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!
Batch Coffee Pale Ale, Tropical Nitro IPA & Das Roggen
Published April 22, 2022
I love ducking down to Batch Brewing Co. The staff are some of the nicest in the business, and when approaching the beer fridge it’s always an exercise in: “What have they gone and done now?” You’re just as likely to pick up a classically brewed BJCP style as something that could easily be explained as potential ingredients put through a random beer generator, complete with an intensity dial. Well, this time around I’d estimate that the Batch random beer generator was set at an intensity… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Coffee Pale, Nitro IPA & Rye Lager
- ABV
- 4.5% & 7.0% & 4.6%
Good Land Brewing Pastel Neon Sour (With Apricot & Peaches), Le Fluide & Disco Trash Bomb
Published April 22, 2022
If you were wondering if the regional town of Traralgon was as eager to explore craft beer’s many forms as anywhere else in Australia, then Good Lands Brewing certainly has the answer for you. The brewery only opened in 2021 but has shown a steadfast keenness to brew across styles and these three beers are a pretty good example of that. Pastel Neon Sour is an ongoing series of heavily-fruited sours, with the newest member championing stone fruit by featuring apricot and peaches. Of those two, the… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Sour, Saison & Oat Cream DIPA
- ABV
- 4.2%, 6.3% & 8.2%
Wayward Brewing Hazy IPA
Published April 22, 2022
Wayward Brewing spent close to three years making and refining hazy beers and, in 2022, the Sydney brewery clearly reached a point of satisfaction with where that evolution had taken them. Hazy IPA joined the brewery’s core range in April, the culmination of constant tweaks and continual learning, and designed to burst with hoppy, juicy notes while remaining the sort of beer hazy fans might return to again and again. The use of rolled oats in the malt bill ensures the beer is as soft and luscious… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Hazy IPA
- ABV
- 5.8%
Bintani & Friends Flood Relief Pale Ale
Published April 21, 2022
After devastating floods in Queensland and New South Wales brought a lot of destruction, heartbreak and uncertainty to the brewing industry and their communities, the ingredients suppliers at Bintani wanted to do what they could to support those impacted. Joining forces with Shelter Brewing, Wayward Brewing Co, Rocky Ridge Brewing Co, Bevy Brewing Co, Konvoy Kegs and EES Shipping, they brewed a special pale ale as a way to raise more than $30,000 for those in need via Stone & Wood's InGrained… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Pale Ale
- ABV
- 5.0%
Moon Dog & Lervig Mooseroo
Published April 19, 2022
Maybe something has been going on in the world over the past two years but collaborations between breweries from different countries seem to have been a little bit less frequent compared with what was going on in the lead up to 2020. But with borders now back open and travel on the cards we can only assume the gentle stream of international collaborations may again start to better resemble a fast-flowing river. Moon Dog are certainly back making beer with mates, partnering with Norway's Lervig to… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Kveik Hazy IPA
- ABV
- 7.5%
Dainton Hopf'n Juicy
Published April 19, 2022
It seems pretty safe to say that of all the citrus in the land, blood orange is a house favourite at Dainton Beer. It’s the star of the brewery’s Blood Orange NEIPA, a beer that was originally a limited release in 2017, only to jump into the Dainton core range and enjoy a staying power in the GABS Hottest 100 since it's very first release. Hopf’n Juicy gives that fruit a chance to shine through a different style, with the April 2022 limited release a German wheat beer with added blood orange… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Blood Orange Hoppy Weiss
- ABV
- 5.5%
Burnley Brewing Piggy Dippin'
Published April 19, 2022
Like many during lockdown quite a few (actually “all” may be more accurate) of the Burnley Brewing team started using TikTok and just like myriad others, soon became somewhat enslaved by the endless scrolling. To show off their ability to keep up with the Joneses (which, quite fittingly, is a phrase that's a good hundred years old), the brewery started naming their less-than-traditional lagers after their favourite TikTok videos or trends with Piggy Dippin' that's been released in April 2022.… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Hoppy Lager
- ABV
- 5.0%
Rocks Brewing Trial By Thiol NEIPA
Published April 16, 2022
The first special release of 2022 from Rocks puts their newly refurbished branding front and centre, creating something a little like a holographic magic eye poster. The beer inside is a mash-hopped, double dry-hopped NEIPA titled Trial By Thiol, a reference to the flavour precursors locked in hops and malt which are mysteriously unlocked by using, as they put it, "carefully selected ingredients" at "specific times". Now, I’m not sure if MHDDH NEIPA sets a new record for abbreviation… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- NEIPA
- ABV
- 7.1%
- Bitterness
- 13 IBU
BentSpoke & Malt Shovel Brewers BXW
Published April 16, 2022
Malt Shovel Brewers and BentSpoke have assembled like Power Rangers once more to create a new collaborative beer. This time around, they've served up the Belgian Extra White Ale, or as the cool kids are calling it, the Bentshovel BXW. It feels so very Australian to take a beer style with roots in one of the world's great brewing nations, muck around with it, and give it a neat abbreviation too: "Yeah, monks. We know how you’ve been brewing this sort of things for hundreds of years and stuff… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Strong Witbier
- ABV
- 6.0%
Moon Dog Rosé Sour Power
Published April 16, 2022
There seems to be plenty about sour beers that can capture the attention of wine drinkers, whether it’s their fruit-forward nature or the acidity and funkier flavours shared between many sours and natural wines. Moon Dog meanwhile, are making an unabashed play for part of the wine market with their core range RosĂ© Sour Power, a beer that would quite fittingly come served in a carafe and is sold in slim, 330ml cans. Pouring with a pink to orange hue, RosĂ© Sour as much resembles certain natural… Read more
Red
- Style
- Sour Ale
- ABV
- 4.0%
7th Day Brewery Sinner Belgian Blonde
Published April 15, 2022
The second edition in 7th Day Brewing’s occasionally blasphemous Making Waves series is the Sinner Belgian Blonde. Apparently, the can art by @biffybretano lines up with a future Saint release so perhaps this will be one of those instances where you should hold onto your empty tin for reasons other than hoarding. Inside the tin is that timeless classic: a Belgian blonde ale that pours the colour of an old copper mash tun. On the nose the smell is sweet, funky and farmhouse-y, with maybe even a… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Belgian Blonde
- ABV
- 6.7%
Sauce Brewing Tr!ple & Squeak & Egg Hunt Choc Stout
Published April 15, 2022
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and Sauce releasing a new take on an overtly hopped favourite. After a successful run last year, Tr!ple & Squeak is back, a juicy IIPA dry-hopped with Citra, Idaho 7 and Sabro and finished off with real Aussie mangoes. Pouring with a thick, lingering head, this 9 percent ABV imperial looks the colour of a fresh cut mango and smells like one that just got dropped in a fresh bag of hops. Rarely does a beer seem to park itself on your tongue like… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Mango Milkshake IIPA & Chocolate Stout
- ABV
- 9.0% & 6.0%
One Drop Slip Dart, Body Count & Pineapple Imperial Slushy Sour
Published April 14, 2022
I recently wrote about some of the more extravagant One Drop releases, so figure it’s probably time to even up the ledger a bit with something a little more within the realms of normality. To that end we’ve got a gorgeous Czech pilsner, a hopped up hazy and – checks notes – a pineapple imperial slushie sour. Well, two out of three ain't bad... I’m always excited to see breweries take on a Czech pilsner. With more malt than a German and less hop than an Italian, a Czech style for me is the… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Czech Pils, Hazy IPA & Slushy Sour
- ABV
- 5.5% & 6.1% & 8.5%
Stomping Ground Bearbrass
Published April 14, 2022
There’s a fair bit of history to this limited release tin from Stomping Ground. For one, the name Bearbrass was among the first that European settlers knew Melbourne as, apparently due to a misunderstanding of Birrarung, the name of the Yarra River in the language of the Wurundjeri. Fast forward quite a few decades and Collingwood’s first brewery in some years opens and among the first beers they pour is a nitro milk stout named after that early peace of the city's history. It's been a staple… Read more
Black
- Style
- Milk Stout
- ABV
- 4.5%
Shark Island Sandshoes XPA
Published April 13, 2022
Taking title inspiration from another of their local surf breaks, which itself references the Dunlop Volleys required to reach the break across a cunji reef, Sutherland Shire brewers Shark Island have entered the XPA game with Sandshoes, a new addition to their core lineup. With an ABV of 4.5 percent and bitterness set to 30 IBU, everything about this beer is as to the point as a Great White. The colour is the colour of beer. It’s that simple; picture amber that has seen a ghost. Upon cracking… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- XPA
- ABV
- 4.5%
- Bitterness
- 30 IBU
- Stockists
-
Launching at the brewery on April 14
With Norma's Burger Bar
And 30% off growlers
Order online here
Liquor Emporium St Peters
Bottle Keg Can Jannalli
Taren Point Ritchies IGA
Loftus Liquor
More stockists...Selected Dan Murphy's and BWS
Range Brewing Full Circle #3, Without Doubt & River City Pils
Published April 13, 2022
Range Brewing’s release schedule never exactly seems to slow down but these four beers from April 2022 quite nicely capture the brewery’s ethos. Full Circle is the third iteration of the fundraising beer, with support this year going to Range’s mates at Loop Growers, who Range have been sending their grain to since thei very first beer. The Queensland farm uses closed-loop and sustainable practices to grow organic fruit and veg but unfortunately, a lot of that infrastructure was washed away… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Pale Ale, IPA & Pilsners
- ABV
- 4.8%, 6.5%, 5.3%
Dollar Bill Lichtenhainer
Published April 13, 2022
When it comes to beer and cider releases, you could never accuse Dollar Bill of not following their own path and this core range beer, introduced into their lineup in 2022, is a perfect example of that. Even with so many beers across myriad styles being so frequently released in Australia, Lichtenhainer remains a rarity, with the German ale's unique combination of smoke and sour not often brought together locally. Dollar Bill’s take on the historic style sees the brewery use oak-smoked wheat and… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Lichtenhainer
- ABV
- 7.8%
Site Fermentation Poject: Lapin 2021
Published April 13, 2022
Lapin is a longstanding part of Hop Nation’s limited-release calendar, with the cherry-soaked sour sitting under the brewery’s Site Fermentation Project banner. Like the rest of those Site beers, the 2022 release - which celebrates the 2021 cherry harvest - has a new look thank to the brewery's longtime collaborator, Steve Leadbeater's artwork and comes in 375ml glass bottles. Starting life as a foeder-aged golden sour ale, Lapin 2021 was then refermented on Victorian Lapin cherries that were… Read more
Red
- Style
- Mixed Culture Beer With Cherries
- ABV
- 7.1%
Black Arts Table Beer
Published April 12, 2022
Table beer joined Black Arts’ core range in 2022 and like many beers from the small Melbourne outfit, the beer’s very much inspired by classic styles from Belgium. More specifically, it’s designed for sharing across a table with friends, with the 3.5 percent ABV low enough that you might choose to crack it during lunch over dinner. Pouring with a slight pink hue and quite an enthusiastic carbonation, those fruit flavours are a mix of berries without any sweetness, with hints of strawberry,… Read more
Red
- Style
- Saison
- ABV
- 3.5%
Black Arts South Coast Sour
Published April 12, 2022
Like their popular core range Bière de Coupage, Black Arts’ South Coast Sour is a mix of the old and the new, a blend of mature and sour golden ale with a West Coast IPA. It means the oak-aged sour IPA combines upfront notes of pine, citrus and stone fruit but instead of any real bitterness, you're met by a cavalcade of funky flavours. Alongside those classic West Coast hops are farmhouse elements providing a solid funk that matches overripe fruit with an earthy finish. Meanwhile, the original… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Oak-Aged Sour IPA
- ABV
- 6.2%
