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!
Rocky Ridge Day Man DDH IIPA
Tapped September 4, 2020
Rocky Ridge have never been the kind of brewery to shy away from hops. And this offering, a celebration of just one variety, comes packing a ludicrous amount – more than 20 grams per litre – that's been cleverly utilised and shamelessly flaunted. Day Man is a golden hued, 8.5 percent ABV double dry-hopped double IPA, loaded with locally grown Galaxy hops. Early kettle additions of the high alpha acid hop yielding a surprisingly modest 25 IBUs on the bitterness front, while later additions and… Read more
Golden
- Style
- DDH Single Hop IIPA
- ABV
- 8.5%
- Bitterness
- 25 IBU
A Local Beer & Burnley Brewing Fruits Of Our Labour: Banana Bread Brown Ale
Tapped September 3, 2020
Melbourne-based A Local Beer have made it their mission to help ensure less food is wasted and more goes to people who need it, and the brewing company’s collaboration with Burnley Brewing takes that philosophy a little further. The Fruits Of Our Labour series takes food otherwise destined for landfill and creates a beer from it, and through A Local Beer’s partnership with SecondBite, each four-pack sold provides a meal to someone in need. The first release in that series is Banana Bread Brown… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Banana Bread Brown Ale
- ABV
- 5.8%
Pirate Life & Limeburners Whisky Barrel Aged Stout 2020
Tapped September 3, 2020
Back in the period when they were enjoying their prime moment in the (thin, reedy) sun, there was a good chance any review of Sigur Rós, whether performing live or on record, would contain the term "glacial". In all honesty, I'm pretty sure I fell into the trap when writing about ( ) back when it wasn't all beer. It was an easy / lazy shorthand for the Icelandic group's distinctive sound, but one that became something of a well-worn trope. I mention this as the equivalent in the world… Read more
Black
- Style
- Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 12.0%
Staves Hole Molé Nitro Chocolate Milk Stout
Tapped September 3, 2020
The first time I tasted Mexican hot chocolate, it was a particularly intense experience - my tastebuds took a battering and my face didn’t know how to react. Since when does hot chocolate make my mouth hurt?? If you’re hesitant to try a chilli chocolate beer, rest assured: while Holy Molé contains some of the ingredients that give Mexican hot chocolate its complex flavours (bittersweet chocolate, Ancho chilli, vanilla pods and cinnamon), it isn’t a tastebud-battering experience. The main characters… Read more
Black
- Style
- Nitro Stout
- ABV
- 5.3%
Staves Biscuit Tin Coconut & Raspberry Biscuit Ale
Tapped September 3, 2020
In a world where dessert beers are often thicker and sweeter than the desserts they represent(!), it’s a nice change to have something that captures the essence of a sweet treat but doesn’t give you a heart attack. While there is some lactose for sweetness, it doesn’t grab your attention; Biscuit Tin is closer to an English Mild or a brown ale than a pastry stout. Staves aren’t subtle about what this beer is supposed to taste like. If the can design doesn’t tip you off, the description… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Dessert Brown Ale
- ABV
- 4.5%
Staves Rauchbier
Tapped September 3, 2020
Many breweries present rauchbiers as sophisticated, Old World, something you’d drink while wearing a tweed suit and smoking a pipe. But Staves seems less inclined towards an 1880s Europe vibe and more interested in a 1980s Miami vibe; for their Rauchbier can design, they’ve gone all postmodernist paint splashes and neon lettering. This radness comes through in the brew - rather than being dominated by smoke alone, the rusty red pour carries sweet toffee malt along with its smoke to give a fun… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Rauchbier
- ABV
- 5.4%
Brick Lane Red Right Hand DDH Red IPA
Tapped September 2, 2020
Red Hoppy Ale has been been a part of Brick Lane’s core lineup since the brewery first fired up and with this seasonal, the brew team has turned things up to eleven to deliver the DDH red IPA, Red Right Hand. The name might channel Nick Cave and memories of Tommy Shelby's elegant violence but the striking can artwork brought to mind Avatar: The Last Airbender. That said, an anime series probably isn't what they were thinking by giving the beer the tagline “A Beer With Bad Intentions”. Like… Read more
Red
- Style
- DDH Red IPA
- ABV
- 7.8%
Frenchies Third Birthday Single Hop DDH IPA Quartet
Tapped September 2, 2020
I don’t know about you, but when I was three years old, I was absolutely not brewing and releasing four different single hop IPAs. I mean, I barely even understood the relationship between amylase and saccharification of starches at that age. Although, in my defence, I don’t know how financially feasible selling a hazy IPA would have been in 1989, even with the novelty of it having been brewed by an infant? Probably best that I stuck to chicken loaf and tomato sauce sandwiches and watching Dumbo… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Single Hop DDH IPAs
- ABV
- 7.0% & 10.5% & 7.0% & 7.0%
Colonial Brewing Co TaylorMade Lager
Tapped September 2, 2020
They’ve previously made beers with football teams and here have teed up another sporting collaboration, this time donning their plus fours and caps for a stroll along the fairway with TaylorMade. It's a good time for golf in most parts of Australia too, given it's one of the more social-distance-enabling sports out there. As to the beer itself, the respective booze and equipment producers have their eyes set on easy-drinking refreshment with a 3.5 percent ABV lager. Those eyes are also trained… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Mid-Strength Lager
- ABV
- 3.5%
TWØBAYS Brewing Co Red Rocks GF Red Ale
Tapped September 2, 2020
For the most part, when it comes to innovation in beer these days, column inches, podcast chat and social media noise are dominated by the big, the bold, the hoppy and hazy, the sticky and sickly. Yet there's innovation going on in so many other areas too, and while alcohol free or gluten free beers might not be as attention-grabbing as the latest beer from a hype brewery to sell out in under ten minutes, they play an increasingly important role in beer's present and future. And when it comes to… Read more
Red
- Style
- Gluten Free Red Ale
- ABV
- 5.0%
Hawkers Beneath The Trees We Gather
Tapped September 2, 2020
I'm looking forward to seeing where this sour series goes. Already, we've had Into The Forest, I Go, Under The Tropical Sun and Around The Orchard We Roam. How long before we get I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts or Whoops! 'Ave A Banana? For now, however, it's Beneath The Trees We Gather featuring yuzu and plums, although such is the intensity and breadth of their character in combination with the souring bacteria and 7 percent booze, you could claim a few other fruits were in the midst and get… Read more
Red
- Style
- Fruit Sour
- ABV
- 7.0%
Burnley Brewing NEIPA Re-Loaded
Tapped September 2, 2020
Burnley Brewing first canned their NEIPA in March and, like The Matrix, they’re back with a sequel in NEIPA Re-Loaded. But unlike that movie sequel there’s no confusing plot lines, lengthy exposition or biblical references. Instead, it's just the simple double act of Citra and Mosaic hops, plus oats and wheat in the malt profile to add to the beer's mouthfeel. The colourful cans might look like a Rainbow Paddle Pop but fortunately you won't find caramel flavours lying within at all (turns out… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- NEIPA
- ABV
- 6.8%
Staves XPA
Tapped September 2, 2020
Staves Brewery may be a dim brewpub full of dark nooks, sitting in the shadow of Broadway Shopping Centre… but that doesn’t mean no brightness gets in. This XPA gleams with hop character, smelling of stone fruit and tangy orange and pineapple Fanta. That doesn’t mean the taste is sugary, though - the bright fruits are joined by bitter resin, which provides a nice punch for a 5 percent XPA. Mick Wust… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- XPA
- ABV
- 5.0%
Batch Brewing Co A Currant State of Infusion Coffee & Currant Dark Sour Ale
Tapped September 1, 2020
When I first tasted this beer, my immediate reaction was every single catchphrase from a TV show in the 80s and 90s. “Wowsers!” “Ay caramba!” Tim Allen grunt from Home Improvement A Currant State of Infusion lashes out at your senses from all quarters. It looks like red wine with bloody foam on top, and the very first sniff has you wondering what you’re smelling. Tart berry jam and sleek cold brew coffee intermingle in a way that’s intriguing on the nose and invigorating in the mouth. The… Read more
Red
- Style
- Coffee & Currant Sour Ale
- ABV
- 6.4%
Batch Brewing Co Juicy Boys & Island Style
Tapped September 1, 2020
Bring on the fruit; bring on the juice. Batch NEIPA Juicy Boys has been described by one Untappd user as “fruity as all hell,” and they’re not wrong. In the aroma, a wallop of tropical fruit salad joins with the richness of dark brown sugar, but the molasses character recedes once you start drinking, leaving only juice - fresh and hazy and pulpy breakfast juice with extra mango. To take the tropical feel even further, Batch have also released Island Style, a laid back coconut IPA that transports… Read more
Golden
- Style
- NEIPA & Coconut IPA
- ABV
- 6.6% & 6.2%
Batch Brewing Co MacBatch Oak-Aged Wee Heavy
Tapped September 1, 2020
When I was a little kid - a whippersnapper, as my Pop would say - my Nanna used to hide Jersey Caramels around her house for me to find. I loved those little cubes with their condensed-milk sweetness and mouth-coating quality. Nanna knew how to spoil me. When it comes to Small Batch MacBatch Oak Aged Wee Heavy, no one’s hiding the Jersey Caramels - they’re out on display. From the first sip til the last, the sticky caramel fills your mouth while an oaky butteriness embraces the tongue. MacBatch… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Oak-Aged Wee Heavy
- ABV
- 9.1%
Margaret River Brewhouse Rhubarb Berliner Weisse
Tapped August 31, 2020
Margaret River Brewhouse have been on a bit of a tear in 2020. Following on from their 2019 rebrand, they’ve rereleased some past crowd favourites in fresh new clothing while also dropping a couple of new one-offs to acclaim from local beer lovers. And, as spring approaches, they've released this Rhubarb Berliner Weisse a little bit on the down low… Brewed with a stack of locally grown rhubarb, this bright and vibrant fruited sour is strikingly tart and gushes with rich rhubarb and sweet strawberry… Read more
Red
- Style
- Rhubarb Berliner Weisse
- ABV
- 4.4%
- Bitterness
- 10 IBU
Big Shed Brewers Series: Viscosiraptor & Erebus
Tapped August 31, 2020
There's nothing like a little playful competition and that's exactly the relationship Big Shed and Little Bang share. For years now, these two breweries have been hosting playful Eastside vs Westside bouts across Adelaide. In winter 2020, the gang got together again to showcase two big styles: imperial stouts and barley wines. The face-off – which they took online – is Big Shed’s first venture into barley wines, and they decided to take the recipe down the American route. The 10.6 percent… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barleywine & Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 10.6% & 11.2%
3 Ravens Raspberry Lemonade Creamsicle
Tapped August 29, 2020
With the mercury finally seeming to be heading upwards in Melbourne, the city's oldest indie brewery is rebooting a series that debuted last summer. The Creamsicle beers take their mid-strength Acid sour as a starting point for some fun, in this case using rolled wheat, lactose, vanilla, French oak, raspberry juice and lemon to take it into milk bar freezer territory. Pouring a cocktail like blush, initial impressions are that the sour side is more to the fore than anything too fruity icy pole-ish.… Read more
Red
- Style
- Fruit Cream Sour
- ABV
- 3.5%
Philter Marrickville Nights
Tapped August 28, 2020
The Philter brand was born in Marrickville, during a neighbourly backyard chat over beers. And Philter’s new brewery has just opened in Marrickville, with a public bar to give locals a way to drink Philter beer fresh from the source. So it’s only fitting the first beer to come out of the brewery pays homage to the suburb where it all started. Marrickville Nights is called a hoppy dark ale, but don’t expect it to be black - it’s more the golden brown of a lion’s mane, sitting in the glass… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Hoppy Dark Ale
- ABV
- 4.9%
