Pirate Life – Short Stack, Brown Ale. 8% 355ml can. I just assumed this was a standard Brown ale, it is not. Its 8% to begin with, is dark, viscous and contains maple syrup. This is some kind of big sweet stout. Its really damn nice. Great thick lasting tan head, nice mild carbonation, smells like a sweet, syrupy dark stout, too. 3/5.
Rocky Ridge – The Door to Helles, Helles Lager 4.5% 375ml can. Nice textbook lager smell. Clear clean golden amber colour, nice head on pouring that settles to light speckled lacing. Very clean, very crisp. Minimal, light, with a nice sharp bitterness. Absolutely crushable, quenching, moreish, fantastic. 3.5/5.
Slow Lane Brewing – Definitely Maybe, Maibock 7% 375ml can. Nice old school Euro hop and biscuity, slight caramel malty smells. Taste is lovely malts, biscuity again, toasty, nothing too sweet or “crystal”, with good balanced hop bitterness. Just real nice stuff. A good version of a classic style. 3/5.
Slow Lane Brewing – Rye Sense of Humour, Roggenbier 4.5% 375ml can. A German Rye Ale. This smells funky as heck. A dark red-brown opaque colour. It uses a Heffewiezen yeast so that explains the funk. Has a bit of that rye “spicy” thing too. A very weird ale. Not a fan. I wont rate it because I don’t know other examples, I didn’t like this one too much, though. Not a Heffe fan, so very biased.
Eagle Bay – India Red Lager, 5.8% 375ml can. A colab with Copper & Oak. This is good. Caramel malty smells, taste is fanastic, its a IPL Red Lager. Well balanced, nice bitterness and a bit of dank, a bit of that Nelson Sauvin white wine thing, nice roasted and carmel malt flavours. Its basically like a West Coast IPA but a red ale and lagered and its rounded out and smoother. Its very damn nice. 3/5.
A Lot of beers over the Long Weekend plus Thursday, some better and/or fresher than others, but all pretty good. Altbier is a fantastic style, very happy to have discovered it.
Little Bang – Geezer Pleaser, ESB. 5.5% 375ml can. First beer from this brewery. Canned in Feb, but shouldn’t be an issue for an ESB. Nice colour, decent carbonation. Caramel malt and some kind of hops on the nose. Taste is nice straight bittering hops, thats where this shines, and caramel malts rounding it out. Takes a bit of warming up, obviously, to really shine. Its straight up and nice. 2.5/5
Rocky Ridge – Mel’s Gin, Sour Ale. 4% 375ml can. – Packaged in March so I was expecting this to not be great, but I do try and try all Rocky Ridge stuff I can find. Its surprisingly still minty on the first few sips. No melon, no gin. Its a kettle sour (or however they do the short and stopped sours these days), so it has that particular character of sourness. The mint is definitely there and its strange possibly unnatural, at first, but the sourness eventually removes it from being detected anymore. I would like to know what this was like fresh. 2/5.
Mash Brewing – Red Cat, Red IPA. 6.5% 375ml can. – Nice colour, very nice head that becomes real cloudy and lumpy. Smell is a big malty, sweet, super fruity, IPA. Taste, Its a big malty almost cloying IPA with that red malt bite crossed with that big piney resinous hops. All the things I dislike. Dont usually expect to encounter a IPA like this in 2022 outside of like Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Its really not that bad. Its well made, hits all the points for style and more. I just unfortunately cant handle 375ml of this style of beer anymore. Its 2.5/5 because its good, possibly very good, despite my dislike.
Black Brewing – Bad Boy BaoBao, Milk Stout. 4.5% 375ml. – I can smell the cherry, and the choc, a Cherry Ripe, theres no hops or malt in the smell. The Taste is a Cherry ripe, sweet and tart, its all on the sides of the tongue. There is dark, and black malts that slowly appear and overpower the cherry and chocolate. Its viscous and tart and sweet all around the sides, but with a dryness down the centre of the tongue. Nice, different, 2.5/5
Artisan Brewing – Great Southern, Belgian Style Table Beer. 3.5% 375ml can. – This is nice. Big fluffy head, nice zesty yeasty smell, cloudy golden almost orange colour. The taste is mild but enough, mainly yeast character; Belgian-y, spicy, peppery. A slight hop bitterness is balanced well with the yeast. There is little to no malt taste. A very soft mouthfeel. A real nice little beer. 2/5
Slow Lane Brewing – Altogether, Altbier, 5% 375ml can. – Insane thick tan head. Smells like a lager, but slightly fruity. Brown-coppery colour, rather hazy. This is nice, and I dont think I have ever had this style before. Like a British Mild but with higher carbonation, and more yeast character. Slightly more hopping, too. Its fruity yeast esters up front and a nice traditional hop bitterness. The malt character is mild, but both dark and sweet malts are detectable. Crisp and clean enough. Nice beer, great style. 2.5/5
Slow Lane Brewing – Simpicity, Helles German Lager. 5% 375ml can. – Cloudy, very light amber, golden colour. Small light head. Smell is light colour malts, slightly bready, kind of fruity? Great bitterness, very defined and clean, all bittering hops. The malt character is very light. There’s a little bit of fruitiness, too. Nice. 2/5.
Mismatch – Dark Ale. 5.5% 375ml can. – I have never seen this one before. Color is brown/dark read and clear, nice tan head. Smell is fruity dark malt, clean yeast. Taste is a very clean, rather crisp dark ale with a nice amount of bittering hops. Good. 2/5.
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.
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
Pirate Life – Raspberry Lamington Stout. 6.5% 355ml can. Smells like fake raspberry and coconut, but still has a nice dark malt scent. Tastes like a stout, then an artificial coconut and a cocoa/chocolate flavour, no real raspberry taste except maybe a kind of berry juice sourness which is probably just a dark malt thing. Its weird, its drinkable, but its too artificial for me.
★★
Pirate Life – Stout. 5.8% 355ml can. Its a stout. Really good, too. Not much else to say. 3 stars.
★★★
Rocky Ridge – You Put the Beer in the Coconut, Dry Hopped Sour with Finger Lime and Coconut. 4.0% 375ml can. I haven’t has a sour in so long, and this seems very sour. Theres sourness, maybe some lime sourness but mostly probably lactic acid. And thats about it. Sone lactic funk on the nose. Some hop bitterness is detectable. Its a nice sour drink, sure, but there’s no coconut or way to know its finger limes and not lemon juice or just lactic acid. 2 stars
★★
Rocky Ridge – Rice Crispy, Rice Lager 5.0% 375ml can. Its clean, crisp, slightly sweet malts, lager style smell and hopping/bitterness. A nice clean crisp lager. Good stuff.
★★★
Pirate Life & Eyre Roasted – Coffee Porter. 6.0% 355ml can. Really big coffee. Insane coffee. Hard to say if any of the bitterness is actually hops. Big coffee and some well balanced dark malts. Gets a bit sweeter as it warms up, a bit of cocoa and chocolate in there, gets slightly medicinal, and the hops are there in the residual bitterness.
Finally seeing some winter beers appear on the shelves…Both Rocky Ridge, fantastic brewery in this state.
Rock A Block – Chocolate Stout, 5.5% 375ml can. A nice stout, smells fantastic. Taste is nice dark grains with a nice cocoa element and actual chocolate in some form giving it its chocolate thing. Not really any sweetness and a rather dry finish. Uses Eukanot hops that are extremely well balanced. Pretty straight up and ticks enough boxes for a stout.
Maple Coffee – Milk Stout, 5.5% 375ml can. The smell is real dark which would be the brown malt and a big dark roasty coffee smell. A lot more bitterness from the malts and coffee than the hops it seems, there is a slight sweet milkyness from the lactose and hint of the maple syrup in that. The hops, Eukanot again, are there and balanced well enough, any lightless on the hops lets the grains and coffee do more work. Could be a bit more forward with the maple and lactose, and the smell and taste hint at something far bigger, but nothing is overbearing and it ends up with a surprisingly dry and clean finish. A very drinkable stout.
Considering that oats are used in both of these beers, I’m surprised there isn’t more body and mouth-feel. Both aimed it seems for a dryer cleaner finish and a more easy drinking “sessionable” winter beer instead, though the grain bill and adjuncts hint towards otherwise. See below.
Rock a Block Chocolate StoutMaple Coffee Milk Stout
I remember the original having a just a bit of heat, crystal malt sweetness, some “Lamington” in the coconut and that cocoa nib cocoa taste. In 2021 The heat is more prevalent, it seems more biscuity, not getting the coconut but that can be expected unless its fresh. More black malt than cocoa or coffee. Not as much body as I would like, and slightly oxidized maybe though its in a can? Its still a nice sip.
Dainton Brewing – Glazed & Confused, Jam Donut NEIPA. 7% 355ml can. First hit is strawberry jam, then hoppy strawberry jam? Taste though is just very standard NEIPA with a hint of lactose sweetness, a hint of that jam in the taste. Its OK, I wish they would go large and full-on with these types of beers.
Pirate Life – Dilmah Tea & Biccies, Brown Ale. 5.6% 355ml can. Smells like a lovely brown ale, nice malty smell. Nice colour, too. The mouthfeel is lighter than the average brown ale, a nice dark strong tea character is definitely present. A strong tea bitterness is there melded with the (New Zealand, unsure which) hops. There’s still some nice dark malt character in there though as well, especially as it warms. With the light carbonation this is very much like an alcoholic strong black tea. Which is kinda weird but nice. Refreshing, almost crisp, for a brown ale!
8 Wired – Flat White, Nitro Coffee Milk Stout. 5.5% 440ml can. The is smells insanely like coffee., maybe some dark malt, but just heaps coffee. Nice dark colour, nice dense head like a tap beer. And its tastes like a slightly milky coffee. Smooth as hell, minimal carbonation, a slight sweetness, some very light vanilla, just a big coffee taste, dark malts accenting and pumping it up fantastically. If there is hops they are balanced amazingly with the light coffee bitterness.
Black Brewing – Bao Bao Milk Stout. This is in cans now, and it doesnt seem as viscous and milk-stouty as before. The back of the can says its “sessionable”, not sure if that was on the bottle, so maybe they changed the recipe? (pretty sure they have). Regardless, it is still a very nice beer, and for the flavour – there is some sweetness, good bitterness, some very dark, black and even peaty malts going on – it is actually quite “sessionable”. (Bottled 28/5/20)
Green Beacon – Cafe Creme Brulee An Imperial Pastry Stout with coffee, vanilla and lactose. This is very nice, not as cloying and sweet as I expect from a pastry beer. Very boozy. Very rich. Unsure when this was canned, I have had this once before and there was a bit more vanilla, more forward “lively” coffee flavours, nose is mainly dark malts and cocoa now, and was a bit sweeter. This is very much like a boozy dubbel or something now, strong on the booze but it works well with the dark bitter malts and still very nice. 8.5%.
Green Beacon – ESB This is a bit stronger than a “normal” ESB I think? 5.7%. Its very nice and has a great bitterness, I dont think its the standard UK hops though, not as crisp. Good malt character, and good balance. Nice biscuity malt and slightly dank nose. Its a pretty great beer I have had a few times now.
