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!
Swell Brewery Small Swell
Tapped November 14, 2020
Man can't survive on 7 percent ABV, fruit-laden monsters, much as we might like to; sometimes we need a stayer. Something to mix with a burst of activity or a long chill session in the outdoors. Enter Small Swell, a 3.4 percent ABV mid-strength with those longer sessions in mind: a refreshing ale to clean the salt from the mouth after a long day riding waves. Pale, Vienna, oats and wheat combine to provide a solid base so the Wai-iti and El Dorado can throw down some fruity vibes. Light in body… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Mid-Strength Pale
- ABV
- 3.4%
Frenchies The World Of Yesterday & Triple (with Little Alchemist Brewing)
Tapped November 14, 2020
I think what’s most endearing about Frenchies is their ability to continuously take on classic styles that rarely see the inside of a bottleshop fridge and absolutely nail them while pumping out DDH hazies and milkshake IPAs at the same time. It’s a sort of best of both worlds type situation, as long as you’re the kind of beer nerd who is positively fizzing at the thought of picking up a four-pack of German lager to balance out the mouth-stripping humulus assault of almost every other beer… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Vienna Lager & Belgian Tripel
- ABV
- 4.5% & 9.0%
Wolf of the Willows & The Gospel Persistence
Tapped November 13, 2020
Resilience is a word that's been bandied about a lot in 2020, along with pivot, unprecedented and oh, for fuck's sake (OK, that last one is a phrase rather than a word, but you catch my drift). You have to feel that, as we in Australia look to be coming out of the darkness and into the light, persistence deserves a guernsey too. Particularly for people and businesses in Melbourne, where they've endured two lockdowns like champions (well, aside from Murdoch's goons and their ilk) and can now look… Read more
Black
- Style
- Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 12.2%
- Stockists
-
Blackhearts & Sparrows Braddon
Blackhearts & Sparrows North Hobart
More stockists...Wolf of the Willows online
And other stockists here
CoConspirators Brewing & Fizz and Hop The Architect
Tapped November 13, 2020
Both the brewers at CoConspirators and the team at the Moonee Ponds bottleshop Fizz and Hop have been busy building of late. Work is still being done on the former’s Brunswick brewpub while, at the latter, they've spent two Melbourne lockdowns getting their bar and restaurant Holmes Hall ready to welcome people inside. Like any beer, a good idea needs good design and the two operations have teamed up to recognise that via oat cream IPA, The Architect. With flaked oats in the malt bill and additional… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Oat Cream IPA
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Stockists
-
List of stockists avaialble here
Shelter Brewing Summer Sour
Tapped November 12, 2020
Would any ambitious brewpub open without a sessionable sour in their lineup these days? Probably now, which is an indication of just how much the beer scene has changed over the past few years. Shelter's Summer Sour is a clean, slightly salty sour with good balance. Watermelon and berry flavours mix with a slightly estery yeast profile. And, while the acid character is prominent, it's balanced by a short, spritzy finish.… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Gose
- ABV
- 4.0%
Shelter Brewing India Pale Ale
Tapped November 12, 2020
A throwback in an ocean of haze, the Shelter crew opted to put a West Coast IPA on tap as part of their permanent offering when they opened their doors in November 2020. It's one with moderate bitterness and loaded with pine and citrus fruit flavours. Resin, citrus pith, grapefruit and a little malt character bolster things from the mid-palate right the way through to the persistent, bitter finish.… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast IPA
- ABV
- 6.8%
Shelter Brewing Lager
Tapped November 12, 2020
Shelter's core range lager is an easy-drinking Australian take on the style. You'll find light, bready characteristics and some very gentle yeasty esters in what's a clean and crisp finishing beer.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Aussie Lager
- ABV
- 4.2%
Shelter Brewing Extra Pale Ale
Tapped November 12, 2020
The XPA (by any other name) in Shelter's lineup is also the mid-strength in their permanent lineup. Pouring a burnt orange hue, it leads off with tropical fruit aromas, is underpinned by a gentle bitterness, and has a lasting finish of fruity and herbaceous hops. Very sessionable – and the standout offering for the Crafty writer who called in pre-opening.… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Mid-Strength XPA
- ABV
- 3.5%
Mornington Peninsula Brewery Mornington Free
Tapped November 12, 2020
The locally-brewed selection of alcohol-free beers continues to grow apace as summer 2020 approaches. Mornington Peninsula Brewery Free has been launched by the Tribe Breweries group, with co-founder and CEO Anton Szpitalak saying such a beer as been a "top priority" over the past year. It's been created with a yeast specially designed for such beers, one that produces the sort of esters you'd find in a beer without also producing alcohol. It's tagged a pale ale, although if you come in… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Alcohol-Free Beer
- ABV
- Less than 0.5%
Wheaty Brewing Corps Philly Smasher Hop Sour
Tapped November 12, 2020
The Wheaty Brewing Corps team is very familiar with brewing sours, generally using yoghurt or kettle souring overnight to get to where they want to be. However, the Philly Smasher Hop Sour takes a new approach, instead using Lallemand’s Philly Sour yeast. They kept the malt bill light and wheaty, adding a smattering of high alpha hops – namely Enigma, Nelson, Citra and Motueka – late in the boil and then then again in the fermenter. The end result is a 4.9 percent ABV, hoppy, sour summer quaffer.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Hoppy Sour
- ABV
- 4.9%
- Stockists
Pirate Life Idaho-7 IPA & Pumpkin Spice Latte Ale
Tapped November 12, 2020
If you wanted to capture where the pointier end of the beer geek world was a few years ago and where it sits now, you could do far worse than with these two offerings from Pirate Life. A decade ago, the arrival of single hop IPA series would get drinkers hot under the collar; not only were they a fun concept but there was an educational aspect too. With Idaho-7, Pirate Life put one of the fruitier recent releases from the US to work unhindered in an almost viscous, golden pour. Left alone, it unfurls… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Single Hop IPA & Pumpkin Ale
- ABV
- 7.0% & 8.0%
Van Dieman Elderflower, Wild Nectar & Fence Line
Tapped November 11, 2020
If there's one thing this trio of Australian spontaneous ales from Van Dieman suggests, it's there's something of a house – or should that be farm – character developing among the gently undulating fields south of Launceston. While there are distinctions to be drawn, despite the different methods by which they came to be, their different ages, and different ingredients, there's a clear line to be drawn between the three too. Chances are you won't try all three at once like we did when sampling… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Australian Spontaneous Ales
- ABV
- 6.5% & 7.1% & 5.9%
- Stockists
-
Order online here
Crafty Cabal members can save 10% on orders
Dainton Brewery Lupalin Daze III
Tapped November 11, 2020
The lupulin locomotive at Dainton keeps charging, with the brewery welcoming Lupalin Daze III into the world. The big, hop-focused series kicked off at the start of 2020 and, while the first two were labelled “hazy” and “NEIPA”, this time around it’s a DDH Double IPA. It is still hazy, though, pouring an opaque light orange and it certainly tastes like it could be packed with a few days’ worth of lupulin. The hops provide a real punch of stronefruit in the shape of ripe yellow nectarine… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- DDH Double IPA
- ABV
- 8.0%
- Bitterness
- 75IBU
Black Hops Troposphere
Tapped November 11, 2020
Black Hops Brewing’s November limited release IPA is one destined for the stratosphere, with the 6.9 percent ABV beer containing both Galaxy and Strata. If you’re reading these words, chances are you’re pretty familiar with Australia’s Galaxy hop and the more recent Strata from America too but if not, here’s a refresher. The former is known most distinctly for its passionfruit flavour along with other tropical fruits such as pineapple, while the latter is often described as a tropical beast… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- IPA
- ABV
- 6.9%
Rocky Ridge Rock Juice V7
Tapped November 10, 2020
Rock Juice has already garnered much critical appraise and attention for its seventh release, causing a stir that spans Rocky Ridge’s Jindong brewery in the South West all the way to select venues and bottleshops throughout WA. The uber-limited release is deservedly hyped, a beer that's seldomly released but heavily hopped and a high achiever in the hazy IIPA category. This time around, a multi-layered American hop bill features, a noteworthy change from the previous few batches that were loaded… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Hazy Imperial IPA
- ABV
- 10.0%
Malt Shovel Brewers The Divorce Passionfruit Semi-Sour Ale
Tapped November 10, 2020
When two of the Malt Shovel brewers (Rich and Haydo, for those following the Malt Shovel Brewers story) worked together on a recipe for a passionfruit sour, they brought a delightful pun to life. The beer was called The Divorce, with the tagline: When the passion goes sour. Chuckle. Of course, dwelling on divorce could bring up bad associations for some, so perhaps we could point out that passionfruit wasn’t named for "passion" in the romantic sense, but "passion" in the religious… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Passionfruit Sour
- ABV
- 4.6%
Hargreaves Hill Pursuit Of Hoppiness No.8
Tapped November 10, 2020
When you're told a new beer is based upon the same malt bill as one of the heartiest imperial red ales released each year in Australia, then read the label and discover the brewers have also added hops at various points in the process at levels reasonably described as copious, you might reasonably expect your palate is about to embark on an experience akin to that of the Light Brigade being sent into the so-called "Valley of Death". Yet, for all that the eighth entry in Hargreaves Hill's… Read more
Red
- Style
- Imperial Red IPA
- ABV
- 8.0%
Holgate Brewhouse Twin Suns XPA
Tapped November 9, 2020
This isn't the first, or indeed second, time Holgate have put out a Star Wars-themed beer. In fact, it's not the first time they've put out a 5.5 percent XPA featuring an X-Wing on the labels either, with Twin Suns following in the vapour trails of X-Wing, which debuted in time for May 4 two years ago. Having checked back, there are differences beyond the name and artwork, however, with popping hop Idaho #7 joining Azacca, Citra and Mosaic. A clear golden pour, Twin Suns pits ripe, candied pineapple… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- XPA
- ABV
- 5.5%
Balter Brewing IIPA '20
Tapped November 9, 2020
Balter’s IIPA caused quite a stir when it was released in 2018: Balter had well and truly proven their beer-making abilities, so IIPA lovers were ready to guzzle Balter’s version, and Balter fans who were new to the style were keen to give it a try. When the yellow-striped cans made another appearance in 2019 and flew off the shelves with equal speed, it was clear this wasn’t a beer that disappointed people. Skip forward to 2020 and Balter’s IIPA is back with a "same same but different"… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Imperial IPA
- ABV
- 8.0%
- Stockists
-
Find Balter's beers here
TWØBAYS Brewing Co Pulp Fusion
Tapped November 8, 2020
I recall hearing it said many times earlier on in the life of The Crafty Pint: that there was a beer out there for everyone, some people might just not have found theirs yet. The idea was to highlight how much more there was than the Aussie lagers that dominate the nation's consumption habits: fruity, hoppy, dark, sweet, funky. There's only become much more "much more" in the intervening years to the point there are now locally brewed indie beers for those who don't want alcohol and locally… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Gluten Free Passionfruit Sour
- ABV
- 3.5%
