8 Wired Super Conductor Double IPA

Oho, what have we here.. a DIPA based on the excellent Hopwired? Count me in.

It's certainly a seductive nose, with the hopwired heritage very much evident. I've said before I don't think NZ hops alone can generally carry a good IPA / DIPA, so it's mouthwatering to pick out the green lushness of NZ here mixed in with the sharper citric notes of their USA cousins. It's the perfect combination as far as I'm concerned.

Taste-wise this is just as bitter as you'd hope, but it's rounded thanks to the above and evolves through the mouthful to stay exciting and delicious throughout. Malts are just right - not lacking in any way, but not too obtrusive either, just a backing canvas to slash hop juice all over.

This one's obviously that bit bigger than its IPA counterpart, but still exudes that brilliant balance key to the style. Looks great, smells great, tastes great. Truly excellent - just need to try it side by side with Hopwired to see which one is better. Buy it. 9.0

Moon Dog Black Lung II

Another spirit aged stout - this time a revisit of a past brew with new edits and improvements.

My critique of the first one drew comment from other bloggers at the time, haha. But that's what's great about beer - it's alive, and is affected not only by palate and personal preference, but also by age within batches, and various things between batches too.

I found this second swing to be a bit more successful than the first - whisky more evident initially on the nose along with slight peat, and again that big chocolate. It's sweet up front, but moulds into peaty whisky barrels, and wooden dry spirit notes.

There's a bit more of a roasty edge here this time that I didn't really pick up on in the first, and it helps it to be a bit more easy going and less cloying over time. Evolution, you might say. 7.0

Peter Piper's Pickled Pepper Purple Peated Pale Ale

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the lads from Moon Dog are back again and writing big cheques.

This time, they've teamed up with Yeastie Boys - themselves not known for introversion - and come out with something that starts with 'ambitious' and takes it up a couple notches for good measure. Beer with peat, and (capsicum) peppers, and god knows what else in it.

It's a pretty fruity nose that builds around a middle core of peat. Xerrex this ain't but it's definitely present. Big sticky head looks good though the body itself is a dark bruised shade of brown amber. Kind of purple, I guess?

The first mouthful is obtrusively carbonated which is a shame, as it fights against the peat and the wider complexity of the beer. Having said that it isn't really as berserk as expected - more like a really nice peat ale than what the label might suggest, and probably far more sessionable than you'd think. The carbonation is the only real downer.. I can see why they'd do it to combat the natural oiliness of peat, but in practice it's a bit overwhelming.

So yes, session peat beer with chillies. Wait, it's 9%? 8.0

SorAlaMA Oooh! Barleywine

As soon as I saw Barleywine on the menu my eyes lit up and I'd plotted my course to this beer from when I first entered the pub. The time was now to finally enjoy it.

Except, two things combined to ruin this supposedly epiphanous moment. The first was the beer itself. This is both the worst barleywine I've ever had, and probably not a barleywine. It's 8.1% abv so just squeaking into the appropriate scale, but that's not where I have the issue. It's quite a cloudy brown sort of colour rather than amber and puts out a scent that's far too sweet. It's an artificial, candy sort of smell with a green grape edge in there and nail polish alcohol to boot.

My first thought on tasting it was that I should have ordered a smaller glass. It has a character of tart fruit and sugar, mildly reminiscent of Japanese umeshu. The flat mouthfeel is smooth enough but this is oddly sour, dry, solvent-like and just downright unpleasant. It's not a hopped up US Barleywine, or a pleasantly malty / smooth and deep English variant. I'm not one to protect beer class definitions by any means but this is no barleywine. I just don't know what to call it instead.

The second thing to ruin the experience was the staff. Yes, I turned up on a weeknight and maybe I'm spoiled at the excellent Sail and Anchor but witness this exchange:

Staffer: "What are you drinking there?"
Me: "A pretty bad barleywine, unfortunately"
Staffer (confused): "Oh, have you been to Bali then?"

Cue momentary confusion and massive facepalm. It's written on your damn menu board for chrissakes, apart from anything else. It's like serving these freaks continuously ordering cider and James Boag's Premium Light has rotted either the brains or the enthusiasm of most here.

Oh and Russian Imperial Stouts aren't necessarily from Russia either you idiots.

2.0

Epic Hop Zombie

Alright, another beer with a reputation and a frenzied swarm snapping it up as soon as it arrives on our fair shores.

This time, the bottle label glows in the dark in keeping with the theme of those dead prowlers of the night - nice touch.

But yes, this is a big fresh hop NZ DIPA and proclaims it from the first whiff. The 8.5% qualifies it for its class but in person it's really not that heavy on the palate or in the glass. It's a subjective note and appearance only of course but I actually found it a little too clear in fact, and would prefer it to be a bit sort of better bodied. It also comes across quite sweet on the palate for mine, fruity, with that aromatic dense green sort of character these NZ-only hop wagons can produce.

I've become a bit ambivalent about NZ-centric efforts like this of late and find often, the experience of just their hops can be a little cloying as you progress through the glass. There are some ripper hops from our neighbours of course but in terms of balance, I'm not sure they're suited to 'big hop' beers.

To me if I was after a lush and balanced IPA I'd go with Hop Manna or similar over this in a heartbeat just due to the overall package and lack of lopsidedness. If I was after a double or imperial IPA, I'd go with something with at least some US hoppage as to my palate at least, they deliver a far crisper performance despite - or perhaps because of - the clean bitterness and therefore feel a lot more drinkable to me.

So, I'm a bit disappointed here unfortunately and can't really see where the hype is coming from. Sad - I wanted this to be awesome but it's just not. 7.0

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Dogfish Head seem to be a brewer renowned for 'hit-or-miss' sorts of efforts around the traps.

They're also probably a little confusing to the layman with their different 'n minute' versions of the IPA series for example - certainly were to me at least to begin with. Still, in this case at least they've produced a real beauty. Just to look at this beer is a celebration of brewing .. if you're on board with lacing (whether scientifically, or just like me because it looks purrty) you'll love this as it clings all over the place.

Fruity, juicy notes in the taste here make it a really refreshing, massively drinkable beer. It's not full on powerful imperial stuff, nor is it overly bitter, but just hits a nice middle ground at a very respectable 9.0% abv.

Not too much more to say here - it's a genuinely pleasurable drink this all the way. Now we just need to figure out how to "single constant 90 minute hop addition" and do it in our homebrewing.. 8.0

Wigram Russian Imperial Stout

Nice packaging! And the bottle itself is a bomber of sorts after all.

Presentation top notch out of the bottle too - looks great, lovely lasting creamy iced coffee coloured head, perfect RIS performance. The nose has a slight bitter edge with a little less fruit sweetness than you might expect from this style - although it could well be in keeping with the relatively restrained 8.5%.

On swigging you can expect a pleasant flat mouthfeel, creamy notes, and coffee the main characteristic here from start to finish and indeed beyond. Slight soy notes mingle with the roasty toasty bitterness. It's got good presence for the abv and while not the most complex in this class, delivers a very smooth and easy drinking experience.

The only hard work in this beer is not drinking it too fast as it telepathically calls you back for another sip seemingly as soon as you've put it down. You're only drinking 20ml at a time of course, but when you pick up the glass 35 times a minute...

Great stuff, would drink again. 8.5

Uncommon Brewers Siamese Twin Ale

Okie doke, the next in the can series from Uncommon Brewers.

This one sticks to the tried and true ingredients of coriander, kaffir lime, and lemongrass. Tried and true for thai curries that is .. unsure how these piquant building blocks of Thai flavour will perform here, especially when coupled with the belgian yeast which I have to say was an odd choice in the circumstances.

Pours darker than expected, certainly an unusual aroma alright, though it was sort of expected given the recipe. Alcohol present, along with orange crystallised fruit notes.

The main taste elements I got here were grape-like notes, followed by the belgian yeast and a sweet malt finish, not a lot of sign of the spicier / herbal elements that were promised outside of that peppery coriander witbier backing number. The beer overall is quite sweet and sticky, and I found that a bit trying progressing through the can.

Certainly not a session beer, but not that great of a one-off experience either. I'd like to try a peeled back version at possibly a bit lower abv and using a different yeast bill to provide an environment in which the thai additions could really shine. As is, it's more like a spicy funky dubbel than anything else. Unique? 5.5

Red Hill Imperial Stout

An imperial stout, pouring a carapace as solid and black as a roll of strategically placed gaffer tape.

So - that's one tick. There's a disappointing lack of head from this one though, only a slight patina of red mocha visible for a split second at the start. A little low for an Imperial at just 8.1%.

Initial thoughts on the aroma take me to the lands of the chocolate vanilla porter, but there's a bit of backing body there too. The problem with this body is it's lurking in the shadows holding a blunt rusty knife made of acetone and other stray tendrils. Hmm. Feeling a bit ill at ease now but all you can do is continue down that alley..

The flavour profile of this beer starts off quite nice, coffee notes evident up front, along with a muted parade of raisiny imperial notes. They too seem a little subdued in the context of that serial killer Acetone and his quiet but strangely insidious intimations of unripe fruit and off notes.

I think it's the hop profile in this beer that creates this odd edge rather than anything untoward in the beer's creation, but I couldn't help wishing they'd just left it alone and let the deeper choc / coffee notes do their job unharrassed. 4.0 3.0

Haandbryggeriet Dubbel Dose (Dubbel Dram)

One of those beers that sticks in the memory, in this case enough to buy once more to reconfirm before reviewing.

Second bottle frothed a fair bit but the first was sedate. In both cases you get a sense of the beer philosophy here as you pour - quite different to your (nowadays) typical big-US-hops IPA, this instead delivers a more deep european scape of being. Lots of sediment in the bottle in line with a big 9% abv. Brewed Oct 10 and in this case best around now I feel, though it would be interesting to try a fresh one and see how much the hops stand out when they are in their prime.

The star of this beer at this age as you will have guessed is not the juicy wet hops. Though the muskiness of the hops is a part of this story and help define it as an IPA, this is more about those roasty raisin, coffee and booze notes you get on the nose. Beautiful sticky mouthfeel to this beer puts me in mind of those euro dark beers that deliver such a heavy smooth experience that lingers and stays with you even from the smallest sip.

There's a fair bit of booze here but I feel it's part of the experience in this case, rather than a clumsily delivered hit of accidental alcoholism. Along with the sticky wave of lacy head it all stays with you as you progress through the bottle.. a real comforting experience to savour over an hour or more. Make sure you give this some time out of the fridge before serving as it excels at the 10-12C mark.

I really enjoyed this beer on both occasions - it's a very different experience to what has become the typical 'IPA' and may come as a surprise for that reason, but once you meet this fine gentleman you're certain to find you share some things in common. 9.0

Rogue Double Mocha Porter

A special bottle, this one, presented in inimitable Rogue-like fashion. So, what does the blue potion do?

Well, it pours a svelte, attractive looking opaque black body with a sticky tan head for a start. Looks fantastic, and gives off a nose that tends more toward imperial raisins, dark fruits and heavy malts than coffee as such at first, despite the mocha badging.

For a porter at 8.2% this delivers a relatively light mouthfeel, but is nevertheless full of lipsmacking levels of flavour. Dark chocolate is definitely a component here as is coffee, which lingers beautifully after you swallow. Very nice stuff. It's relatively simple compared to a lot of big 'imperial' dark beers, but does what it's trying to do well.

Looking at the bottle you can see they've used their own micro hops and malts in this, along with 'pacman' yeast.. all of which sounds very pleasing. "Free range coastal water" on the other hand .. well, while I have to say I'm relieved the water wasn't forcibly bound in a cage without room to scratch, feed or dustbathe, this could be interpreted as, let us say, total wank.

Regardless - fine, highly enjoyable beer likely to appeal to all sorts of people. 8.5

Dogfish Head Midas Touch

Interesting drop this, supposedly built on our limited knowledge of what old King Midas may have been gargling back in the day.

To that end Dogfish Head have thrown in white Muscat grapes, honey, and saffron to produce an ancient ale of sorts at a redoubtable 9.0% abv. Pour is slightly cloudy, low but resilient head, lowish aeration, reasonably attractive.

There's a lot going on here with all the different flavours but the grape element is certainly evident in both nose and taste, and there is a certain mead-like quality present too. I found the booze a little too assertive on the palate throughout the glass from cold through to when it warmed and that made things a bit tough going at times. Spicelike qualities and sweet malt pretty dominant throughout.

Apart from that, another interesting experiment in beer, if clearly not for everyone. Perhaps they should have added gold? 7.0

Bridge Road B2 Bomber Black Belgian IPA

Where better to spend your time in Melbourne CBD than at Beer DeLuxe?

Hard to argue with that line of logic based on this one as sat alongside some peking duck, this was a real treat and thoroughly enjoyed throughout.

There may be a certain element of cloudy nostalgia based on the last time I was at this venue, but this one does actually share a fair bit of similarity with the excellent Mikkeller Dark Harvest collaboration recently on the taps. Beautiful roasty character is dominant here again but with a few tweaks from that drop also.

Solid black with just a tint of brown, it glowers heavyset in the glass. A nice bone mocha head serves up roasty hop and malt character but little else - Belgium is not dominant on the nose, but does come through about midway through the mouthful with an interesting punch of yeasty flavour before a crisp, clean finish that leaves you wanting more.

Dry, roasty, earthy, hoppy. Delicious and highly recommended if you see it on tap. 8.5

Little Creatures Day of the Long Shadow

Hooray, another single batch effort from Mitsubishi err hang on Kirin oops I mean Lion Nathan ahm Little Creatures.

Another bush shack logo adorns another single batch - but this one promises to be quite different again as a spiced winter ale weighing in at a more than respectable 8.9%.


This pours a lovely scorched amber, becoming lighter in direct light, one of the few beers to elucidate words of approval from my normally reticent (when it comes to beer visuals at least) wife. Aeration seems spot on right away, it's flat with just enough oomph to power a thick and defined head, but doesn't need to be left alone to settle before you plow right in.


An aroma of initially earthy UK hops, and a burst of cinnamon and fivespice assails the nostrils pre the first bite. The taste initially shows slight bitterness and a ripe fruity yeast, which is soon overtaken by a sneaking suspicion the 8.9% alc is going to burst in and ruin everything but - rejoice - spices arrive on cue to save the day. Indeed, cinnamon and friends ensure this is pretty mellow through the midsection and onwards. It feels like you're just relaxing in that fivespice armchair waiting for the crash that never comes.

Finish is quite nutty, bit of biscuit and dry caramel, well suited to style, quick to depart save a warming but unobtrusive throat alc note.. truly a winter fireside warmer. Sweetness is restrained throughout and to me, this is key to maintaining drinkability here. Fine work.

Overall this is perhaps not quite as complex as one may have expected but smooth and comforting nevertheless. Quite the swansong, if indeed that's what it is. 


Let's hope not. 8.0

[Nøgne Ø / 8 Wired / Renaissance] Ø for Awesome Imperial Amber Ale

Well, it's certainly wrapped up the longest title on the record for a start.

First impressions are great too - the dull bone head and brown, amber tinged ale body heighten expectation of something special here. Nose is slightly hot but otherwise more or less what it says on the tin: dark imperial amber malts and muted fruit backing.

Initial reaction on tasting is that it comes across like a cross between a barleywine and a solid fruity brown ale. A bit of caramel develops in the mid body as it warms before it delivers a quite strong bitter fruit finish. There's a constant and competent backing bassline of malting and alc throughout.

This beer is intensely flavoursome and interesting, but somehow just a little spiky in places which limits it from either drinking with great glee, or in great amounts. I get the feeling this was close to utter brilliance - not a great surprise given the quality of the brewers involved. 7.5

Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

I'm starting to feel pretty confident picking up big stouts and porters from anywhere in Scandinavia.

Happily this is another fine example from the big man at Nøgne Ø. It starts off with a nice pour, residing solid and deep black in the glass very much to style. The head is mocha with that slight reddish tinge I love to see from beers of this providence.


Roasty tones are immediately apparent from the nose, which comes through very rounded and hitting all the right imperial notes. There's a bit of booze present, ever so slightly disproportionate to the 9.0% abv.

Mouthfeel is again exactly to style - yet another dark euro effort that just feels so comfortable and accomplished, deliberate in its flavours and above all mouthfeel. There's an inherent silkiness of body here that you can just tell others are trying for on occasion but very rarely succeeding. Very good indeed.

It's not a subtle drop, instead confidently delivering what it has to say from the books of roast coffee, licorice, and indeed booze. A little hot perhaps but delicious once again, top drop. A yardstick brew both for the brewery, and the style. 8.0

Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

A nice quiet introduction to this Norwegian brewer with a double imperial wheat stout.

Wait, what?

For a beer so removed from the norm, this doesn't really show it with a lovely mocha coloured vortex-like head atop a solid black body. The aroma likewise is largely in line with typical imperial stout characteristics though there is an element of clean, non-fruity booze and a slight edge of what could possibly be the wheat in there also.

First reaction on sipping is a bit of soy that keeps on through the mouthful. There's sufficient malt backing and imperial malt fruit there too, but it all seems a bit more 'front of mouth' than the norm for the more rounded (.. or maybe just non-wheat) examples of this style.

After the initial shock it's more or less a regulation imperial stout, just perhaps a bit cleaner, a bit lighter, and a bit .. well, less good. In saying that though I fully approve of this effort to do something different and it's far from a failure, delivering a solid body and some nice roasty flavours in there along the way. Interesting - a good effort. 7.5

Lagunitas Maximus

Lions and gladiuses (gladii?) and, well, turbo versions of standard IPAs.

Oddly the nose on this one put me in mind of that other roman pretender (I'm prepared to admit it's just in my mind) - admittedly though at 8.2% this is a bit down on the big ten percenter. It's also a fair bit better -
there's a lightness of character and citrus component that's quite light and drinkable, belying what the heavy malt nose would suggest.

Mid way through you do get a reasonable hit of booze, and its inert character and lack of head makes it a little bit medicine-like in appearance, but overall it is quite drinkable and doesn't get carried away with its theme to the detriment of the beer itself. Would try again if it weren't for the multitude of better options in this bracket. 7.5

Cavalier DIPA

Oho, now this is a DIPA.

That nose! It's enormous! Truly a big beer at 9% and clearly a very fresh batch to boot.

Kind of like their last effort, this doesn't quite live up to the promise - but this time, not by much. Taste brings caramel, a bit of heat, mandarin and passionfruit but it all falls just shy of that majestic 'buckets of hops' smell that really builds your anticipation before the first drop has even left the glass. It was a common refrain around my table at least that there was just not quite enough bitterness and bite in the taste to really sate the desire you've built up.

Still, it's far from a bad beer, and I look forward to trying some more of what these guys are producing. 8.0

Dupont Moinette Brune

Had to do a bit of research on this one after drinking to find out what it actually was.

Brown, clearly - but of the Belgian persuasion. It's a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, or just a Dubbel depending on where you look. Either way it sits patiently in the glass for you to reach from your recliner next to the fireplace and grasp it from next to your book, cigar and monocle resting on the mahogany side table.

Taste brings nuts and dark fruits, kind of brandy-like flavours, replete with that alcoholic warmth and somewhat reminiscent of Christmas cake. All of which I found fascinating and remarkably drinkable over two outings so far.

I'm not yet a massive fan of heavy Belgians but more like this I'll take gladly. 8.0