Green Flash Le Freak

Wow this is a massive beer.

9.2% of Belgian Tripel forcibly crashed into a US-hopped Imperial IPA. It does not lack presence.

Bright pink label an inspired choice and I actually think the beer itself may carry just a hint of strawberry itself too? Beautiful head is frothy and solid; creamy.

The aroma here was always going to be a battleground and you do get both styles in there. Maybe the hops just edge it, if you had to pick a winner? I find the alcohol pretty evident in terms of bitey front of mouth flavours, but it's not bulky or heavy as such - just sticky and full bodied. It all comes together pretty well without becoming too tacky. I like.

I'm not sure I'd want to drink this style too often, but for what it is, it's good. I'm maybe not a fan just yet but you have to acknowledge the showcase nonetheless. 8.0

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

Epic Mash Up NZ Collaboration Ale

Not sure quite what to make of this beer.

It's a collaboration of sorts, or mash up (get it? hurr) between pretty much every brewer in NZ according to the label. How exactly this came together, I'm not sure. The second odd thing is it's listed pretty much only as an 'ale' at 6.0%. What sort, you ask? You have to open it to find out.

At least the aroma holds some clues, delivering a blast of fresh wet NZ hoppage from the first bounce. It pours very light and crystal clear into the glass but doesn't generate much of a cap unfortunately. Still, that would potentially cover that nose of hops and they are clearly the stars of this beer.

While not outstandingly bitter as such, I felt this hops could have done with a slightly bigger malt backbone just to help support their pungent presence. Still - another fine, if confusing, testament to the power of these herbal kiwi battlers and their excellent properties in aroma and flavour when fresh. 7.0

Mikkeller 1000 IBU

So. A beer with theoretically 1000 IBU.

To put that in context, Palate Wrecker tops out at 149. Safe to say it's a hop forward sort of brew then.

What this beer does is hops, pine, pineapple, malt, a nice heavy body, hops, and pine. What it doesn't do is really convince you of its supposed manic extremes - no-one is going to claim it's not a bitter beer, but it's just not that much far and away above a lot of other hop driven double or imperial IPAs.

Compared to its cousin the admittedly unbalanced 1000 IBU Ultramate this comes across as almost tame due to the fine balance it projects. Part of it is the human capacity to detect and process bitterness and astringency I'm sure - it's often said humans can only really detect up to about 100 IBU on average - but it's also a direct product of the malting and balance Mikkeller derives in this brew. This is a good thing for the beer as a whole - you'd certainly drink more of this 9.6% monster in a sitting than the 4.9% ultramate - but it does somewhat lessen the insanity and with that, some of the fun.

With that said this is a pleasant beer you'll certainly enjoy if you're a hop-head and an enthusiast for these sorts of drops.  8.0

Green Flash Palate Wrecker

Day 2 of Melbourne's Good Beer Week (already I reminisce with such fondness..) and nothing to do until the booked dinner that evening.. time to kick back and relax with that bastion of genteel alcohol consumption, Palate Wrecker.

Shout out to Beer DeLuxe by the way, if you're in town on business (or otherwise) this place is right there in Fed Square and has a frankly jealousy inducing collection of beers for you to try. Great lunch specials also.


But yes, Palate Wrecker. $13.50 for this 9.5% self proclaimed monster but on tap, why wouldn't you? Lovely thick frothy suds on this beer lace stickily like nobody's business, and the aroma gets you even from a distance with its tropical tales of peaches and pine. This is a beer with a purpose, nay, an agenda.

Happily, this beer does attempt to smash your tonsils on first encounter. I've been drinking some big beers but not since Ruination have I encountered such a thwack of astringency: to learn it's 149 IBU is no great surprise. It's juicy, full and thick with sour oily ester-like character. This beer is not especially well integrated to my mind - while there is sufficient malt background to smooth the massive spike of acrid, orange rind oily hops, it all washes in toward the end of the flavour distribution like some inexplicably friendly tsunami.

Still - for a beer whose sole purpose is to hit you as hard as it can, none of this is really a minus. So kick off your next dinner party with palate wrecker, that's how the cool kids roll. 8.5

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

You know you're on to something when the bar staff refuse to pour anything larger than a middy of the beer you order.

In this case, that something is one of Sierra Nevada's flagship draughts: the mighty Hoptimum DIPA / IIPA. There's a dank green nose on this right off the bat: if you're a hophead this will fire you up from the very beginning. It's bordering on illicit green herbs country and in combination with the creamy white head leaves the mouth watering.

Then you drink it.. gee. Doesn't really hit like the 10.4% abv it represents.. not quite as dark as many in this range either. That's not to cast aspersions though - make no mistake this is a big, big beer, and will likely flat out kill anyone who's not been practicing in advance. It would be a great practical joke down the pub to cunningly swap it with someone's Carlton Mid if it weren't such a travesty to give this beer away.

It's pleasingly dead on 100 IBU and tastes every inch the centurion, but beneath that explosion there's some layered detail in the caramel malt and grassy green herbals.

Some people love big hopped DIPA / IIPAs and some don't. Personally I love them, and this is a legitimate yardstick for the style. 9.0

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

Sierra Nevada Wet Hop Harvest 2011 (Northern Hemisphere)

Back for more Sierra Nevada, this time in an attractive rumlike bottle.

Wow, the nose on this certainly makes your mouth water. Then the taste winds up and punches you right in it. There are hops in this beer. It's almost abrasively bitter, quite cloudy and sediment laden throughout, leafy floral pine herbal notes all over the place.

Apparently they release two of these each year to coincide with the harvest season in each hemisphere. Clever.

This is balls to the wall bitter, massive bold hops, with just enough malt so your face doesn't fall off, and I love it. Further testing required but for now, 9.0

Feral Hop Hog

Feral's Hop Hog, first tried at the Sail and Anchor, now in bottle format direct from the Swan Valley.

I had a pretty rocky beginning with Feral - certainly didn't appreciate the white lager much over a couple of tastings last year - but Hop Hog at least has been a fun revelation. It's got a great boisterous nose on it and you know from the start you're in for a herbal, floral kick of hops. Bitterness is not extraordinary but comes in nicely throughout. It's quite quenching and at 5.8% a good match for the body.

Head retention is exceptional for this beer - it maintains a lovely, powdery head all the way to the bottom over the dark amber body. This is consistent over numerous pours in different glasses.

Hop Hog's starting to turn up in Woolworths bottle stores now which is nice, and I understand Feral have entered a venture with Nail brewing to rapidly expand production also. Can't wait to see more of it about & will need to get up to the brewery sometime soon also. A solid 8.5 and puts a smile on my face every time.

Stone Ruination IPA

Well now, this one comes with a reputation. Some of it is self-proclaimed (ie, it calls itself a liquid poem to the glory of the hop, and threatens to destroy your sense for beer if you so much as look at it askance). But this has been backed up by critics across the board also. We approached this one with a giddy trepidation.

Pours a deep colour with a lovely strong white head. You can smell the hops from a distance, it's floral.

The taste? Well, it certainly does have hops in it. And a lingering bitterness that just might kill you if you're not a beery sort of person. But it's not the most floral beer I've had - Feral's Hop Hog for example tastes a bit like you're gargling the contents of a herb garden - this is more .. balanced in a way, despite the absurdity of the content.

I did not notice this was 7.7% alcohol until I'd finished the bottle. I'm not sure how many one could drink, but it certainly seems possible to get hooked on them. I'm pining for another right now.

In a word, impressive - and impressive not just as a sideshow joke piece for a laugh, but as a great example of a bold, brave, and balanced specimen showcasing some brilliant flavours and dare I say it, pushing the craft beer community forward. Any beer fan should try it. 9.0