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!
Red Hill Belgian Blonde 2012
Published February 2, 2012
Despite the fact they've just taken delivery of a spanking new bottling line, the good sorts down at Red Hill haven't let their brewing schedule slide, meaning their late summer seasonal, the rather tasty Belgian Blonde is out and about. Actually, not quite out and about - such is demand for their beers these days that they only managed to squeeze in the one batch this year, meaning it's on at the brewery and the brewery only. Expect plenty of rich biscuity malt characters, hints of spice and a touch… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Belgian Pale Ale
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Stockists
Holgate Bruges Bombshell
Published January 30, 2012
A beer that was originally going to be called the Clock Tower, until in the week it went into tank the brewers at Holgate noticed that True South was releasing an IPA with the same name. So back to the drawing board it was and up came the Bruges Bombshell. Why? Well, because it's a bolshy Belgian style ale and Bruges is in Belgium, where head brewer Paul Holgate had just been on holiday and... you get the message. So what of the beer? Well, we're told it's "full flavoured but easy drinking with… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Belgian Golden Ale
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Stockists
-
Sabroso, Seddon
More stockists...
Mash Rye The Hop Not ESB
Published January 24, 2012
One of a series of rye beers produced by the Mash brewers, this uses the rye's earthy, spicy character to add richness and complexity to a meeting of the continents: an English style Extra Special Bitter dry-hopped with varieties from the US and Europe.… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- ESB
- ABV
- 5.2%
Bridge Road Summer IPA
Published January 23, 2012
The Bridge Road crew are getting together a nice line in single Aussie hop IPAs, with the Summer following the hugely popular Galaxy and relative newcomer Stella off the rank - and with the unlikely Pride of Ringwood IPA to follow. Summer is a hop variety formerly known as Summer Saaz and has been developed by Hop Products Australia. Those who've ploughed into the Galaxy and Stella IPAs will find this one much more subtle; don't expect to be blown away by pungent aromas, instead it's a gentler, floral… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 5.0%
Mountain Goat The Hoeff
Published January 20, 2012
Goat's annual Hefe-cum-Hasselhoff is back for the summer. It's a true to style take on the hefes you find in Southern Germany - think clove and banana aromas, a touch of bubblegum sweetness and a somewhat dry finish in a cloudy beer with minimal bitterness designed for maximum hot weather refreshment. That, or designed for washing down bucketloads of weisswurst for breakfast if you want to be a traditionalist. Mind you, start down that road and you'll soon be wearing lederhosen, putting feathers… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Hefeweizen
- ABV
- 5.3%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Temple Midnight IPA (Retired)
Published January 13, 2012
When this beer was offered up as a single keg taster at a trade event in 2010, it was the pick of pretty much everyone in the room. One chap with about as senior a role in the Australian brewing industry described it as faultless - not something he would give up easily. More importantly, it was delicious. And now, back as the final member of the Temple permanent range, it still is. Deeply dark and with powerfully pungent piney (that's enough "p's" thanks) hop aromas that greet you well… Read more
Black
- Style
- Black IPA
- ABV
- 7.0%
- Bitterness
- 77 IBU
- Stockists
-
Temple Brewery
Mountain Goat Goldilocks (2012)
Published January 13, 2012
Another of the summer specials from Goat that debuted last year is back, the Styrian Goldings hopped Goldilocks. As the name suggests, it's a golden ale (summer ale if you like) with one aim and one aim only - being quaffed. Light floral hops and an easy-going malt character make it reminiscent of the sort of ales consumed by the gallon in British beer gardens in the two weeks that constitutes a British summer, while it seems to us (if memory serves us correctly) that the bitterness has been reined… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Golden Ale
- ABV
- 5.0%
- Stockists
-
Others tbc
2 Brothers Kung Foo
Published January 4, 2012
While there are a multitude of breweries producing summer ales and IPAs for the warmer weather, 2 Brothers are offering their own summer session beer, but it's a little off centre from the norm. Opting for a different summer direction, 2 Brothers have brewed up a rice lager to quench the thirst of Melbourne's south east. The beer itself is a simple solution to the rising mercury: a light, straw coloured lager that's crisp and refreshing all the way down to the bottom of the pint. The nose has some… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Rice Lager
- ABV
- 4.7%
Hargreaves Hill Russian Imperial Stout (bottled)
Published January 2, 2012
One of the biggest beers ever produced in Australia is now available in a very limited run of 750ml bottles. Hargreaves Hill's RIS weighs in at more than 12% ABV and packs just as much flavour. One friend of Crafty who likes his uber-beers went so far as to claim it could be the best Victorian beer he'd ever tasted when it was on tap in 2011. If you missed out then, grab a bottle or two before they're gone - and don't worry about whether it's too hot for such a beer now as they'll last a fair while.… Read more
Black
- Style
- Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 12.3%
Moon Dog Symbiotic Solipsism
Published December 26, 2011
It's always nice to see brewers joining forces with other producers to expand their horizons. Already the Moon Dog chaps have hooked up with neighbours Mt Goat and CUB for the Abbey Collabbey beer brewed for Good Beer Week and now they've made a beer in cahoots with Coffee Supreme, namely a coffee and raspberry amber ale. The coffee is of a roasted nature (as opposed to the more fragrant "green bean" type found in Mt Goat's Coffee IPA, for example) and the raspberry comes across fresh and… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Coffee & Raspberry Amber
- ABV
- 7.9%
- Bitterness
- 30 IBU
- Stockists
-
[Purvis Beer Richmond](/beer/bottleshop/purv
More stockists...
Murray's Anniversary Ale 6
Published December 23, 2011
Is there anything the brewers at Murray's won't give a Belgian twist? Is there a level of alcohol content that will ever prove a step too far for them? Who knows, but it's generally plenty of fun finding out. It's the time of year when the NSW brewery brings out its Anniversary Ale, which in the past has tended to be a barleywine of one sort or another, occasionally with a touch of funk added. This time, they've given it the aforementioned Belgian twist, creating a 15% beast of a beer of which less… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Belgian Barleywine
- ABV
- 15%
- Stockists
-
Or via online order from the brewery
Moon Dog Gingerbread Brown
Published December 22, 2011
"Ain't no stopping us now-ow! We're on the move. We've got the groove." Don't know about you, but we can really see the Moon Doggers prancing around like McFadden & Whitehead performing their disco classic while knocking out what, at present, seems to be an unstoppable line of crazy beers with silly names. Not in a Hey, Hey, It's Saturday! racist embarrassment kind of way, more a kind of "Yes. We. Can." attitude, boosted by a subtle undercurrent of gay abandon. Latest off… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Spiced Brown Ale
- ABV
- 7.5%
- Stockists
-
Local Bottle Store & Provisions Growlers
Lord Nelson One Eyed Rye
Published December 19, 2011
Having turned to Belgium for inspiration for their last seasonal, the delicious Anniversary Ale brewed to mark 25 years of bringing real beer to the people of The Rocks, the Lord Nelson brew team are back on more familiar territory for Christmas. The One Eyed Rye is a traditional ale made with 50% rye malt. For those unfamiliar with rye malt, it can impart a rather unique character, frequently richer in body and often lending a slightly spicy, smoky malt character. It's appearing in a few Aussie… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Rye Beer
- ABV
- 5.1%
- Stockists
3 Ravens Smoked Wheat
Published December 16, 2011
The Thornbury brewery continues to plunder every nook and cranny of the Germanic beer world, coming at us this time with a beer that combines elements of two of their regular beers: a bit of smoked malt and a bit of fruity wheat beer yeast. It might sound an unusual combination to the newcomer - mixing elements of earthy, woody, campfire like aromas with the banana and clove esters of the wheat yeast - but they sit together rather well. It's not bananas on the barbie, instead a cloudy copper coloured… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Smoked Wheat Beer
- ABV
- 4.7%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Mountain Goat Imperial Pilsner (2011)
Published December 14, 2011
Or more accurately, an Imperial Keller Pilsner, apparently. In other words, unfiltered and designed to be tapped and quaffed asap. It's the second stab at a big ol' pilsner from the Richmond crew, one head brewer Dave Bonighton described as "a Black Forest Wolf in Western Districts sheep's clothing?", a comment that can possibly be ascribed to the fact he came up with it on the day of the brewery's Christmas party. The beer is a strong, unfiltered, cold conditioned "forever",… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Imperial Pilsner
- ABV
- 7.5%
- Bitterness
- 50 IBU
- Stockists
-
More tbc
Mountain Goat Skipping Girl (Andy'd Remix)
Published December 7, 2011
Anyone who's been to Mountain Goat in the past couple of years will know Randy, the glass cylinder that allows them to add hops, spices, coffee beans and the like to their beers just before they leave the tap and hit your glass. Now they've added Andy, Randy's cousin, who is "a late hopping device for pre-packed bottles and kegs; in other words the beer gets Andy'd in tank, not just before your glass." Skipping Girl first reared her head last summer and was Crafty's pick of the one-off… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Summer Ale
- ABV
- 4.7%
- Stockists
Moon Dog Black Lung
Published December 6, 2011
The Black Lung first appeared as a teaser keg at Josie Bones during Good Beer Week, where its no holds barred smokiness was undermined a little by a lack of body. No such problem this time around as it gets a full release, complete with tweaked recipe and a rich, smooth mouthfeel. Considering there's both peated malt and a bourbon barrel at play, it's a surprisingly rounded affair, with plenty of sweetness in the malt profile to balance the smoke and oak. The effects of the bourbon really come into… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Smoked Stout
- ABV
- 7.7%
- Bitterness
- 40 IBU
- Stockists
-
[Local Bottle Store & Provisions](/beer/bottleshop/the-local-bottle-stor
More stockists...
Moon Dog Perverse Sexual Amalgam (bottles)
Published December 5, 2011
The beer that debuted at The Crafty Pint's first birthday bash, Festival of the Frothy, is back in a strictly limited bottled release. So limited, in fact, the brewers are already bemoaning how little of it they have and it's only just started leaving the brewery. More has been laid down, but will be months away. The Amalgam is likely to be the first of many wild or sour ales from Moon Dog. It's a lightly carbonated dark ale that spent several months in oak with some tart cherry plums and comes… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Wild Ale
- ABV
- 6.9%
- Bitterness
- 14 IBU
- Stockists
-
[Local Bottle Store & Provisions](/beer/bottleshop/the-local-bottle-stor
More stockists...
Moon Dog Henry Ford's Girthsome Fjord
Published December 5, 2011
So, it's got a ridiculous name, is described as a "Bulgo-American India Brown Ale" and has a list of ingredients that could be entered into a short story competition; little wonder there's lots going on in Henry Ford's Girthsome Fjord. A typically Moon Doggian mangling of styles, this has hops aplenty, a splash of brown sugar to accompany the malts and a mix of yeasts, including a Belgian Trappist one that does its level best to dominate proceedings. Not that that's an easy task. Its distinctive… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Belgian India Brown Ale
- ABV
- 8.9%
- Bitterness
- 65 IBU
- Stockists
-
[Local Bottle Store & Provisions](/beer/bottleshop/the-local-bottle-stor
More stockists...
Bright Mystic Mild
Published December 2, 2011
The latest seasonal from Bright Brewery sees them reining in the alcohol content after unleashing an Imperial Stout and punchy IPA in recent months. The Mystic Mild rocks in at just 3.0% but, that said, it's no flavour free zone or lager-like light. Nope, it's a beer that appears to look to the milds of the UK for inspiration, a deep amber / brown beer that, according to the brewers, is characterised by "raisin toast, dark bread and cigar box/cedar". It's on tap at the brewery now; we'll… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Mild
- ABV
- 3.0%
- Stockists
