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!
Young Henrys Brew Tang Clam
Published September 18, 2013
Brew one mollusc stout in a year and you're OK. Brew two and it's fair to say you're committed to the cause. Release a third and, well, some might say you should be committed. But when has sanity ever held sway with the good burghers of Newtown's Young Henrys? Thus it is that they have completed a wintry trilogy of beers featuring creatures from the briney depths, with the Brew Tang Clam following Mother Shucka and â?¡ Mussel out the brewery's doors. Not only is it their third seafood stout -… Read more
Black
- Style
- Clam Stout
- ABV
- 5.4%
- Stockists
-
And the usual Young Henry's Sydney tap points
More stockists...
Red Duck Gruitest
Published September 17, 2013
A couple of years back, Red Duck's brewer made one of his regular ventures back in time to create a beer with its origins in Medieval, pre-hop Britain. Canute the Gruit featured homemade nettle juice, deliberately scorched grains and various other unusual ingredients to create a beer that was smokey, sour and odd, but over time developed into something really rather good. He followed it up with Gruiter, described as a "Renaissance" take on the style that lacked the complexity of the former… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Golden Gruit
- ABV
- 6.3%
- Stockists
-
Press Cellars
Swords Select
Olinda Cellars
More stockists...
Red Hill Double Barrel Imperial Stout 2013
Published September 13, 2013
The jewel in Red Hill's crown has been adorned with some extra sparkles. For only the second time in their history, the brewers on the Mornington Peninsula poured some of their highly-rated and much sought after Imperial Stout into whisky barrels to create this "Double Barrel" version. A small amount was debuted at their Imperial Stout-flavoured Secret Stash weekend and now what little is left has departed the brewery in old school 500ml bottles and is cropping up on a handful of shelves.… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 10.2%
- Stockists
-
Stockists TBC but expect it to find it where Red Hill seasonals are usually found.
Moo Brew Trippel
Published September 11, 2013
The first beer in what we're promised will be a series of barrel-aged beers from Tasmania's Moo Brew is a Belgian Tripel. It was flagged up on the site a few weeks back and has since made its way to beer bars across the land. It's this year's Spring Seasonal from Moo and, as such, is a keg only release. It's also, as the name suggests, a Belgian style Tripel, albeit one granted an additional "p", perhaps in tribute to the "oo" in Moo. Either way, one of the Moo Crew tells us he… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Tripel
- ABV
- 9.0%
- Stockists
-
Tasmania
Jack Greene
The Winston
Irish Murphy's
Cock & Bull Hotel
Victoria
More stockists...Saint and Rogue
Bridge Road / Grain Store Tony Brown
Published September 10, 2013
Of all the things a particularly active anti-alcohol campaigner could wish for, having a beer named in their honour is probably not that high on the list. But clearly a chap by the name of Tony Brown has been enough of a success at operating at Newcastle's one man "fun police" that in coming up with a name for the Brown Ale they've brewed with Beechworth's Bridge Road, the team at the Grain Store could think of nothing more suitable. As they told us: "This beer is quite the opposite… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- American Brown Ale
- ABV
- 6.3%
- Bitterness
- 60ish IBU
- Stockists
-
Norfolk Hotel ( Fremantle)
Archive (Brisbane)
[New Sydney Hotel](/beer/bar/new-sy
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Colonial Brewing Project 3: Mission Brown
Published September 6, 2013
It seems that the deeper you delve into the minds of the brewers at Margaret River's Colonial Brewery, the murkier things get. There's an obsession with "Gary", something we don't fully understand but with which we totally empathise given there's something of a "Gary" obsession here too. Something we do understand is that there's a new series of limited releases coming out under the Project Beer banner - we know this as we ran a story on it. Yet we're still not totally sure what… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Brown Ale
- Stockists
-
The Royal on the Waterfront
Raffles, Applecross
Print Hall, Perth
Apple Daily
Portsea Hotel
Half Moon, Brighton
Robbie Burns, Collingwood
More stockists...The Botanical, South Yarra
Grifter Brewing Co Tortoise & The Hop
Published September 2, 2013
The Tortoise & The Hop pilsner is a beer the Grifter Brewing Company couldn't have made when they first started on their brewing adventure. That's not to say they couldn't have done it technically, but physically. You see, lagers (of which pilsner is, of course, one) need to spend considerably longer fermenting when compared to their ale counterparts. And when you're brewing in someone elses brewery, as the Grifters do out of the very busy and predominantly ale-focused Young Henrys, it's not… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Pilsner
- ABV
- 6.2%
Red Duck Licky
Published August 29, 2013
We've been bouncing emails back and forth with Red Duck's brewer this week and he's got the usual array of fun stuff lined up for release over the coming months. Pretty much anything you can think of and he'll be doing it to one style of beer or another and sticking it in a bottle soon enough. The first of the latest batch of limited run releases is Licky. It's a dark lager with a few extra special additions: all natural, dried liquorice root, sarsaparilla root and aniseed myrtle. We've seen such… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Spiced Dark Lager
- ABV
- 5.8%
- Stockists
-
Press Cellars
Swords Select
Olinda Cellars
More stockists...
Mornington's Little Irish Red
Published August 27, 2013
Having achieved a podium finish in the most recent Crafty Pint Blind Tasting for their booziest beer, Mornington Peninsula Brewery is exploring the other end of the beer spectrum with its lowest ABV release yet. The Little Irish Red is an idea that's been bouncing around head brewer AG's mind for a while and now sees the light of day. The idea was to "show that it is indeed possible to pack some flavour and body into a low ABV beer" and, what's more, he tells us: "I think I have done… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Irish Red Ale
- ABV
- 2.9%
Mountain Goat IRA (India Red Ale)
Published August 26, 2013
About time too! Having embarked on a run of IPA variants over the past couple of years - India Pale Ale, Double IPA, Coffee IPA, Thorny Goat, Gypsy & The Goat, Before The Dawn, Rye IPA (RIPA), Hip Hop Hooray IPA - the brewers at Mountain Goat had been busying themselves with other styles. But this week, like a subcontinental version of Sesame Street, their beer is once again brought to you by the word "India". And the word "hops" too. This India Red Ale features four US varieties… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- India Red Ale
- ABV
- 6.4%
- Bitterness
- 60 IBU
- Stockists
-
Rockwell & Sons
[The Park Hotel](/beer/bar/th
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McLaren Vale EXP 4
Published August 19, 2013
There's a lot to be said for US-inspired brown ales. After all, what's not to like in a style that is based around ensuring there's lots of rich malt flavour and plenty of big hops joining in the party too? It's the style the brewing team at McLaren Vale has plumped for as the fourth release in its occasional EXP limited release, keg-only series. They've plumped for some pretty punchy American hop varieties too - Simcoe and newcomers El Dorado and Zythos - which have been pitted against five malts.… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Hoppy Brown
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Stockists
-
Vic stockists
Builders Arms Hotel
Steam Packet Hotel, Williamstown
Metropolitan Hotel, Nth Melb
Great Britain Hotel, Richmond
[Young & Jackson](/beer/bar/young-j
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Eagle Bay Cacao Stout
Published August 16, 2013
The Eagle Bay brewers have hooked up with local Margaret River chocolate makers Bahen & Co for a second year in a row to make their Cacao Stout. It uses cacao husks, a by product of the chocolate making process, which after roasting has significant flavour and complexity. The cacao husks are a waste product of Bahen & Co's chocolate making process so, with both businesses committed to being as green as they can and recycling wherever possible, they decided to find them a new use in beer.… Read more
Black
- Style
- Cacao Stout
- ABV
- 5.7%
- Bitterness
- 30 IBU
- Stockists
Indi The P.O.M – RETIRED
Published August 13, 2013
As we all know, the English are not the sort of race to gloat. Despite being on the wrong end of many a thrashing - not to mention the odd whitewash - by the Aussie cricketers, just because they've won the current series in England early is no reason to act all high and mighty. That just wouldn't be in their nature, especially not any Englishmen actually living and working in Australia. Although, hang on a minute... What's this from British brewer Dave Brough, currently ensconced at the Indian Ocean… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Old Ale
- ABV
- 5.6%
- Stockists
Moon Dog Black Lung III
Published August 9, 2013
It's not just Hollywood that has sequel fever. It's even infiltrating the Aussie craft beer world. You've got Red Duck banging out Ra #2, #3, #4 and so on (a hopless Imperial Egyptian Bread Beer for the uninitiated) and here's Moon Dog with Black Lung III. At its heart (it's black, molten heart) it's a "smokey stout", in other words a stout with a little peated malt added for a touch of smokiness. The reason subsequent batches are being released as sequels with "II" and "III"… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Stout
- ABV
- 8.7%
- Stockists
-
We asked Moon Dog Josh how "far and wide" the beer was going.
"Both far and wide," he said. "Around Oz, NZ and Finland."
So, presumably, pretty much every bottleshop listed on Crafty and other places too.
More stockists...
Murray's Brewing Hell of the North
Published August 8, 2013
You know you could be in for something special when the man responsible for beers such as Icon, Wild Thing, Punk Monk and Heart of Darkness says his new beer is one of the very best he's ever brewed. When word comes back from its pre-launch tapping that it's "the Australian Chimay Reserve", anticipation for said beer only heightens. The beer in question is the latest - and biggest to date - Belgian style ale to be dreamt up by the Murray's Brewing brains trust. The Hell of the North - a… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Belgian Strong Dark Ale
- ABV
- 11.5%
Indi Winter Seasonals: Black White & Dark Lager – RETIRED
Published August 8, 2013
Since taking over the head brewer's role at the Indian Ocean brewery on Perth's most northerly fringes, Dave Brough has wasted little time giving the beer list a serious reworking. All but one of the old lineup were ditched and a steady stream of short run releases has followed. It's all been for the best too, with Indi beers picking up medals at the 2013 Australian International Beer Awards and the White Cap topping its class along the way. Winter has seen a couple of darker beers hit the taps,… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Dark Wheat and Vienna Lager
- ABV
- Both 4.7%
- Stockists
Young Henrys â?¡ Mussel
Published August 6, 2013
It's official: seafood beer with memorable names are so hot right now. Following on from the Murray's/Crafty Pint Auld Bulgin' Boysterous Bicep and Young Henrys Mother Shucka Oyster Stout comes the second in the Newtown brewery's briney beer series: the â?¡ Mussel Stout. The idea for this one came after the guys were invited to a bread, butter, beer and seafood dinner at which they befriended the folks at Kinkawooka Shellfish and who subsequently stopped by the brewery with several kilos of live… Read more
Black
- Style
- Mussel Stout
- ABV
- 5.5%
- Stockists
-
Young Henrys - handpump and tap
Hand Pump:
Petersham Bowling Club
On tap:
Old Growler
More stockists...Little Guy
[The L
Seven Sheds Ferry-Aged Fuggled Porter
Published August 5, 2013
One of the most intriguing of all Aussie brewed beers released last year was Seven Sheds' Bass Strait IPA. Brewer Willie Simpson teamed up with the Spirit of Tasmania to stow away a couple of wooden casks containing an IPA brewed with beers from his own hop farm on one of their ferries. They travelled the equivalent distance of the original IPAs from the UK to India before being taken off the boat and bottled. Interest in the seriously limited release came from far and wide, inspiring Willie to undertake… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Ferry-Aged Porter
- Stockists
Grifter Brewing Co The Omen
Published August 5, 2013
At times in the craft beer world, there seems to be a race on to brew the most out there beer. These are almost always unique and feature something done to the maximum degree, whether it be enamel-stripping amount of hops, spirit-like levels of alcohol or barrel-aged in a Trojan Horse - you name it, someone will be trying it. But running in parallel to this extreme movement, there also seems to be a growing call for 'sessionability'. It's basically the idea of beer that's jam-packed with interesting… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Oatmeal Stout
- ABV
- 5.5%
Murray's Angry Man Brown Ale
Published August 2, 2013
When we carried out last month's brown ale Blind Tasting, more than one panelist commented that it was a shame Murray's Angry Man wasn't there as this year's release wasn't out. Turns out, a few of us rather like it. And so, it transpires, does its brewer, Shawn Sherlock. When we asked him what the favourites were from all those he brews / has brewed at last week's Bicep launch, this US style Brown Ale (but with Murray's signature Kiwi hops) warranted an "I have a real soft spot for it",… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- American Brown Ale
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Stockists
-
Murray's (over the bar or direct order)
The Beach Club Collaroy
[Beer Cartel](/beer/bottleshop/beer-
More stockists...
