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

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.

--

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

--

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

--

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

--

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

--

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

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

Apt.

--

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.

Storm Golden Ale

Number two from Storm, who with a bronze ale and a lager of some description from memory seem heavily stacked in the mid-range light drinking beer genre.

Bit more substance in the head as compared to their pale ale but still a bit weak in colouring. Visible aeration.

It's a something-nothing sort of beer this one.. there's a slightly golden (ie caramel / sweet malt) nose but not a lot else going on. Taste-wise it's much the same story, the elements of a golden ale have been assembled here to an extent but it's as if you're squinting at it from a distance, it's all rather indistinct and as a result, unsatisfying.

This is not a failure of a beer but I'd like to see them step up the malt presence to give it some heart and differentiate it from the pale ale and the rest of the stable further also.  4.0

Deschutes Twilight Summer Ale

Nice artwork on this one, and a really clear if headless pour too.

It's orange more than anything in fact. Smells quite nice too and backs it up with a sweet orange start.. but then suddenly I'm confronted with a bit of bog macro that's put me in mind of dirty laundry water to be honest.

Outside of that it's a relatively long and interesting development for a summer ale. Mouthfeel is good, clearly ale not lager and mid to low aeration but feels sessionable. Flavours develop a mild bite from the amarillo hops, into a sweet middle, and a powdery orange finish. Reminds me vaguely of Little Creatures' Bright Ale.

It's been a while since I've had a beer this divisive .. I love aspects of it but found it really hard going at times too.. think it needs another try. Preferably from a can, at a picnic, on the grass, in the sun.. 6.0

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

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

Beard and Brau Golden Paw

Back to those cheerful schnauzers from Adelaide. But oh dear.

Pretty bad smell to this, earthy, metallic, garbage, massive aeration and carbonation both when opened and when poured. Sour notes dominate the taste, artificial lager notes, not a lot that's golden. Bit puzzled how it won a silver medal somewhere?

I want to like these guys. But this is a 1.0 for sure.

Monteith's Sparkling Ale

I need to stop buying things just because they're from NZ. Case in point:

What about this is sparkling? It's stale and lamentable throughout, insipid in all ways, with no real redeeming qualities. Even the fact it was a 500ml turned out to be a downside in this case.

Terrible. 2.0

Red Hill Golden Ale

First swing at Red Hill, which is apparently allergic to photos.

Can't say I'm too great a fan of 'golden ale' usually anyway but this thing was a bit of a surprise in that it did more of a pilsner trick than anything else.

Aroma mostly of bittering hops, odd sort of flavour profile kind of like a kolsch, light malt finish. Not a lot to speak of in the way of flavour? And thus a short review, and a summary 3.0

Feral Golden Ace

Back to Feral once more for their Golden Ace, which along with the excellent Hop Hog has become pretty widely available in the west of late.

This one's built with the Sorachi Ace hop, a Japanese effort known for its lemony flavours which are apparent off the bat.

It's a bubblegum sort of lemon nose that casts me way back to when Boags used to put out a little beer called St George. Used to be considered a premium drop for us lager swilling young idiots. Looking back it was pretty unrefined - and so is this.

Can't say it's too enjoyable, there's a lack of character past the citrus burst and it all feels a bit, well, cheap. Except it isn't. 5.5.