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!
3 Ravens Wild Ravens Old Brown Ale
Published September 14, 2016
Thornbury's 3 Ravens has never been averse to producing the occasional out there release. Yet it's probably fair to say that, in recent times, the character of its current head brewer has been shining through increasingly in its beers. Brendan Sullivan is a fermentation fanatic (not just in the beer sense) who, prior to becoming a commercial brewer, was winning amateur trophies for Berliner Weisse long before they were really "a thing" in Australia. The latest project of his to leave the… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Oud Bruin
- ABV
- 7.3%
- Stockists
-
3 Ravens Brewery Bar
More stockists...
Boatrocker Brewery Coffee Ramjet 2016
Published September 10, 2016
Earlier this year, at the first Ramjet Day at Boatrocker's Barrel Room, one of the treats served up to guests was a coffee version of the brewery's much-loved barrel-aged imperial stout. And now Coffee Ramjet is being made available to a wider audience. As with straight Ramjet, the beer spent time in Starward whisky barrels before the coffee was added; whole beans were infused into the beer directly – the equivalent of an espresso shot per 330ml bottle. That might sound a lot but, if you've been… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 10.6%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Boatrocker Barrel Room
Brewhouse Brisbane
Mill on Constance
Newstead Brewing Waimea Single Hop IPA
Published September 10, 2016
Created for Archive's annual Armakeggon event, this is a showcase for relatively new Kiwi hop Waimea. First released in 2012, it's been used here to create an American style IPA with hops – both whole cones and pellets – added in the boil, in Newstead's hopback and then in the fermenter too, in rather sizeable quantities. The brewer's notes tell us that the result is a a beer in which "citrus, mandarin, lemon, pine and spice are all abundant and really showcase what this hop is all about."… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Single Hop IPA
- ABV
- 6.8%
- Bitterness
- 73 IBU
- Stockists
-
Newstead Brewing Co
Boatrocker Brewery Dark Saison
Published September 7, 2016
They're getting quite the collection of saison style beers under their belt at Boatrocker, from the now core range Saison Bateau to some sour varieties and now this end of Winter / start of Spring bridging release. It's something of a rarity for the Braeside experimentalists these days too: no barrel was harmed in the making of the Dark Saison. Instead, what we have here is a delicate saison yeast going to work with dark malts, topped off with the addition of some mystery spices. And it's the spices… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Spiced Dark Saison
- ABV
- 7.3%
Mountain Goat The Alphonse India Amber Ale
Published September 6, 2016
A few years back, Mountain Goat tapped a new beer at their brewery bar called Fancy Pants. It was intended to be what their iconic Hightail might be were there not financial realities to take into account, and it's fair to say that this hoppier, maltier version – then supposedly just a one-off release – was lapped up by The Crafty Pint and mates. Fancy Pants has since graduated to be one of the brewery's canned releases. At the same time, it's not a beer that retains such a "Wow!" factor… Read more
Red
- Style
- India Amber Ale
- ABV
- 7.0%
- Bitterness
- 70 IBU
- Stockists
-
Available nationwide on tap and in bottles
Bad Shepherd The Almighty IIPA
Published September 2, 2016
With a "Tiny IPA", American Pale Ale and New World IPA in its lineup, Cheltenham brewpub Bad Shepherd was already offering plenty for the hopheads out there. But clearly it wasn't enough to satisfy co-owner and head brewer Dereck Hales (a man whose Twitter handle includes the word hophead). So he's decided to add an imperial IPA just to be safe. The Almighty is his latest seasonal and one that comes with suitably eye-catching packaging: there's a bold gold lightning bolt slashed across… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Imperial IPA
- ABV
- 9.2%
- Bitterness
- 100 IBU
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Bad Shepherd Brewpub
The Public Brewery, Croydon
And select beer venues in Victoria
Staves Into The Black Oatmeal Stout
Published September 1, 2016
If you’re convinced that rock and roll can never die, then you’ll appreciate this stout - it shares its name with a Neil Young song that holds that exact message, and has since been quoted by so many rockers. Into The Black carries some of the heaviness of its eponymous song, with the oats giving it a fullness in the mouth. Dark chocolate and roasty bitterness sit front and centre, but there’s also a hint of coffee and a slightly earthy char around the edges, like a spent cigar butt in an open… Read more
Black
- Style
- Oatmeal Stout
- ABV
- 5.4%
Staves IPA
Published September 1, 2016
If you love your hops but you’re ready to take a break from the juice, Staves IPA is a cracking example of an IPA that brings in powerful malt character to carry its hops. Right away, the rich gold colour hints that it’s going to have a solid malt base, and it doesn’t lie. Caramel and honey sweetness lay the foundation for the southern hemisphere hop flavours to come - a bright citrus twang of lime and tangerine sherbet sit alongside gentle, sweet melon and a hint of pine. And just as any well-dressed… Read more
Golden
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 6.6%
Staves Pale Ale
Published September 1, 2016
Bam!!! Kapow!!! This tinnie makes you want to wear your underwear on the outside and kick bad guys out of windows. (But then, a lot of things make me do that.) If the bright colours and exclamation marks on the label of Staves Brewery’s Pale Ale doesn’t make you feel like a comic book superhero, the beer inside might. Like moving from one panel to the next, this pale shifts from a fruity aroma to a piney taste to an earthy aftertaste, punctuated with a karate chop of bitterness. It took home… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Pale Ale
- ABV
- 5.3%
Staves Ardennes Table Beer
Published September 1, 2016
The ‘Ardennes’ part in this beer’s name refers to a yeast named for the Ardennes region of Belgium and is thus known for its suitability for a variety of Belgian style beers. The way they use it at Staves is by fermenting it at a reasonably warm temperature which has the effect of helping promoting the yeast’s esters and phenols (in other words, making it smell both fruity and a little spicy). Because it’s made with pale malt and a good dose of oats, all the aromatics sit on top of a base… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Blonde Ale
- ABV
- 4.2%
Newstead Brewing Tinderbox
Published September 1, 2016
At the start of each season, Newstead Brewing releases a new lager. For Winter it was the dark and roasty Westerlies and now, for Spring, it's something rather lighter. Tinderbox is a pilsner of the New World variety, one that lines up Kiwi hop Motueka alongside Citra from the US and old school Tettnang. The aim, according to the brewers is to "capture Spring in a glass". And they reckon that means a beer in which the hops have been chosen to "accentuate the citrus character of a punchy,… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Pilsner
- ABV
- 5.1%
- Bitterness
- 31 IBU
- Stockists
-
Newstead Brewing Co
The Oxford Taphouse
Others TBC
More stockists...
Indian Ocean Straight Rollers XPA
Published September 1, 2016
Brewer's notes: XPA is neither an IPA nor a pale ale; it sits somewhere in between. Bolstering big hop aromas and a healthy IBU, Straight Roller’s drinkability relies on a dry finish so there is a healthy dose of wheat and oats throughout this beer to boost the body without adding sweetness. This beer is a fast seller and produced sporadically throughout the year so keep an eye out for it.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- XPA
- ABV
- 6.4%
- Bitterness
- 50 IBU
La Sirène Wild Tripelle II
Published August 31, 2016
The Wild Tripelle series is Melbourne based brewery La Sirène's first foray into 100 percent spontaneously fermented beer. For the first release last year, the brewers left their hopped, sweet wort open to the elements in their brewery for months, allowing the native bacteria and yeasts in the air to spark fermentation and add character, before ageing the beer until it was at a point where they felt it was ready for release. For a beer tagged "wild" it wasn't actually that wild, instead… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Spontaneously Fermented Ale
- ABV
- 8.0%
Nail Brewing Chocolate Brown Ale
Published August 29, 2016
Anyone who's paid even a passing attention to Nail Brewing over the past decade and more will know that founder and head brewer John Stallwood is rather adept at creating marvellous malt driven ales. The best known, his Clout Stout, is set to hit shelves in its limited edition form very soon, while it has a partner-in-crime for the end of winter 2016 too. The Chocolate Brown Ale joins a fine roster of darker Nail brews: Huhge Dunn imperial brown, a one-off Clayden Brew imperial porter, the trophy-winning… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Brown Ale
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Stockists
-
And select craft beer venues across Australia
More stockists...
Green Beacon Grappler & The Whaler 2016
Published August 26, 2016
As is their wont, Green Beacon have evolved the latest two seasonals to hit taps from the previous year's models that bore the names Grappler and The Whaler. That said, they're pretty minor evolutions this time around. The Grappler remains a pilsner and is one that is 100 percent German in inspiration and ingredients (well, bar the Brisbane water). That said, it's a beer that makes a feature of some of the livelier new wave of hops coming out of Germany rather than the older varieties that make classic… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Pilsner & Blood Orange IPA
- ABV
- 5.8% & 6.2%
Modus Operandi Kiwi Kerfuffle In Brussels
Published August 26, 2016
Despite the attention they get for their hoppy American beers, Modus Operandi has long had a thing for saisons – in fact, on day one of their brewery opening they poured two in the form of Pepper In The Rye and MOFOS, with more soon following. But the latest may well be their best yet. It’s called Kiwi Kerfuffles In Brussels and if you guessed that this means a Belgian saison yeast crossed with New Zealand hops, you’d be right. It throws out some bubblegum aromas at first but the big winner… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Hoppy Saison
- ABV
- 7.2%
- Stockists
-
Modus Operandi Brewery
Feral Brewing Ace of Base
Published August 25, 2016
Feral's Brewpub Series sees them, on occasion, pluck a favourite beer from the many that have previously graced the taps at their Swan Valley brewpub (and often not too many other places). For winter 2016, they went back a little in time and opted for Ace of Base, a beer that, in typical Feral fashion, isn't the sort you might expect to see in the colder months and that, in typical Feral "styles be damned" fashion, they've tagged an "imperial India saison" for its bottle release.… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Imperial India Saison
- ABV
- 8.3%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
And good beer stockists where you find Feral beers
Newstead & BrewCult Milk & Two Pineapples
Published August 23, 2016
Another collaboration from Newstead Brewing and one that is kind of a tribute to the collaborator too. In hooking up with Hendo from BrewCult, they've offered a nod and a wink to one of his past glories, the GABS People's Choice winner from 2015: Milk & Two Sugars. Where that was an espresso'd and lactosed to the hilt sweet stout, this time around it's a lactosed and pineapple juiced affair, with the base an IPA rather than a stout. While we've not tasted this one yet, if you're after a point… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Lactose IPA
- ABV
- 6.7%
- Bitterness
- 74 IBU
- Stockists
-
Newstead Brewing
The Oxford Taphouse
Brisbane Brewing Co
Brewhouse Brisbane
More stockists...
Newstead & Croft Brewing Once Were Warriors
Published August 23, 2016
Newstead and Croft Brewing have been at it again, heading into the brewery to knock out a fifth different kettle sour. Once again they've plundered the world of movies for its title too, although following the druggy and psychedelic prior choices: Fear & Loathing, The Naked Lunch and so on, here it's Once Were Warriors, a film that sears itself on your retina rather than wheedling its way into your third eye. Presumably the naming was driven by a couple of things: the choice of a Kiwi hop (whole… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Single Hop Kettle Sour
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Bitterness
- 23 IBU
- Stockists
-
Newstead Brewing
Stone & Wood & Willie Simpson Forefathers 2016
Published August 22, 2016
In 2015, Stone & Wood decided to start paying tribute to the people without whom the local beer landscape would look very little like it does today. They did so by inviting Phil Sexton, a founder of the Sail & Anchor, Matilda Bay and Little Creatures (and much else besides) to brew with them. And now, for their second Forefathers release, they invited Willie Simpson up from Tasmania to join them at the brewery. For those who've not heard of Willie, he's a guy who, for some reason even he… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Doppelbock
- ABV
- 7.0%
- Stockists
-
Find Forefathers 2016 from August 22 here
