Whats the best beer you've had & why?

[Fatman]

Heretic Brewing "Shallow Grave" Porter 7%abv (Porter)
From Pittsburg California, a deep dark brown with a billowy honey cake head. Sour dark chocolate aromatics with some bready sourdough and pastry. Deliciously light but bursting with complex flavours, one of the reasons Porter is a favourite style of mine. So much there but isn't at all challenging, backs up with some sweet malt and gorgeous toasty espresso malt and dare I say soy sauce. Smooth and very satisfying this is a lovely import but isn't so special it's worth trying hard to track down. Very well balanced and very easy drinking, mellows beautifully and provides some really amazing flavours, it just seems a little ordinary to be giving this much. Once again I'm a little too under the influence to continue, this is a really enjoyable beer but not too much so.

 

[Fatman]

Two English Ales this evening.

Samuel Smith Old Brewery. 'Nut Brown Ale' 5%abv (Brown Ale).Very clear light hazelnut amber with a big foamy uneven head which settles later to a fine creamy one and fine bead. Aromas of sherry, golden syrup and a little oats with some dried fruit for good measure it is quite inviting. Smooth and light bittersweet walnut flavour with a mildly bitter dry finish. Made in old stone Yorkshire squares. Unusual that this brewery uses sugar, finings and CO2 in their beers, I can't hold it against them because the product is so good.

St Peters Brewery 'Honey Porter' 4.5%abv. Deep clear cherry red with a fine bead and a soft pillowy light brown head. Fragrant aromatics, strong floral notes with sweet honey and carob. Silky smooth nutty caramel, hints of toasty coffee with a dry bitter finish, a little thin but it works quite well. Best not to chill it, room temperature of about 11 - 12 degrees is grand. Haven't had this one since living in the UK.

 

[Fatman]

Oh Boy, this most certainly does not fall under best.

Casa Del Sol. "el Diablo" Super strong brew. 12%abv. (Super Lager) Brewed under licence of Casa Del Sol in the USA by someone anonymous in Indonesia, this stuff should come with a dog and a blanket and should be enjoyed in excess at your local railway station. Pours a clear honey amber with a whispy white head that fades to a few bubbles around the edge of the glass. The aroma is similar to some strong Belgians but is quite boozy and smells a little toxic. Smooth initially but then the flavour, such as it is, kicks in. It's easier to drink than your Special Brew or Super Lager but that isn't saying much. At 4.8 standard drinks per can and the large 12% printed on the label the purpose of this stuff is pretty clear, and waxing lyrical about the pros and cons of its aromatics and flavour profile is missing the point by a long way. Right now it is burning its way down the back of my throat and leaving a taste in my mouth like some awful medicine. Want a beer to get you drunk? Here's your poison.

 

[Fatman]

St Peters Brewery 'Cream Stout' 6.5%abv. (Stout)
Rich deep black with a thick creamy head. Rich chocolatey aroma with fruity toasted malt, hints of raspberry and sweet pastries. Brewed with Fuggles and Challenger hops and four barley malts. Smooth and full bodied, beautiful bittersweet rum and raisin chocolate and lingering sherbety fruitcake, superbly balanced and oh so moreish. Sweeter and a little more subtle than your average extra stout, just gorgeous, I could drink this all day.

I do apologise for the pictures, I'm just taking them at my desk next to the computer with my Blackberry, not the best quality I'm afraid.

 

[Regan of Gong]

I've got the St Peter's IPA sitting on my shelf at the moment, are you going to review that one as well Fatman?

I opened my Mountain Goat/Mikkeller "Gypsy and the Goat" Black Pepperberry IPA (7.3%) last Friday. Pepper berry probably describes it very well, and as unusual as the sweet taste of berries in an IPA seemed to me, it works really well. It pours super dark, not quite black though, and it's a lot more subtle than your average IPA, though that might be because I'm used to the hop-smack-in-the-face from American styles. The most surprising part was the aniseed or maybe fennel finish- maybe it was cloves or something, I don't even know- my tongue felt a little numb though. Super beer, you should buy it.

Apparently Mikkeller is a Danish gypsy brewing operation that borrows the facilities of other breweries all over the world. Google tells me they once brewed a 1000 IBU Double IPA.

 

[Fatman]

I've got the St Peter's IPA sitting on my shelf at the moment, are you going to review that one as well Fatman?

I opened my Mountain Goat/Mikkeller "Gypsy and the Goat" Black Pepperberry IPA (7.3%) last Friday. Pepper berry probably describes it very well, and as unusual as the sweet taste of berries in an IPA seemed to me, it works really well. It pours super dark, not quite black though, and it's a lot more subtle than your average IPA, though that might be because I'm used to the hop-smack-in-the-face from American styles. The most surprising part was the aniseed or maybe fennel finish- maybe it was cloves or something, I don't even know- my tongue felt a little numb though. Super beer, you should buy it.

Apparently Mikkeller is a Danish gypsy brewing operation that borrows the facilities of other breweries all over the world. Google tells me they once brewed a 1000 IBU Double IPA.

From my records

St Peters 'IPA' 5.5%abv "Clear honey amber with a soft large bubbled head. Spicy aromatics, smooth and bitter and quite light. Well balanced, not too intense but well hopped, light carbonation." a little brief but you get the idea.

I think there are still a few bottles of 1000IBU around the traps, I'm going to find one soon.

 

[Fatman]

Brewdog Brewery. "There is No Santa" Spiced Christmas Beer 4.7%abv.
A special limited release just for Christmas, a spiced stout brewed with cocoa nibs and ginger stems. Pours a deep clear cola like black red with a light brown uneven pillowy head. Pronounced gingerbread with sherbety chocolate, like a chocolate coated honey jumble biscuit or German Lebkuchen. The aromatics make you expect some sort of sweet malty concoction but it is smooth and fairly light, a little yeasty and dry but the spicy ginger and luscious chocolate come through in the long lingering finish.

 

[KWICKS]

I've had a few interesting drops lately, the best was the Day of the Long Shadow Winter Spiced Ale, a Single Batch from Little Creatures. Comes with a bonus kick in the head alcohol level. I can recommend each of these except the Sheepshagger.

 

[Fatman]

Moondog Brewery Pty Ltd "Black Lung II" Whisky Barrel Aged Stout 8.1%abv.
Australian Whisky Barrel aged stout. Pours deep oily black with a creamy fine bubbled bronze head. Just as advertised there is a striking warm aroma of an old fire place in a room full of antique furniture. Rich malt with wisps of whisky and charred oak, undertones of beeswax and some really earthy aromas. Silky smooth and a little syrupy, quite warming and huge smokey flavour. I love it. Bittersweet, excellent balance and weight and there is a nice hoppy tickle near the warm finish. I'm going back for more.

 

[Garrath]

Red Duck's Hop bach

Fatman love your work, very similar explorations into the wonderful world of beer.

I have to say that finally Oz breweries are picking up on the what the USA and NZ have been doing for some time with higher alcohol content beers. Red Duck have just released a very limited run of a beer called Hop Bach (symphony #1), a double IPA at 9.8%. The brewery notes are:

Brewed at Red Duck by Anders Kissmeyer of Kissmeyer Beer and Scott Wilson-Browne of Red Duck
This is a tasty little double IPA that we used 25 different hops in. There are more hops that we could have used, but for this bitter sweet harmony, we carefully picked as many as worked together, some for bittering only, some in aroma, and a few for both. All of the aroma hops, and 2 of the bittering hops were also used in dry hopping later on.
Your favourite hop is probably in this beer, but we are keeping the list secret, so you will only ever know if you taste this amazing ale.
If you love hops, this is probably the most awesome ale you have ever had, or will...
Only one batch brewed, so just 650 bottles available.

If IPA's are your thing then this little baby is worth tracking down. Very bloody enjoyable.

 

[Fatman]

Uncommon Brewers 'Bacon Brown Ale' Bacon flavoured Nut Brown Ale 6.8%abv
Beer brewed with real cured bacon. Mid coppery brown with a large bubbled light brown head and bead.Aromatics are sweet and malty but no discernable bacon, quite an unusual hoppy aroma. Serious desert mouth and some bacon flavour but this just isn't right, initial hoppy characteristics with good weight. Higher alcohol content comes through and after a while it gets a little syrupy. This really wasn't for me and I think bacon makes pretty much everything better, I struggled to get through it, mind you I had a hangover that would kill a small child at the time.


Temple Brewing Company 'Bicycle Beer' Ale 4.2%abv
Cloudy burnt yellow with a frothy white head. Zesty sherbety grapefruit aromas. Light and very refreshing, this would be a sensational after ride beer. Flavour is quite subtle, quite dry and lightly bitter and a little tart, the sediment does detract from the flavour a bit. Also has some added salt, 7 hops, some unmalted red wheat and flaked spelt.


Shmaltz Brewing Company 'Coney Island Lager' Lager 5.5%abv
8 malts and 6 hops and Pilsner yeast combine to make this truly unremarkable but a little unusual lager. Pours clear mid amber with a light brown frothy uneven head. Sweet malty aromatics with some sour herbal and melon characteristics. Smooth and malty, mildly bitter and a little sherbety on the palate. Fantastic labels on the whole range of beers made this a must have in the basket, the brewers also make the He'Brew Messiah, Genesis and Jewbilation etc beers. I wasn't overly impressed, I still have the Sword Swallower to try though.

 

[stoo]

Red Duck Bengal IPA from Ballarat!

I swiped this pic offa the 'net, because I don't have one handy.
$102 per case from the brewery ( which is less than 10km from home ) and worth every cent!!!!!!
Best beer I've ever had, without question....

 

[Fatman]

If you can find some, check it out, this is some seriously good beer.

Moylan's Brewing Company 'Chelsea Moylan's Porter' Porter, USA, 5%abv
As soon as I popped the cap I was greeted with a delicious grainy chocolate aroma, with some toasty coffee and treacle, I hadn't even poured yet. Pours clear cola brownish red and has a big but fading fine bubbled head with a few fish eyes. Best enjoyed cool not cold, a really good porter, plenty of complex flavour aromas but not heavy and confronting and no real bitterness to speak of. Smooth and velvety, almost perfectly balanced this is definately one of the better ones I've had.

Moylan's Brewing Company 'Kilt Lifter' Scotch Ale, USA, 8%abv.
Pours deep clear amber with a soft crumbly light brown head. Rich malt aromatics tempered with some earthy hop notes. Delicious and moreish, the body is a little light and only gives a hint of the lurking high alcohol. Again a very well made beer, not too much or too little of anything. No wonder this brewery has won so many awards, my taste buds are loving me today.

Moylan's Brewing Company 'Nor Cal IPA' US IPA, USA, 6.5%abv.
Light yellow with a slight bloom and a soft frothy white head. Delicious sweet citrus like sherbet lemon lollies, not too much of the regular piney aromatics. BIG body and flavour, hits immediately and lingers around. Spicey resinous hops and luscious malt, doesn't have the huge alcohol content of others but the flavour is excellent. Quite a bitter drop, like chewing on a champhor laurel leaf but is still quite an easy beer to drink and not overly challenging.

 

[Fatman]

Just a few today.

Søgaards Bryghus 'Espresso Stout' Stout, Denmark, 7%abv.
Pours light clear chocolatey brown with a soft foamy light brown head. Given the title it should be no surprise that it smells like a fresh morning shot backed up with plenty of sweet syrupy malt. Smooth and mild but rich and full of coffee flavour with some bittersweet marker pen characteristics. Made with Barley malt, honey, muscovado sugar, coffee extract, oats and hops. Flavour develops quite nicely with a little warmth, silky and well weighted.

Purrumbete Brewery Red Duck 'Smells Like A Pony' Braggot, Australia, 13.7%abv.
A Limited Edition Buckwheat Braggot, strong ale mixed with mead to make this heady brew. Muddy mid brown with some very fine bubbles and a thin head. Striking honey aromatics, beeswax and rich malt with some clove and nutmeg. Some of the aromatics would be more at home in a rich oaky shiraz. I didn't get anything that smelt like a pony or horse blanket that would usually indicate some Brett infection. Syrupy with little to no carbonation, quite warming and at this strength it is more of a barley wine than a beer. Smooth and leaves your palate a little dry, seems to be missing a little sweetness. A most unusual drop but I'm not a big fan, I did buy a few though so I might lay one down and see what happens.


Amager Bryghus 'Rated XxX' Imperial IPA, Denmark, 9%abv.
Pours mid honey amber with a slight bloom and a soft creamy head. Piney apricot and cured meat aroma, big malt. Hits the palate pretty hard initially but it does ease off. Big malt and intense bitterness but is a little sweeter than many an IIPA, smooth and rich, full bodied and leaves you with some desert mouth and a warm lingering spicy bitterness.

Two Birds Brewing 'Sunset Ale' Red Ale, Australia, 4.6%abv.
Pours a deep clear auburn with a soft foamy head. Lightly hoppy bready aromas with some sweet pastry. Light fruity characteristics, a little citrus but plenty of body and good carbonation. A really nice light sessionable ale, flavour and aromatics are restrained but in good balance, very good indeed. Went very nicely with some spicy food.

Shmaltz Brewing Company, Coney Island 'Sword Swallower' IPA(US), USA, 7.2%abv.
Pours very lively yellow gold with a slight bloom and a generous pillowy white head. Soft passionfruit and citrus with some grainy malt. Bitterness hits up front but isn't too much, well weighted and the citrussy bite really clears the mid palate but the bitterness lingers in the finish. I expected a little more to be honest, it's a bit of style over substance for these beers so far. Great labels, average beer. Possibly due to it missing the Ale part of IPA.

 

[hach_bee]

I had the privilege of sampling all of MOA's 10 beers and two ciders the other day, very impressed! Now just need to get them to stock in bottle shops...

 

[Warwick]

I love Zywiec. Lovely clean, light easy to drink stacks of.
It's wetter than all the others.

 

[KWICKS]

Had a couple just now.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest. All hops, bitter, green, citrus and a little floral aroma. Good with schnitzel and coleslaw tonight.



And this, the real "Australia's Finest" in the sense that it's distinctly Aussie in flavour and distinctly good - Thomas Cooper's Selection.

 

[KWICKS]

Mmmmm.

 

[Fatman]

Mmmmm.

Two of my favourite beers of all time in there sitting side by side. I could drink Bitter & Twisted and Landlord all day long.

 

[KWICKS]

And in that company I thought them plain. The Wingwalker was worse. We just poured that out. The Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere HARVEST was awesome, a celebration of hops, bitterness and a crystal clear red beer. The Hoegaardem Grand Cru was a special event beer, complete with a centimeter of sediment in the bottle! Good times. No hangover!