Beer Little Creatures Puffing Billy

While the impact of the Lion takeover remains to be seen at Little Creatures, the Single Batches continue to appear, much to the delight of the beer-loving public. On a roll after the likes of the Big Dipper, Dreadnaught and Quiet American, here they've returned to Germany for inspiration (following last year's Single Batch Marzen) with a lightly smoked Bock. The use of beechwood smoked malt is such that it's barely detectable on the nose, where sweet malty aromas hold fort; instead, it appears more prominently in the flavour of this dark amber-coloured beer, where it goes to work with lots of earthy, spicy hops and ultimately contributes to a reasonably bitter, gently smoky finish. However, this Billy is mainly about the fulsome layers of malts, resulting in a delightfully smooth and impeccably balanced beer. But then again, it's from Creatures so what did you expect...?