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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Mountain Goat |
Mountain Goat Double Hightail (bottled) Released on 17/09/10First brewed to celebrate the Goat’s 10th birthday, the Double Hightail returned in draft form in August as the brewery prepared to become a teenager. If the Fancy Pants is what the Hightail would be if there were no financial constraints, this is what it becomes when there are no constraints full stop. Another batch has just been produced to become the brewery’s third Rare Breed longneck release. And if you know the Hightail, you’ll agree this is indeed a Double Hightail. The Galaxy hop and caramel aroma is there but bigger. Similarly, the rich caramel malt flavour remains, but with a thicker, creamier mouthfeel than the model on which it’s based, finishing with a firm, but not overbearing bitterness. And, unsurprisingly given the 7.2% booze content, it’ll warm your cockles from the head down before you know it. Nice! |
Imperial Amber Ale 7.2% |
Slowbeer |
Holgate Brewhouse |
Holgate Road Trip IPA Released on 17/09/10We’re beginning to suspect there’s something in the Woodend water at the minute. Holgate’s original Mount Macedon Ale has discovered a punchier new hop character, the Hopinator’s reacted in kind and their seasonals are flying out the door like there’s no tomorrow. With this year’s final batch of Brick Kiln Dark Wheat Beer still conditioning, it’s time for Spring and the arrival of the Road Trip IPA. Inspired by Paul Holgate and family’s holiday in Pacific Northwest USA last year, it’s a hop lover’s treat. This year sees the Chinook and Centennial varieties return, although the Cascade of last year is replaced by Citra. Together, they still make for an aromatic pine, passionfruit, grapefruit and marmalade nose – and a sizeable smack of bitterness too. |
American IPA (India Pale Ale)
5.5%
60 IBU
Keg only |
Holgate Brewhouse |
2 Brothers |
2 Brothers James Brown Released on 17/09/10The Moorabbin bros have got the funk. Having gone all voodoo on us with their last limited release, this time they’re getting up like a sex machine with James Brown, a rather large Belgian strong ale tipping the scales at 8.8%. Crafty’s not had the chance to have a tipple yet, but 1 Brother tells us it’s “brewed with 50% extra funk. Estery nose, with chocolate and peach up front, followed by rum, raisin and vanilla back palate. Over a thousand bucks of Belgian candi sugar went into the mix.” Or there’s the take of the bar staff at Biero – the first place outside the brewery to tap it: “Tastes like bananas coated in nutella – absolutely awesome”. Funky. |
Belgian Strong Ale
8.8%
Keg only initially |
2 Brothers Brewery |
Mountain Goat |
Mountain Goat IPA Released on 13/09/10The beer chosen to launch Mountain Goat’s Rare Breed limited release longneck range is back. First time out it was a big yet beautifully balanced blend of powerful, aromatic hops and rich malts backed up by a firm bitterness. There are no bottles this time around (at least not yet) but it’ll be hitting a handful of taps around Melbourne this week. No bad thing as, while it was a tasty drop out of the longnecks last time around, when Crafty sampled it in draught form at the brewery it was quite possibly the best Goat drop ever to pass its lips; one of the brewers even said it was the best beer he’d made – and no one’s as critical of beer as the person who brewed it. |
American India Pale Ale
5.7%
No longnecks this time around – yet |
Mountain Goat Brewery |
Holgate Brewhouse |
Holgate Ladyboy Released on 3/09/10Anyone who’s met Paul Holgate and his team of brewers will know they’re a swarthy lot: real men with testosterone literally teeming from their pores. However, they are known to like a ladyboy or two. “What?” you say. Well, for the past year or so, they’ve been offering them over the bar at their Woodend brewhouse, the Ladyboy being a Black & Tan style mix of their cocoa and vanilla bean Temptress (the lady) and roast macadamia-laden Nut Brown Ale (the boy). For a limited time only, two Victorian bars are following suit, tapping both beers simultaneously. Try it – or go for the Alan Partridge version instead. |
Black & Tan approx 6.2% |
Oscar’s Alehouse |
Red Hill Brewery |
Red Hill Weizenbock Released on 1/09/10Here’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… |
Weizenbock (Strong wheat beer) 7.9% |
Red Hill Brewery |
Burleigh Brewing Company (QLD) |
Burleigh Brewing Black Giraffe Released on 28/08/10The second of Burleigh’s limited release longnecks (the first being the puntastic English style My Wife’s Bitter), the Black Giraffe is the beer that, more than any other, got Aussie craft beer lovers talking about the brewery. An exquisite coffee lager that packs in more flavour than is decent for a 5% beer, it’s won major awards overseas with judges impressed by the full coffee whack backed up by chocolate, toffee and mocha. It uses 100kg of Zarraffa rainforest alliance coffee and made Crafty’s Ten for 2010 so hunt it down while it’s still around. |
Coffee Lager 5.0% | |
Bridge Road |
Bridge Road B2 Bomber Released on 27/08/10The Bridge Road crew like to make a statement with their anniversary beers and the 2010 special is no exception. A true melding of styles, the B2 Bomber is a Black Belgian IPA, bringing together darker, roasted malt varieties, a swagful of hops and a Belgian yeast variety in a quite intriguing mix. The combination of aromas when the dark-as-night beer first poured from the black-labeled champagne bottle like a huge, foam-headed espresso had Crafty confused: “A bag of rubber bands?” Further investigation revealed all manner of aromas – changing as it warmed: sugar sweetness, hints of roasted malts, some fruitiness from the Belgian yeast – even a suggestion of ripe banana. In the mouth, the “Belgian” and “IPA” elements come and go in a flash, with the dark, roasty, toasty flavours dominating and leading to a long, very dry finish underpinned by the hops. Big and bold – in keeping with the stark labeling – and a fine addition to anyone’s cellar. |
Black Belgian IPA 8.5% |
Bridge Road Brewery |
Holgate Brewhouse |
Nut Brown Ale Released on 26/08/10When choosing a tenth anniversary beer in 2009, Paul Holgate eschewed the idea of creating something extreme in favour of a style he’d enjoyed making in his home brewing days. The resultant Nut Brown Ale, made with roasted macadamia nuts added to the boil was an instant winner. A blend of six different malts lent it multi-layered rich, dark roasted flavours with a touch of caramel sweetness, lifted by the nut addition and rounded off with a short hop finish. Originally a one-off, it’s now scheduled in as a regular winter brew and, at 6.3%, is deceptively strong too. 2010 batch update: Take one sniff and try to resist! |
Northern English Brown Ale 6.3% 19 IBU |
Grumpy’s Green |
|
Red Duck Loch Ness Released on 14/08/10Red Duck’s Loch Ness is a dark, malty brew, with rich flavours from chocolate malt, roast barley and other dark malts. It had an extended boil time to boost caramelisation, a slow and gentle fermentation period, then a short maturation period of six weeks in charred former whisky barrels. The result is beer which pours with a tan head and displays rich but subtle flavours: roasted malt and bags of dark chocolate with touches of caramel, oak, stewed dark fruits and, atop the lingering, warming finish, some whisky. Those fruits reappear on the nose, mingling with chocolate and a touch of oak. And, says the brewer: “In case you’re worried that the char would impart a smokey character, it doesn’t. Pure carbon has a cleaning effect – this is not a smokey beer at all.” |
Barrel-aged Scotch Ale
6.7%
Only 120 cases produced of this limited Winter 2010 release |
Red Duck Provedore |
|
Ugly Duckling Braggot Released on 7/08/10Two years in the making, this blend of a mead made with locally sourced bush honey and two 50l batches of barrel-aged strong ale was described by one of The Crafty Pint’s friends on first tasting as “beyond beer”. At 14.3%, the Ugly Duckling is still in its infancy and will mature “for decades”, according to its maker. Even now, it’s wonderfully multi-layered: viscous, uncarbonated and golden, it boasts a lightly wooded aroma with hints of calvados and toffee apple. Honey, oak, spiced rumkopf fruit and sweet alcohol combine in a slightly tart palate with a dry finish. A digestif to surprise your guests. |
Braggot
14.3%
Only 504 numbered bottles released |
Red Duck Provedore |
Mountain Goat |
Double Hightail Released on 4/08/10First brewed to celebrate the Goat’s 10th birthday, the Double Hightail has returned as the brewery prepares to become a teenager. If the Fancy Pants is what the Hightail would be if there were no financial constraints, this is what it becomes when there are no constraints full stop. Crammed with chewy malt goodness and a fierce, driving bitterness, it also comes in around the 7% mark, making it bigger in every sense. |
Imperial Amber Ale 7% | |
Bridge Road |
Megachile Pluto Braggot Released on 28/07/10The first brew devised by one of Ben’s fellow brewers, Nardia McGrath, this is a recreation of an incredibly rare beer style dating from Medieval times. A full-bodied, red-blooded honey and ale combo, it mixes a fruity Belgian yeast with UK and European malts, a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg and a serious whack of Red Stringybark honey from Beechworth in a 10% beast of a drink that’s part sweet liqueur, part ale as hinted at by the hop bitterness that picks up when the spicy honey flavour tails off. |
Braggot 10% | |
Mountain Goat |
Fancy Pants Released on 26/07/10The beer originally described by Goat founder Dave Bonighton as “what Hightail would be if there were no budget constraints”. This is the third appearance of a beer that once tasted is never forgotten. Loads of fresh hop flowers are added post-boil in the hopback with a heap more thrown into the fermenter to create an overwhelming and enticing passionfruit aroma that begs you to dive in. A rich malt backbone ensures balance is maintained but, really, it’s all about the hops. In The Crafty Pint’s eyes, this is the ultimate session beer for those who like their beer big. |
Amber Ale 4.9% |
Mountain Goat Brewery |
Bright Brewery |
Winter Warmer Released on 22/07/10There’s a series of TV ads in the UK that’s been running for decades with the tagline: “It does exactly what it says on the tin.” It could equally apply to Bright’s winter warmer, which comes complete with a seriously thick mouthfeel and a fiercely dark brown head. They serve as an omen of what’s to come: big mocha aromas with a touch of dark fruit and alcohol, which make way for a palate-smothering wave of rich chocolate, a roast coffee hit and a bitter finish. Get it before it’s gone. |
Export Stout 6.2% |
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