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!
Hawkers IPA – RETIRED
Published March 10, 2015
Hawkers co-founder Mazen Hajjar is a man never shy with his opinions. And among those many strongly held opinions is that his IPA is his favourite of the Hawkers core range. You can see where he's coming from; having stepped up the hop aromatics a touch from the first batch, the brewing team has ended up with a beer of both depth and sessionability. Based upon the same three hops as the pale, but within a very different structure, it possesses pleasant enough grapefruit, passionfruit and pine aromas,… Read more
Golden
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Bitterness
- 70 IBU
Noisy Minor Patersbier
Published March 9, 2015
It's hard to come across a Belgian style beer bearing the name "Pater" – especially one with a stained glass window for its label – without thinking of possibly the most inappropriate label to appear on a beer: that for Beer Here's delicious Malus Pater. This one is far more tastefully decorated with the brewer's notes telling us: "Patersbier means 'Father’s Beer' - the beer the monks drink at their table after a long day brewing dubbels and tripels. It is lighter in alcohol… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Belgian Session Ale
- Stockists
-
Fortitude Brewery
Hargreaves Hill Small Beer
Published March 7, 2015
Maybe there's good reason we have a soft spot for Hargreaves Hill head brewer Kai Damberg's loquacious tasting notes. Having had a taste of this beer when it made a pre-launch appearance at The Alehouse Project for Craft Beer Rising, we sent an email to the brewery's rep asking for more info so we could post this listing. In said email, we described the beer as "spritzy", a word that, according to proper dictionaries at least, doesn't exist. Through came the tasting notes: "A light,… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Berliner Weisse
- ABV
- 3.5%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Hargreaves Hill, Yarra Glen
Hargreaves Hill Brewery, Lilydale, for their Food Truck Fridays
Two Row
Royal George, Kyneton
La Sirene Saison Nouveau – RETIRED
Published March 6, 2015
"Another new saison variant from La Sirene?" you ask. Well, yes and no. For some time now, the beer bearing the name Saison from the Alphington brewery that you may have seen on tap has differed from the bearing the name Saison in bottle. When putting the original 6.5 percent beer into kegs, head brewer Costa Nikias couldn't get the results he wanted in the same way so he reworked the beer to pour as desired on tap. The result was a different beer with a lower ABV and now he's decided to… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 5.0%
- Stockists
-
Then appearing at other good beer venues in Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland
More stockists...
Murray's Ed Session IPA
Published March 6, 2015
When Fred, Murray’s take on a West Coast American IPA, was released mid-late 2014, it plugged one of the very few gaps in the IPA style spectrum that Murray’s hadn’t brewed via its use of US instead of Kiwi hops. Well, it seems they’re now determined to plug every gap because hot on the heels of Skully – a Red IPA which was as delicious as it was limited in supply – comes Ed, Fred’s younger cousin. Ed is, goes the official description, “not quite as grown up, but just as brash”.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Session IPA
- ABV
- 4.5%
- Stockists
-
Murray's Brewery
Various good beer outlets
Draught only
More stockists...
Australian Brewery Saison D'Heretique (Retired)
Published March 3, 2015
Brewer Neal Cameron's take on the French / Belgian farmhouse style crosses borders by blending French and Belgian yeasts to create a suitably complex beer – one with a big character too. For while the saison style is one that's typically subtle and not "big" in the sense of, say, a hopped up IPA or big stout, this one holds little back. The aroma coming from its towering, fluffy white head is awash with herbal characteristics, and with green peppercorn and clove too, while the malt sweetness… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 6.2%
Rocks Brewing Conviction ESB
Published March 2, 2015
To mark the first year of having their own brewery (with splendid accompanying venue) in Alexandria, Rocks held a party. And they brewed a new beer too. That beer was the Conviction ESB, the abbreviation standing for the British beer style Extra Special Bitter. According to the brewers, it was very much with the UK tradition of knock off pints in mind that this beer was designed, to wit: "The knockoff bell chimes; it’s time to head down to your local watering hole for a pint of ale. The eclectic… Read more
Red
- Style
- ESB
- ABV
- 5.0%
- Stockists
-
Rocks Brewing
Various Sydney venues
More stockists...On handpump at Alehouse, Royston & Great Northern
Two Birds Brewing Rice, Rice, Baby
Published February 28, 2015
The year 2015 is shaping up to be the year of the humorous and punny beer name for Aussie brewers. We've had the likes of Full Metal Anorak, Stupid Sexy Flanders and Bad Boy Bubbly in recent weeks and now the Two Birds are at it. They've created a new beer to be launched at their Craft Beer Rising party on February 28 (then go out further afield beyond that) called Rice, Rice, Baby – complete with cartoon Vanilla Ice on the decal. There's no vanilla. No ice. No mid-brew change of direction from… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Spiced Rice Ale
- Stockists
-
Two Birds Brewing (launched Feb 28)
Others to follow
Clifton Hill Brewpub New World Pilsner - RETIRED
Published February 26, 2015
Wheat beers are a funny one. Sure, not too many are brewed in Australia, fewer still brewed anywhere close to the standards of the originals from southern Germany. But even when they are done well – even with those quality imports – they remain possibly the most divisive or unloved by many of styles. We know plenty of people with an honest appreciation of good beer who will happily declare, on sampling a good one: "I can tell it's a good wheat beer. I just don't like 'em." When the… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- New World Pilsner
- Stockists
-
Clifton Hill Brewpub
Green Beacon Uppercut Imperial IPA
Published February 20, 2015
The biggest and baddest of Brisbane's Green Beacon's beers is back for a third round of heavy-hitting, hop forward action. The Uppercut is an ever-evolving beast with its exact makeup changing round by round according to the brewer's whim, but "always bold, always courageous. The latest, draught-only release pours a bright gold with the brewers aiming for the "big hop aromas typical of classic West Coast IPAs". As such, the malt side of things has been kept lean to "let the hops… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- West Coast IIPA
- ABV
- 8.2%
- Bitterness
- 85 IBU
- Stockists
-
Tomahawk - South Brisbane
Hoo Ha Bar - South Brisbane
The Burrow - West End
More stockists...Brewski - Petrie Terrace
The Bent Elbow - Stones Corner
Ze Pickle - Burleigh
Tapestry - Toowoomba
Mort Estate - Toowoomba
Hawkers Pale Ale – RETIRED
Published February 19, 2015
As a way to announce yourself to the world, Hawkers' first beer did a pretty good job. Released on a Thursday, voted People's Choice Best Beer at the Great Australian Beer Festival in Geelong on the Saturday. It went on to sell faster than any beer in history – by a rate of two-to-one – at local bottleshop / bar Carwyn Cellars and the first 15,000 litres was sold out within 20 days. The beer itself is an American style pale ale and one that aims for the punchy character of the APAs you'd find… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- American Pale Ale
- ABV
- 5.2%
- Bitterness
- 50-plus IBU
- Stockists
-
For the 2021 limited release tallboy tinnies, head here
Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9 Series: Helles
Published February 10, 2015
One of the questions we ask in our semi-regular Brew & A features with Aussie brewers (only semi-regular as they're all too bloody busy to respond...) is what beer would they choose if they were stranded on a desert island for the rest of their days. When compiling the questions years ago, we tried them out ourselves and, while temptation might have been there to go for something "on trend" (probably double IPAs back then) it was hard to see past a good Munich helles: the lagers that… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Munich Helles
- ABV
- 3.9%
- Bitterness
- 20 IBU
- Stockists
-
Holgate Brewhouse
A handful of venues in Hobart, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane
Cheeky Monkey Southern Wailer #17: Extra Special Belgian
Published February 9, 2015
Having spent a couple of hours in Cheeky Monkey head brewer Ross Terlick's company over the festive period, it's a wonder he gets anything done at this time of year. The brewery venue in Margaret River's popular Caves Road attracts so many guests the core beer tanks empty so fast it's like they've sprung a leak. But somehow he's found the time to add to the brewery's growing list of specials they release under the Southern Wailer banner. The Extra Special Belgian is as you might expect from the title:… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Extra Special Belgian
- ABV
- 5.1%
- Bitterness
- 38 IBU
- Stockists
-
Cheeky Monkey Brewery
Holgate Brewhouse Tank 9 Series: Saison Du Barry
Published February 9, 2015
Saison: the archetypal farmhouse beer style. Barry: the archetypal Aussie farmer (well, at least according to the brewers at Holgate). As part of its prolific Tank 9 Series of releases, which started in 2014 and make use of the brewery's smallest remaining fermenter, Holgate have produced their first saison that takes inspiration for its name from the classic Belgian beer, Saison Dupont, and gives it an Aussie makeover. Designed to provide some spritzy summer quaffing, the cloudy yellow offers up… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 5.2%
- Bitterness
- 25 IBU
- Stockists
-
Holgate Brewhouse
A handful of venues in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Hobart
Two Birds Wolf of the West
Published February 5, 2015
After many years working in various roles in the Melbourne beer world, the man we once referred to as the Mozart of Aussie beer (due to his combination of ridiculous depth of knowledge on beer and ridiculously young age) is now brewing at Two Birds. And, having impressed friends and peers in the industry in the past with tiny trial batches, Wilson Hede has now been given his head and asked to create a beer for commercial release. The Wolf refers to a bunch of things: his penchant for wearing a wolf-covered… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- West Coast IPA
- ABV
- 5.8%
- Bitterness
- 65 IBU
- Stockists
-
Two Birds Nest
More stockists...Public Brewery, Croydon
Moon Dog Bad Boy Bubbly
Published February 3, 2015
One of the final beers brewer Adrian McNulty created for 3 Ravens before heading to Moon Dog was an attempt to fashion a beer that tasted like Pedro Ximenez. The beer was Druid, a strong Belgian ale aged in PX barrels that was a damn fine effort and contributed towards 3 Ravens' Champion Small Australian Brewery title. Continuing the theme, the first beer he has created at Moon Dog that has been bottled for a wider release is his attempt to fashion a beer that tastes like champagne. Said beer is… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Barley Champagne
- ABV
- 13.1%
- Bitterness
- 0 IBU
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Moon Dog Brewery
Grape & Grain Moorabbin
Carlton Cellars
Wine Republic
And specialist bars and bottleshops nationwide
Stone & Wood Garden Ale
Published February 2, 2015
The masters of the session beer are back with the nationwide release of the Garden Ale that's available year round only in their home region. This year's release is the same as the tweaked version from 2014, with the Ella hop to the fore, used during the brew and for dry-hopping. The Garden refers to it being the sort of copper-coloured beer you'd quaff in a beer garden, quite probably a British one on of their few days of summer. There are floral, peach and faintly tropical hop aromas and a more… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Summer Ale
- ABV
- 3.8%
- Stockists
-
Find Garden Ale here
Young Henrys Komodo Swaggin'
Published January 30, 2015
Young Henrys’ Newtown brewery has changed a lot over the past couple of years, going from a couple of small fermenters in a big warehouse to a brewery big enough to make that same warehouse look small. And, as the brewery has expanded, so has the brewing team; nowadays there’s a whole swathe of young ‘uns scrambling around between the tanks and learning the ropes. And as these young brewers learn their trade, they’re all getting the chance to come up with their own recipes and put them out… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- American Brown Ale
- ABV
- 5.5%
- Stockists
-
Young Henrys stockists around Sydney
Nomad Brewing Cruisin' Ale
Published January 21, 2015
As with most things Nomad, the Cruisin' Ale has been designed by committee with the whole team getting involved in its creation with a series of blind tastings aimed at creating "the best go to session beer possible". Tagged as an Aussie ale, the goal was to conjure "Memories of cruisin' in an old FJ Holden, windows down, tunes playing on the radio and the amazing Australian landscape whizzing by." What that's turned into – via a combination of local and German malts with Aussie… Read more
Red
- Style
- Australian Ale
Bright Brewery M.I.A. IPA II
Published January 13, 2015
The M.I.A. IPA was the first beer to notify those paying attention that, in Jon Seltin, Bright Brewery had unearthed a young brewer of great potential. A few years on, the potential realised, Jon is off to soon-to-be-revealed pastures new and has taken the exact specifics of the M.I.A. recipe with him but the new incumbent of the head brewer role at Bright, former Southern Bay and BrewDog man Ryan Tyack, has set about giving the beer a new (and not too dissimilar) lease on life. And given he played… Read more
Golden
- Style
- American IPA
- ABV
- 7.0%
- Stockists
-
Available in bottles and on tap at Bright Brewery
Very limited number of bottles available from the Bright Brewery web shop too
