New Beers
Barely a day goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery (if not ten). Here and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you news and, if we've sampled them, our take on as many of them as possible. Happy hunting!
Hawkers Imperial Stout 2019
Tapped July 26th, 2019
Hawker’s Imperial Stout is now in its fourth year and has brought in its wake so many barrel-aged iterations that, even if you've missed one or two, the Hawkers section of your cellar may very well be bulging by now. This year’s barrel-aged releases will be out in the near future but, for now, we have the standalone Imperial Stout 2019 to see us through. At 10.6 percent ABV, this year’s is a touch lighter than its predecessor (and closer to the first two releases) and the Hawkers team have… Read more
Black
- Style
- Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 10.6%
Frenchies La Boussole
Tapped July 26th, 2019
Bières de garde are one of the rarest beer styles brewed in Australia. In fact, with the release of Frenchies' La Boussole, you could buy more bières de garde from the Rosebery bistro and brewery than just about every other brewery in the country combined. What sets La Boussole apart from the others, however, is it’s the first out of Frenchies' barrel-ageing program. La Boussole (French for compass) is named for the French frigate and sister ship to the L’Astrolabe, which sailed under the… Read more
Red
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Bière de Garde
- ABV
- 7.6%
Green Beacon Fathom Barrel Aged Beers: Belgian Style Brown Variants
Tapped July 25th, 2019
Fathom is Green Beacon’s barrel-aged and mixed fermentation program that the highly-awarded brewery started developing quietly a few years ago. The series is named for the nautical method of measuring depth, which feels like as good a statement of intent as any for a program dealing with beer’s more complex, wilder and funkier side. Having started out selling the beers from their brewpub home in Brisbane, they've been making their way further afield since, with the lineup now embellished by a… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Barrel Aged Brown Ales
- ABV
- 7.5% & 8.0%
Woolshed Brewery Great Southern Trendkiller Double Black IPA
Tapped July 25th, 2019
The Great Southern Trendkill is one of Pantera’s most popular and fiercest albums. Thus, it will have proven a suitable working piece and inspiration for this limited release from Woolshed Brewery. In creating a double black IPA, head brewer Jackson Beavis wanted a beer that was bitter, aggressive and punchy and he's nailed all three. The beer is heavy metal in a glass, pouring light black in colour with a brown head that emits a multitude of aromas, including some grassiness and pine, with roast… Read more
Black
- Style
- Double Black IPA
- ABV
- 7.2%
Woolshed Brewery Bunyip Imperial Stout 2019
Tapped July 25th, 2019
The Bunyip is back, crawling from the dark abyss to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting drinker. This beast-inspired imperial stout is released each year at winter’s peak and is the biggest of the dark beers brewed at the Woolshed Brewery on the banks of the Murray. Jet black in appearance, with a decent size chocolate brown head, finding the Bunyip in the waters where it's said to lurk would be impossible. But, those stale and murky waters, the beer is much more pleasant, with dark chocolate, dried… Read more
Black
- Style
- Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 8.5%
Venom Brewing Honeycomb Choc Porter
Tapped July 25th, 2019
Dessert beers feel like they're constantly being released during winter so how do you try and stand out from the crowd? You could, as Venom Brewing have done, create a beer inspired by Sunday brunch. Brewed with honey from Victoria's Central Goldfields region, Honeycomb Choc Porter is a sweet and dark beer best suited to drink while tucking into an over-loaded plate of pancakes. The sweet chocolate is the clearest flavour and immediately conjures images of scoffing down Smarties as a kid. The honey… Read more
Black
- Style
- Porter
- ABV
- 7.5%
- Stockists
-
In good beer outlets around Melbourne
Little Bang Brewing Inside Voice
Tapped July 25th, 2019
Stout is proving to be a very versatile style, with milk stouts, tropical stouts, pastry stouts and foreign extra stouts just a few of those doing the rounds these days. But, sometimes, just a straightforward stout is all you want: no adjuncts or crazy dessert additions, but something a little more simple. Inside Voice is a foreign extra stout that takes a little potshot at the craziness of the beer world today†, with a label that states: “It’s not a choc-peanut-butter-marshmallow-pancake-batter-milkshake-gose.… Read more
Black
- Style
- Foreign Extra Stout
- ABV
- 5.7%
- Bitterness
- 41 IBU
Little Bang & Collective Arts Road Tripper Double IPA
Tapped July 25th, 2019
Starting in 2018, the Adelaide Beer & BBQ organisers have flown an international brewing legend around Australia to whip up a series of collaborations to launch at the festival. In the first year, it was BrewDog, and in 2019 Collective Arts from Canada were given the nod. While visiting Adelaide, Collective Arts brewer Ryan Morrow collaborated with Stepney brewers Little Bang, creating a double West Coast IPA for which the collaborators drew upon their memories of the good old road trip. Road… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast IIPA
- ABV
- 8.1%
- Bitterness
- 114 IBU
Venom Brewing Black IPA
Tapped July 24th, 2019
Venom's tattoo artist logo and label design managed to become one of the most talked about in Victoria when the brewing company's first beer, the fine Golden Ale, was released. That was as founder Joel Drysdale intended, with the beer good enough to overcome the brickbats from those who didn't like what they saw; indeed, he was soon brewing double size batches of it at Hawkers. The Black IPA from they brewing company, which has become a regular winter staple, doubles down on that eye-catching branding… Read more
Black
- Style
- Black IPA
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Bitterness
- 65 IBU
- Stockists
-
In good beer outlets around Melbourne
Edge Brewing Project Ides & Mimosa
Tapped July 24th, 2019
Winter always brings a glut of citrus fruit and, if their most releases are anything to go by, Edge Brewing Project seem intent on ensuring none of it hits the ground. Brewed in collaboration with the Collingwood fine diners of the same name, Ides is designed to kickstart a meal. The aperitif uses a pilsner base then adds ruby red grapefruit and honey to create a beer that’s largely light and refreshing, where the bitterness balances against the sweetness and has a light citrus twist. Mimosa is… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Honey Grapefruit Pilsner & Citrus Lager
- ABV
- 4.2% & 4.9%
Nail Brewing Red Carpet Imperial Red Ale
Tapped July 24th, 2019
Originally brewed for GABS 3016 as a 9 percent-plus, scaled up version of the brewery’s Red Ale – itself a permanent iteration of the Citra driven Nail Brew Log #4 – Nail’s Red Carpet returns once more as a winter seasonal for 2016. With a smooth toffee malt focus, Red Carpet is decidedly an imperial re ale, rather than imperial red IPA. Any bitterness at play is purely there for balance, which opens up the palate for citrus, subtle booze licks – this year is its lowest ABV incarnation… Read more
Red
- Style
- Imperial Red Ale
- ABV
- 8.4%
Bridge Road Hazy Bling IPA
Tapped July 23rd, 2019
Bridge Road’s Bling is an elder among Australia’s hop forward releases; it's both one of the country's oldest continually produced IPAs and, as a result of taking some cues from the UK rather than the US, it looks a little darker too. With a rich mix of malts, the beer edges far closer to red IPA territory than many of its peers. And, while the Beechworth brewery has been a pioneer when it comes to brewing some styles locally, hazy IPAs haven't been at the forefront of the Bridge Road release… Read more
Red
- Style
- Hazy IPA
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Bitterness
- 40 IBU
Cheeky Monkey Firefighters Friend Red Ale
Tapped July 23rd, 2019
Collaboration has steadily grown in popularity within the wider craft beer world with brewers finding pretty much any reason to collaborate with local, national and overseas brewers or, indeed, those outside the realm of beer: coffee, wine, clothing, TV, sports, food, events, bands... Brewing a beer for charity seems as good a reason as any to organise a brew day and, although Firefighters Red Ale might not be the first beer brewed for charitable purposes, or the first red ale named after firemen… Read more
Red
- Style
- American Red Ale
- ABV
- 4.5%
- Bitterness
- 30 IBU
Deeds Brewing Fortune & Glory & The Traveller
Tapped July 22nd, 2019
They might both be hazy double IPAs that sit at 8 percent ABV, but these two releases from Deeds Brewing show how well murky beers can shine a light on different hop profiles. Fortune & Glory was originally brewed a few months ago to mark the launch of the Deeds’ Glen Iris brewery. Even though it was a small keg run, the beer’s popularity soon made it clear to the brew team it deserved to enjoy a wider release in cans. What likely drove that popularity was the beer’s smooth body and hopped… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Hazy IPAs
- ABV
- 8.0% & 8.0%
Batch Brewing Co The Huge Kahuna
Tapped July 21st, 2019
There’s the Big Kahuna, Batch’s coconut infused brown ale and then - when the tides are right - there’s the Huge Kahuna, a coconut and cacao infused imperial brown ale. Although this is brown in name, it’s entirely opaque when you hold it up to the light. It’s full and fragrant; the coconut was delivered to the brewery immediately after being toasted at The Bread And Butter Project, a social enterprise bakery just down the road. If you’ll forgive the slightly unoriginal line, this beer… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Imperial Brown Ale
- ABV
- 8.4%
Batch Brewing Co Addison Rye Ale
Tapped July 21st, 2019
Complexity and simplicity come together in this beer to deliver an easy-drinker that can be explored in depth, or enjoyed without a second thought. If you like rye beers, you can appreciate the peppery aroma, the subtle spice, the savoury cracker character. A mix of seven Voyager and Gladfield malts bring layers of light zest and a savoury, earthy edge to the body. If you pair it with spicy food, the sweeter characters are drawn out, and sit parallel on the palate with any salt or grease. The whole… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Rye Ale
- ABV
- 4.8%
Wheaty Brewing Corps & The Bruery Quandong Saison
Tapped July 20th, 2019
It is no secret the Wheaty Brewing Corps team love a collaboration, especially around the time of Good Beer Wheaty. As part of the 2019 mini-fest, the crew from The Bruery in the US jumped into the Thebarton brewery and straight into the hazmat suits, as house culture "The Menace" was once again wheeled out to make something wild and full of unidentifiable bugs. The malt bill was kept simple, with some heavy late Amarillo and Citra hop additions to bring a little something extra. But they… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Quandong Saison
- ABV
- 5.8%
- Bitterness
- 25 IBU
- Stockists
Wheaty Brewing Corps & Small World Bakery Kvass
Tapped July 20th, 2019
The Wheaty Brewing Corps don't just collaborate with other brewers; here, they turned to a business that specialises in a very different type of fermentation: sourdough bread. Along with the Wheaty’s mixed culture yeast, 60kg of Small World Bakery’s rye sourdough was sliced, toasted and thrown into the top of the mash to create a Kvass. It's a style best known in Russia, where old stale bread was wild fermented with sugar to create a sour, very low ABV ale. The Wheaty’s clocks in at 4.8 percent… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Kvass
- ABV
- 4.8%
- Bitterness
- pH 3.5
- Stockists
Moon Dog Black Lung IX
Tapped July 19th, 2019
Moon Dog’s Black Lung has been busting out of barrels since 2011, with the smoky stout spending its time ageing with a different kind of vessel each year. You can read more about the beer’s story here with past barrels including bourbon, whisky, Cognac, and red wine; this time around, tequila got the guernsey. The barrels were sourced from Tequila Tromba, which is about as Australian as a tequila company can get, having been founded by two Australians and a Canadian. Both the Reposado and Añejo… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Smoky Stout
- ABV
- 9.1%
Moon Dog In The Crumble The Mighty Crumble & Olida Bit Of Haze, Eh?
Tapped July 19th, 2019
The inventive name well at Moon Dog shows no sign of slowing down as the brewery releases two very different (but aptly named) cans. There’s In The Crumble, The Mighty Crumble – an apple crumble sour with lactose, vanilla and cinnamon. Making its way into the world at the same time as the Lion King remake looks rather well planned and it's hard to question how well the beer captures the dessert in a can. The tart apple catches you first, then leads into the sweeter flavours, the vanilla and the… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Various
- ABV
- 5.8% & 6.5%
