Golden Ale

Red Hill’s biggest seller, this pale, crisp light bodied ale is subtly fruity with a restrained hoppy dryness created by the brewery’s homegrown Hallertauer and Tettnanger hop flowers. It uses top quality imported German Pilsner malt combined with a touch of Australian grown wheat to aid head retention and is fermented at a cool temperature to create a clean finish. A great summer beer and a good first step for drinkers taking their first steps in the world of craft beer.

Style: Golden Ale
Strength: 5%
Bitterness: 20 IBU

Wheat Beer

This recreation of the German wheat beer style boasts big fruit aromas – banana to the fore but suggestions of peach and nectarine too – caused by the special yeast and higher fermentation temperatures. Highly carbonated, it pours with a large, white head with the fruitiness of the yeast balanced by a tartness on the palate from the use of a large amount of wheat. The brewery has specially designed 500ml tall glasses perfect for enjoying this beer, which is refreshing rather than bitter making it a good warm weather choice.

Style: Hefeweizen
Strength: 5%
Bitterness: 12 IBU

Scotch Ale

The big boy of Red Hill’s core range of beers, this is a no-holds-barred, full-flavoured Scotch Ale that delivers massive amounts of rich, hearty malt-driven goodness. The colour of burnished copper, it has a strong, caramel and toffee sweetness lightly balanced with the brewery’s homegrown Goldings and Willamette fresh hop flowers. The grain make up in this beer took seven years to perfect so remains a tightly kept secret.

Style: Scotch Ale (90 shilling)
Strength: 5.8%
Bitterness: 17 IBU

Red Hill Hop Harvest 2012

The first fruit of the sticky day in March when the Red Hill crew invites friends and beer lovers to the farm to pluck their homegrown hops from their bines. Just 24 hours after picking, lashings of Goldings and Willamette were thrown into the beer, with some dry-hopped and placed in casks to be served at the brewery via its handpump. The rest is out and about in bottles and kegs now. Unlike some of the hop harvest beers that come out at this time of year that try to allow just the hops the shine, it’s a rounded English ESB style beer, so while you get fresh, floral hop notes and earthy flavours, this burnt copper coloured beer as as much about full-bodied malty goodness as it is those gorgeous green cones.

Available:

ON TAP
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
The Terminus
Josie Bones
IN BOTTLES
Armadale Cellars
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Cloudwine
Harvest Wine
Local Bottle Store & Provisions
Mordialloc Cellar Door, Prince Wine & Spirits, Purvis Wine/Beer, Slow Beer, The Valley Cellar Door,

Peninsula: Cellar & Pantry (Red Hill Cellars), Majestic Cellars, Ritchies

TO DRINK – Bar Fred, Bella Union, Grumpy’s Green, Junction Hotel Newport, Kananook Boathouse, Bar None, Ten minutes by Tractor, Mosq

Style: ESB
Strength: 6.0%

Red Hill Belgian Blonde 2012

Despite the fact they’ve just taken delivery of a spanking new bottling line, the good sorts down at Red Hill haven’t let their brewing schedule slide, meaning their late summer seasonal, the rather tasty Belgian Blonde is out and about. Actually, not quite out and about – such is demand for their beers these days that they only managed to squeeze in the one batch this year, meaning it’s on at the brewery and the brewery only. Expect plenty of rich biscuity malt characters, hints of spice and a touch of earthy hops from a beer that’s been tweaked by the brewers this year to “up the ante” of its Belgian-ness. They’ve added Bitterballen – Flemish style beef croquette served with mustard – and Dromana Bay Mussels in a Belgian style to the menu to celebrate the beer’s release; we seem to recall the Blonde and mussels pairing being rather splendid on a past visit too…

Available:

Red Hill

Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Strength: 6.5%

Red Hill Christmas Ale (2011)

Red Hill Christmas Ale

Time to break out the tinsel and get decorating the tree – Christmas is a-coming. Which means the last of Red Hill’s seasonals is a-coming too, a beer designed to accompany a rich Christmas pud on the big day. A strong Belgian ale in style, it pours a deep orange with a ruby tint and fires off all manner of sweet caramel and dried fruit aromas, topped off with spicy notes from the hops; at this early stage in its life, it’s almost perfume like. Full-bodied and creamy, it’s a complex bugger – bitter, sweet, spicy and warming at the same time – in which the 8.3% creeps up on you and reminds you that Christmas really is a time for taking things slow.

Available:

Red Hill Tap and bottle NOW
Around Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula from Dec 9

Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Strength: 8.3%

Red Hill Bohemian Pilsner (2011)

Of all the beers Red Hill produce, this, apparently, is the brewer’s favourite. It’s easy to see why. Inspired by a pilsner-drinking session in a pub in New Zealand a few years ago, it stands apart from most beers of its ilk on the market by being fuller and richer in the mouth than you might expect thanks to its relatively high alcohol content. The nose combines lemon, sweet honey and a hint of spiciness from the hops, the flavour offers masses of biscuity malts and there’s a nice firm bitterness to wrap things up. It also pours beautifully, so much so that we actually took a photo of 2010’s in the glass to send the the brewers and we thought Crafty was well above such fanboy actions…

Available:

Red Hill
Acland Cellars
Bar Fred
Biero
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Red Hill Cellar & Pantry
Deco
Flagstaff Cellars, West Melbourne
Josie Bones
Lower Plenty Cellars
Majestic Cellars, Mt Eliza
Mordy Cellar Door
Olinda Cellars
Oscar’s Alehouse
Prince Wine Store, Essendon and South Melbourne
Purvis Cellars
Rathdowne Cellars, Carlton
Ritchies, Carrum Downs, Towerhill Frankston, Balnarring, Dromana, Mt Eliza, Yarra Glen, Wantirna
Sunshine Creek Cellars, Camberwell
Slowbeer
Ten Minutes By Tractor, Main Ridge
Courthouse Hotel
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Local Bottle Store & Provisions The Point, South Melbourne
The Tasting Station, Rosebud

Style: Bohemian Pilsner
Strength: 5.9%

Red Hill Weizenbock (2011)

A beer whose popularity surprised the brewers, given strong German style wheat beers rocking in around 8% aren’t exactly commonplace in Australia, the Weizenbock is Red Hill’s first spring seasonal, a nice bridger as the weather warms up. When young, this dark beer offers up plenty of chocolate, toffee, clove and banana characteristics, with the sweetness balanced by some brewery grown hops and backed up by a gentle warmth from the alcohol. We’ve also tasted some bottles that were allowed to age for months and found the character significantly changed, with the more pungent banana and clove aromas fading and more dark sugar characteristics coming through, reminiscent of an aged Belgian dubbel. In other words, if you want to pick up a few – and trust yourself to resist temptation – it’s a beer worth dabbling with in your cellar.

Available:

Red Hill
Acland Cellars
Bar Fred
Biero
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Red Hill Cellar & Pantry
Deco
Flagstaff Cellars, West Melbourne
Josie Bones
Lower Plenty Cellars
Majestic Cellars, Mt Eliza
Mordy Cellar Door
Olinda Cellars
Oscar’s Alehouse
Prince Wine Store, Essendon and South Melbourne
Purvis Cellars
Rathdowne Cellars, Carlton
Ritchies, Carrum Downs, Towerhill Frankston, Balnarring, Dromana, Mt Eliza, Yarra Glen, Wantirna
Sunshine Creek Cellars, Camberwell
Slowbeer
Ten Minutes By Tractor, Main Ridge
Courthouse Hotel
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Local Bottle Store & Provisions The Point, South Melbourne
The Tasting Station, Rosebud

Style: Weizenbock
Strength: 7.9%

Red Hill Imperial Stout 2011

If there’s one beer from the Red Hill range that craft beer lovers hang out for more than any other, it has to be the Imperial Stout. An excellent example of the style, the good news in 2011 is that they’ve brewed more of it than ever before. They’ve also allow some to condition in traditional English casks – then dry-hopped it – and will be pouring it from the hand pump at the brewery. And they’ve increased the bitterness compared to the 2010 version. This year’s batch is described as “jet black”, “silky smooth”, with a nose of roasted malt and a touch of caramel. To taste, expect “a rich deep mocha and coffee flavour, accentuated with caramel and smoky flavours”.

Available:

ON TAP:
Red Hill
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Biero
Atticus Finch
Royston
Josie Bones
BOTTLE:
Blackhearts & Sparrows, Cloudwine, Lower Plenty Cellars, Local Bottle Store, Mayerling Cellars, Mordialloc Cellar Door, Nilumbuk Cellars, Prince Wine & Spirits, Purvis Beer, Olinda Cellars, Rathdowne Cellars, Slowbeer, Sunshine Creek, Swords, Valley Cellar Door, Cellar & Pantry (Red Hill Cellars), Majestic Cellars, Ritchies, Tasting Station, Bar Fred, Blue Diamond, Courthouse Hotel, Deco, Max’s at Red Hill Estate, Lindenderry, Oscar’s Alehouse, Paringa Estate, The Point, Royal Mail Hotel, Tasting Station, Two Buoys

Style: Imperial Stout
Strength: 8.1%

Red Hill India Black Ale

It’s not too often that a completely new beer appears on the Red Hill roster. They’re brewers who, quite rightly, are pleased with their regular seasonals and seem happy to sit on some to age or whack the odd big one into barrels for a bit of fun. So, blow Crafty down with a feather if they haven’t gone and brought out a new one. The first of what will be three dark beers this winter is an India Black Ale, essentially a British-style IPA turned black with the use of some de-husked black malt that imparts colour without the roasted flavour usually associated with it. It’s just been tapped in time for the brewery’s Secret Stash weekend and is described as having a full malt character, upfront hop flavour and aromas and a “generous bitterness that will leave you with a thirst for another pint”. It was a bit of a treat for the brewers, Tim and Simon, who were given free rein to create what they wanted, messing around with a few home brews before creating one batch only of the IBA. Go tell them what you think!

Available:

Red Hill
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Atticus Finch
Josie Bones
Royston
Biero
Atticus Finch

Style: India Black Ale

Red Hill Hop Harvest Ale (2011)

They say there’s no better way to sample a beer than fresh from the brewery. Presumably that makes tasting it at the brewery, straight from the bright tank, through a traditional hand pump only installed on the bar 24 hours earlier is about as fresh as you can get. Either way, this year’s Hop Harvest Ale is tasting pretty special. It’s the annual release from Red Hill that makes use of the fresh hops grown on their farm – picked by friends and used in a brew the same day – and the 2011 could be their best vintage yet. They’ve increased the hopping for bitterness, but also seem to have captured more of the light floral hop characters you’d expect in a good British ESB. As someone who grew up on real ale, watching the beer settle after pouring – forming a dense, shaving foam like head – was like a trip back in time, while the beer – smooth, creamy, with rich malts surrounded by the floral aromas, hints of marmalade and a steadily building hop bitterness – is worth the trip to the Mornington Peninsula. Will be available more widely and in bottles too.

Available:

Red Hill
Valley Cellar Door
Purvis Beer
Purvis Beer Richmond
Royston
Slowbeer
Josie Bones
Blackhearts & Sparrows

Style: ESB (Extra Special Bitter)
Strength: 6.0%

Red Hill Belgian Blonde

Of all Red Hill’s seasonals, this one seems to fly under the radar a little. Yet it holds its own as part of their Belgian trilogy alongside the Temptation and Christmas Ale. Full-bodied and creamy in the mouth, it offers up a mix of caramel malt characteristics, some spicy notes, a slightly sour tang and hoppy bitterness. They’ve only brewed one batch this year so you’ll have to head to the brewery to taste on tap or pick up in bottles.

Available:

Red Hill

Style: Belgian Blonde
Strength: 6.5%

Red Hill Christmas Ale

Time to break out the tinsel and get decorating the tree – Christmas is a-coming. Which means the last of Red Hill’s seasonals is a-coming too, a beer designed to accompany a rich Christmas pud on the big day. A strong Belgian ale in style, it pours a deep orange with a ruby tint and fires off all manner of sweet caramel and dried fruit aromas, topped off with spicy notes from the hops; at this early stage in its life, it’s almost perfume like. Full-bodied and creamy, it’s a complex bugger – bitter, sweet, spicy and warming at the same time – in which the 8.3% creeps up on you and reminds you that Christmas really is a time for taking things slow.

Available:

Red Hill Brewery
ON TAP Biero
The Local Taphouse St Kilda
Atticus Finch
BOTTLES Acland Cellars, Cloudwine, Grain & Grape
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Harvest Wine, Lower Plenty Cellars
Mordy Cellar Door
Prince Wine & Spirits
Purvis Beer
Olinda Cellars, Seaview Cellars
Slowbeer
Sunshine Creek, Swords
Valley Cellar Door Bar Fred, Deco
Oscar’s Alehouse
Mrs Parma’s
Paringa Estate, The Point, Tasting Station

Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Strength: 8.3%

Red Hill Bohemian Pilsner

While the weather gods are doing their level best to convince the people of the Mornington Peninsula otherwise, summertime is supposed to be on its way and so the Red Hill brewers are sticking to their guns to bring us their summer seasonal, the Bohemian Pilsner. Richer and creamier in the mouth than most pilsners, it promises to be yet another in a long line of winners from Red Hill. Lemony citrus notes and a light honey sweetness give way to a little spiciness on the nose in a beer that pours a hazy golden colour with a fluffy white head. Chew your way through sweet biscuity malts before arriving at a firm, lingering bitter finish. Then repeat as prescribed. One warning: at 5.9%, it’s pretty big for a pilsner – not that you’d know it to taste – as Mrs Pint discovered to her cost when 2009’s end of school year celebrations were cut unexpectedly short by last year’s vintage!

Available:

Red Hill Brewery

Style: Bohemian Pilsner
Strength: 5.9%

Red Hill Temptation

I once attended a superb beer dinner featuring the Red Hill range at Circa, in St Kilda. The Temptation was paired with the appetiser in place of a glass of bubbly – and you can see why the chef picked it. Not just because of the amount of fizz that gives it a luscious foamy white head, but because of the flavour profile. There are hints of white wine grape in there plus a touch of tartness. That’s only part of the story, however, in one of the brewery’s most complex brews. There’s also a honey like sweetness and spices (white pepper, cardamon) in the taste, complementing a fruity (pear, grape) and candi sugar nose, and with the 8% alcohol tucked well enough away to make it one to handle with kid gloves.

Available:

Red Hill Brewery Slowbeer
Purvis Beer
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Mrs Parma’s
Royston
The Terminus
Local Taphouse St Kilda
Biero Bar

Style: Strong Belgian Golden Ale
Strength: 8.0%

Red Hill Weizenbock

Here’s one that takes me back to childhood. Not that I drank 7.9% beers as a child, but because the nose stokes up memories of gorging on packs of mixed flavour Toffos – chewy toffee sweets that came in original, strawberry, chocolate and, in the case of the Weizenbock, banana varieties. The latter was always my favourite – I’d pray for the sorting machine to malfunction and produce a pack of banana only chews. Mind you, the Toffos never offered up a soft hop aroma, or came supported by a hefty second wave of warm alcohol-boosted chocolate flavours that wrap themselves around the banana toffee like heavy duty eiderdown. Rich, creamy and warming, it’s a beer to win over even the fiercest wheat beer haters. Here’s hoping Red Hill malfunctions and sends Crafty a slab by mistake…

Available:

Red Hill Brewery
Slowbeer
Purvis Beer
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Mrs Parma’s
Royston
The Terminus
Local Taphouse St Kilda
Biero Bar

Style: Weizenbock (Strong wheat beer)
Strength: 7.9%

Imperial Stout

Rapidly becoming a flagship beer not just for the brewery but the new wave of Australian craft brewers, this winter release is snapped up as soon as it’s released. With good reason: it’s a huge beer – not only in terms of alcohol content. Pouring deep black with a viscous body that crawls down the glass, it has a rich roasty nose with a touch of caramel and a deep mocha and coffee flavour accentuated with caramel and smoky notes. Three hop additions of the brewery’s Willamette and Goldings hops give it plenty of bitterness and an assertive hop character. When on tap at the brewery, it’s served with a sparkler tap creating a lightly carbonated ale with a lasting white head.

Available:

Red Hill Brewery

Style: Imperial Stout
Strength: 8.1%
Bitterness: 65 IBU