Lobethal Bierhaus Red Truck Porter

Fresh (well, May 2012) bottle of the local SA porter. Well, the non-Coopers one.

This is a dark amber pour rather than black when you look at it in the light, reasonable head hangs on though a little loose. Nose is of chocolate first, fair bit of hops, little bit of metallics there too.

The mouthfeel is a bit too fizzy here, always a shame with a porter, ends in buzzing metalic alcohol but up until then, has a pretty decent choc porter character. It's not bad overall, just a bit nondescript - I've had far better porters, but far worse too. 6.0

Yeastie Boys + Lobethal Bierhaus Bruce

I have to admit I looked at the 3.5% abv on the menu with some disdain before ordering this one.

It came with a recommendation though and I'm glad I picked it up - great nose from the outset really lifts the spirits with both hops and barley present and accounted for. Nice caramel character there too.

Flavour-wise it's malt driven for the most part with some sweet cotton candy sort of notes. Slightly overcarbed I felt, but then for its aim of a low alc beer that's maybe not a bad thing. There's enough hop bitterness to push it over the norm for a bitter and crank up the interest level to something pretty good.

This is up there with Rogers and a couple others in quite rare territory at present: a mild beer that you actually want to drink. Good stuff. 7.5

Lobethal Bohemian Philsner

Hurr hurr, Philsner.

More importantly though it's both the first beer at what I'm told is an Adelaide institution The Wheatsheaf, and the first tap beer from Lobethal Bierhaus, part of what is an increasingly endangered species of Adelaide breweries.

Additionally, it's pretty good for a Pilsner and slid down very nicely after the 4.5km walk to get to this place. Good looking beer, pretty nondescript nose but a good bite first up then clean finish. Pilsner.

Good stuff! 7.0

Lobethal Bierhaus India Pale Al

Believe it or not it's Top Gear in the background.. missed the Stig by about 1 frame.

I'd been keen to try these guys if only because they seem to be one of about 2 (McLaren the other) breweries actually still operating in SA (if you don't count wineries) .. even Beard n Brau has now relocated to QLD by the sounds.

So.. traditional 'bierhaus' name, beer called 'India Pale Al' of all things, label that looks more like a Christmas spiced seasonal than a refreshing ale, described as "hoppy british ale". Very clear pour but a bit sort of dull, small head. The malts are more pronounced than the hops on the nose in fact but ol' lupulus comes back in the taste. It's not apparent front of mouth early in the tasting but does appear from the midpoint as an indistinct burst of bitterness, somewhat muffled by the predominant barley flavours. Bottled Dec 2011 so while not fresh, not dead either.

If you quaff this, there's an instant where you feel some fruits but it is gone in a flash. I'm well aware these English variants aren't the hop wagon that American style efforts often are, but it's nevertheless a little indistinct and underdone for mine. That's not to say it's bad beer - it's just really not hit the spot for a beer marketed as IPA - UK or otherwise. And I'm still unsure why it's called Al. Hi Al! 5.5