The first Phoenix was brewed back in 2010 to mark Hargreaves Hill's return to brewing after the original brewery was destroyed in Victoria's Black Saturday fires. A luxurious Imperial Red Ale that has stood the test of time quite magnificently, as we discovered in a tasting alongside the new batch recently, it has been brought back just in time for Christmas. Once again presented in a number of wax-sealed, limited edition (350) 750ml bottles, it's a beer you can set down for years to come. Alternatively, drunk fresh it's a rich, full-bodied, multifaceted treat that glistens rusty red in the glass and has that soft, velvety mid-palate familiar to many of Hargreaves' beers. As for the wax seals, they're handy for ensuring you only drink The Phoenix at a time when you're going to fully appreciate it as we discovered when pulling our last bottle of 2010 out of the fridge rather too late one night; after 15 minutes chipping away unsuccessfully at the wax, we gave up and went to bed, awaking the next day glad it was still around.
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