Barely a week goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery. We’ll do our best to know what’s coming when, where it’s going and – where possible – what it tastes like before it goes on sale. Be aware, however, that just because a venue’s getting a beer doesn’t mean they’ve tapped it. They tend to go fast too so check they’re not sold out first!
| Beer | Details | Where | |
|---|---|---|---|
4 Pines (NSW) |
4 Pines Spiced Ale Released on 21/02/12Towards the end of last year, the crew at 4 Pines got into the festive spirit and laid down a very small batch of Christmas Ale. Alas, Christmas came and went with no sign of the beer. It remained firmly locked in its stainless steel prison, closely guarded but knowing its release was imminent. That time has finally come. Since it is now February, the specialty brew has been renamed ‘Spiced Ale’ and in terms of a description, it pretty much is what it says. In a way, having this Spiced Ale in February is probably about right because it’s about halfway between a Christmas cake and an Easter bun – something you might like to cherish beside an open fire on a cold night. But if you’re planning on waiting for winter to try it – don’t. Only ten kegs were produced for release on special occasions. Lucky for you, something special must have happened out at Manly because they have a keg tapped right now… Nick O |
Spiced Ale | |
Mountain Goat |
Mountain Goat Return of The Craig Released on 15/02/12Guess who’s back? Back again? Craig is back. Back again. etc Yes, a beer from the man himself, Craig. If you don’t recall its first appearance, we had this to say: So, there’s a brewer at Mountain Goat called Craig. Craig was tasked to create a beer. He chose to brew a pale ale, using Willamette hops to stand out from the herd. When the time came to tap the beer, it needed a name. “What shall we call it?” said the Goats. “How about The Craig?” came the reply. “No. We’re not calling it The Craig,” said Craig. “Tough. It’s The Craig,” came the reply. This time around it’s been beefed up a little or, as The Craig’s boss The Dave says: “The 2012 version is a nitrogen-powered English Pale Ale. Brewed with British Crystal malts, and US Willamette & Cascade hops, then carbonated with nitrogen (rather than CO2), it’s smooth, rich and mellow. Just like Craig himself. Only Craigier.” |
English Pale Ale 5.1% 22 IBU | |
Portland Hotel |
Mad Brewers Hoppy Hefe Released on 8/02/12They’ve been having fun at the Malt Shovel brewery in recent times, throwing liquorice at a stout and everything bar the kitchen sink at their Scribbly Gum Lager. Now they’re taking a couple of styles, popping them in the kettle together and seeing what pops out at the end. One is the German hefeweizen style, the other the hoppier American wheat style, wrapped up together and finished with a Kiwi ribbon in the form of some Motueka hops. Don’t head into the bottle expecting to find much in the way of the banana or clove characters associated with a hefe, however. Instead enjoy a clean, full bodied, fluffy-headed beer that’s more about the hops – in particular the tropical lychee and passionfruit flavours of the Motueka – in much the same way that 8 Wired’s Saison Sauvin was more sauvin than saison. |
Hoppy Hefeweizen 7.0% | |
Red Hill Brewery |
Red Hill Belgian Blonde 2012 Released on 2/02/12Despite 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… |
Belgian Pale Ale 6.5% | |
Holgate Brewhouse |
Holgate Bruges Bombshell Released on 30/01/12A beer that was originally going to be called the Clock Tower, until in the week it went into tank the brewers at Holgate noticed that True South was releasing an IPA with the same name. So back to the drawing board it was and up came the Bruges Bombshell. Why? Well, because it’s a bolshy Belgian style ale and Bruges is in Belgium, where head brewer Paul Holgate had just been on holiday and… you get the message. So what of the beer? Well, we’re told it’s “full flavoured but easy drinking with an emphasis on the biscuit malt flavour accented with sweetness from Belgian candi sugar and the fruity esters from the Abbey ale yeast used”. So there you go. |
Belgian Golden Ale 6.0% |
Goldmines Hotel |
Cowaramup Brewery (WA) |
Cowaramup Lightsign Released on 28/01/12The current holder of the Champion Lager trophy from the Australian International Beer Awards (awarded for his excellent pilsner) doesn’t release new beers very often. Jeremy Good, the co-founder and brewer at Cowaramup in WA’s Margaret River region, prefers instead to work on perfecting his range of traditional English and German styles. Yet, in a rare break from cover, he has knocked up a batch of a beer for summer that takes its name from an idea his daughter Bethany had years ago when they were in the process of setting up the brewery. The result is a summer ale made with Aussie Stella hops that give it a lightly floral and lemony aroma; in the mouth those citrusy hop characters return against a light malt backbone in a beer that’s rather too quaffable and, as is typical with Jeremy’s beers, clean as a whistle. |
Summer Ale | |
Bridge Road |
Bridge Road Summer IPA Released on 23/01/12The Bridge Road crew are getting together a nice line in single Aussie hop IPAs, with the Summer following the hugely popular Galaxy and relative newcomer Stella off the rank – and with the unlikely Pride of Ringwood IPA to follow. Summer is a hop variety formerly known as Summer Saaz and has been developed by Hop Products Australia. Those who’ve ploughed into the Galaxy and Stella IPAs will find this one much more subtle; don’t expect to be blown away by pungent aromas, instead it’s a gentler, floral aroma, slightly earthy. There’s a pretty full body too and a bitterness that works its way gently, but persistently, across your palate. |
IPA 5.0% |
Bridge Road |
Mountain Goat |
Mountain Goat The Hoeff Released on 20/01/12Goat’s annual Hefe-cum-Hasselhoff is back for the summer. It’s a true to style take on the hefes you find in Southern Germany – think clove and banana aromas, a touch of bubblegum sweetness and a somewhat dry finish in a cloudy beer with minimal bitterness designed for maximum hot weather refreshment. That, or designed for washing down bucketloads of weisswurst for breakfast if you want to be a traditionalist. Mind you, start down that road and you’ll soon be wearing lederhosen, putting feathers in your cap and calling your children Rolf and Olga. Mind you, you might end up owning a massive Schloss too, so go hard. |
Hefeweizen 5.3% | |
Temple |
Temple Midnight IPA Released on 13/01/12When this beer was offered up as a single keg taster at a trade event in 2010, it was the pick of pretty much everyone in the room. One chap with about as senior a role in the Australian brewing industry described it as faultless – not something he would give up easily. More importantly, it was delicious. And now, back as the final member of the Temple permanent range, it still is. Deeply dark and with powerfully pungent piney (that’s enough “p’s” thanks) hop aromas that greet you well before the beer reaches you lips – thanks to a heavy, heavy hopping schedule throughout the brewing and conditioning process – it’s a hop lover’s dream. That said, it’s balanced beautifully by the malts (including the midnight wheat from which it takes its name), with the roastiness kept to a minimum. Rich in the mouth and smooth as you like, it’s going to make a lot of people very happy. |
Black IPA 7.0% 77 IBU |
Temple Brewery |
Mountain Goat |
Mountain Goat Goldilocks (2012) Released on 13/01/12Another of the summer specials from Goat that debuted last year is back, the Styrian Goldings hopped Goldilocks. As the name suggests, it’s a golden ale (summer ale if you like) with one aim and one aim only – being quaffed. Light floral hops and an easy-going malt character make it reminiscent of the sort of ales consumed by the gallon in British beer gardens in the two weeks that constitutes a British summer, while it seems to us (if memory serves us correctly) that the bitterness has been reined in from last year’s model, making it more approachable still. |
Golden Ale 5.0% |
Mountain Goat |
Portland Hotel |
Portland Hotel Dan's Debut Released on 10/01/12The answer’s in the question here, with the latest seasonal to hit the taps at Melbourne’s Portland Hotel the first ever commercially released brew from new head brewer Dan Dainton. A self-confessed hop fiend, Dan’s conjured up a hoppy IPA sure to find favour in the current lupulin-loving climate. “It’s a well bittered and well hopped IPA,” he says, “but not over the top and very sessionable. It uses a hatrick of flavour and aroma hops: fresh Simcoe and Centennial from the states and Australia’s own Galaxy as well.” There’s a hefty malt backbone to keep everything in place too – go check it for yourselves to see how well the new boy’s done! |
IPA 5.9% 50 IBU | |
4 Pines (NSW) |
4 Pines Keller Door Series: Single Hops Released on 9/01/12The first of a what will be a series of releases throughout 2012 from the brewing team at 4 Pines, in which they simultaneously showcase four beers that share a theme. The concept is launched with the Single Hop series, which we wrote about on Crafty late last year. The four beers have been brewed with an identical malt bill (95% Ale, 4% Wheat, 1% Crystal) with the only difference being the choice of hop. The four varieties being used are Amarillo – an aromatic American hop synonymous with APAs and golden ales, Sorachi Ace (Japan) – which has an overwhelming and unique lemon, lemongrass and lychee like aroma, Galaxy (AUS) – known for its citrus and passionfruit aromas, and Aramis (France)– a strong, herbal, lemon like aroma. The idea is to give drinkers that chance to see what different hops can do to a beer. Watch out for future releases in the Keller Door series later in the year… |
Summer Ale 5.0% 26 IBU |
4 Pines |
2 Brothers |
2 Brothers Kung Foo Released on 4/01/12While there are a multitude of breweries producing summer ales and IPAs for the warmer weather 2 Brothers are offering their own summer session beer, but it’s a little off centre from the norm. Opting for a different summer direction, 2 Brothers have brewed up a Rice Lager to quench the thirst of Melbourne’s south east. The beer itself is a simple solution to the rising mercury. A light, straw coloured lager that is crisp and refreshing all the way down to the bottom of the pint. The nose has some light lemongrass and passionfruit notes and this follows onto the palate of a very quaffable summer beer. A simply flavoured (and very drinkable…) beer for us to enjoy this summer. DE |
Rice Lager 4.7% |
2 Brothers |
Hargreaves Hill |
Hargreaves Hill Russian Imperial Stout (bottled) Released on 2/01/12One of the biggest beers ever produced in Australia is now available in a very limited run of 750ml bottles. Hargreaves Hill’s RIS weighs in at more than 12% ABV and packs just as much flavour. One friend of Crafty who likes his uber-beers went so far as to claim it could be the best Victorian beer he’d ever tasted when it was on tap in 2011. If you missed out then, grab a bottle or two before they’re gone – and don’t worry about whether it’s too hot for such a beer now as they’ll last a fair while. Here’s what we had to say about it when it was available in draught form. |
Russian Imperial Stout 12.3% |
Hargreaves Hill |
Monk Brewery & Kitchen (WA) |
The Monk Amber Released on 27/12/11The latest seasonal from The Monk has the brewers behind it excited. It’s “fantastic”, apparently, a single hop showcase, no less: an American amber ale bittered and dry hopped with NZ Nelson Sauvin. “We thought we’d use the rockstar hop-of-the-moment in this offering, and we’ve deliberately left it unfiltered to keep the good stuff in,” says brewer Steve. Blending roasted malts with said hops, it’s a fruit and nut affair with some caramel and passionfruit flavours in there too. “Both myself and Paul [his co-brewer] absolutely love it and are immensely proud of it.” Blimey! |
American Amber 5.5% |
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