nice drinking, but not the the quality of the previous.  7.5

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Can we drink a beer with, you know, air in it next? Coz these really.. don't.

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Well.. no. No we can't. For this is a dark lambic - sounds exciting, doesn't it. Looks are a bit less flattering sadly, brown, slight red tinge but overall... maybe not the best looking beer. Just as well then that the nose is so intriguing, a genuine mix of porter, shoe leather and funky sourness.

Tasting - bang! Wow, I was expecting a porter-like opening with the sour taking over from there but it's a pretty immediate explosion of acidity and the most citrus bitter of the three, followed by a chocolately sort of note that goes on and lingers with you as you recover. It sounds strange, but it's actually a really nice combination. Yum.

It's worth stressing that this is another lipsmacker and is balls out sour, so it coats your tongue with unrelenting bitterness - but as you're feverishly smacking away trying to disperse it there's just a hint of choc to calm you and eventually soothe you back. Wow. Excellent stuff, well thought out, well executed, love it to bits, top work, beer that's just really compelling and brings you back, not just inventive for the sake of it but damn tasty also. 9.0

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"It's a sour, chuck it out into nature and consume it."

Apt.

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Finally we had this little number in the fridge, another collaboration between Red Duck and Kissmeyer and a big Imperial IPA at 9.8% and using 25 different hops.

It's a swingtop bottle with wax, nice presentation and as homebrewers, happy to receive it into the flock. Big solid body evident here, little head.. a serious beer from the outset. Appears heavy and sullen.

I get mostly pineapple and malted mute on the nose, pretty quiet for what's in it. But then bannnnng, wow right off the bat this is heavy and full mouthed, oily, but distinctly IIPA. I was a bit sceptical about the method of the 25 hop additions, but the hop bill comes through as beautifully rounded and delivers a pleasant lasting bitterness. Delicious and another success to be proud of. 8.5

--

What a set! What a surprise, hahaha. What a top night. Great work to the brewer and accomplice. All in all a very impressive effort from the Duck showing commitment to beer, a real passion for the art, and the skills to pull it off. Much respect and hoping to visit soon.

Epic First Batch NZIPA

No idea what the numbers on the front mean here, 04.39.53 sounds more like an IP address than a date.

This one is a bit darker than the previous drop though it maintains the comparatively light clarity. Clearly not a bottle conditioning mob, these Epics. There's something a bit spicier in this despite the big NZ nose, possible rye notes I think from both the nose and the flavours (could well be wrong!).

This IPA stays a bit flatter and more mellow than Hop Zombie in what I feel is a nice way. It's drier for sure and in our hop-centric IPA fugue, the initial reaction may be to condemn the lack of sticky lusciousness here but I actually think it aids the drinkability of the beer substantially. I'd pick this to drink over the other even though it's less impressive hops wise, simply because the balance is better. And this from a certified hop-head when it comes to other efforts.

I'd drink more of this, but not search it out directly. Nice beer. 7.5

He'Brew Hop Manna IPA

A bottle with presence, and the by-now almost common promise of hops - but just 6.8% and 65IBU.

I like the label design / presentation from these guys - it's strong, and distinct. Pleasingly, the beer itself delivers on that front too in terms of appearance and presentation - great nose, likely the product of a strong dry hopping regime consisting of centennial, cascade and citra as prominently displayed on label space A1.

From the first sip this is genuinely tasty stuff - not the overwhelming IPA that's become almost the norm in America, but a more balanced suite of flavours including a number of peppery spicy notes in the middle. When you're at this midstage it's almost leaning one almost toward hoppy APA territory, but then a lovely late wash of hops push it pleasingly into IPA territory.

Yum.. this is a truly well balanced brew, really compelling stuff all around. It's not berserk by any means but well judged clearly to style.. shows a great understanding of beer and brewing ability. There's a plethora of hop additions here and a really nicely tipped malt platform that leaves me thinking 'nah this doesn't actually need to be bigger' while still providing a solid body that doesn't overwhelm the starring hops.

For what it's trying to do - ie not just "MOAR OF EVERYTHING" - this is a purposeful, deliberate beer that is just a massive success, and there's not a lot I'd improve. Very impressive indeed. 9.0

Beer Here Hopfix

Have to say first up, what a great label. He's just saying what we're all thinking..

Aaaaaaaah..

Where were we? Ah yes, hops. Our gentle lords and saviours. This beer delivers them in a format that speaks immediately of rye additions alongside the inevitable US hop aromas. Quite noticeable sediment, though it is not intrusive.

Taste-wise this fits in with the 'pleasant' rather than 'destructive' school of hop-bombing, easing 6.5% of Sunday morning come down juices into you without ever getting all up in your face about it. It's a pretty chilled dude, very green, more about the herbs than the abrasive bitterness y'know, why can't we all just get along?

Which could all get a bit boring if it were underspecced, but I feel the rye just gives it enough character to be that bit more than alleyway hop water. Well thought out and yet cruisy at the same time. 7.5

Haandbryggeriet Sundland Kreosot

These guys are building up a pretty strong portfolio so far, but this is the first Black IPA trialed from their burgeoning range.

It's one of those 'home-made-jam--printed-on-my-laserjet-printer' style labels as is traditional for Haand, but the beer itself comes out pretty proudly, displaying good opacity and a sticky miniscus of dark tan coffee head. Aroma is inviting too, delivering that dichotomous porter / hoppy IPA combination that makes you stop and think for a while before drinking, just to ponder and identify the different notes in there.

Surprisingly I didn't pick up a great deal of smokiness, which turns out to be opening the batting for this beer in the flavour league cup. Almost bacony levels of roast characterise the opening salvos, but it's all backed up with sufficient hopping and a roasty toasty choc porter standard bearer. It's probably the first really smoky attempt at a Black IPA I have trialled, but it all comes together very nicely really. The smokiness ties the two sometimes disparate brew types together with a common thread.

Good beer, not lifechanging but interesting, flavoursome and refreshing stuff. 8.0

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

A beer. A craft beer. And it's from Rogue. And it's their flagship brew. Surely you can't go wrong with this one?

Well, turns out maybe you can, for I totally failed to get on with this brew at all, contrary to expectations. It's a 6.6% Bock style ale that pushes out a very clear amber hue and a nose with elements of dry ground lager, slight metal, and nuts.

This pattern continues with the taste, some quite nice nut notes but the ongoing metallic nature of the beer and slightly high aeration let this down. Slight alcohol presence on the ending a little disappointing also. Perhaps I got a bad bottle but despite approaching this with the best of expectations I found it to be pretty forgettable stuff.

Unconvincing at best. 3.5

Amager Sundby Stout

A solid 6.2% stout here, marketing itself as both a traditional brew and one that challenges convention by dry hopping with floral US hops.

As with all of these beers it’s possible, nay likely this has spent some time in travel and storage so it may not be the freshest, but I did not find the hops all that evident on the nose. This should have given it some time to think about life however and it’s often not bad to let a stout ponder a while before consumption.

The pour is a little lighter than expected, several EBC down on the norm I feel. It’s by no means unattractive though and carries a cappuccino bonce with some aplomb. Flavour is very much ‘extra stout’, dark choc, liquorice and coffee notes evident up front, bit of carbonation present in the midsection before a nice lingering coffee finish.

Rather pleasant overall, but drinking through the bottle I couldn’t shake the image of it being in a way just like Coopers Extra Stout in a suit. No bad thing. 7.5

8 Wired Saison Sauvin

So, a big Saison loaded up with Nelson Sauvin hops? Sign me up.

Lovely powdery steep head as you can see atop a nice amber body. Sour slightly winelike notes on the nose, plus belgian saison yeast, I don't get a lot of Nelson Sauvin from the aroma at this stage.

Taste wise is where the hops shine - the mouthful starts with that sour note but then mellows through that soothing vanilla quality these hops produce, before a sweet yeasty finish. I love when beers have such a nice range of development as you drink them, this stays interesting and engaging every sip you have. Delicious.

My thought is this could be another wine-drinker-converter sort of a beer. All I know is I enjoyed it immensely and find myself thinking about it constantly since. Pretty high mark here so requires further testing. For validation purposes only of course.

I can't wait. 9.0

Brew Dog IPA is Dead 2012

Four rather cool looking bottles lined up for a back to back tasting.

First some notes about the core of the beer itself - this is a well crafted beer, no real surprise from the accomplished crew at 'Dog. Tending slightly on the sweet side of things perhaps but not unbalanced by any stretch, it's a good drop to showcase the hop - and that, after all, is what IPAs should be about. Good colour, good head retention, in short a good shell casing with which to deliver our promised hop bullets.

Motueka - green grassy herbaceous sort of smell, puts me in mind of marijuana from time to time. Clearly a good hop for aroma, but also for taste as it delivers as promised upon that lovely lush spectrum of NZ hop notes. Very good hop, very good beer, certainly one of the best of the bunch.

HBC - hadn't (knowingly) tried this one before but from the first aroma you know you're in for a USA hop experience, with all of the piney bitterness attached to it. Spiky compared to the rounder NZ effort first up but in no way a bad thing.

Challenger - least appealing nose of the set tending to earthy, even slightly metallic edges as expected from this UK staple. Taste wise however this is still pretty delicious, a lovely surprise after first impressions. Would happily drink more of this regularly.

Galaxy - the Aussie hop shares most in common with its NZ cousin from across the way, delivering a good balance of aroma and flavour. Slightly fruitier and spicier than the Motueka but again well suited to this purpose. Quality beer.

Overall a great set to pick up if you're a beer enthusiast, beginner or advanced, and a lovely way to mull over a couple of hours with a friend or loved one. 8.0

Birra del Borgo Enkir

Back, with some trepidation, to the oft-hyped but hitherto flaky Birra del Borgo.

This one is a saison and came with the promise of interesting farmhouse characters.It arrived with a pretty solid but oddly orange body, and a minimal but not absent head.

Aroma-wise there's not a lot going on here. I gave this a good long whiff on a couple of occasions only to reveal nothing but a lingering feeling I looked odd to the people sitting next to me.

To be honest I felt the same about the taste. It's not particularly sour, not particularly powerful, not much citrus, and minimal spice or yeast. All this, plus a a side note of boiled vegetables I'm not sure I like. I matched this one with some Italian Arancini hoping for the flavour equivalent of Mario and Luigi and in theory, all went well. It's just that this Mario doesn't really go on adventures as such, and is content instead to relinquish Peach to the inevitable nightly ravishes of that ribbed dark lord Bowser.

There are definitely better things I could have chosen. 3.0

Haandbryggeriet Hesjeøl Norwegian Harvest Ale

Apparently Norwegian farmers were in the past legally bound to brew beer each year, and punished if they failed to do so - this is a recreation of said traditional harvest beers.

I'm torn between jealousy and a very real sense of relief we don't have 55,000 different types of farmland VB traditionally brewed at every outpost across Australia. While beers do not generally exhibit terroir as such it's equally true that a beer of this nature would not likely have arisen in Australia even given access to the materials. It's less a summertime quaffer, and more a thoughtful drinking experience coloured by different palatial notes from all sorts of areas.


But first thing's first - lovely pour on this, dark amber and inviting, sticky, fluffy cloud of head. If you've been expecting a 'the hops are fresh' style harvest ale, you'll be a bit confused by the nose at first, for it's less a celebration of the green and more spice based aromas at first look.


Taste-wise there is a whole bunch of flavours going on here, pineapple, pepper, malt, winter spices like cinnamon, rhubarb, etc. Deep and complex, but refreshing to boot.

Good stuff - spicy but characterful to boot, harvest but not as we know it. 7.5