During the hot months, the Swell brewers are all about finding the perfect waves and firing out surf-inspired hazies and summer smashers; as we head towards winter, the ocean is traded out for the slopes (or maybe the boardshorts for the wetsuit) where a warming stout is needed after a session. So, just as the temperature hints at a drop in South Australia, the Swell team have come in heavy with not one but two very different stouts.
Winter Sessions starts out as the more traditional of the two before taking a turn towards the less traditional. This 5.9 percent ABV foreign extra combines dark chocolate, Shepherd's Delight, brown, Vienna and roasted barley malts with Sabro and Centennial hops. It's a combination that gives the beer floral meets dark chocolate aromas before a hint of a rockmelon sweetness takes over on the first sip, mixing with the dark chocolate, some Sabro-derived coconut, a mild roast, and a slight, lingering bitterness.
Pororoca, on the other hand, is a reference to a tidal bore located on the Amazon River. The strong tidal movement of the river stirs up the mud to create a brown milkshake look and a four metre swell that travels in a perfect barrel for nearly 800 kilometres upstream. So, how do you take that starting point and make a beer? You call on Melba's Chocolates from the Adelaide Hills, adding their organic cocoa nibs and milk sugar to a complex grain bill, that's how.
A solid, chocolate brown, foamy head is indicative of what’s to come: Melba’s sweet chocolate is pretty dominant on the aroma with a hint of cherry along for the ride. You'll pick up dark cocoa to taste in a stout that's not as sweet as it might have been, but instead has a balanced milky creaminess working with some roast and a solid, dry finish.
Matt King
Published May 7, 2021 2021-05-07 00:00:00
