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!
Bridge Road / Ní¸gne í? India Saison (Oz)
Published October 20, 2011
The first version of the Bridge Road / Ní¸gne í? collaboration to hit the shelves Down Under is the one brewed by Ben Kraus on his return from Norway, using the same recipe as that concocted with Kjetil Jikiun earlier in the year. The story is that the pair of saison lovers decided to make one with a bunch of Aussie hops that weren't available in Europe at the time of the brew. Hop Products Australia sent Stella and Galaxy varieties over and both were used to create a highly hopped, high alcohol… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Highly hopped saison
- ABV
- 7.5%
- Stockists
-
[Local Bottle Store & Provisions](/beer/bottleshop/the-local-bottle-store-provi
More stockists...
Two Birds Golden Ale – RETIRED
Published October 17, 2011
Where it all began the Birds. Having taken her leave from Mountain Goat to embark on what's turned out to be a rather successful venture with Danielle, Jayne's first beer was both a safe first step and one that epitomised the approachable side of her ethos. It was ale fairly prescient too, for while there are dozens of local brewers with golden ales on their rosters now, back in 2011 they weren't nearly as common. The beer itself is pretty much the baseline for what to expect from a contemporary… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Golden Ale
- ABV
- 4.4%
- Bitterness
- 20 IBU
Feral King Brown
Published October 16, 2011
Of all the beers that were put on the lineup for the Festival of the Frothy, few had people more excited than this, a cognac barrel-aged Imperial Brown from Feral. Perhaps it was because it was a new beer from Feral, perhaps it was because the brewer Brendan Varis had called it the "most luscious" beer they'd ever created which, given the output from their Swan Valley base, is quite a claim. The result is a deeply dark brown beer and one that lives very much in the darker realms of flavour… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Imperial Brown
- Stockists
Moon Dog Perverse Sexual Amalgam
Published October 15, 2011
One of the best gifts we received on the occasion of our first birthday at The Festival of the Frothy was the decision of the Moon Dog brewers to give us the first keg of Perverse Sexual Amalgam, a wild black ale to which has been added all manner of funky yeasts as well as, at some point in its existence inside some of their many barrels, tart cherry plums. The result is a deeply dark ale with a light white head that hints at a bright future for the boys. Sour and tart, for sure, but in a balanced,… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-aged Wild Ale
Moon Dog Skunkworks Double IPA
Published October 14, 2011
Having tested the water / teased the beer geeks over the past few months with occasional single keg releases, Moon Dog have finally got their brewery fully up and running and popped a beer into bottles. As you'd expect, said bottles are suitably off the wall, bringing lunacy to the land of labels (wonder what the collectors societies will make of them?), as well as upfront honesty with a complete list of ingredients and when they've been added to the brew. We're actually a little late with this… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- BarrelAged Double IPA
- ABV
- 9.1%
- Bitterness
- 105 IBU
- Stockists
-
[Local Bottle Store & Provisions](/beer/bottle
More stockists...
Mountain Goat Helles To The Yeah
Published October 12, 2011
On the day they took the wrapping paper off their brand spanking new brewery and set about buffing it to the shiniest of finishes, Goat also unveiled a new lager. Helles To The Yeah is a bock, aka strong, version of a hell, aka pale German lager. It's not often the Goats stray from ales into lager territory, but this is a welcome detour. Malt led, with sweet, almost honeyed aromas and biscuity, toffee flavours, it's a sneakily potent brew, one that's nicely balanced in such a manner that the Nelson… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Helles Bock
- ABV
- 6.3%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Prickly Moses Oktoberfest Lager
Published October 10, 2011
A beer that's brewed every year for the Otway Estate Oktoberfest is the Prickly Moses' brewers take on malt driven Vienna style lagers. Made with malts and hops grown in the southern German state of Bavaria and, of course, the local Otway rainwater, we're told to expect "a rich, malty palate with a balanced hop bitterness and aroma with a reddish hue". It will be flowing at the Otway Oktoberfest on October 22 but has already started to appear elsewhere, after making its bow at The Local… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Vienna Lager
- ABV
- 5.2%
- Stockists
-
[The Local Taphouse Darlo]
More stockists...
3 Ravens Oktoberfestbier
Published October 8, 2011
Of all the breweries in Australia, few have as much experience playing around with German lager styles as 3 Ravens. Their Oktoberfestbier sticks true to the German fest beers, undergoing cold fermentation and spending four weeks lagering at the brewery prior to release. The result is a seriously malty lager, one that pours a deep amber and has a sweet, biscuity malt aroma. It's all about the malts in the mouth too, with rich toffee and biscuit flavours leading the way and a hop bitterness that's… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Oktoberfestbier
- ABV
- 6.3%
- Stockists
-
[Beer DeLuxe](/beer/ba
More stockists...
3 Ravens Ale Noir
Published October 7, 2011
It's been seen this year in "Double" form and now the Thornbury's brewery's barrel-aged version of their smoky Dark Ale is back in normal "Ale Noir" fashion. The story behind it sees the brewers pop some of the Dark into a barrel once used for pinot noir and let the two go to work for a few months. The result aroma-wise this time around is low on wine characteristics, but high on the oak and smoke, both of which make an appearance once imbibed amid swirls of dark malts that range… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Smoke Beer
- ABV
- 5.4%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Murray's The Natural
Published October 4, 2011
A beer conceived in honour of Cadel Evans' Tour de France triumph, The Natural is a tribute to French country ales, those that are typically yeast driven session strength beers with heaps of character. Using a unique and distinctive French Ale yeast, it boasts "strong earthy, country aromas" according to Murray's with a "light acidity on the palate followed by the driest of cracking dry finishes". Featuring a high malted and unmalted wheat content and pouring a hazy, pale straw… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- French Farmhouse Ale
- ABV
- 5.0%
- Stockists
Mountain Goat RIPA (2011)
Published September 17, 2011
The fifth IPA variant to exit the Goat stable in 2011, this one uses rye to make up a significant portion of the malt bill. They first released a Rye IPA (aka RIPA) last year, a beer made in collaboration with the Australian National Homebrewers Conference that was in effect a scaled up version of a winning homebrewer's recipe. This time around, they've boosted the amount of rye and added some wheat malt, resulting in a lengthy brew that took more than twice as long as normal. The result is a beer… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Rye IPA
- ABV
- 5.8%
- Bitterness
- 50 IBU
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Red Hill Weizenbock (2011)
Published September 16, 2011
A beer whose popularity surprised the brewers, given strong German style wheat beers rocking in around 8% aren't exactly commonplace in Australia, the Weizenbock is Red Hill's first spring seasonal, a nice bridger as the weather warms up. When young, this dark beer offers up plenty of chocolate, toffee, clove and banana characteristics, with the sweetness balanced by some brewery grown hops and backed up by a gentle warmth from the alcohol. We've also tasted some bottles that were allowed to age… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Weizenbock
- ABV
- 7.9%
- Stockists
-
2013 stockists TBC but we know the first keg has been tapped at East Of Everything
Bridge Road Single Hop IPAs (bottled)
Published September 9, 2011
A handful of bars around Australia have offered their punter the chance to educate themselves hoppily courtesy of Bridge Road's single hop IPAs and now you can do it from the comfort of your favourite armchair / hammock / ditch. We doubt you need telling about Galaxy, the big cheese of Hop Products Australia's development program in recent years that's doing its thing in beers across Oz, while Stella is described as its stepsister - a cross between an Aussie and European variety. The former is all… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 4.8%
- Stockists
-
[Local Bottle Store & Provisions](/beer/bottleshop/the-loc
More stockists...
2 Brothers James Brown (2011)
Published September 9, 2011
The funk is back in town. One of 2 Brothers most eye-catching beers of 2010 is back for another run. The James Brown is their take on big Belgian browns, featuring a truckload of candi sugar and described last year as "bananas coated in Nutella" by one appreciative bar manager. As for this latest version, brewer Andrew Ong tells us they've deliberately reined in the estery notes this time around. They're "still there but better balanced" he says. It's already on at the 2 Brothers… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Belgian Strong Ale
- ABV
- 8.8%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Holgate UXB (2011)
Published August 26, 2011
When it's at its best, Holgate's ESB is one of few Aussie beers that can transport the drinker 11,000 miles to a pub in the UK without leaving their seat. And this, the UXB - or unexploded bomb - to give it its full name, is the ESB but bigger; 60% bigger to be precise, with the malt bill and hops boosted by that amount. This is only its second appearance, after it graced a few taps to acclaim around about the same time last year. As you'd expect, the result is a thicker-bodied beer, smooth and full… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Extra Special Bitter
- ABV
- 6%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Holgate Nut Brown Ale (2011)
Published August 25, 2011
The beer that Paul Holgate created to mark the brewery's 10th anniversary is back to warm the cockles during the colder months once more. Notable in that, rather than concoct something wild and crazy to mark the occasion he chose a style he loved and wanted to see more of Down Under, it's a beer that features roasted macadamia nuts added to the boil. A blend of six malts mean there's plenty of rich, dark chocolate, toasty and nutty flavours to play with and, in this year's, a drier, less sweet, finish… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Nut Brown Ale
- ABV
- 6.3%
- Stockists
-
The Deanery, Melbourne
Albion Hotel, Newcastle
[Great Northern](/beer/bar/great-northern
More stockists...
Mountain Goat DIPA (2011)
Published August 24, 2011
Hot on the heels of the Seedy Goat Coffee IPA comes the return of Mountain Goat's Double IPA that first rolled out of the brewery last year. A bigger brother to the delicious Rare Breed IPA - and bigger even than last year's debut, with the 2011 model rocking it two fat ladies style at 8.8%, with the alcohol well hidden. Given we seem to recall the 2010 version was so full of hops it threatened to block the pipes at the brewery, that's quite an achievement. Expect plenty of malty sweetness and a… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Double IPA
- ABV
- 8.8%
- Stockists
Little Creatures Dreadnought
Published August 19, 2011
It's been a little while since the last Little Creatures Single Batch release - and a fair while since this one was originally conceived. The Dreadnought came about from an in-house competition, with head brewer Alex Troncoso setting his brewers and any other home brewing types within the Creatures family the task of coming up with something big and dark for a winter release. The winner was this, ramped up to a full brew length and now making its way onto taps and into bottleshops across the land.… Read more
Black
- Style
- Foreign Extra Stout
- ABV
- 7.4%
- Stockists
-
[Little Creatures](/beer/brewery/little creatures/)
[Blackhearts & Sparrows](/beer/bottleshop/blackhearts-sparro
More stockists...
3 Ravens Ravenator Bock
Published August 12, 2011
One of the best received of 3 Ravens' limited run releases in 2010, the marvelously named Ravenator is back. Another to take its inspiration from Germany, this is a strong lager, one that was traditionally brewed dark, which is certainly the case here. Treated lovingly, as it should be, with a lengthy period of cool fermentation and maturation at the brewery prior to release, it's a beer from the Thornbury brewers to reward those who love their malts. On the nose, they come in the form of sweeter,… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Bock
- ABV
- 5.9%
Feral Boris (2011)
Published August 5, 2011
One of the first Aussie beers to go really big when it was first brewed, Feral's Russian Imperial Stout weighs in at nigh on 12%. A big, bold, jet black, take-no-prisoners kind of a beer, a new batch has just been unleased by the Swan Valley brewers and started appearing on a handful of taps around the country. We've yet to get our smackers around the latest incarnation so are handing over tasting note duties to Al, who runs the Great Northern Hotel and has just taken delivery of a couple of kegs.… Read more
Black
- Style
- Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 11.5%
