Beer Reviews: July 2015

Posted on July 31, 2015 in Beer Review, Features // 0 Comments

Whilst our most upto date Australian craft beer reviews can be found on our Instagram and Facebook pages, we’ve now collected them together on one page.

They can be found at our Beer Reviews page.

For this past month, these are our reviews:

Feral Brewing Company Hop Hog (5.6%) – Consistently voted the best Aussie craft beer. It certainly delivers on the strong hop aroma and taste. It’s an all American piney, citrus, bitter IPA – but is it really the best beer around here?

Brewboys tasting paddle at the brewery in Adelaide. With Maiden Ale (4.9%), Ace of Spades Stout (5.9%), Gasoline (5.5%), and Seeing Double (8.0%) which was a real standout when it warmed up a bit. A warming winter taste of Scotishness. A great venue with a very friendly brewery dog. The eclectic range of tables and seating make it a place you want to hang around. Plus plenty of bottles to take away when you do have to leave.

Big Shed Brewing Concern tasting paddle at the brewery in Adelaide. With Szechuan Peppercorn Ale (5.3%), F-Yeah APA (5.5%), Stout, and Golden Time Stout (6.0%) bookended by Mismatch Session Ale (3.5%) and Big Shed’s Cherry Popper Applewine (8.5.%). Both Stouts were really good and worth seeking out. Full of rounded, smooth, roasted coffee aromas and tastes.

Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale 2015 (7.5%) on tap – Lovely balance between the malt and hops on initial taste. Quite soon though all the hop variety tastes start to compete with each other leaving a confusing bitter aftertaste. Hides the 7.5% well.

ALL INN BREWING Co. Lucy Session Ale (3.5%) – at the brewery. The really inviting warm golden colour, and subtle hop aroma leads into a nice malt/hop balance. Just bitter enough for a really tasty session ale. And the perfect stop on the way to the airport for a weekends brewery visits in Adelaide.

Endeavour Vintage Beer 2014 Seasonal Series IPA (6.0%) – Unusual IPA as the strong hop aroma gave way to a big, sweet, almost overpowering caramel taste that drowned any hop flavouring that might have been there. The finish did have a little bitterness.

Pirate Life Brewing on the Sunshine Coast. Great to taste the beers with the brewers at the end of their QLD tour. A great range and all very drinkable – the 8.8% IIPA dangerously so. For me the 3.5% Throwback IPA was the star. A very impressive session IPA.

Hop Nation Brewing Co The Fiend Australian IPA (5.4%) – First commercial beer from a new Melbourne brewery. The strong flowery aroma leads into a lovely, and exceedingly drinkable IPA. The malt profile is allowed to come through the hoppy citrus to give a perfectly balanced bitter flavour. The Australian IPA style is certainly the much more approachable, and drinkable of all the world IPA styles.

Sunshine Coast Brewery Rye ESB (5.8%) – A wonderful sweet malt aroma leads you into the bitter taste that makes this a stunning beer. Very moorish and warming during this cold spell.

Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel Victory Bitter (5.0%) – One of the Lord’s Seasonal Ales. The winter release is an English style bitter. And it hits the style perfectly – nice warm caramel taste complemented by the earthiness of traditional English hops. As close to a great English bitter as I’ve tasted in the colonies. Best served after being out of the fridge for a while to ensure all the flavours come out.

Stone & Wood Brewing Pacific Ale (4.4%) – It might be everywhere, but for good reasons. It’s a flat out great beer. The perfect balance of fruit and hop tastes with an amazing fresh hop aroma. Great to drink in any weather.

La Sirène Brewing Belle-French Ale (5.0%) – A light farmhouse beer with a spicy peppery flavour. Slight tartness that lingered in the mouth for a long time after finishing the beer. Perhaps not one to have before trying other beers.

Brisbane Brewing Co. Brissy Pils Organic Pilsner (4.9%) – An easy to drink light hoppy Pils, with a lovely light golden colour. Good balance on the malt/hop taste with a dry finish. Not overly complex, just a good session beer.

Brisbane Brewing Co. Walker American IPA (6.0%) – A fine version of a US IPA with its fluffy head. Full of citrus aroma and strong hop flavours. Bitter and dry all the way.

James Squire 2050 Black Lager (5.2%) – Described as a cross between a Porter and a “palatable” lager. Certainly there’s some roasted coffee aroma notes. The taste was initially a slight sweet toasty/biscuity taste that developed into a molasses overload at the end after a little warming. Tasted much better when cold.

James Squire First Fleet American IPA (5.4%) – Brewed at, and only for, The Charming Squire, Brisbane. Good strong bitter US IPA, filling the gap vacated by Hop Thief 7. Fruity taste with some pineapple in there. Nicely hopped.

Brewtal Brewers Brisbane River Brown (6.2%) – Delicious thick, malty brown in colour and taste. Sweet caramel tastes with perfectly balanced hops. Dangerously moreish for a 6.2% beer. As with any decent brown the thick head stayed to the bottom of the glass. Fantastic beer.

Young Henrys – Pink Lightning (4.5%) and Young Mussels Witbier (4.1%) – Both interesting if not a little odd. Pink Lightening is very light, drinkable slightly tart pale ale with very very slight floral tastes. Refreshing. Young Mussels is described as a Belgian Style Witbier with mussels. Again light and easy drinking and half way between a wit and a Gose with its salty aftertaste.

Green Beacon Brewing Moineau’s Flight (6.3%) – A Biere de Mars for a cold July winter day. Another of the French farmhouse styles of beer, but this one is a dark bodied, slightly hazy, malt driven beer that has a tangy edge. Also the odd hint of caramel. Definitely a great full flavoured strong beer for the winter. Nice and warming.