Moon Dog Love Tap II – Retired

STOP PRESS! Moon Dog has a core range! Well, a core beer, at least. Yes, after a couple of years exploring the outer reaches of God knows where with every beer and rarely brewing the same thing twice, they've decided it's time to introduce a workhorse. Or at least as close to a workhorse as you're going to find from the three guys behind the most idiosyncratic brewery in Oz. Said beer is a reworking of their Love Tap, a "double lager" that if you're in need of a stylistic description is pretty much a hoppy IPA with a lager yeast. The version that they're sending out year round and nationwide is a slightly leaner version of the original - down from 7.1 per cent to 5.9 per cent ABV - but still packed with the same combo of Old and New World hops to create what's pretty much hop juice. The pig with monocle and top hat still adorns the label; except this time there are a few surprises on some of the labels too. We'd like to take some credit for this decision here at Crafty Towers as, halfway through our first taste of the initial Love Tap, we emailed one of the brewers with the words: "Love Tap should become your year round regular - your Pacific Ale." However, we can't as they were already thinking that anyway. Either way, it's out everywhere, always.