“Rich with bold roasted notes of coffee, dark chocolate and lightly burnt grain, without harshness, balanced by medium bitters and subtle esters. It finishes dry, earthy, herbal, or floral hop flavours subtly compliment the profile.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Pitch black with a two finger brown head that quickly deconstructs. Not a great deal of lacing left in its wake.

Aroma: Foreign/export stout is a style we’re not too familiar with (nor that big a fan of) but alas, a cool backstory accompanies it. It’s basically the stout version of an IPA in the sense that they were originally brewed for long sea voyages in the 17 and 1800’s. Typically with higher ABV and hops to preserve the beer. They’re also quite peeled back as this particular release shows – roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, burnt toast, molasses.

Flavour: Has that late 90’s Tooheys Old vibe – super roasty, bittersweet dark chocolate, molasses, coffee. It dries out through the mid but it doesn’t come with a notable bitterness (which we find in other not-so-well brewed iterations). Hints of pear, very mild acetone and ink forming late as it finishes rather smooth and roasty with good duration.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth and well rounded. Medium-full body, finely carbed. The 6.2% ABV is kept in check well.

Overall: Our first crack at this Victorian brewery. Another “paddock to pint” style brewery who focuses on the cultivation and use of their own grains and hops. We dig it and we don’t actually mind this interpretation of the style. Not bad at all.