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!
Flat Rock Brew Cafe Naked Oats & Oatmeal Porter
Tapped June 26th, 2019
When you order a mid-strength XPA from the tap list, you’re generally not expecting anything too challenging. But though the Naked Oats XPA sounds like a beer with nothing to hide, it keeps a whopping 63 IBUs up its sleeve to go with its deceptively gentle 3.9 percent ABV. Thanks to the glut of Chinook hops added the boil, there’s a bitter bite standing centre stage. And despite the prominent actor grabbing your attention and not letting go, it’s not the only player in the scene; Styrian Wolf… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- XPA & Porter
- ABV
- 3.9% & 4.8%
Flat Rock Hazy Pale
Tapped June 26th, 2019
Anyone who's been to Flat Rock knows it's like being transported to a little English pub, if only for a while. As well as the dark timber, Sunday roasts, and cozy corners, owner and brewer Karl prides himself on his real ale from the cask, his malt-forward regular pale ale, and on using English malts in all the beers. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to play with hops. From the first time Karl brewed his Hazy Pale, it became a favourite with the locals, and he knew there was no going… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Hazy Pale Ale
- ABV
- 4.2%
- Bitterness
- 30
Bootleg Brewery #FOMONEIPA
Tapped June 26th, 2019
The fear of missing out. It can be a big problem in modern day craft beer circles, especially thanks to social media and our ability to share the latest beer as soon as it lands in our hands. The phenomenon isn’t just a problem for punters, however, with brewers feeling the need to make sure they keep up with whatever’s trending. Bootleg Brewery are happy to admit to caving to the pressures of the clamorous crafty drinker in releasing their take on the popular New England IPA and calling it #FOMONEIPA. The… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- New England IPA
- ABV
- 6.5%
- Bitterness
- 10 IBU
Bad Shepherd Red Zeppelin & Oatmeal Stout
Tapped June 25th, 2019
The Bad Shepherd IPA Series continues apace, this time with a step back into rather more traditional realms. Red Zeppelin is a red IPA made with just water, malt, hops and yeast, resisting the temptation to reach for the kitchen shelves as per recent forays into milkshake territory. The collaboration with Ballarat's Hop Temple has been dry-hopped no less than four times with new US varieties Cashmere and Idaho Gem, yet – as is often the case with such beers – the specialty malts chosen to create… Read more
Red
- Style
- Red IPA & Oatmeal Stout
- ABV
- 6.0% & 5.5%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Bad Shepherd Brewing Co
Hop Temple Ballarat
Heartbreaker
Arbory
Edinburgh Castle
Lonsdale Cellars
The Fat Goat
Mackie Road Cellars
Clarinda Cellars
Flame Trees, Bayswater
Mrs Parmas
Brighton Bay Cellars
Ritchie’s IGA Aspendale
Ritchie’s IGA TowerHill
Ritchie’s IGA Emerald
Little Bang Dark Arts & Sludgebeast
Tapped June 24th, 2019
Why bring one dark beer out for winter when you can release two? (OK, if we're honest, there's more than two in the Little Bang locker, but bear with us as these two have been released in cans within a week of each other...) Dark Arts is the Stepney brewers' joint venture with SA's State Theatre Company. Apparently, the latter requested "a dark beer for a dark show", but by the end of the collaboration Little Bang "just wanted to give them some chocolates." The aroma suggests… Read more
Black
- Style
- Chocolate & Imperial Stouts
- ABV
- 6.3% & 12.0%
- Bitterness
- 36.3 & 89 IBU
Modus Operandi Silent Knight Porter (Core Range)
Tapped June 23rd, 2019
Ask someone the first thing that comes into their mind when they think of Modus Operandi and we'll wager the majority come up with something related to hop forward beers or IPAs. They'd have good reason to do so too; it's been upon such beers the serial trophy winners from the Northern Beaches have built much of their reputation. Yet it would ignore many other gems in their locker; indeed, back in 2016, The Crafty Pint's panel opted to include their dark beers en masse in our Best New NSW Beers Of… Read more
Black
- Style
- Porter
- ABV
- 5.8%
Glass House Brewery Session
Tapped June 23rd, 2019
Glass House have been producing crowd-pleasing beers at their Sunshine Coast home since late 2018 and, as winter 2019 arrived, starting putting some of them into cans, with Session one of the first. At just 3 percent ABV, it's designed, as the name suggests, with session drinking – or, perhaps, designated drivers – in mind, combining an English ale yeast and Ahtanum hops. It's an American variety favoured by the Glass House brewers and gives the easy-drinking beer a light citrus undertone. Matt… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Session Ale
- ABV
- 3.0%
Shedshaker Hempathy Pale Ale
Tapped June 23rd, 2019
By virtue of its close association with marijuana, Australia's hemp industry is a fledgling one. It was only in November 2017 that laws regarding the consumption of hemp-based products changed and now hemp farming is becoming serious business. It’s also an industry championed by many in the know, including the CSIRO who, when running the inaugural Australian Hemp Conference, asked Shedshaker to brew a beer just for it. To meet the brief, the Castlemaine brewery enlisted the help of Bunjil Farm… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Pale Ale With Hemp
- ABV
- 4.8%
- Bitterness
- 19
Shedshaker Brewing Frailty Pale Ale
Tapped June 23rd, 2019
In 1986, the Australian rock outfit Hunters & Collectors released their fourth studio album, named after the term the band used to describe alcohol. Human Frailty was both a commercial and critical hit for the band and cemented their position in the annals of great Australian bands. Thirty years later, Hunters & Collectors drummer Doug Falconer is part-owner of a brewery in Castlemaine, and the brewery owners couldn’t resist making a beer to celebrate the album. Perhaps Australia’s first… Read more
Golden
- Style
- American Pale Ale
- ABV
- 5.2%
- Bitterness
- 30 IBU
Moo Brew Red IPA
Tapped June 21st, 2019
Moo Brew and Dark Mofo both hail from the same place: the unique, mind-bending arts, booze, culture and whatever else takes their fancy empire sparked by David Walsh. So it makes sense the former would be involved in the latter – and would brew a beer for the event too. This Red IPA was launched at Dark Mofo 2019's opening weekend and has been heading across the mainland since in the brewery's new look limited release cans. They follow the popular "pop a sticker on a standard design"… Read more
Red
- Style
- Red IPA
- ABV
- 5.8%
- Stockists
-
Prince Alfred - Port Melbourne
Dark Mofo - Winter Feast, Altar Bar, Night Mass
More stockists...Tasmanian Inn - North Hobart
Tandy's Alehouse - Launceston
The above are tap stockists; cans going further afield.
Van Dieman Giblin X
Tapped June 21st, 2019
Giblin is the imperial stout that's been in the Van Dieman limited release locker for years. And, like the brewery itself, it's one that's evolving as Will Tatchell's farm-based, estate ale-creating operation moves into a second decade. No longer is it enough to put out an imperial stout brewed with water, malt, hops and yeast, this time around it's a case of homegrown hops and a full year in just-emptied Port barrels. Clearly, the latter made their mark as the first comment by Will Ziebell of this… Read more
Black
- Style
- Port Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 10.0%
- Bitterness
- 92 IBU
- Stockists
-
Bottles leaving the brewery mid-July
Kegs rolling out at events over the second half of 2019
More stockists...
3 Ravens & Brouhaha Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout
Tapped June 21st, 2019
When is a milk stout not a milk stout? When Brendan at 3 Ravens and Matt at Brouhaha decide to take it places... This beer started out as the latter's tasty but rather straightforward milk stout and put it through a process that makes Gary's transmogrification in Team America look like a mere spot of blusher and a couple of blobs of cotton wool. The process, to give it its technical term, was “reiterated mashing” – taking the first runnings from a very thick mash, using them as the brewing… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout
- ABV
- 14.2%
- Bitterness
- 44 IBU
- Stockists
-
Beer launched at Dark Mass on June 22
3 Ravens Robust Porter
Tapped June 21st, 2019
With their Dark and Stout becoming lesser spotted beasts these days, 3 Ravens have been a little light on the dark beers. With an event featuring nothing but to mark the winter solstice taking place at the brewery and many pubs after a darker winter offering, they came up with this, the Robust Porter. It's as you might expect such a beer to be: nigh on black, with plenty of coffee aromas (although no coffee added) and dark chocolate throughout. Inspired by Deschutes' Black Butte and featuring the… Read more
Black
- Style
- Robust Porter
- ABV
- 5.8%
Eagle Bay Sour Pink Stout
Tapped June 21st, 2019
In craft beer there's conventional and there's, well, sour pink stouts. Likely the most left of centre beer from the team at Eagle Bay, this is a riff on their existing Cacao Stout and draws inspiration from the Papua New Guinea cacao bean, renowned for it's uncanny raspberry and coffee scent. Brewer Keegan Steinbacher wanted to emulate the unique flavours and aromas found in the world famous beans so brewed a clean, sour base beer and packed it to the brim with raspberry, The Cape Effect coffee… Read more
Red
- Style
- Sour Pink Stout
- ABV
- 6.0%
Eagle Bay Norwegian IPA
Tapped June 21st, 2019
We've seen them all here at The Crafty Pint: from the pastry inspired, to the double dry-hopped and sour, from the tiny to the sextuple and everything in between, there's few places IPAs haven't been in recent years. And they've started down another path in recent months with the advent on these shores of kveik yeast. Originating in Norway, it might bring a fresh face to the New World hoppy beer arena, but its history in brewing is lengthy, and it's collecting quite the fanbase. Eagle Bay seems… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Kveik IPA
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Bitterness
- 32 IBU
Eagle Bay Sparkling Chardonnay Ale & Rosé Ale
Tapped June 21st, 2019
Beer and wine often exist in very different worlds. With the recent surge of creative, experimental and non-conventional products in both industries, however, wineries and breweries have found plenty of common ground, along with a portion of the market interested in exploring both worlds and their nuances. Hot on the trail of vintages around the country, brewers have been meddling with vino in their breweries to try to achieve products that either showcase both grain and grape or enhance their ales… Read more
Red
- Style
- Beer-Wine Hybrids
- ABV
- 7.0% & 6.8%
- Bitterness
- 10 IBU
Hop Nation The Kalash 2019
Tapped June 20th, 2019
The Kalash is one of the elder statesmen (or comrades) of the Hop Nation lineup, the Russian imperial stout that marches from the Footscray brewery once a year. It tends to vary a little year to year too, although they've stuck with bourbon barrels for the ageing process after it served them so well in 2018, while opting to pop him inside 375ml cans rather than tallboys. The bourbon barrels in which the liquid spent four months have served them well again, with the beer rolling from an initial oaky,… Read more
Black
- Style
- Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 9.8%
- Stockists
-
Launching at the brewery on June 21 before heading nationwide.
Hop Nation Site Fermentation Project Lapin
Tapped June 20th, 2019
The Site Fermentation Project is Hop Nation's funkier side, a place where you're as likely to find wine in a can as a mixed fermentation sour. Given the brewery is launching a festival – Blobfish – dedicated to wild, sour and funky beers, one assumes we'll see ever greater focus trained on this side of the business over time too. Lapin, while meaning rabbit in French and coming with such creatures adorning the labels, is instead a celebration of the 2018 cherry harvest, with some of the brewery's… Read more
Red
- Style
- Foedre Beer With Cherries
- ABV
- 6.0%
Two Birds Brewing IPA
Tapped June 20th, 2019
I never understood the meaning behind the phrase “going through a purple patch”, but Two Birds Brewing is undeniably in one, if at least literally with two purple-labelled beers released to coincide with their eighth birthday. One is a beer that will be sticking around: an IPA to replace the retired Golden Ale in the core lineup. It's influenced by classic West Coast IPAs, which in this modern hazy world may seem a little old fashioned, but it’s a style that continues to work. It uses a trio… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast IPA
- ABV
- 5.8%
- Stockists
-
Available year round wherever you find Two Birds beer
Two Birds Brewing Purple Reign
Tapped June 20th, 2019
I never understood the meaning behind the phrase “going through a purple patch”, but Two Birds Brewing is undeniably in one, if at least literally with two purple-labelled beers released to coincide with their eighth birthday. One is a new core range IPA you can read about here, the second an imperial gose with blackcurrants that's even more purple because, behind the purple branding, is a purple beer. The currants, 200kgs worth, were initially destined for the bin, but with the help of Yume… Read more
Red
- Style
- Imperial Blackcurrant Gose
- ABV
- 8.0%
