New Beers
Barely a day goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery (if not ten). Here and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you news and, if we've sampled them, our take on as many of them as possible. Happy hunting!
Nail Brewing Hughe Dunn Brown
Tapped December 3rd, 2013
Slowly but surely, the pieces are falling into place for the rest of the country to discover what the people of WA and the nation's beer judges have known for some time: that John Stallwood of Nail Brewing is one of Australia's very finest brewers. Since going into business with longtime friend and sparring partner Brendan Varis of Feral as BrewCorp last year, he's had the capacity to supply the East Coast and the logistics are now pretty much there to get his immaculate takes on classic styles out… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Imperial Brown Ale
- ABV
- 8.0%
- Stockists
-
At good bottleshops in QLD, WA and NSW
Some bottles going into Dan Murphy's in VIC
Morrison Brewery Angus Scotch Ale
Tapped December 3rd, 2013
What better way to celebrate bringing a new brewer into the world than by brewing a special beer? And when we say special, we are talking an 11.8%, whisky barrel-aged beast to boot. This started off as a whopper of a Scotch Ale and then spent four months inside oak from Tasmania's Lark Distillery, picking up additional touches of oak and vanilla to complement the multilayered, sweet and boozy malts of the base beer.… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale
- ABV
- 11.8%
Morrison Brewery Saison
Tapped December 2nd, 2013
At launch, this was a rare trip for Paul Morrison outside the British Isles and Ireland for inspiration for this seasonal that was first released in 2013. He's since ventured far beyond, adding American style pale and amber ales to the core and limited run lineup, as well as brewing other European style beers. And this Saison, which is released annually in 750ml bottles, suggested it was a smart move casting the net wider for influence too. As one would hope from such a beer, it is zesty, dry and… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 6.2%
- Awards
Silver at 2016 AIBA
Hargreaves Hill El Dorado IPA
Tapped December 1st, 2013
Our first experience of the El Dorado hop was on a tour of Hunter S Thompson's mate's US brewery Flying Dog. It was the latest beer in their single hop series, a series that, being Flying Dog, looked to showcase hops in the format of a 10 per cent Imperial IPA. A bit like Mosaic, it's one of the new breed of US hops that seems to overwhelm brewers who come into contact with it with an uncontrollable urge to create beers that showcase its lively citrus characteristics. That's the case with Hargreaves… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Bitterness
- 55 IBU
- Stockists
-
Belgian Beer Cafe Eureka
Brother Burger & The Marvellous Brew
[East Of Everything](/beer/bar/east-
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Red Duck Half Wit & Geist
Tapped November 29th, 2013
The new ideas and style mashing continues to come from Red Duck with two new beers in time for summer that register low on the ABV count. The Half Wit is ostensibly a Belgian witbier, brewed with half wheat and half barley. We're told it's a "pale, white, slightly cloudy weisse" and to look out for "soft grapefruit and white spicy notes". The Geist sees the brewery combine elements of the German gose style, generally tart and salty, with another German style, the Berliner Weisse,… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Belgian Wit and Gose / Berliner Weisse
- ABV
- 3.4% & 3.2%
- Stockists
-
Bottles:
Press Cellars
Swords Select
Olin
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Temple Resurrection Pilsner
Tapped November 23rd, 2013
There are plenty of reasons for the folks at Temple to be happy these days. After a brief spell in voluntary liquidation, they're back in business and had one of their biggest nights ever on their first night back. They've got designers giving their East Brunswick home an overhaul. There are plans for significant expansion. And there are new beers. And, having dropped in to sample them the other day, it would seem that it's the last of these that, perhaps understandably, has co-founder and head brewer… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- American Pilsner
- ABV
- 5.6%
- Stockists
Riverside / Yeastie Boys Inner City White
Tapped November 21st, 2013
When Stu McKinlay, one half of New Zealand's famed Yeastie Boys, was in Australia for Sydney Craft Beer Week he headed out to Riverside Brewing Company for a nap on the pile of malt bags and to help out on this collaborative brew. With Riverside's penchant for a generous hop regime combined with the Yeastie Boys' tendency to operate on the right side of left of centre, this was always going to be an interesting blend. And so we have Inner City White, billed as 'not your typical wheat beer' and a… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Wheat Beer
- ABV
- 4.4%
Prancing Pony Thoroughbred India Red Ale
Tapped November 20th, 2013
The first beer to appear under the Prancing Pony special release range called Thoroughbred was also the first beer to start a buzz about the brewery among beer aficionados in their home state. The India Red Ale is a no-holds-barred beer that ramps up the malt profile (making full use of their much-loved "fire brewed" caramelisation) and the hops in equal measure. Frank's inspiration came from wanting to combine a New World IPA with an "American Imperial Double Red Ale" (trying… Read more
Red
- ABV
- 7.9%
- Bitterness
- 60 IBU
Cavalier Mild & Berliner Weisse
Tapped November 20th, 2013
Why release one three per cent ABV beer when you can release two at the same time? Especially when you'd struggle to find two beers more different in every other way. According to Cavalier, the appearance of two low ABV beers at the same time is partly "because not many breweries do them in Australia, not properly anyway." But also because: "We like the idea of being able to drink full flavoured low alcohol beers, especially if you are driving. And with most good craft beer venues… Read more
Golden
- Style
- English Mild and Berliner Weisse
- ABV
- 3.0%
- Stockists
-
English Mild
Archive, Brisbane
Deja Vu Bar
[Josie Bones](/beer/bar/josi
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Moo Brew Seasonal Saison 2013
Tapped November 15th, 2013
It's birthday time at Moo, with the brand turning eight and the new (well, newer than the original one) brewery celebrating three years in business this month. There's no birthday brew to celebrate, instead the third release of its Seasonal Saison. The beer first hit a handful of taps around Hobart for Beer Lovers Week and the Tasmanian International BeerFest, as well as the brewery's stand at Taste of Melbourne. And, as of this week, it's set to land on taps at craft beer venues all over the land.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 5.5%
- Stockists
-
Jack Greene. Hobart
Irish Murphy's, Hobart
Other venues across Australia TBC
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Mornington Peninsula Super Pale 500
Tapped November 13th, 2013
Has any brewery got to 500 brews as fast as Mornington Peninsula Brewery? They only marked three years in business in October but have just reached that milestone. With big expansion plans in mind and a canning line on the way, it's all go for a brewery that has won a place in the hearts of many a beer lover across Australia and was shortlisted for Champion Small Brewer at this year's Australian International Beer Awards. To mark the feat, they've returned to where it started: their Pale Ale, but… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Double Pale Ale
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Stockists
-
The Alehouse Project (Launching there 14/11)
More stockists...
Eagle Bay / Mane Liquor Saisonay
Tapped November 8th, 2013
No doubt there will be all manner of new and rare beers hitting taps across the state over the coming days as WA Beer Week kicks off. But we'll wager there will be few as intriguing as this collaboration between Margaret River's Eagle Bay and awesome WA bottleshop Mane Liquor. It makes its debut at the WA leg of Sail & Anchor's Night of the Barrels tonight (November 8), which means that it has seen the inside of a barrel. Head brewer Nick d'Espeissis hooked up with Elliot and Jackson from Mane… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Saison
- Stockists
Riverside / Cavalier Belgian Pale Ale
Tapped November 6th, 2013
The last time Riverside Brewing and Cavalier Beer were mentioned together in the same sentence as the word 'collaboration', it was during Good Beer Week 2013. Back then the two were in direct competition with each other, having teamed up with the TimeOut magazine in their respective cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and brewed a beer that best represented their home. Bragging rights aside though, that the earlier competition was just a bit of fun and, as if to prove it, for Sydney Craft Beer Week the… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Belgian Pale Ale
- ABV
- 5.4%
Six String Brewing Saison
Tapped November 2nd, 2013
It took them three years of jumping through hoops to get their brewery in Erina up and running. By in just six months since the doors were opened, they've wasted no time getting the word out that something different is brewing on NSW's Central Coast, via weekly gigs on a stage in front of their brewery tanks, the hairiest collection of staff at any Australian brewery (if their appearance at the Aus Hotel Beer Fest is anything to go by) and some fine beers too. The latest to appear is their take on… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 4.6%
- Bitterness
- 26 IBU
- Stockists
Grifter Brewing Co / Two Birds Kokonatsu
Tapped November 1st, 2013
In 2012, for Sydney Craft Beer Week, Jayne Lewis from Two Birds headed to Sydney to brew a collaboration with the crew at the recently opened Young Henrys brewery. The resulting beer was Otaku, a Japanese-inspired green tea and seaweed altbier. Ahead of the same event in 2013, brewer Jayne made the same trip to the same brewery, only this time it was to collaborate with the other brewing company that calls Young Henrys home; Grifter Brewing. Clearly not wanting to mess with a winning formula, the… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- American Brown Ale
- ABV
- 6.0%
Grifter Brewing Co Big Sur IPA
Tapped October 30th, 2013
When you decide to launch a West Coast IPA, there's a prerequisite that you've gotta go big on the hops. For the Big Sur IPA, the guys at the Grifter Brewing Company met that expectation head on and then some with the inspiration apparently coming (and who can be sure how jokingly) from the desire to "experiment with how many hops we could add to the kettle before we blocked the heat exchange". That attempt to bust the brewhouse - courtesy of the Columbus, Citra and Simcoe hop varieties… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast IPA
- ABV
- 6.7%
Burleigh Brewing Hassle Hop
Tapped October 29th, 2013
In any healthy team, there will always be differences of opinion, a willingness to debate, an appreciation that sometimes compromise is necessary to reach the best possible outcome. But sometimes, even a healthy team can decide that compromise can take a running jump and everyone can have their own way at the same time. Certainly, that seems to be what's happened at the Gold Coast's Burleigh Brewing, where a debate over the best hops currently available on the market - with five brewers arguing the… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Strong Pale Ale
- ABV
- 5.5%
- Stockists
-
In good beer stockists nationwide
Mountain Goat RIPA 2013
Tapped October 25th, 2013
There was a moment during the Blind Tasting sessions we were running at last weekend's Australian Hotel Beer Festival where we wondered if we'd ever finish. It wasn't due to the questions from the audience or any long-winded spiel from our guest brewers, but came when Mike from Goat was talking about the Goat IPA that had just won its round. We were trying to recall all the IPA variants the brewery had made, a list that went something like: IPA, Double IPA, Imperial IPA, Seedy Goat, Thorny Goat,… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Rye IPA
- ABV
- 6.1%
- Bitterness
- 55 IBU
- Stockists
-
McCoppins Fitzro
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Hargreaves Hill Pilsner
Tapped October 24th, 2013
Over the years, Yarra Valley brewery Hargreaves Hill has released a variety of pilsners, often showcasing one hop or another. And, with summer on its way, they're back with a fresh version. In keeping with their fondness for unearthing rare styles, such as past releases like the Maibock they created with Red Hill or the Grisette brewed for GABS in 2012, they've ignored the Bohemian and German styles most Aussie brewers use for inspiration and instead opted for a pre-Prohibition era US style pilsner.… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- American Pilsner
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Stockists
-
Belgian Beer Café Eureka (Crafty Pint listing coming soon)
Healesville Hotel
[B
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Young Henrys Few Of My Favourite Things
Tapped October 23rd, 2013
While they're always a joyful bunch down at the Young Henrys brewery, it's still a little hard to imagine them getting too excited about - much less inspired by - the classic Sound of Music singalong about raindrops, roses and whiskers on kittens. It just doesn't seem, well... rock and roll enough. But when you swap the raindrops for ale, the roses for truffles and the whiskers for bacon, that's definitely something to work with. In fact, that's exactly what they have worked with for the release… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Truffled & Baconed Belgian IPA
- ABV
- 6.1%
- Stockists
-
Dove & Olive
The Old Growler
Station Bar
More stockists...
