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!

Bright Brewery

Temple Oatmeal Stout

Published August 10, 2012
Considering the array of beers Temple has unleashed in recent years, it might come as some surprise that this is their first stout. Originally it was going to be held until next winter, but with one of the brewers - an avowed stout fiend - following his partner to Tassie, it was decided to brew the Oatmeal Stout early as a send off. In a break from the norm at the Brunswick East brewery, there's is nothing out of the norm. As head brewer Ron Feruglio says: "The twist is there is no twist."… Read more
Style
Oatmeal Stout
ABV
5.9%
Stockists

Temple

Others to follow

Red Duck The Ox 2012

Published August 9, 2012
We're unashamed fans of The Ox here at The Crafty Pint with a beer fridge that's still home to a 2010 bottle (a gift from a very generous reader) and a few 2011's too. In fact, we like it so much we put it on the Crafty Curates lineup during Good Beer Week last year. It's Scott Wilson-Browne's attempt to brew a beer like Three Floyds' legendary Dark Lord, uses only first runnings and requires a 22-hour brew day. We've only had a wee sample of the new one and it was instantly apparent there had been… Read more
Style
Imperial Stout
ABV
9.4%
Stockists

Slowbeer

Purvis Cellars

McCoppins

Press Cellars

Blackhearts & Sparrows

Swords Select

Olinda Cellars

More stockists...

Mountain Goat The Naz

Published August 8, 2012
Goat fans will be aware of The Craig, a beer made by one of the Goat brewers called, incredibly, Craig. In fact, true fans will be aware that there have been two Craigs. And now, following in The Craig's footsteps comes The Naz, a beer concocted by fellow brewer Shane, aka Naz. As The Naz is a guardian of The Crafty Pot, we probably need to say something good about his beer so he keeps being nice to her. Thankfully, that's not a problem as he's come up with a well balanced mocha porter that's had… Read more
Style
Mocha Porter
ABV
5.2%
Stockists

Mountain Goat

Beer Cartel (growler fills)

Rockwell & Sons (opening soon)

Others TBC

More stockists...

Red Duck Ragnarok

Published August 2, 2012
There's something a little disturbing about the story behind this new release from Red Duck. According to the release notes: "Ragnarok, from Norse mythology, is the final battle of the Gods, in which most are killed, and the Earth is destroyed. It would be the end of the world as we know it. But the outcome isn't all bad, as a few Gods survive, as well as 2 humans who are able to repopulate a new and cleansed world." All well and good, but as they go on to explain that the beer is a collaboration… Read more
Style
Belgian Quad
ABV
10.6%
Stockists

Slowbeer

Purvis Cellars

McCoppins

Press Cellars

Blackhearts & Sparrows

Swords Select

Olinda Cellars

More stockists...

Red Hill Weizenbock 2012

Published August 1, 2012
The brewery may have closed its bar and restaurant last month, but the beers keep on coming. This time it's the return of a style that's cropping up a little more often around the Aussie craft beer world these days - the weizenbock, aka a strong wheat beer. It's a beautiful looking beer in the glass with a fluffed up pillow like ahead atop its cloudy brown body. It's one with plenty going on too; the label might talk of its chocolate flavours, but get it young and it's those big, fruity wheat beer… Read more
Style
Weizenbock
ABV
7.9%

Red Duck Hop Bach

Published July 27, 2012
While Red Duck do have some hoppy beers in their range (the Bengal IPA, Hoppy Amber, for example), they're generally a brewery that explores the beer world in other ways, whether with malt-led numbers, experiments without hops or blending meads and strong ales. With this one beer they could be seen to redress the balance in one fell swoop. Concocted with 25 different hop varieties in conjunction with visiting Danish brewer Anders Kissmeyer earlier in the year, it's a nigh-on ten per cent Imperial… Read more
Style
Imperial IPA
ABV
9.8%
Stockists

Slowbeer

Purvis Cellars

McCoppins

Press Cellars

Blackhearts & Sparrows

Swords Select

Olinda Cellars

More stockists...

3 Ravens Prussian Porter

Published July 24, 2012
Word on the hopbine suggests 3 Ravens will live on, despite earlier fears, with a white knight on the distant horizon. Should that not prove to be the case and were this to be the final special release from the Thornbury brewer it would be a fitting farewell. A year in the making from the time of its brewing followed by a few months in barrels also used for beers such as the Double Ale Noir, it has now been deemed ready for release, following an early taster in cask form at Good Beer Week's Bull… Read more
Style
Prussian Porter
ABV
8%

Stone & Wood Stone Beer (2012)

Published July 23, 2012
This year saw a change in direction for the Byron brewers' annual stone beer. Sure, they still pulled out the same stones from Fiji and heated them in a wood fire on the driveway outside the brewery. And they still lifted them, when white hot, into a metal cage and lowered them into the brew to let them work their caramelising magic. But elsewhere, it was all change with an all new recipe that saw the beer become a much bigger affair. That it's a new beer is apparent from the moment it hits the glass:… Read more
Style
Stone Beer
ABV
7.2%
Stockists

Find it here

Moo Brew Vintage Imperial Stout 2012

Published July 16, 2012
Over the past week or so, we've been interviewing some of the country's leading brewers about barrel aging. We were told that one of the effects is to allow oxygen to slowly come into contact with the beer, which - in the case of beers such as stouts - can have the effect of softening the roast characters and lending the beer more caramel notes. Whether it was coincidence or not, the latest release of Moo Brew's Vintage Imperial Stout then landed in our hands and may as well have announced: "Here's… Read more
Style
Barrel-aged Imperial Stout
ABV
8.5%

Moon Dog Black Lung II

Published July 14, 2012
The original Black Lung was quite possibly the Crafty Pint's pick of the Moon Dog beers to date. The sequel sees them replace the bourbon barrel aging with whisky instead and it's instantly apparent that the beer has picked up far more character from its time spent inside wood than the previous iteration. Considering it's been blended with an unwooded batch of the beer, one can only imagine how the unblended version must have tasted - like licking the inside of the barrel itself, perhaps! The intensity… Read more
Style
Smokey Stout
ABV
8.9%

Bridge Road B2 Mach II

Published July 13, 2012
Bridge Road has concocted some fantastic beers for its birthday releases: a barrel-aged Imperial Porter, a black saison and the B2 Bomber among them. The last of these is probably the one that caused the most excitement among the craft beer cognoscenti, a melding of a Belgian yeast with lots of hops and dark, roasty malts. For the brewery's seventh birthday, it's been brought out of retirement and given a boost in the form of more hops. The result is the same utterly idiosyncratic nose that bamboozled… Read more
Style
Black Belgian IPA
ABV
8.0%
Stockists

Bridge Road

Others tbc

Bottles can be ordered from info@bridgeroadbrewers.com.au

More stockists...

Mountain Goat Seedy Goat 2012

Published July 11, 2012
One of the more interesting collaborations of 2012 saw Goat team up with their mates at Seven Seeds to deliver a coffee IPA that was subtler than one would expect. Instead of using the coffee to add a roasty character, the beans were very gently roasted to instead impart fruity perfume that complimented the hops in the beer. It's back for 2012 with a tweaked recipe. According to head brewer Dave Bonighton: "This year we've used the Nicaraguan Finca Jaime Molina Montecristo bean. This is a coffee… Read more
Style
Coffee IPA
ABV
6.2%
Bitterness
55IBU
Stockists

Kegs:

Tramway Hotel

Beer DeLuxe

Hell of the North

Alehouse Project (opening soon...)

Napier Hotel

Prince Alfred Hotel, Port Melbourne

Belgian Beer Cafe, Eureka

More stockists...

Mash Koffee Stout

Published July 5, 2012
A winter seasonal from the Swan Valley brewery, this is described as "A wonderfully simple yet complex little beer made with Yahava Koffee Beans. It displays hints of chocolate, cocoa, soft acidity and the signature fresh coffee nuttiness in flavour and aroma." Relatively low in alcohol, it's only available on tap.… Read more
Style
Coffee Stout
ABV
4.3%
Stockists

Mash Brewing

Mash Rockingham

Mash Bunbury

More stockists...

Mash Challenger English IPA

Published July 2, 2012
The clue's in the title... Challenger hops are a classic variety when brewing English style ales and this is just that, an English style ales brewed with lots of hops thrown into the whirlpool and more used for dry hopping. As well as the English hops, there are some Kiwi representative too that add some tropical fruits on the nose before the more typically British apricot and orange - plus some caramel malts - join in the fun.… Read more
Style
English IPA
ABV
5.8%
Stockists

Little Creatures Day of the Long Shadow

Published June 29, 2012
Timing is everything. And there was certainly something amusing about the release of a spiced ale that's close to double figures for alcohol content coming so close to news that Lion - not a company known for its promotion of such esoteric fare - was planning to take control of 100 per cent of Little Creatures. While their Pale Ale has continued its successful charge across the country as one of the best craft beer converters, the Single Batch series has helped keep those at the more extreme end… Read more
Style
Spiced Ale
ABV
8.9%
Stockists

Find it here

Mountain Goat Hip Hip Hooray IPA

Published June 29, 2012
The 423rd IPA to be released by Mountain Goat in the past 18 months is possibly its hoppiest yet. The Hip Hip Hooray was brewed as a surprise gift for the brewery's bar and events manager Sam's recent birthday and is as punchy and full of character as the lady herself. The aroma leans more towards the hops more than any previous Goat IPA, with buckets of floral, tropical aromas in charge and the malt kept more in the background than their straight Rare Breed IPA. Hardly surprising when you consider… Read more
Style
Double IPA
ABV
7.4%
Bitterness
70IBU
Stockists

Mountain Goat

Others tbc

Mash Tank 8

Published June 25, 2012
A Belgian style ale from the Swan Valley brewers that they're calling a "dirty blonde". We presume this is for all the right reasons, however, such as keeping it dirty (aka cloudy ) to ensure the beer retains its distinctive yeast character and the fruity esters that come with it. Look out for "an added spice or two which combine for an unmistakable Belgian nose" as well as "tart acidity" with the malts very much there just to keep things ticking along.… Read more
Style
Belgian Blonde
ABV
5.5%
Stockists

Mash Brewing

Bright Stubborn Russian 2012

Published June 21, 2012
Among last year's impressive haul of Aussie brewed Imperial Stouts was Bright's Stubborn Russian. It was actually one of the lower ABV offerings of the haul, something that has been seen to for this year. In the words of brewer Jon Seltin, it's "black, bigger, badder" stands at 9.6 pr cent yet "is smoother and more integrated than the last release - a good sign that it's a winner is the fact that it's now the go-to beer for all our beer-geek bar staff," he says. This year's contains… Read more
Style
Imperial Stout
ABV
9.6%
Stockists

Bright Brewery (bottle and on tap)

Slowbeer

VALE/EXP1

Published June 20, 2012
The first release in McLaren Vale's EXP series - AKA experimental - is an oatmeal stout given a shot of nitro for added creaminess. Borne of brewer Jeff Wright's experimentations, he says to expect "flavours of rich, bitter chocolate and roast coffee coming from the combination of seven malts" plus a "citrusy bitter finish" from the use of Cascade hops.… Read more
Style
Stout
ABV
4.8%

Lord Nelson 111

Published June 13, 2012
The 111 is named for 'our late comrade, Ron (Ronaldo Grossetti) Grossâ? - one of the original shareholders and great friend of the Lord Nelson pub. He died a few years ago and this beer was created in his memory. An English style India Pale Ale brewed with British malts and hops and dry hopped with Goldings and Target, the brewers tell us it's a 'full flavoured ale, copper in colour, with a mellow, rounded palate.â?… Read more
Style
IPA
ABV
5.4%
Stockists

Lord Nelson