Lost Palms ‘Second Rodeo’ Imperial Affogato Stout

Rating:

“We’ve been there. We’ve done that. This is not our first rodeo… It’s our Second! Rich, dark & roasted malts play well with flavours of coffee & vanilla ice cream. You’ll find light notes of almond biscotti which round out the experience. Yee-all the way-Haw.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: It pours an opaque black with two fingers of loosely held brown foam forming on top. The head slowly recedes but doesn’t offer much in the way of lacing.

Aroma: We’ve been on the hunt for a good quality Affogato Stout for something like 5 years now. We’ve tasted 4 or 5 attempts from different breweries and not even one can come close to the true flavour profile of an Affogato. Here’s hoping that ends now. It has a nice and solid Stout base – chocolate, very mild coffee, vanilla and treacle. Hints of marshmallow, cherry and marzipan. Not sold yet.

Flavour: Well, it’s not a full strike out as it’s still a decent pastry stout. God dammit how hard is it to emulate coffee, vanilla ice cream and nutty liqueur?! Upfront it’s slightly bitter yet reminiscent of coffee and marshmallow. There’s a very very subtle almond accent as it shifts into the roasted mid. We must hand it to them coz the finish and back palate is mildly sweet and heavily roasted and draws out nicely.

Mouthfeel: Slick and oily, medium-full body and low-ish Co2. The 9% ABV was very well hidden.

Overall: Well, the search continues. Although this was a half decent beer it still misses the mark on what an Affogato, in our opinion, actually tastes like. We won’t give up!

Bridge Road X Firestone Walker ‘Dark Harvest’ Black IPA

Rating:

“2023’s Dark Harvest was designed together with Matt Brynildson, Brewmaster at Firestone Walker, a legend of the US craft beer industry, renowned for his extensive knowledge of and passion for all things hops. Dark Harvest takes influence from FW’s ‘Wookie Jack’ with the inclusion of rye to create a broader malt bill as well as the soft chocolate malts seen in previous editions. An unmissable ale. A complex and beguiling IPA underpinned by a shared passion for the unique and fleeting nature of its key ingredient.”

Glassware: IPA.

Appearance: Uber dark brown with a thumb of finely beaded tan head perched on top. Excellent retention and lace work as it subsides.

Aroma: Heady wafts of sweet stonefruit and lightly charred malts emanate from the glass, which we are yet to pick up still. Under the nostrils those two aforementioned aromas are magnified by 100 and then further supported by waves of mixed citrus, cocoa, mocha, peppery spice, cereal grains and ash. Maybe a very fleeting hint of Jaffa and pine needles as well.

Flavour: Man, the progression is next level. It starts off with an almost creamy chocolate malt note which is slowly but surely overlapped by a burgeoning roast and hop bitterness. It hits a crescendo around the mid-palate where the hops throw up everything from pine, mixed citrus, unripened stonefruit and herbal spice. It then settles in for a long finish of roasted malt, hop bitterness and pine.

Mouthfeel: Fairly smooth, a little dry and creamy. Drying out further in the swallow. Medium body, finely carbed. The 6.6% ABV is well concealed.

Overall: An impressive black IPA and an equally impressive partner for this collab. Firestone Walker are on of our all time favourite American breweries so big ups to whoever made that happen. Solid offering.

Bottle Logic ‘Perfectly Preserved’ Fruited Berliner Weiss

Rating:

“Tart Wheat ale brewed and conditioned with hundreds of pounds of nectarines & white + yellow peaches.”

Glassware: Teku.

Appearance: Clear golden pour and a fast-fading white head. It forms a fine collar with next to no lace work on the glass.

Aroma: Very dominant peach coming off initially. It has a strong floral scent behind it too. Heady nectarine, unripened pineapple and lychee also coming through. Somewhat of a spring floral bouquet and a touch of bush honey to make it that little bit more interesting. Maybe some wheat grains off in the distance but honestly it’s hard to get far past the extreme peach and nectarine.

Flavour: This is turning out to be miles from what we were anticipating. We were ignorantly expecting a soured-up, stonefruit-based beauty and we’ve ended up with an overly floral, sweet peachy mess with little acidity and structure. The peach and nectarine pretty much drown out any other flavour and the floral aspect only further widens the imbalance. It does dry up a bit and corrects itself late in the piece but the damage is done by then.

Mouthfeel: Nice and crisp, tart and refreshing. Perfectly carbed, mild-moderate body. Can’t fault the texture at all.

Overall: This is a rare strike out for BL. They are human after all! It’s just a little incongruous but we’ve already forgiven them 😁

Riegele ‘Dulcis 12’ Belgian Strong Ale

Rating:

“The harmonious taste of Dulcis 12 arises from the light sweetness of honey and a 12-month second fermentation process with Trappist yeast.”

Glassware: Half Stein.

Appearance: Kinda hazy golden amber pour with a wispy white overlay. The head disappears rather quickly and produces little lacing. Quite a fair bit of suspended sediment as well.

Aroma: It’s extremely sweet but as any good and well respected German brewery will do…they’ve balanced it impeccably. Rich notes of honey, lilac and boiled candy lift out of the glass. Following closely behind are distinctly yeasty notes of banana liqueur, clove and stewed apple/pear. Light caramel sweetness, overripe orange and black pepper add to and further fill out this impressive aroma.

Flavour: Oh wow! It’s like a lovechild between a Belgian Tripel and a Weizenbock. It’s jam-packed with spicy phenols and honey but then it’s layered with a tonne of other flavours like boiled candy, caramelised orchard fruits, honeysuckle, oriental spice and ripe orange citrus. The finish is pretty much an extension of the rest of the beer. With good length as well.

Mouthfeel: Unbelievably smooth for its size (11% ABV). Kinda sticky, chewy texture, perfectly carbed. Medium body.

Overall: A very interesting beer. Super sweet yet spicy and fruity. Belgian yet still somewhat German. All in all it’s a very respectable drop.

Madocke Witbier

Rating:

“Hazy white beer with a full refreshing taste. Intensely aromatic with lots of lemon and spicy characters.”

Glassware: Stemmed tulip.

Appearance: Slightly hazy, pale light yellow pour with high Co2 activity and a thumb of fizzy white head capping it off. Retention is pretty good, webbed lacing clinging to the glass as it ebbs.

Aroma: We actually had to delve back into our websites history to find out the last time we reviewed a Witbier. It was Dogfish Head’s “Namaste” back in 2016! So it’s fair to say we’re not the biggest fans of the style haha. Anywho, let’s crack on. Conventional type of aroma. Spearheaded by the spicy phenols, fresh citrus/rind and vanilla. Some mild pepper and herbal notes, maybe a subtle doughy malt profile also.

Flavour: It’s very delicate..like the nose it’s phenolic, spicy and a little citrusy with a suggestion of vanilla developing in the mid-palate. It’s notably clean and refreshing, promoted by the gentle bitterness. Light herbals, oats and bready malts then lead in to a bone dry finish with ultra-fine yeast phenols and lemon on the back end.

Mouthfeel: Nice and crisp, light on and effervescent. Mild-moderate body and the 4.5% ABV is spot on.

Overall: Our first entry for this Gold Coast brewery. We’ve actually had an eye on them for a while but never took the next step. We’re not really blown away by this one but we have high hopes for the rest of the range.

Trillium X Garage Project Soufflè Imperial Stout

Rating:

“Home & Away, a series of rebrews bringing some of our funnest overseas collaborations back to the Garage. For this release we turn to the dark side with South Pacific Soufflé Stout, first brewed with Boston’s beer bosses, Trillium. Brewed with Tongan vanilla pods, cacao nibs and Timor-Leste grown coffee beans from Wellington’s own Flight Coffee, this huge dessert stout pours an opaque jet black with luscious layers of vanilla gelato, burnt marshmallow, chewy dried fruits and mocha latté. Bringing home the goodness.” 

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Solid black pour with a thumb of brown head assembling on top. It retains relatively well and leaves wet patchy lacing on the glass.

Aroma: We’ve been eagerly awaiting this for weeks now. Sometimes the pent up excitement can be detrimental but not with a GP X Trillium collab…you could almost bet your house on it being amazing. Coming off are big roasty notes backed up by melted chocolate, spicy vanilla and cocoa. The coffee is also quite succinct. Hints of toasted marshmallow, roasted almonds and rum-soaked raisin. Hot damn!

Flavour: Wow, it’s multi-layered and super complex. The evolution of it is insane…it’s morphed like 4 or 5 times already. Wow! Upfront it’s rich and sweet but also kinda tart, like blueberry and blood plum. The chocolate is fudgey and melted, the coffee is mocha-forward and the vanilla is spicy. There’s quite an aggressive roasted quality that carries all the way into the finish which provides chocolate powder, raw cacao and ash for days.

Mouthfeel: Dense and muscly yet surprisingly elegant. The Co2 is slightly higher for the style and the 12.4% ABV comes in and out.

Overall: Two heavyweights from each side of the earth collaborate on another absolutely cracking beer. How original! Nah, in all honesty this was superb. How we wish Trillium were more readily available here in Australia. We’d be broke but it’d be worth it.

Sailors Grave ‘Leviathan’ Kölsch

Rating:

“A modern twist on a classic favourite. Lean, clean malt profile with aromas of bread crust, mountain wildflower and hay. hopped with Saaz and Motueka.”

Glassware: Tumbler.

Appearance: Light pale golden pour with a finger of white foam capping it off. The head gradually peels off and a healthy lace trails it down.

Aroma: Digging the crisp and super clean nature of it. On the surface it gives every indication that it’s a traditional Kölsch with the floral, herbaceous and earthy notes it’s suggesting. It’s not until we dig our noses in deep that we find subtle hints of citrus peel and zesty lime. The malt bill is incredibly clean and bready. Good vibes.

Flavour: The crisp and clean nature of the beer carries over nicely. Neatly trimmed Noble hop notes of earthy herbs, mildew and soft florals mingle with the dry, crusty malts and the result is this uber-sessional neck oil with impeccable balance and simplicity. The finish is perfectly rounded and it draws out nicely on the back end.

Mouthfeel: Clean, crisp and delicate. There’s a lovely effervescence which lifts it up. Light-moderate body and the 5% ABV is right on the money.

Overall: We must admit we’re not typically swayed by this mob but they’ve absolutely nailed this. It’s like the perfect BBQ beer…ultra crushable but full flavoured. Kudos, Sailors Grave!

Bottle Logic ‘Crust To Core’ BA Imperial Stout

Rating:

“Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout collaboration with our brothers-in-adjuncts, Equilibrium Brewery. This liquid erupted from a combination of Heaven Hill, Elijah Craig, and Old Fitzgerald barrels at a molten 15.5% ABV with a gooey chocolate-brownie character that we finished with a crater-full of cacao nibs and a 300lb peanut butter treatment for a beautifully balanced, bottled Peanut Butter Brownie.” 

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Impenetrable black with a thumb of dark brown foam that vanishes as quickly as it assembles. Leaving nothing but a dark boozy abyss to look down in to.

Aroma: Smells incredible. Should we expect anything less from the Stasis Project though?! There’s traits of real peanut but also plenty of peanut butter emanating as well. As it settles it starts to release the hounds…raw cacao, Belgian chocolate, fudge, treacle and a faint yet noticeable Bourbon spice and oak profile. They’ve somehow even managed to get that slightly burnt crusty scent we get on really well made brownies as well. Oooft!

Flavour: Wow it gets really hostile here. Most likely from the 15.5% ABV but the Bourbon punches through harder and the chocolate goes from milky, fudgey and nutty to rich and dark. There’s also a more strident roast to it… probably more of a charred/ash quality actually. Yet, in typical BL fashion, they still present a mildly sweet, nutty, chocolatey, Bourbon-filled finish that goes for days.

Mouthfeel: Thick, full bodied and soupy. Low Co2 and a fairly well behaved ABV considering its size.

Overall: We’re running out of adulations to give to BL. These guys are just on another level.

Smog City ‘ Cuddlebug’ Fruited Sour

Rating:

“Bursting with intense aromas of apricot, peach and a hint of passion fruit, this super fruity sour beer is ripe for the summer. The strong yet balanced acidity plays off of the fruit and makes you wanna cuddle up to another glass.”

Glassware: Teku.

Appearance: Pale gold to yellow with a faint orange tint. Minimal head formation, anything that did manifest fell away almost immediately. Very little lace work as we go.

Aroma: Smells fantastic. What is it about fruits like peach, apricot and nectarine that work so damn well with sours? We think the flavour fusion of floral sweetness and succulent bright acidity with the sour, citric and vinegary notes are simply made for each other. Gorgeous hints of sour grapes, lemon juice, rockmelon, white vinegar and a whisper of oak. Superb.

Flavour: It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper sour. We must admit the intensity of the sourness tapers off after another sip or two and then it’s all about the delicious stonefruits. We’re getting the passionfruit but not the uber sweet and nectary type…more the tart-sweet Panama variety. Really subtle white vinegar, fresh lemon juice and an earthy, woody finish which lingers.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, slightly acidic with a lifted Co2. Light-moderate body and the 4.5% ABV was surprisingly low for how much flavour it packs.

Overall: A very clever and delicious counter to Snugglebug. We didn’t even know they released this alongside it! Like, a year after the fact! Both are impressive sours in their own right.

Baron’s Black Wattleseed Ale

Rating:

“The resulting beer delivers a wealth of flavour that you can’t deny. This multi-award winning wattle seed ale has a rich flavour base of caramel with a hint of chocolate. The smooth malt flavours are lightly hopped and then infused with roasted wattle seed, bringing a unique and authentic Australian flavour. The result is an outstanding ale that boasts a smooth taste profile balancing its robust character, an ultimately rewarding yet distinctive beer.”

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Pours a lovely burnished amber colour with a wispy tan overlay. The head reduces quickly and forms a collar with scarce spotty lacing on the glass.

Aroma: This is a re-post as we first reviewed this beer way back in early 2013. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw that it had been re-released in a can. Not much seems to have changed either which is excellent. It still provides a conventional Amber Ale base – nutty malts, caramel/toffee, butterscotch and fleeting hints of maple. The wattleseed is very delicate but does yield a bit of roast and mild smoky notes.

Flavour: Man, that’s as good as we remember it being when we first tried it about 20 years ago. Delicious caramel and nutty malts flowing through then that soft roasty element from the wattleseed adding a bit of smoke and char on the edges. The hops do a magnificent job of drying it out and countering the malt sweetness as well. Nice and nutty finish with the hops providing the balance.

Mouthfeel: Slick, chewy and gelatinous. Medium body and the 5.2% ABV is bang on for the style.

Overall: Wow what a blast from the past! Was not expecting to walk into the bottlo and see this on the shelves. The best thing is that it’s practically unchanged from the recipe decades ago. Nostalgia at its finest.

Riegele ‘Auris 19’ Doppelbock

Rating:

“Auris 19 owes its distinct taste to the 19° extract from the historical malt variety Steffi, refined by the Riegele husk separation process.”

Glassware: Half Stein.

Appearance: Nice bright golden pour with a slight haze. It forms a thumb of tightly held off white foam which gradually recedes. Healthy lace sticks to the glass as it subsides.

Aroma: At its core it’s very peeled back and conventional but it still manages to pull the olfactory’s in a few different directions. Initially it’s uber crisp and clean, kinda like a good German Pilsner but then the yeast profile throws out some interesting fruity notes. Also picking up some honey sweetness, delicate orchard fruits, toasted granola and old herbs. Has us intrigued.

Flavour: Fairly rich and semi sweet upfront. What we’re really digging is the Noble hops that cut through the richness like butter…also bringing a gentle bitterness to the party as well. The booze adds a tiny bit of warmth as unripened orchard fruits cross the mid and lead into a rather dry, crisp and herbaceous finish.

Mouthfeel: Well rounded and inoffensive which is pretty impressive considering its size (9% ABV). Medium body and low-ish Co2.

Overall: We must say it’s a very peculiar beer. It seems part Helles, part Tripel and part Bock. Categorising this bad boy would be a mesmerising discussion. Solid offering though.

Boatrocker ‘Ryejet’ BA Imperial Stout

Rating:

“We are always looking at new treatments for what we consider a beer style that can have many different faces.  This time around, we chose Rye barrels from Dickel’s to give us a unique, yet delicious alternative to the bourbon barrel variants of Ramjet that people are familiar with.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a thumb of finely beaded brown foam forming on top. The head gradually recedes and leaves random blotches of lace on the glass.

Aroma: Not getting a great deal off it to be honest. It can be said already that rye whiskey barrels have far less penetration than their bourbon or straight whiskey counterparts do. Thing is we love rye malts and we love rye whiskey but we find when some brewers use these barrels they end up with a cat piss and or squashed ant scent that comes off like ammonia. Eventually some dark chocolate, coffee and roast comes through but it’s subtle.

Flavour: It’s improving here. The rye whiskey barrels emanate their true colours and produce that spicy, vanilla and bubblegum-like character they’re so well known for. At the same time the classic Boatrocker Impy Stout base emerges with dark chocolate, coffee, molasses, ash and licorice. It sets up for a nice melange of big roasty coffee notes and spicy rye that draws out well.

Mouthfeel: Dense and viscous. A little oily too. Full bodied and a fairly noticeable 10.6% ABV.

Overall: Not their best iteration of Ramjet but one that can be ticked off and possibly left alone as they keep moving forward.

Der Hirschbrau ‘Doppel-Hirsch’ Doppelbock

Rating:

“A noble dark double-bock beer with tradition, which invites to celebrate.
With an original gravity of 18.5° (1074), 7.2% ABV and at least 75% dark malts as well as a delicate hoppy bitterness it is full-bodied, velvety smooth and distinctly malty in taste.”

Glassware: Stein.

Appearance: You know you’ve got a conventional European beer with a swing top. Classic light brown/chestnut pour with a sturdy three finger crown nestled in on top. Not much lace clings to the glass as we go.

Aroma: Seriously, no one brews Doppelbocks like the Germans. This right here is exactly what we want from one; super sweet dark fruits, brown sugar and rum balls but exquisitely balanced by the bready malts, savoury nutty-ness, light toasty notes and sarsaparilla. Layers of caramel, toffee, a touch of banana peel and fig round out an absolutely superb aroma.

Flavour: And it only gets better. Just the mildest hint of roasted malt is enough to counter the rich, sweet caramels, port-like dark fruits and Christmas cake. We pick up a certain woody character which is cool as it hasn’t had any barrel contact. It hits a rather chewy molasses note midway then delivers a bready finish with light estery spice and treacle.

Mouthfeel: Nice and firm but still slick and gelatinous. Medium body with a well masked 7.2% ABV.

Overall: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…when it’s a traditional European beer you’re after, you’ve gotta go straight to the source. Top notch stuff.

Trillium ‘Trailside’ IPA

Rating:

“Located steps away from the trailhead of Great Blue Hill, our ambitious restaurant, taproom, and future production facility at 100 Royall Street in Canton is more than eight years in the making. During that time, we’ve incubated, iterated upon, and continued to endlessly refine our take on the New England IPA style. Trailside is the culmination of everything we’ve learned along the way.”

Glassware: IPA.

Appearance: Kinda frosted deep pastel yellow with a frothy three finger head. Super murky. Excellent lace trails on the glass as it ebbs.

Aroma: So bright and tropical. Truck loads of mango, pineapple, peach, passionfruit and melon. Quite a heady citrus quality as well – orange, tangerine, candied lemon, maybe a hint of grapefruit. Getting an old-school West Coast piney vibe from it too…super fresh and herbal in its delivery. Dry and chalky, a little peppery. Doing all the right things!

Flavour: Interesting. The big tropical sweetness that dominated the nose has been somewhat replaced by a green, slightly dank and piney quality. Something kinda tart in here too; white grapes, gooseberry? No Kiwi hops in this, we don’t think. A bit of citrus tailing in late before it smooths out for a nice soft and dry finish with lingering herbals on the back end.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, pillowy, smooth AF. Finely carbed, medium body. The 6.8% ABV is well concealed.

Overall: Put this and Vicinity side by side and Vicinity would blow it out of the water. Vicinity was OG NEIPA whereas this was a bit more green and bitter. Plus the fruit salad character totally dropped out in flavour. Still, not a bad drop at all.

Bottle Logic ‘Red Eye November’ BA Imperial Coffee Stout

Rating:

“We’re thrilled to announce the release of the fifth bottled batch of our legendary RedEye November, a Stasis Project variant that features an exclusive blend of coffee beans masterfully roasted by our friends at Mostra Coffee.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: As black as midnight with very little head formation. Minimal lacing as we go.

Aroma: As expected it’s oozing with sweet espresso and molasses but also well supported by the spicy Bourbon oak barrels. There’s a few interesting little adjuncts swirling around too – cherry being one of the more noticeable – but we’re also picking up hints of blueberry and dried prunes. The addition of rye malt just goes to show the class these guys possess…just hinting at enough peppery spice to bolster the coffee and Bourbon. Love!

Flavour: Trust BL to start with a BA Imperial Coffee Stout and take it to new heights. It’s like they’ve perfected the base Coffee Stout then their creative genes have kicked in so they’ve barrel aged it, then thrown in some rich molasses, then countered that richness with some spicy rye malt and the result is this next level BBA Stout on steroids…which is literally like a drug to the taste buds. Anything less than amazing won’t do for BL.

Mouthfeel: Dense but still oily enough to roll over the tongue with ease. Full bodied with just the slightest amount of warmth from the 13% ABV.

Overall: What more can we say? These guys just don’t take a step back. By now, we’ve tried dozens of beers from their Stasis Project and they have a 100% success rate. We’ve never had anything less than superb when it comes to this range. We may pay a high price for it but damn, it’s worth every penny.

Trillium ‘Vicinity’ Double IPA

Rating:

“Brewed in celebration of the first anniversary of Row 34, our favorite Fort Point oyster bar and craft-beer purveyor, Vicinity highlights a neighborhood collaboration of passion and vision. Appearance is bright and straw-colored. Spicy, earthy aromas of tropical fruit notes abound.”

Glassware: IPA.

Appearance: Somewhat light mustard yellow complexion. Turbid AF. It holds a thick and creamy two finger head which leaves an absolute mess on the glass as we imbibe.

Aroma: Phwoar! Proper old-school NEIPA. Reminds us of the first time we tried a Treehouse NEIPA all the way back in 2017. Fruit salad type of aroma with the classic dank pine and fennel. Frosty Fruits are coming through strong…so to are tropical mango, orange, rockmelon and pineapple. Getting an umami hit from it too. Dry, chalky and crusty malt profile. Liking it!

Flavour: This is why we fell in love with NEIPA’s. It’s like breakfast juice, Frosty Fruits, fresh orange and dank pine in luscious beer form. Definitely has a weedy accent to it as well. Shallot, herbal spice, ruby grapefruit and green mango rolling into a smooth, oat-filled finish with lingering dank weedy notes on the back end.

Mouthfeel: Ultra smooth, creamy and aerated. Very finely carbed. Hides the 8% ABV incredibly well.

Overall: Trillium hey. It’s been a long time between drinks. Massive shout out to ExperienceIt beverages for shipping these in as Trillium are one of the OG NEIPA brewers. It has been nostalgic and entertaining to wrap our laughing gear around of their world class beers again.

Bass Point Brewing ‘The Shallows’ Pilsner

Rating:

“Dear Fro, we remember when you tried your first Pilsner, you had clearly discovered your new favourite style of beer. Well, we have come up with this ultra refreshing, traditional style Pilsner, that we reckon you’ll love. The slightest hint of spice and snap with each sip, it’s thirst-quenching. Enjoy!”

Glassware: Stemmed tulip.

Appearance: Nice and light straw golden pour and a frothy two finger head perched on top. Good retention and nice legs running down the glass.

Aroma: Wow it’s very well polished. Super classy pilsner here…and traditional AF! It displays a lovely spiciness alongside more subtle notes of wilted herbs, florals and wet grass. There’s a distinct cereal grain to it…corn kernels, uncooked rice and barley which puts the finishing touches on this excellent aroma.

Flavour: Mirrors the aroma perfectly. It’s bringing the crisp, spicy and exquisitely balanced notes of soft florals, grass and cereal grains. It just has this superb Noble hop quality which is on par with some of the best European Pilsners. It delivers a clean, mildly bitter finish with a hint of herbal spice drawing out.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, light on and refreshing texture. Perfectly carbed and the 4.6% ABV is spot on for the style.

Overall: This is a seriously impressive Pilsner. We’ve been surprised by unknown breweries before but this would have to rate somewhere near the top. It’s just a straight up and down quality Euro Pilsner done as well as the likes of Urquell, Weihenstephaner etc.

Dieu Du Ciel! ‘Solstice d’hiver’ Barleywine

Rating:

“This noble winter beer is brown in colour with flaming red highlights. Its taste is delicately sweet and liquor-like with a hint of burnt caramel coming from the malt and a prolonged boiling time. It is a very bitter beer with aromas of hops and alcohol, and flavours reminiscent of red fruit brought by the English-type yeast we use to ferment it. The aftertaste is accentuated by the wonderful flavour of hops.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Exactly what we envisioned it to look like – muddy dark brown with a short khaki head. Very finely beaded. Fine lace work as it subsides.

Aroma: The whole time we were writing the appearance we could smell what we thought was Bourbon but a quick look at the specs doesn’t show any barrel aging or spiking. It’s just a ridiculously complex and well layered beer! Massive caramel overtones initially, followed by toffee apple, brown sugar, marzipan, golden raisin, dates, pumpernickel and earthy spice. Oooft!

Flavour: So incredibly smooth for its size. It does have this line of delicate bitterness that extends through to the finish which is absolutely crucial to the overall balance. Other than that it’s just dense caramel and toffee, dark fruits, earthy spice, residual sugars and an obscure bready-ness which is hard to describe. It all aligns for such a delicious and intriguing finish though.

Mouthfeel: Chewy yet silky smooth with a dry bitterness developing in the swallow. Flat-ish Co2 and a very well behaved 10.2% ABV.

Overall: It’s been quite a few years between drinks for us and DDC. These guys have always been our favourite Canadian brewery and still, all these years later, they still are…and for good reason!

Fury & Son Pilsner

Rating:

“A new world Pilsner exhibiting fresh stone fruit and citrus aromas over delicate and subtle malt layers. This beer finishes clean and dry with just enough bitterness to balance its light body.”

Glassware: Stemmed tulip.

Appearance: Pale golden pour with close to full clarity. Good Co2 activity and holding a two finger head fairly well. Not a whole lot of lacing to speak of…some spotty and blotchy patches here and there.

Aroma: A new world interpretation for sure. It’s displaying delicate fruit sweetness and a hint of citrus – floral peach/skins, nectarine, subtle grapefruit and even a very mild touch of lychee. Reinforced by its grainy malt backbone which provides more of the conventional rice crackers, light honey and cereal. Pretty damn good actually.

Flavour: It follows on from the nose with a distinct fruity hop profile. Although subtle the fleshy sweetness of tropical stonefruits and the gentle acidity of grapefruit/lemon can be found. Getting some peppery spice which wasn’t present on the nose. It cleans up nicely as it finishes dry and grainy with good length.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and well polished. A nice little sparkle to the Co2 and the 4.8% ABV is right on point.

Overall: Liked it. We prefer new world Pilsners from more of a NZ angle but this stacks up pretty darn well. We’re pleased we came back to these guys for another crack coz they’ve got some respectable beers in their arsenal.

Bottle Logic ‘Memory Systems’ BA Imperial Stout

Rating:

 “Fellow Rebels! We’re bringing a new hope to the year with our first #StasisProject release of 2022! Memory Systems is an Imperial Stout brewed with a caramel-toned, baked pastry malt base and aged in a braid of Old Fitzgerald, Heaven Hill, and Elijah Craig barrels that strike back with a finished 14% ABV. We conditioned the beer with a four-day marshmallow steep and a recirculation through Madagascar vanilla beans, Vietnamese cinnamon, and cassia bark. An opening crawl of cinnamon awakens the senses and swirls into a vanilla frosting mid-palate with galaxies of marshmallow as the liquid warms.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a fat thumb of uber dark brown head which vanishes pretty quickly. It’s left with zero head so not a skerrick of lace in sight.

Aroma: Honestly we don’t think there’s anything more indulgent and sensually gratifying then a hot fresh cinnamon bun so the second we saw this beer the price tag became irrelevant. We simply had to have it….and thank God we did. It literally smells like a fresh American cinnamon bun. Complete with the frosting on top. Getting the sweet vanilla and white marshmallow. Zero Bourbon/barrels but who cares at this stage?

Flavour: Man the progression is something else. Actually tasting the Bourbon and barrels here, albeit conservatively. Delicious cinnamon sugar woven through the rich and chocolatey base Stout. This is while all the adjuncts are firing as well – marshmallow, vanilla, delicate Bourbon spice and oak. It eventually rolls into a sweet, cinnamon-filled finish with some Bourbon char and oak for days.

Mouthfeel: Not overly heavy…medium body, slick, chewy texture. Co2 is spot on and the 14% ABV is well behaved.

Overall: BL can do no wrong! We’re sat here shaking our heads in disbelief. This is literally Bourbon-infused cinnamon bun in liquid form. And it gets us drunk! Mind officially blown! 🤯