Lindemans Faro Lambic

A new type of lambic to try - this one's a Faro, which I gather are generally sweetened and diluted versions of the proper sort.

I'm not sure what if anything was used to season this one but the caramel input's certainly come through to change the typical lambic development. The aroma is still sour with berry notes, but it also smells a bit more like a beer than normal.

Taste too is restrained, somewhat sweeter than the norm and somehow artificial because of it. The sourness takes a back seat in this and there's a sense you're drinking something a bit more like a cordial cocktail than anything else. It's sticky, and a bit artificial.

I suppose you could make a case for this as a sort of training wheels assisted pathway beer to the world of sours - but I'm not sure you're giving the right message.

It's probably more to do with the style than the creation of this beer but I didn't much enjoy it. Go the whole unadulterated thing or don't do it at all. 4.0

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

La Sirène Saison

Great bottle and label.

I was quite surprised to see it was Australian actually - no disrespect to domestic producers, but this is a quite different approach to any other I have seen. Perhaps it's a good thing to help raise beer in the public consciousness to its rightful artsy state - but the beer will need to deliver too of course.

This is quite strongly carbonated and fizzes dramatically despite a sedate upbringing and weeks in the fridge. The nose is predominately lemon citrus and backing spice, not much funky yeast character as such.

Taste-wise it feels a bit faint on the whole, nice farmhouse bite first up, but a little watery, and lacking real funk that would push it closer to greatness. I feel like this is pretty smashable quaffing or session-wise as it finishes quite dry, but there's other beers that do that and they may give you a bit more delight along the way too.

Good try, not quite there yet. 5.5

Bear Republic Black Racer Black IPA

Bear Republic have been pretty solid so far, clearly a good brewery doing good things.

This is a variant of the popular Racer 5 but blackened up considerably. I found it a bit maltier than usual for this style, quite chocolatey but tasty overall. There's the barest hint of chili here if you stare at it in the right way.. maybe just miscategorised spice. Hop bite is present but as it warms, gets a little jagged.

I can't really put my finger on it but there's something about this that's just a bit less compelling than a lot of the other things Bear Republic do. It's a Black IPA certainly and quality beer, but just missing the mark somewhere with the overall feel and balance of flavours. Reasonable if there's nothing else going. 6.0

Nøgne Ø Imperial Brown Ale

You don't often see Imperial Brown ales, which is a bit of a shame in my book.

Then again, this one tips in at 7.5% which is not really that much higher than others you'd call a standard brown. In this case, it's more a style guide than a marker of potency.

It's certainly darker than normal - I have seen (admittedly disappointing) porters lighter than this. Nice tan bonce on it too. Taste and aroma are more or less what you'd expect I suppose .. or what you'd hope for. It's got a lasting coffee character throughout the mouthful, and delivers toasty roasty fun all over the place. There is a sense of porter in the taste as well to be honest, just in the way the mouthfeel, carb and alcohol are delivered but I think it's squarely in style.

In the space this occupies, it competes with a bunch of imperial stouts and the like as well but this holds its own as something unique and pleasant, if not revolutionary. Recommended. 7.5

Holgate Double Trouble

Just when you think you've tried all of Holgate's beers .. they pull you back in.

This one's a Dubbel by designation - admittedly a fair bit less complex than a lot of true Belgian efforts - but easy drinking, chewy and flavoursome. I get a lot of chocolate in this but melded with caramel / toffee and just a faint edge of rum. Add in a complex malty nose and a nice balanced, meshed character from a bit of time in the bottle and you've got a pleasant beer indeed.

I only noticed it was 8% deep into the bottle. Say what you like about it being an 'abbey ale', but I think it best to judge it on what it is than what it isn't. Great work again, grab a bottle and check it out even if you're not generally a Belgian beer freak.  8.0

Southwark Old Stout

Old stout, and looks it too.

In fact it kind of put me in mind of another regional stout I had on the road.. though this one has a bit more of a legacy reputation. In fact, looking at ratebeer it's pretty highly regarded indeed.

I found it far better than the aforementioned invalid, but nothing that special. It's a solid black pour supposedly based on an old English Russian Imperial recipe, but seemingly more often regarded as a Foreign Extra Stout and to my mind it fits the second category more naturally.

Aroma is of chocolate, bitter hops and slight alcohol. Mouthfeel is pretty highly carbonated for the style but then it's captaining a phalanx of blasting alcohol that comes at you after an initial dry cocoa introduction. It's complex but better than most and you'd think with a bit of label-work and redistribution via the Lion Nathan empire, could be selling a few bottles elsewhere. I'd like to see it racked over coffee for a while and see what that does..  6.0

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

Mornington Russian Imperial Stout

Need something to wash the mouth out after that last crime against humanity - lucky we have the ever reliable Mornington to help out.

Nice pour, couple cm of solid fluffy head atop a pitch black body. Coffee notes extrude first up but once you get closer there's a fair bit of fruitiness there too.

It comes across very fresh first up on the palate, perhaps this is still a bit young. Alcohol and yeast are certainly apparent as the wave subsides there too, along with coffee and some relatively harsh hops. All in all could use at least a few months more to think about things, mesh and meld a little better to attain its full character.

It's sedate and the mouthfeel is good so I'm confident this will grow into a nice beer. I can only rate what's in front of me though and at this stage - just needs a bit more time. 5.5

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

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

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

Pretty Things Jack D'Or Saison

Fair bit of anticipation for this one after Pretty Thingseses' auspicious debut.

This is a change of pace as a 'Saison Americaine'. At 6.5% it's perhaps on the lighter side of things for (modern) Saison and pours an indistinct orange hue with a very low slightly disappointing head.

The aroma is of orange peel first and foremost and a cast of big spice in the background. Taste pretty much follows those lines, bit of green pear there too but the mouthfeel is quite oily and without any sourness / funk / carbonation to cut through it, it gets a bit heavy. Lasting spice is a nice touch, and it does have a quenching sort of finish to slake a thirst.

I want to like this more but, while there's not a lot wrong, it's just a bit sort of standard. 7.0

Epic Zythos

Another in the seeming storm of IPAs gathering over Auckland.

This one's different as it uses a new strain of hops named Zythos strangely enough. Apparently, that's a Greek version of an Egyptian word for beer. And you can put this Gregyptian 'beer' in with some other stuff, grains and what-not, to make beer. Makes sense, right?

This one presents pretty well, good looking and enticing, nice aroma of - to me at least - NZ and US hops. Perhaps it's a blend? There's a bit of a US twist on the taste too, but you'd have no trouble picking the origin I feel, it's grassy rather than bitter, bit of sort of bready grainy aftertaste too.

The hop combination and backbone here comes together nicely for mine and - again in contrast to ratebeer seemingly - I think this is therefore a better beer than some of their others. Very pleasant indeed. 7.5

McLaren Vale IPA

A rare IPA from South Australia, bright bottle looks good.

It's got good strong US / maybe Australian citrusy hops smell out of the bottle too. Once it's in the glass, malt is more apparent. It's a reasonable looking pour, decent head to boot. Nice work so far.

Taste-wise, this is a beer thattriestotalkabouteverythingallatonce and it's a bit confronting. Rather than having stages, it's like there's a burst of all different fruits, passionfruit and stonefruit in particular just jump in the door three stooges style and the balance kind of suffers as a result. I think it could stand to be a little maltier too, comes across as a little on the watery side which promotes a sweet fruit, almost berry vibe at times.

Not a bad beer - but not memorable or comforting either. 6.0

Grottenbier Bruin

So, a petite bottle of oud bruin which I believe is put together by that king-of-the-witbiers, he of Hoegaarden fame, Pierre Celis.

Oh also it's been aged in a grotto which certainly contributes a whole new layer of funky flanders magic. The aroma in particular is nicely sour and, while it's not as prominent on the taste, there are some plumlike traces that combine with the confident brown notes (?) to form a nice companion to have a chat with.

It's not the sort of beer that shouts about what it's doing - instead it's quite reserved, a soft conversationalist. If you take the time to listen though you'll find all sorts of interest. 8.0

Bear Republic Pete Brown Tribute Ale

Big bodied brown here, gives the impression of more than its stated 6.5%.

Its dark heavy brown-amber body pumps out a slightly too-sweet nose that made me fear a bit for the balance of the beer, but first impression is not too bad. Nutty, chocolatey sort of rich brown character, and flavoursome.

At this sort of low % I like a US Brown to be sessionable - ie either hoppy (to an extent) or dry enough so that you can send it back with efficiency. This beer's a bit too sweet for that and gets cloying quite quickly. Not bad beer, but not quite to my taste either. 7.0

Haandbrygerriet Bavarian Weizen

Unfortunate dark photo. These beers cost money y'know so it's the power that has to go.

This beer is Haand's effort at producing a Bavarian Weissbier with a wheat yeast, yielding in their words less banana, and more tartness than usual. Sounds like a nice approach to me with the potential to combine the strengths, and assuage the weaknesses of a couple of promising styles.

This bottle while in code was not the freshest, but the pour performed nicely with an opaque body and lemon / citrus / coriander head. It may be the age but I found a really pleasant malty quality to this beer, slightly unexpected from a weizen. The wheat yeast does its job too to keep it crisp and clean but still characterful.

Carbonation got in the way a little bit here, too strong front of mouth before the comparatively heavy body arrives, but again could be a symptom of the less than fresh bottle. Regardless, this is not your typical sort of Weizen perhaps but I find I kind of like it. 7.5

Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple Dark Norse Ale

Sometimes a variety of factors (low light, elapsed time, my own shocking lack of care) combine to mean a beer's mugshot ends up some distance from what it actually looks like in, you know, reality.

In this case though what you see is genuinely what you get - it's a massive 11% imperial stout that glugs like an oil spill with an almost studious evasion of any carbonation whatsoever.  

My notes for the nose on this one include the phrase 'complex Christmas chocolate' along with shortbread and other assorted biscuitry. On the palate though it's a mixture of complex and straightforward that takes a bit of time to understand. The label certainly confirms it's a beer they've tried to keep very simple recipe-wise (think stacks of choc malt), but the sheer bulk of it coupled with their use of wild yeast gives it a thoughtful sort of quality too. I got a fair bit of alc coming through on this, not all of it pleasant.

Our local bottle-o informs us that each time they get a batch of this, one particular customer turns up and purchases almost all of it right away, so it's certainly got some fans. For me, an interesting experiment but not one I'll be searching out again in the near future. 7.0

Mikkeller Spontanredcurrant

What do we have here - a strong 7.7% lambic from the gypsy himself.

Pours a guava sort of colour out of the bottle and produces a very tart impression of berries and sour green apple aroma. That's pretty much what's delivered on the palate for you also - big crisp sourness along with astringent unripe berries, and a wheat backing note. Sort of reminds me of an alter ego to Feral's Watermelon Warhead but a bit more pronounced and intense of course at nearly three times the alcohol content. Crisp finish, tart throughout, consistently makes you pucker through the glass.

It's like an abusive master this, smashes your lips in with the acidic astringency but once it's done you find yourself heading back for more. Morally questionable perhaps but satisfying all the same. 8.0

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.

Epic First Batch NZIPA

No idea what the numbers on the front mean here, 04.39.53 sounds more like an IP address than a date.

This one is a bit darker than the previous drop though it maintains the comparatively light clarity. Clearly not a bottle conditioning mob, these Epics. There's something a bit spicier in this despite the big NZ nose, possible rye notes I think from both the nose and the flavours (could well be wrong!).

This IPA stays a bit flatter and more mellow than Hop Zombie in what I feel is a nice way. It's drier for sure and in our hop-centric IPA fugue, the initial reaction may be to condemn the lack of sticky lusciousness here but I actually think it aids the drinkability of the beer substantially. I'd pick this to drink over the other even though it's less impressive hops wise, simply because the balance is better. And this from a certified hop-head when it comes to other efforts.

I'd drink more of this, but not search it out directly. Nice beer. 7.5

Brew Dog Dogma

In picking this up I had a mental image of it turning up kind of like the bottle - orangey amber sort of colour and sweet due to the heather honey used. Boy was I wrong.

Yep, 10 types of malt and wow it's black. Nice head too, and even from a distance there's a rich, malty smell that greets you comfortingly. You just know it's going to be a round embrace of a beer from day one.

And indeed it is a really convivial sort of drop but really surprising, quite different to any idea I had. The sort of beer you drink and smile as you place the glass down for another look. You just sort of have to say 'wow' and have a think about it for a bit. Lugubrious and sticky this carries a lasting burnt treacle character through the journey with delicious roasty flavours and honey smothered toast throughout. The burnt nature helps cover off on the sweetness, making it really quite approachable to boot.

Wow. This is a beer that's at once quite different to anything I have had previously, and quite delicious to boot. A really tasty mouthful, the sort of beer that's just overflowing with flavour and leaves you smacking your lips because of it.

In short, a real pleasure and still another example of Brew Dog brilliance. Much respect. 8.5

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