Doctors Orders Prescription #12 Belgian Black IPA

A new brewer in Sydney!

I don't know a lot about these guys, but their black IPA turns up on the money looks-wise. Which reminds me - Wheatsheaf hotel - I know you're hand-washing / cleaning glasses and these goblet ones are probably slightly harder / more expensive to do. But rather than make people choose between a straight middy / pot / whatever you call it and this "Fancy" for 20c more and exactly the same ml, how about you either absorb the cost, or restrict certain beers to fancy only, and put each beer in the best glass to present it. The 20c doesn't worry me but if you're a serious beer bar, suitable glassware is one of the easier things to do to help present craft in the best possible light.

Rant over - the last Belgian Black IPA I had was delicious, so I was looking forward to this. It has a nice roasty hop nose melded with tea-like barley, but the Belgian yeast is a bit banana-dominant to me in the flavour palate and really rolls all over the gentle roastiness in the palate. You end up with a beer that's primarily choc-banana, with a bit of bitter grass roast in the back seat.

It's kind of a little clumsy and spiky in all elements, not as smooth as it could be - but certainly on the right track. 5.5

Stone & Wood Stone Beer 2012

Behold! A beer arriving atop a veritable palanquin of reputation in industry.

Yea verily, this is well respected and sells out nearly immediately each year, but I still managed to be surprised by the  appearance first up - it's actually really dark even for the 7.2%, and near impervious to light.

Big malt and nuts are apparent on the nose. Drinking wise it's like a big malty version of a session ale, kind of similar to the Hitachino XH but without any of the strange notes imparted by the barrel aging and the like that goes through. This is more conventional in a way despite its method of making and clearly accomplished nature, a good strong malt driven big ale played to the music sheet. The finish is reasonably quick and it's balanced to boot although the sweetness does drag it down over time.

Nice beer, maybe not up to expectations, but then maybe the expectations and hype have in fact done it in in a sense. Pleasant and would happily drink again - but not sure it's revolutionary. 7.5

The Mash Collective Amasia Rumweizen

The first beer from that coven of crafty brewers, the Mash Collective.

Otherwise known as another beer from Stone & Wood essentially - just these ones tend to be more, well, inventive.

True to form this first beer is a rumweizen, made with molasses and rum thrown in. It's pretty attractive looking but doesn't generate a great deal of head on the pour and appears a little oily, possibly due to the additives.

The aroma leaves no secrets as to a certain wheat-based heritage, quite bitey and inviting. Taste wise it does manage to generate the banana and rum notes they were going for. I didn't encounter much molasses before it rounds off with a spirit-like warming conclusion which hits cleanly and disippates without lingering.

It's an interesting experiment this and seems to have come together pretty well with no real out of place notes. Would I drink it all the time though? Probably not. 6.0

Stone & Wood Jasper Ale

Nice label on this one - it's gently embossed, and actually matches the hue of the beer pretty closely also.

The aroma too suggests good things to come initially but there's also a bit of a metallic twinge that really derails the smoothness up to this point. It's a bit like finding half a worm in your apple. Or your fish.

Happily the beer itself performs well to taste: amber, malty, slightly spicy, and with a lovely nutty / bready finish that is the real star of the show. It's not a refreshing sort of a beer - more a wintery flat companion brew - but could maybe do with a bit more body to this end also as it's relatively light in pushing just 4.7 abv.

Not a bad effort, would happily drink again but loses points for the nose. 6.5

Murrays Big Wednesday

Sigh. Murrays.

I don't mean to be overly harsh here, but I feel the fact I evened ordered another beer from this frankly overrated brewer probably explains the lack of notes about it in my phone.

Apparently, it was too much like tea. Dredging my memory banks yields further dismay regarding the limp mouthfeel, head and body. So I may be doing this beer a slight disservice here but based on a history of misbehaviour I'm going with a classy 5.0

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

Murray's Shawn's Fault Black IPA

I have to say, this is just about the final chance for Murray's after a run of pretty poor results.

This .. is not bad. Nice pour, good frothy head. It's a dark brown colour and 7.5%. Some (all?) of Murray's previous efforts had struggled to hide the alcohol: this does a bit better job at it.

Taste wise it's more porter than anything.. bit of malt in there too. Quite passable, not a chore but without being all that impressive, particularly given the mysteriously high price point. Goodbye Murray. 7.0

William's Organic Pale Ale

William and I have jousted at various bottleshops for some time now but he finally got the better of me in Melbourne.

Old fashioned bottle. But what does 'organic' mean?

Initial bottle smell is agreeably malty. I expected it to pour quite dark but instead it's very very light indeed. Head dissipates disappointingly.

Taste wise I get green apple more than anything, it's quite unique. Little bit of citrus too, edge of something like white wine? Pretty refreshing.

This is very much an Australian Pale Ale in the mould of Coopers and resembles that more than anything. Efforts to compare it to American / English style examples will fall flat.

I enjoyed this quite a lot. Would be interested to see if it's a session beer also; may rise slightly if so. 7.0

Murray's Spartacus

Woof, a beer out of the Murray's corner, weighing in at 10%.

Pours heavy as one might expect, nose is a bit frightening, texture is oily. I feel like they've tried to throw a malty blanket over the alcohol and not quite covered some corners of it. It slips out at the end and ruins your perfectly good picnic.

Is this really an IPA? What does 'imperial' mean? Where are the feted hops (outside of a bit of citrus character and indistinct bitterness)? All unanswered.

A beer for laying down and avoiding. 6.0

Boston's Mill Pale Ale

Took a bit of research to find out what I was actually drinking here haha. Bar staff seemed puzzled when my boss asked what sort of pale ale it was .."it's pale ale". "Er yes but .. um .. well what company?"

Quite a fruity nose. If I had to make a call on it I'd say it's an APA in the style of Atomic and the like, but the brewer claims it's English instead. Fair enough I guess.

In any case it's malty and fruity if a little empty, pleasant but light hopping. Didn't make me screech about Pride of Ringwood at all so that's a plus. Pretty drinkable I found. Had 3 more in an hour before jumping the taxi just to make sure. And yes it's a 6.5.

Murray's Porter

Murray's porter has been in fridges all over the place tempting me with its quite exorbitant (for an Aus 350ml beer) price tag. I finally noticed it was 8% and that was enough to push me over the line.

OK 8% is not a small amount. But shit it tells you all about it at all stages through the mouthful. I've had much stronger beers say much less about their ethanol.. seems clumsy rather than intentional. It's less a warming alcohol and more a front of mouth blast quite intrusive to taste.

Outside of that.. it's attractive enough in a pitch sort of way. Aroma mostly burnt smokey odours. Sits light in the glass and out of the bottle though - the antithesis of viscous. More like a dark ale than a porter? Little bit of choc, rounds out coffeeish.

In all though what's there isn't good, and you have to slog through a watery, alcohol dominated mouthful of unpleasantness to get there. Can't see getting this again. 2.0

Lord Nelson Brewery Three Sheets Pale Ale

Pretty involved artwork on this one, but turns out it's from an old brewpub on the rocks in Sydney.

Consensus is it smells like vanilla fudge.. odd but not unpleasant. Bit of caramel in there. Low head, but that makes it quite drinkable.

Taste puts me in mind of some sort of dessert also, and the malt lingers chocolate style for a few seconds. I didn't find the sweetness too cloying or artificial though, quite enjoyed this really, not at all complex but a bit different. It's never going to be your best mate but it's a bit of fun from time to time.

7.0

Murray's Angry Man Pale Ale

Another ferociously popping bottle from Murray's. You want a fight, angry man?

No, no it doesn't. Instead it's pretty saccharine sweet and floral, almost powdery grainy sweetness. It's a little fizzy I guess if that counts, but apart from that it's among the more gentle beers I've met. Beers need to stop being misleading with their bravado.

Um. Pleasant enough. Probably not really for me though. 6.5

4 Pines Kolsch

Hm. Pop went the cap and the aroma reminded me more of the lamentable Sunner effort than its heroic siblings at Eagle Bay / Duckstein and other places.

In fact there was a bit of sediment high in the bottle for this one also - not sure what that represents - but probably not a good thing. Perhaps this beer wasn't in top condition when it reached me. The head too was pretty vicious but also collapsed in on itself in strange ways. Really not sure this was in optimal shape.

Taste wise .. carbonation strikes first (possibly a product of the above) but gives way to a pleasant enough drop. It's quite quenching, a summer beer for sure, and light to the point of transparency. Bit more character and citrus flavour as it gets warmer.

This grew on me a little as I kept drinking .. but not a great deal. Perhaps the bottle was a little off, but not overly impressed. 5.0

4 Pines Stout

The first venture into 4 Pines, from whom I'd seen a bit but never tried.

This claims on the neck to be the world's first space beer - but as a marketing initiative it had pretty much the opposite effect on me at least. I almost didn't buy it due to this wankery - while I'm all for martian beer, what I want to buy myself personally is something that is bloody good down here on Urth.

Having said all that I'm very glad I did get this in the end - it's a dark chocolate based stout - sits heavy in the glass, sports a deep black hue, minor low head from the start, soon dissipates. Maybe the aeration & head are something to do with the space initiative? Wasn't a problem on our planet though, just made it easier to drink.

Burnt smoky flavour develops through the mouthful. Mostly cocoa flavours apart from that.

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Edit: tried this once more and bumped it down a bit, perhaps a bit overenthused the first time around due to it coming after a swathe of shit other beers. It's good but sort of lacking roundness (doesn't really develop as such like a good stout, bit too carbonated / light in terms of mouthfeel, bit waxy in terms of taste? 7.0

James Squires 150 Lashes Pale Ale

At last. The day of reckoning.

I'd had this on tap in Sydney several months ago and oddly enjoyed it - then came back and bought a carton in Perth only to hate every stinking last drop of it. This then would be the decider in a very fair setting - the lair of the foul brewer himself.

What can I say - this is pretty bloody horrible. Is it really a pale ale even or some sort of unpleasant hybrid lager? Light, fizzy, fluffy, and with no real taste outside of an offputting sour (rather than bitter) edge.

Above and beyond not delivering on any of its claims to be a craft beer (or even a premium beer) [or even a beer actually come to think of it], this is actually really very unpleasant as well.

"Never Forsake Flavour" eh Squires? Don't make me laugh. 1.0

Mad Brewers' Hoppy Hefe

After looking down the row of taps at this place and asking in vain for a porter, I ended up with the hoppy hefe brewed by Squires basically under a different name.

Bar staff said "it's 7% .. is that ok?" .. I almost laughed.

Hefeweizen is typically an unfiltered wheatbear with an often banana dominated flavour. This came out quite dark though oddly. Very little aroma either.

There's just a hint of banana in this one too but it's buried under sour citrus and possibly the insane carbonation also. I'm not sure where the hops were supposed to be. Not a lot of character throughout in fact.. just a kind of oddly placed bitterness. Can't think this is what the brewers were aiming for? I feel ripped off more than anything.

I didn't really get on with this beer at all. Sounds harsh but I can't think when I'd choose it again. 2.5

James Squires Stow Away IPA

Lack of places doing craft beer in Perth took us to James Squires. Can't say I was enthused but determined to give it a fair go after mixed recent experience.

First up the IPA. Floral hop aromas are pleasant, and it's an invigorating opaque orange colour too with an attractive laced head. Take a glug and it's citrus first, IPA flavours sure but kind of dumbed down somehow, very little lingering flavour from any direction and flat malt. 

A balanced beer with no real issues - but nothing to recommend it either. 5.5

HopDog Horns Up

HopDog! And filled up nearly to the cap in a bizarre display of bottling prowess.

It's a pine herbal nose, darkish pour and powdery head. Rye ipa hops from nz and the US apparently. Light for an IPA at 5.6%.

First sip: Wow. Nothing then bang hello, something.. hops hops hops -bitter- end. 70ibu seems an understatement.
Second sip: .. is this nectarine? Or peach?
Subsequent sips: NECTARINE! NECTARINE!! NEC - TAR - RINE!!!

It's all a bit overwhelming really. 6.0