Budweiser Budvar. Artesian water, Moravian barley, Saaz hops. This is a really nice beer. A really great malty, lager funky, hoppy smell, it hits all the points. The taste is nicely malty, fantastic Saaz bitterness. Its a real beer compared to US Bud. This is really nice and stands strongly along side any good European Lager and Pilsner. 3/5.
Rocky Ridge – Dirty Desert Pastry Stout. 8% 375ml can. Smells like rich mudcake or brownie, kind of boozy, chocolate, obviously some dark roasty malt. The head doesn’t stick around and the carbonation is very light, but that’s no issue. This tastes like a stout just crammed with super rich dark muddy chocolate cake, brownies, chocolate icing. I cant really detect the marshmallow, and there is some lactose sweetness, but that’s all very submerged in the chocolate. Nice mouthfeel and body, fitting but not viscous. Packaged in July, I’m sure something with actual marshmallows and mudcake in it needs to be drank very fresh but this is still very tasty and big and rich and its pretty damn great. A real sipper that just grows as it warms. 3/5.
Nowhereman – Alpha Ron Stout 2022. 5.6% 375ml can. First off the can art is awesome, its embossed with metallic bits, excellent. Opaque Black. Great super brown head. Smells like a straight up stout, coffee, also burnt toast. Tastes initially like a good straight up stout but as you sip, as it warms, it focuses in on the blacker malts, the darker roasted side, pretty sure all the bitterness comes from the malts, no noticeable hops at all. This is surprisingly bigger than I was expecting. The light body/mouthfeel and carbonation are both deceptive and enhancing of its punch. Another long sipper. Nice. 3.
Kinda surprised this tastes pretty much like a real cider with the kinda funkyness, a bit of sourness, a bit of that stank that comes from a natural fermented cider, a little bit wild/farmhouse, it actually tastes like there’s brettanomyces in this, but after a while the sourness seems more kettle soured, so I’m unsure. The hopping though, I’m not so much of a fan. The hops kinda come through more like a hop tea, like there hasn’t been the bio-transformation or whatever happens when you boil and ferment hops in beer wort with beer yeast. It could just be more-so that a sour beer as light and fruity as a cider would usually have little to no hopping, so comparisons are difficult to make. Its not bad and the actual cider tastes really good. I did not think it would be 8%. The non hopped one is 3.4% and is also very nice, its super dry, very tart, but still some of the same sourness and funky stank etc.
Somewhere slightly above 2.5/5.
The Space Donut was sold out by the time I found the Rocky Ridge stand at Froth Fest (I’m sure there were maps but I’m and idiot and was stuck trying the great Artisan Brewing stuff). So I took a bus trip to a liquor store I knew had it in stock and grabbed 2 of them, then I saw the Double Dragonfruit (excellent and first “reviewed” here) and grabbed two of those. And lastly grabbed a Rosé Gose. I didn’t even want to try the Rosé Gose at Froth Fest, because its basically 2 things I’m just not a fan off, I was wrong, kind of.
Rocky Ridge – Rosé Gosé. 9%ABV 375ml can. Smells very Rosé wine, a light lacto funk, and the taste is like a big fucking punch in the mouth, Its basically Rosé grape juice, carbonated and soured, with a bit of Gose saltiness in there. But like 110% amped for all of it. Truly incredible in its just brutal fuck you-ness. Wild stuff. 3 because yes it is good, its, fantastic even and made well, and you do kind of adjust or succumb to it eventually and its actually nice, my personal dislike for Rosé wine put aside.
Rocky Ridge – Space Donuts Maple Bacon Stout. 8%ABV 500ml can. Great big tan head. Nice smoke, burnt sugar, maple syrup maybe? There’s some very roasted black malt smells. The taste is…. smoke and then… just the bottom of hell dark malt flavour’s. Fucking weird. There’s some sweetness to kind of try and level it out in the mouth, but that first sip is just a vertical drop into pure darkness. This needs to be in a bottle and aged for like at least a year or more and I would love to drink the results. Its not maple, or bacon, but its fucking awesome and bizarre. 3.5 stars. Even after it warms more and it gets a bit more sweetness its still just insane dark rich black roasted viscous insane malts. I don’t even know what the name is referencing.
Update 2/9/22: Just had this again and its a bit more boozy this time, more richer? viscous? More cloying, Still extremely dark and bitter, but it has this boozy almost sickly edge to it now.
Rocky Ridge – Double Dragon Imperial Dragonfruit Sour. 8%ABV 375ml can. The thing I missed about this the first time was the a mount of strawberry in it. In all the gaps and bits of sides of your tongue where its not the big lacto sourness, or the more big citrus side stuff, its all just strawberry. The only Dragonfruit could possibly be just the smell. Weird beer, Great beer. Really big and intense and scary drinkable. 3/5.
Blackman’s Brewing – Arthur, Smoked Porter. 6%ABV 375ml can. Smell is a good amount of smoke, some caramel malt. Taste has that slight acidity that comes with smoked beers, but also some dark beers. (Marris Otter, Beechwood smoked malt, Carafa T3, Munich). The hops are 100% Cascade, the bitterness is mild but fitting. No real mouthfeel, good carbonation. It’s a real nice porter, and the smoke just makes it better. 2.5/5.
Artisan Brewing – Waffles, Belgian Oatmeal Porter. 4.2%ABV 375ml can. Pretty standard dark roasty malts on the nose, some caramel, nice enough. Not much mouthfeel, its pretty light actually considering oatmeal is in the name. It is 4.2% but still…I let this warm up a bit and it did slightly increase in malt flavour. This is very much a straight up Porter with very light hop bitterness. It tastes fine, is clean and nice, looks lovely. I would like more Belgian and Oatmeal and Porter, though. 2/5
First beer for me from Aether Brewing in Brisbane
Earl Grey Crème Brûlée’, Dark Creme Ale. 8%ABV, 375ml can. Their GABS ’22 release.
This is quite amazing. The nose is custard/custard powder, caramel, vanilla (not lactose vanilla), Bergamot, honey, other stuff? Nice smooth mouthfeel with good light carbonation. The taste is massive, and very different, initially it seems kind of like Belgian ale style malts (the grist is Pale, wheat, oat and honey malts) with vanilla cream, honey, custard, caramel, there’s a back note of the tea initially that appears a bit more as it warms, a slight citrus note as well from the hops? (Warrior and Wai-iti hops) There’s Belgian candi sugar in here so that probably adds somewhat to the depth and “sweetness” and initial Belgian thoughts. The smell just keeps bringing back all the flavours. The Bergamot is secretly everywhere after a while melding with the honey malt notes. There’s some very mild hop bitterness, a little bit medicinal, far more more citrus/lemony. It calms down a bit after your senses are overpowered and becomes more of a weird cream ale, a milk ale? with honey, Bergamot, tea and citrus/lemon. There’s a lot going on, a lot of depth. Really deserves a long time just sitting and sipping as it warms and changes to enjoy it all. A real cool oddball beer. 4/5
Small or medium pours of each using the provided I guess its an IPA style beer glass (see image below).
Artisan Brewing
Legacy ’21 Farmhouse Red Saison. Rich, great mouthfeel, malty, a bit of spicyness, a bit funky, great aged saison. Farmhouse Gold ’22 Saison. A real good well balanced Saison, amazing lacing in the glass (see image below). Un Monde Á Nous # 1 Biere de coupage, sour + hoppy. Really funky, bretty, god i miss this stuff, great. Un Monde Á Nous # 3 Biere de coupage, 2 cherry beers. Opaque full of cherry, like a super funky Rodenbach with a hint of balsamic vinegar, so good.
Impi Brewers.
Imperial S’mores White Stout. Belgian-ish forward malt, theres a nice toasted marshmallow taste, great ingredient choices to make that pop.
Black Brewing Co.
Affogato Hazelnut Ice Cream Stout. Like a nice milk stout with a heap of Nuttella added to it? pretty damn good.
Campus Brewing
Happy Birthday Mr Walrus Imperial Birthday Cake Stout. A big nice stout with a lot of lactose but not enough birthday cake.
Feral Bewing Co.
Sky Rocket In Flight Turkish Delight Ale. You can taste the rosewater, its OK.
Wilson Brewing Company
Scurvy Nights Strawberry Sour Dark Ale. A real nice dark sour, really well used sourness and cherry in a well made dark ale.
Rocky Ridge Brewing
Double Dragon Imperial Dragonfruit Sour. Very Dragonfruit and very sour, its a great sour, really nice final beer of the night.
As predicted and not just by number alone the star of the night was all the less common Artisan Brewing stuff. Only thing I really wanted and couldn’t get was the Rocky Ridge Space Donut. Really great well set up event, not over crowded, no lines, heaps of brewers and beer. Great event. 5/5.
I’ve steered away from the standards and the 85% or so beers on tap that are just straight Hops Beers because boring. There’s more vendors listed particularly from over east who may have stuff I cant regularly get here (pretty much just Moon Dog Brewing), who knows. Also getting some things in fresh kegs rather than questionable cans might be a thing. Beers listed with ^ are “official” festival only releases.
Far too many, will probably do the the Artisan Brewing stuff, then just the weirdest.
In no particular order…
Artisan Brewing -Farmhouse Gold ’22, Legacy ’21, 1721, Un Monde Á Nous #1 & #3
Black Brewing Co : Hazelnut Affogato Ice Cream Stout^
Rocky Ridge Brewing : Space Donut Vol 1 Maple Bacon Stout. Double Dragon Imperial Dragonfruit Sour.
Campus Brewing : Happy Birthday Mr Walrus Imperial Birthday Cake Stout^. Long Black Lager.
Wilson Brewing : Scurvy Nights Sour Strawberry Dark Ale
Big Shed : Cherry Rhubarb Dark Lager
Wolf of the Willows : Lark Barrel Aged Whiskey Sour
Feral Brewing : Sky Rockets In Flight Turkish Delight Ale^
Impi Brewers : Imperial S’mores White Stout^
Froth Town
Artisan Brewing
Black Brewing Co
Rocky Ridge Brewing
Campus Brewing
Wilson Brewing Co
Big Shed
Wolf of the Willows
Feral Brewing
Impi Brewers
Smells like an IPA, fruity like mango, very ripe rockmelon, theres some kind of funkyness i just cant identify to it? Theres some dankness to it as well. Looks like apricot juice, a muted opaque amber colour, head is nice, no real lacing but who cares. The taste is initially a big old style IPA, first hit is straight big bitterness with a really noticeable biscuity? malt character that soon disappears to straight up pine bitterness. And its just pine bitterness from then on. Nail’s VPA meeting Feral’s Biggie Juice, supposedly, and I guess that’s correct, but it still seems vague at what its trying to do character-wise, its not juicy like a NEIPA/Hazy, and its not malty enough for a old style IPA.
Edit: 21/8/22 – I had another one of these, and its not bad. I kinda get it, but its still a bit of a mess. Add half a star.
