The name “Moonless Midnight” refers to the dangers of Cape Byron before the lighthouse was built; there are records of sixteen ships being wrecked on the Byron coast before 1901, and evidence of more that weren’t recorded.
In the same way that Cape Byron Lighthouse improved the way for passing ships, Cape Byron Distillery works to improves Moonless Midnight Stout even further. Or at least, its whisky barrels do when they invite the stout in for a ten-month nap.
This is the third year Common People have rested a portion of their stout in barrels from their distillery neighbours, and this batch of barrels arrived fresher than fresh; in fact, there was so much whisky left in the wood that the stout jumped from six percent ABV to 11 percent.
“You never know what you’re going to get from a barrel when it comes out 12 months later!” says head brewer Sam Tourle.
But knowing you can have too much of a good thing, he blended some imperial stout back in to bring it to a respectable nine percent ABV, and to ensure the balance of flavours and the body were at their prime.
“So much beautiful vanilla and tobacco…”
The vanilla and caramel of Cape Byron whisky stand tall right from the start, but with each minute that it warms up, the stout’s chocolate and coffee shine brighter and brighter like a lighthouse piercing the darkness. Be warned: while this beer feels smooth like a journey past Cape Byron, there’s still plenty of alcohol hidden in here. By all means enjoy it, but if you let down your guard and allow your attention to wander, you’ll run aground.
This is obviously quite a limited beer, served at the Common People taproom and shared out into 452 bottles - hand numbered and wax sealed for your pleasure.
Mick Wüst
Published August 5, 2024 2024-08-05 00:00:00
