Nowadays, Cape Byron is a traveller’s delight: it’s the first spot in Australia to catch the sunrise, and there’s a lovely old lighthouse that’s perfect for Instagram selfies and reminding you of Round The Twist.*
But go back 120 years before that lighthouse was built, and Cape Byron was deadly to any ships unlucky enough to be passing by on a moonless night.
Moonless Midnight Stout captures that pure darkness… but thankfully, it’s safe any time of day, month or year. In fact, it started out as just a winter seasonal, but became a year-round offering as regular punters complained whenever it went off tap.
It’s got those dark malt flavours of roast, coffee and cocoa with a touch of spicy bitterness in the finish, but there’s nothing overwhelming here. Common People describe Moonless Midnight as a sweet stout, though I find the sweetness to be subtle; just a smidge of lactose that gives a smooth body and balances out the richness of the flavours from the roasted and chocolate malts. Think coffee ice cream and you won’t be far off.
Like I said - there’s nothing dangerous about it. The barrel-aged version? That’s another matter…
Mick Wüst
* To be fair, I feel nostalgic for this show any time I see any lighthouse. Have you ever… ever felt like this?
