New Beers
There has never been a time like now: more breweries releasing more new beers than ever before. Here, in The Crafty Cuppa, and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you details – and, if we've sampled them, our honest, independent take – on as many of them as possible. Enjoy!
Eagle Bay & Friends Forest For The Trees
Published December 15, 2016
A strong coffee would normally be on the agenda following a night of big beers and whiskey. But, for this collaborative quintet it was the starting point for an annual release. Forest For The Trees is the second bottled collaboration between good friends Mane Liquor and the Eagle Bay Brewing Co. In 2016, the congenial collaborators invited urban distillers Whipper Snapper and bespoke roasters Twin Peaks Coffee to contribute to the small batch dark beer too. Working at the picturesque brewery atop… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel Aged Imperial Porter
- ABV
- 8.0%
- Stockists
-
Eagle Bay Brewery
Baby Mammoth
Select WA retailers
More stockists...
Sailors Grave Whisky Sour Berliner Weisse
Published December 15, 2016
For their second limited release Berliner Weisse, Sailors Grave took one of the world's classic cocktails as inspiration, adding locally sourced Meyer lemons, candied oranges, Maraschino cherries and rye whisky to the mix. And it's a combination that makes for a quirky beer, even by the brewery's early standards. It pours a pale, hazy straw colour with what appears to be the faintest of pink hues. On the nose, you'll pick up hints of sourness, bitter cherry and rye whisky, while joining the lemony… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Whisky Sour Berliner Weisse
- ABV
- 4.3%
Sauce Brewing Co Saucy Saison
Published December 10, 2016
Sauce’s third beer release and first ever seasonal was decided by democracy, which is to say they put a vote out on social media asking their followers to choose what style of beer they should brew next. That there was a resounding winner isn't necessarily a surprise. That it was a saison perhaps is. Anyway, they’ll be glad it won't because the ensuing beer, Saucy Saison, is rather lovely. It’s a bit of a blend of a beer, doffing its cap to yeast-driven French-Belgian saisons and using some… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Bitterness
- 30 IBU
Exit Brewing #014: Pale Ale
Published December 9, 2016
They may have eschewed placing a pale ale in their core range, but they've long been fond of playing around with hoppy American style beers. And that's where Exit has headed for its final one-off brew of 2016. Pale ales are the unit shifters in the local craft beer world right now and this one comes loaded up with plenty of the usual suspects: US hops Centennial, Simcoe, Citra and Cascade, with some Kiwi Nelson Sauvin for good measure. At 4.6 percent ABV, it's smack bang in the middle of where you… Read more
Golden
- Style
- American Pale Ale
- ABV
- 4.6%
- Stockists
-
And usual Exit outlets in WA, QLD and NSW
More stockists...
Newstead Brewing The Mod World IPA
Published December 9, 2016
Newstead Brewing already has an IPA in its lineup: the excellent Two to the Valley. It's a relatively delicate, balanced take on the fruity American examples that have driven the style's popularity. If you've tried that beer, then know this: The Mod World one-off brewed with their buddies at KAIJU! is a very different beast indeed. It's tagged a "New Order IPA" and comes bearing the oils and acids from a collection of punchy hops drawn from Germany, New Zealand and Australia. And it comes… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Bitterness
- 87 IBU
- Stockists
-
BrewCult Bar
Newstead Brewery
Brewhouse Brisbane
Saccharomyces Beer Café
More stockists...Lester & Earl
And other good beer stockists across South East Queensland
Mountain Goat Barrel Breed Christmas Ale 2016
Published December 9, 2016
We got a little confused. With Mountain Goat ending the year in which they claimed Champion IPA for The Zymurgist with not one but two limited "Breed" releases, we thought this Christmas Ale was being launched this week. Turns out it's actually Pulped Fiction that's out this week. So apologies if you read this, think: "I must have that in ma belly!" only to find some of the very limited number of kegs sent around the country have already been drained. Thankfully, there's always… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Barrel Aged Belgian Golden Ale
- ABV
- 9.6%
- Stockists
-
Mountain Goat Brewery
Other stockists to follow...
Temple Brewing One Time Double IPA
Published December 8, 2016
Considering Temple head brewer Glenn Harrison's personal preferences lie elsewhere – he most enjoys the challenge of brewing good pilsners and stouts (and drinking them) – he's a pretty dab hand when it comes to brewing hoppy beers. Temple's Anytime Pale (back when it was tagged an IPA) won an Australian International Beer Awards trophy and this double IPA is finding favour among hop heads. It debuted last year as a once-a-year brew and has returned this year unchanged. So you might ask why… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Double IPA
- ABV
- 7.7%
Tallboy & Moose Cream Ale – RETIRED
Published December 8, 2016
One of the first cabs off the rank as Tallboy & Moose opened the doors to their Preston brewery, the Cream Ale forms the backbone of their beer lineup. Based on the American cream ale style – one not often seen Down Under – this is a beer aimed straight at the person looking for a beer to knock back after a hard day at work. Falling somewhere between an ale and a lager, thanks in part to being brewed with yeasts of either type, cream ales are best known for being light on both malt and bitterness.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Cream Ale
- ABV
- 4.9%
Tallboy & Moose Table Pale Ale
Published December 8, 2016
The notion of a table beer is one that is yet to gain much traction in Australia, despite the nation’s proclivity to buy beer by the jug or to stick with one beverage for the entire evening. But Preston’s Tallboy & Moose are clearly not out to produce a watered down version of an ale to be drunk without thought, with their interpretation of a table beer coming with a resinous hop hit right from the start. Dry hopped with Cascade, Columbus and Galaxy, this pale ale belies its 3.4 percent ABV… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Session Pale
- ABV
- 3.4%
Tallboy & Moose ESB
Published December 8, 2016
If there was ever a beer made with breakfast in mind, it might just be the Tallboy & Moose ESB. A classic British style ESB powered by notes of tea and orange marmalade, this cloudy classic makes the most of English hops East Kent Goldings and European cousin Styrian Goldings, balanced with a dash of crystal malt. On first pour, its strong off white head holds its own, until it dissipates into floral aromas of oranges and Earl Grey. Marmalade aptly covers it in both colour and flavour, while… Read more
Golden
- Style
- ESB
- ABV
- 4.7%
Tallboy & Moose Tropicalismo IPA
Published December 8, 2016
Tropical is right. Tallboy’s biggest beer offering (at least among its core range) looks to the US for its inspiration, producing an IPA driven by citrus notes of pineapple and orange thanks to its classic combination of Mosaic, Chinook and Columbus hops. With them comes a bitterness that lasts and lasts as you drink deeper, balanced with touches of Munich and crystal malts. Those malts lend themselves generously to the deep copper colour and allow for an upkick of sweetness in the tail, but hops… Read more
Golden
- Style
- American IPA
- ABV
- 7.6%
Red Duck Duckshund's Munich Lager & Duck Punt Saison
Published December 7, 2016
This pair of releases from Red Duck take inspiration from two of the more historic brewing regions of Europe: Southern Germany and the French / Belgian border area of Wallonia. In one corner you've got Duckshund's Munich Lager, a beer that aims for Bavaria and lands more in heavier festbier than light helles territory with a weighty malt profile that lends it creamy biscuit and toasty characters alongside a broad bitterness created by a blend of old and new German hops. As for Duck Punt Saison, it's… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Lager & Saison
- Stockists
-
Available from the brewery cellar door and select VIC outlets.
Or, if you're quick enough, as part of a 12-pack special for Crafty Cabal members.
Red Duck City of Umber & Ulysses
Published December 7, 2016
Take your eyes off Ballarat's Red Duck for a moment or three and you never know what might happen. Well, there's a good chance a whole new bunch of beers will appear – possibly a braggot or two as well. And, thus, here we are with a series of catch up posts for a bunch of recently and about to be released beers. City of Umber is a brown ale conceived by Red Duck brewer Ryan Fullerton and delivers what you'd want from such a beer – within its chestnut body you'll find toasted nuts, chocolate,… Read more
Black
- Style
- Brown Ale & Dry Irish Stout
- ABV
- Various
- Stockists
-
Available from the brewery cellar door and select VIC outlets.
Or, if you're quick enough, as part of a 12-pack special for Crafty Cabal members.
Red Duck Bandicoot & Hammerhead
Published December 7, 2016
Part three of the first half of our catch up on the latest limited release brews from Red Duck features a pair of hoppier drops. Bandicoot is designed to be the brewery's beer for summer, a "small hoppy pale ale" weighing in at light beer strength for the designated driver or session minded among you. It's very pale and offers up limey and grapefruit zest hop aromas atop a beer that's light in body but relatively high in bitterness – a light IPA, perhaps? Very much in full IPA territory… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Light Pale Ale & IPA
- ABV
- 2.7% & 6.8%
- Stockists
-
Available from the brewery cellar door and select VIC outlets.
Or, if you're quick enough, as part of a 12-pack special for Crafty Cabal members.
Wolf of the Willows Acidulus I
Published December 6, 2016
If you know Melbourne based Wolf of the Willows from their core range of beers, you only know part of the story. Over their two years as a commercial operation, they've broadened their palette via various keg-only releases, from relatively straight-down-the-line hops and malt led affairs to more esoteric drops, such as the Paradisi fruit saison. And now, given this beer comes with the suffix I, it appears there's a new line on the way that will allow Scott and Renae to explore the world of acid a… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Sour Blonde
- ABV
- 5.1%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Bad Shepherd Brewpub
Saccharomyces
The Oxford Tap House
Hop Nation The Punch
Published December 6, 2016
As 2016 draws to a close, it's a toss up as to what the defining theme of the year has been. Is it the ubiquity of IPA, the ongoing rise of sour beer styles, the rate at which the number of new brewing companies is outstripping demand, or the race to get a beer (or beers) into cans for summer? We probably need time away from writing about the local beer scene, ideally in a flotation tank, to come to a conclusion, but what we do know is that Hop Nation has added to the world of IPA in fine style with… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Mango Gose
- ABV
- 4.0%
Fox Hat Red Pelt
Published December 6, 2016
It may be a bit of a stereotype that red heads tend to be a tad fiery, bold and a little out there (but they say there's no smoke without a fire). And that's exactly the direction Fox Hat has headed with its latest core range beer, Red Pelt. It's an India Red Ale that fits nicely into their regular range, slotting in between the Metric IPA and Phat Mongrel Stout in colour. Continuing the stereotype theme, this isn't a bookish redhead that'll spend its lunch break in the library fussing over last… Read more
Red
- Style
- India Red Ale
- ABV
- 7.8%
- Bitterness
- 88 IBU
Woolshed Brewery River Time Session Pale
Published December 6, 2016
Picture this: a 40 degree South Australian summer day, camped on the banks of the Murray River, all while sinking back a few beers with your family and friends. Smoke fills the air, a strong whiff of steak hits the nose, just as a bead of sweat trickles down your forehead. You need a drink, one that's refreshing, clean and easy to throw back without feeling the immediate effects. You want to refresh, relax and laugh the afternoon away without the worry of feeling the effects of booze. Woolshed’s… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Session Pale
- ABV
- 3.5%
- Stockists
-
Woolshed Brewery
KAIJU! Krush Tropical Pale Ale
Published December 5, 2016
Well, the 'Sup's sunrise carpet is going to be more colourful at this year's Meredith than ever before... Yes, another day, another Aussie craft brewer with a beer in can, as Mr East Coast Canning continues to wear ruts into the roads between Brisbane and Melbourne. Yet, when the results are as colourful as this first KAIJU! can, bring 'em on! Provided they don't attract the ire of the makers of Candy Crush like they did the lawyers employed by Monster energy drink in their first guise, one assumes… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Pale Ale
- ABV
- 4.7%
Ocho Beer Papá Noel
Published December 5, 2016
Tasmanian brewer Stu Grant is bringing down the curtain on his first year under the Ocho banner with a beer for Christmas. Or Daddy Christmas, if you will. After as colourful an opening array of beers as this country is likely to have witnessed – barrels, farmhouse ales, blends, sours, grapes and a take on the New England IPA style – all while adding to his collection of children, he no doubt feels entitled to a little celebration. And that's what this sort of beer is; it's not a spiced, strong… Read more
Red
- Style
- English Strong Ale
- ABV
- 8.5%
- Stockists
-
Order direct from Ocho here
