White rabbit white ale

Hops are there, but they're mellow. Such a mellow, earthy beer, like a lot of the Victorian ales. Strange colour for an ale, a nice drinker, deceptively light on the booze at 4.5.

Grand Ridge Brewers Pilsner

Name - Brewers Pilsner
Type - Lager
Vol. 4.9%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Grand Ridge Brewery
Origin - Mirboo North, Victoria, Australia
Importer - N/A

Verdict -Crisp and refreshing without murdering you with hops. The first drinks didn't impress much, but the follow-ups were better.

Grand Ridge Natural Blonde

Name - Natural Blonde
Type - Witbier
Vol. 4.5%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Grand Ridge Brewery
Origin - Mirboo North, Victoria, Australia
Importer - N/A

Verdict - Less grassy than the stuff coming out of Matilda Bay, it is, instead, a bit grainy.

Grand Ridge Gippsland Gold

Name - Gippsland Gold
Type - Pale Ale
Vol. 4.9%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Grand Ridge Brewery
Origin - Mirboo North, Victoria, Australia
Importer - N/A

Verdict - It's a crisp bitter ale, but it's really not much of anything. No part of it stands out - there are other beers that are crisper, more bitter, and more well-rounded.

Yarra Valley Gold Pale Ale, Victoria, Australia

Name - Yarra Valey Gold
Type - Pale Ale
Vol. 4.9%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Grand Ridge Brewery
Origin - Mirboo North, Victoria, Australia
Importer - N/A

Verdict - It's a bottle conditioned pale ale, and it gives off citrus, and is quite hoppy. However, it's no real standout in its class.

Sierra Nevada Summerfest

Name - Sierra Nevada Summerfest
Type - Lager
Vol. 5%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Sierra Nevada
Origin - Chico, California, United States
Importer - ?

Verdict - A crisp summer lager. A nice hop/malt balance. Hints of Cascade Premium, but the finish is Dutch lager. An extremely easy drinker, goes down nicely, and you do get the impression you could go nuts and neck 10 to 12 in the heat and not feel the worse for wear, but at 5%, you just might get bitten...

Matilda Bay Bohemian Pilsner, Western Australia

Name - Matilda Bay Bohemian Pilsner
Type - Lager
Vol. 4.7%, 345mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Matilda Bay Brewing Company
Origin - Fremantle, Western Australia

Importer - N/A

Verdict - Nothing special to see here, move along. better than pishy domestic dishwater, but not a life-changer.

Pepperjack Hand Crafted Ale, South Australia

Name - Pepperjack Hand Crafted Ale
Type - Ale
Vol. 4.7%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Saltram Wine Estate
Origin - Barossa Valley, South Australia

Importer - N/A

Verdict - Winery brewing beer? I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but with every bottle that followed, I felt more insulted. There's just nothing there with this one. To the folks responsible: do one thing, and do it well. To me: avoid. You'll only be disappointed again.

Sweetwater summer ale

Sweet, fruity, refreshing. 4.5 means you can give it a belting. Easy drinker, hoppier than the other one.

Sweetwater golden bitter

Esb style bitter, ale-y colour and viscosity. Sweetwater is a good shout.
It's sweet and mild, but packs a punch at 5.2%. Goblet, 330ml crown seal. Mount beauty. Balances hops and malt evenly, and is refreshing for its darkness.

3 ravens dark smoke beer

And now it's time to pass the mic to rauch! Nowhere near the Bacon reek of schenklera, but it brings the smoke flavour. Less length than bamberg's meat fest, but that was a life changing experience. Three rivers thornbury, 5.2% 330ml.

2 brothers growler American brown ale

Nutty, malty, some berries. Not a huge fan of the darker stuff, but this balances mellow and bitter. Almost a blackberry colour. 4.7%, 330ml, 2 brothers, moorabbin.

Red duck amber ale

Toffee and caramel in an English style amber. Could easily be underestimated, but there's more flavour than first thought. Almost Belgian, and that's high praise indeed. Same as pale rider, but 4.9%

Red duck pale rider American ale

Crisp, hoppy pale, thin light head, but I fucked the pour up pretty badly. Drunk in goblet. 330ml crown seal, 5.6%, purrumbete brewing company, camperdown, vic. Didn't knock the socks off.

Holgate tempest chocolate porter

Deep and dark. It's a porter, dumbass. Thin, light head. You do get the chocolate, and it's dark and mellow. Then comes the alcohol. 6% one of the better porters I've put down, because I'm not a huge fan of the variety. Mellow, mellow, mellow. Goodnight, ladies.

Cavalier pale ale

Excellent pale ale colour, pearly, creamy head. Hoppy on the nose, then aromatic on the first sip. 5% they say grapefruit, and they're right, it's there. maybe a little mellower than some pales, but that might be because those hoppy alleged ipas nuked my tastebuds. Decent, but not one to totally chase.

Kooinda witbier

Belgian witbier, apparently. Nose is peachy, and the flavouring is sweet and less grassy than a lot of the wheat beers out there. Thin, fine head, and the usual straw colour. Far easier to drink than the others in this session, mainly because it has far less hops. Half pint, 5.5%

Galaxy single hop ipa

Again, ipa? Aromatic, fruity nose, less hoppy than the Stella, and more drinkable. Half pint, bridge road brewery.

Stella single hop ipa

Ipa? Surely far too light. Again, juniper/passionfruit tones through the hops. Doesn't seem to be much behind the skunky hops. You just don't do it for me, friend. Bridge road brewery. Half pint.

28 pale ale

Burleigh brewery qld, 330ml crown. 4.8%. Slightly chemical flavour, but strawberry also comes through. Hoppy, drinkable, but not something I'd bother chasing.

Hargraves hill esb

Pint, 5.4%, English bitter style lager. Crisp and hoppy, finishes dry. nose smells of passionfruit pudding or even the distant whiff of passiona, and the flavour comes through. Brewed in Victoria.
Juniper flavour that comes through some ales came through with a burp!

Beez Neez, Matilda Bay, Western Australia

Name - Beez Neez
Type - Witbier
Vol. 4.7%, 345mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Matilda Bay Brewing Company
Origin - Fremantle, Western Australia
Importer - N/A

 

Verdict - Gassy, acidic, light. It lacks have the honey notes it proclaims, because the wheat makes it acrid.

Palma Louca, Lager, Brazil

Name - Palma Louca
Type - Lager
Vol. 4.5%, 355mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - FEMSA (FEMSA Cerveja Brasil/Cervejarias Kaiser)
Origin - Brazil
Importer - ?

Verdict - Very light. On the hops. On the malt. On the punch. On the flavour. Fucking easy drinker, though. Clear, thin and refreshing with Brazilian food and hot days as a session beer. Aside from that, though, it's a pass.

Alpha Pale Ale, Matilda Bay, Western Australia

Name - Alpha Pale Ale
Type - Pale Ale
Vol. 5.2%, 345mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Matilda Bay Brewing Company
Origin - Fremantle, Western Australia
Importer - N/A

 

Verdict - It evokes Cascade Pale, but it's cleaner than cascade's pale, with similar aromatics. Extremely hoppy, biting in the middle of the mouth. It's an interesting beer, but really strictly for the hop fans. US style-pales attract my attention, but are just a wee bit too hoppy for my tastes.

Redback, Matilda Bay, Western Australia

Name - Redback
Type - Witbier
Vol. 4.7%, 345mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Matilda Bay Brewing Company
Origin - Fremantle, Western Australia
Importer - N/A

 

Verdict - Grassy, hay, and, I guess, wheat. Tastes a bit like licking a horse. Look, it blew our minds back in the day when beer just tasted like garbage domestic, and this tasted different, but over time it's faded away a bit - just so, so grassy.

Matilda Bay Big Helga, Western Australia

Name - Matilda Bay Big Helga
Type - Lager
Vol. 4.7%, 345mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Matilda Bay Brewing Company
Origin - Fremantle, Western Australia
Importer - N/A

Verdict - Dry Munich style lager. Can see what they're trying for, and it's a pretty easy drinker for a lager. Australian brewers just can't make lager as crisp as Europe. Why not?

John Boston's Mill Pale Ale, New South Wales

Name - John Boston's Mill Pale Ale
Type - Pale Ale
Vol. 4.9%, 330mL crown sealed bottle, but consumed on tap
Brewer - John Boston
Origin - Sydney, New South Wales

Importer - N/A

 

Verdict - It was a bit acrid on the nose, the middle taste a little sour, then it finished softly.  Given it was a tap, and it was the KB Hotel, it probably warrants another go just to check if the lines played a part. On the first taste it was nothing special in an increasingly tight Australian market for sweet, sweet pale ale.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Massachusetts, United States

Name - Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Type - Lager
Vol. 4.8%, 355mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Samuel Adams
Origin - Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Importer - ?

 

Verdict - Look, it's nice for an American beer, a breed that has been very unfairly maligned by the likes of Coors and Budweiser, but I don't think I'd stay on it all night. It finishes slightly sour, but if you're at a seppo do, and it's this or the aforementioned watery, gassy garbage, this will make you a very happy man.

Kooinda Pale Ale,Victoria, Australia

Name - Kooinda Pale Ale
Type - Pale Ale
Vol. 4.7%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Kooinda Boutique Brewery
Origin - Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Importer - N/A

Verdict - A sweet, aromatic pale ale. They quite clearly know what they're doing when it comes to this style. Crisp and less cloudy than most, and stood up on the second drink, meaning it should be sought out where possible.

Satan Red Ale, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Satan Red
Type - Ale
Vol. 8%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - De Block
Origin - Peizegem, Boschkant, Brabant, Flanders

Importer - ?

Verdict - A great drinker for the alcohol volume - the fresh, soft, pear nose was a massive surprise, and the taste is of an aromatic and fruity red ale. Very enjoyable. Hail Satan!

Monteith's Black Beer, Stout, New Zealand

Name - Monteith's Black Beer
Type - Stout
Vol. 5.2%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Monteith's
Origin - Greymouth (SI), New Zealand

Importer - N/A

Verdict - Horrid name. Sure, we call it 'black' after a few so you don't get punted out under responsible service legislation, but it's just such a dull label for a brand that normally just says what variety they've brewed. Call it a stout - embrace it. It's not a high selling variety, but just own it if you're going to brew it.

 

Lacks for bitterness, and avoids that burnt taste that some stouts can carry. It is biscuity, as dumb as that sounds, and finishes like a chocolate dessert with a bit of booze splashed in it. A stout for those that can tend to be discouraged by the variety.

Monteith's Doppelbock Winter Ale, New Zealand

Name - Monteith's Doppelbock Winter Ale
Type - Dark Ale
Vol. 6%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Monteith's
Origin - Greymouth (SI), New Zealand
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Two in, in separate sittings, and still unconvinced. It's robust and (for want of a better term) beefy. Not particularly round in the mouth, though. Perhaps I've been drinking too many Belgian Darks, which really have some roundness and length in the finish. A littlle disappointing from Monteith's. Winter ale? Maybe an Autumn Ale. Needs a higher alcohol content to drag the flavour along, but that's just not in the brewing culture down here, outside of a few micros.

Velkopopovicky Kozel, Lager, Czech Republic

Name - Velkopopovicky Kozel
Type - Lager
Vol. 4.8%, 500mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Velkopopovicky Kozel
Origin - Velké Popovicke, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic
Importer - Armik Group, Dandenong, Victoria
Verdict - Mild but hoppy, easy drinker. Long and strong head. Greatly enjoyed by goats, according to the label. Enjoyable and refreshing, but that bit less crisp. 

Achel, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Achel
Type - Blonde Ale
Vol. 8%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Achel Brouwerij (Brouwereij de Sint-Benedictusabeij de Achel Kluis)
Origin - Achel, Limburg, Flanders, Belgium
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Beautiful fine head, packs a nice punch at 8%. Sweet and malty. Nice to cross another Trappist off the list, but again nothing spectacular. Tried on the same night as the Goulden Carolus Ambrio, so maybe my palate was just a bit fucked up.

Goulden Carolus Ambrio, Mechelen, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Goulden Carolus Ambrio
Type - Dark Ale
Vol. 8%, 330mL swing top bottle
Brewer - Brouwerij Het Anker
Origin - Mechelen, Flanders, Belgium
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Didn't impress me on first pass, didn't much impress on subsequent passes. I didn't find much special here.

Grolsch, Enschede, Netherlands

Name - Grolsch
Type - Lager
Vol. 5%, 450mL swing top bottle
Brewer - Grolsch
Origin - Enschede, Netherlands
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Brewed under licence, it's pointless. Imported from the Netherlands, it's still as delicious as the first time you cobbled together enough cash to score a slab of Heineken. Those light Dutch lagers are crisp and hoppy, beautifully aromatic and refreshing and well worth the drink. Brewed under licence, they're all the same (try and tell the difference between Grolsch, Heineken and Peroni, seriously), and flat as fuck.

Cascade First Harvest 2011 Pale Ale, Hobart, Tasmania

Name - Cascade First Harvest (2011)
Type - Pale Ale
Vol. 5.5%, 375mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Cascade
Origin - Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Made with fresh hops and the first barley of hte harvest on a single day. Fantastic to be able to score on the mainland. Sits halfway between malty and hoppy. An excellent pale ale colour. A sharper, hoppier flavour than Cascade's standard pale. This year's hops are Valleyfield, Oast, Lanoma, and Tynwald. Making beer with fresh hops is rare in Australia, according to the good folks at Cascade. They take First Harvest pretty seriously, and it shows - it's always excellent and worth the premium.

Old Speckled Hen, Brown Ale, Oxfordshire, England

Name - Old Speckled Hen
Type - Brown Ale
Vol. 5.2%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Morland (Greene King)
Origin - Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Delightfully malty and nutty, a substantial beer as it passes the palate, despite the thinner texture. Doesn't retain the head particularly well out of the bottle, and also a little sweeter on tap, from memory.

Rekorderlig Winter Cider, Sweden

Name - Rekorderlig Winter Cider
Type - Apple Cider
Vol. 4%, 500mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Rekorderlig
Origin - Sweden
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Apple cider flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon. They say it can be consumed cold or warm. Consumed cold, it again tends to a bit sickly, and, yes, bubblegummy. I wouldn't go it again. Now just let me waddle off and nuke a bit of it. Be right back...

So, warmer, slightly better. Perhaps because it's in a mug rather than a glass, and there's no expectation of cider. Still not worth another go around, though.

Rekorderlig Premium Pear Cider

Name - Rekorderlig Premium Pear Cider
Type - Perry
Vol. 4.5%, 500mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Rekorderlig
Origin - Sweden
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Sweet pears are my favourite fruit. I'm also partial to ciders and perrys, and while this is nowhere near a traditional perry (nothing Rekorderlig does is close to cider, it's more like sugary deliciouspiss), it's still a fun drink. Funny I found the apple a bit sickly, but the pear not so. Considering I eat pears when they're right on the edge of fermenting, I guess I've been well prepared.

Rekorderlig Premium Wild Berry Cider, Sweden

Name - Rekorderlig Premium Wild Berry Cider
Type - Flavoured Cider
Vol. 4%, 500mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Rekorderlig
Origin - Sweden
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Ribena booze. Not a bad thing, but I had higher hopes. Easily defeated by the strawberry and lime, to finish a distant third.

Rekorderlig Premium Strawberry and Lime Cider

Name - Rekorderlig Premium Strawberry and Lime Cider
Type - Strawberry and Lime flavoured Cider
Vol. 4.5%, 500mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Rekorderlig
Origin - Sweden
Importer - N/A
Verdict - I was certainly skeptical, expecting it to be the worst of the 4 standard Rekorderlig varieties. Christ was I wrong! A beautiful, clear strawberry flavour, and a tangy hit of lime to cut through the sweetness of the strawberries. Just as good on second tasting, and a great one for those a bit skeptical of the cider-style drinks.

Rekorderlig Premium Apple Cider, Sweden

Name - Rekorderlig Premium Apple Cider
Type - Apple Cider
Vol. 4.5%, 500mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Rekorderlig
Origin - Sweden
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Sweet apple flavour, perhaps a little sickly. Certainly strong and sweet, but slightly artificial tasting. As far as apple cider goes, perhaps I'm still a little too tied to the traditional Anglo-French styles. Their other stuff is crazy-easy to drink, though.

Brugse Zot Blond, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Brugse Zot Blond
Type - Blonde Ale
Vol. 6%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - De Halve Mann
Origin - Brugge, Flanders, Belgium
Importer - Australian Trade Partners, Underwood, QLD
Verdict - Loved twice, indifferent once. May have been a dud bottle. On reputation, get some and go again. If I've been wrong on the Zot, I'll be exceedingly disappointed, as I thought it was fantastic in Belgium.

Brugse Zot Dubbel, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Brugse Zot Dubbel
Type - Dark Ale
Vol. 7.5%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - De Halve Mann
Origin - Brugge, Flanders, Belgium
Importer - Australian Trade Partners, Underwood, QLD
Verdict - Toffee, licquorice, agreeable. Not as good as the blond, but still a decent drink. Man, write your damn things up on the web, rather than half cut on your phone, you idiot.

James Squire Chancer Golden Ale

Name - James Squire Chancer Golden Ale
Type - Ale
Vol. 4.5%, 345mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - James Squire
Origin - Sydney, Australia
Importer - N/A
Verdict - The sweet and fruity flavour of those first imported Hoegaardens in Surry Hills, with a cloudy, aley (duh...) hoppy finish. Worth another go around because you are very partial to a sweeter beer. Wuss. Do remember, though, Squire just rebranded all of their varieties, giving them a bunch of dumbshit names.

Malheur 12, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Malheur 12
Type - Dark Ale
Vol. 12%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - De Landschteer
Origin - Buggenhout, Flanders, Belgium
Importer - FM Liquor, Cottesloe, WA
3.2 standard drinks, and you'll feel them upon draining your glass (or, more rightly, on standing up). Fine, pearly, long-lasting head. Aromatic dark ale. Yeasty/malty flavour. Finished strong and smooth. Round mouth feel. Not to be trifled with! Higher in content but less bitter than the 10%. Highly enjoyable. Perhaps the second would constitute misfortune, though!

Biere Du Mont Saint-Aubert, Wallonia, Belgium

Name - Biere Du Mont Saint-Aubert
Type - Blonde Ale
Vol. 8.0%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Brasserie De Brunehaut
Origin - Brunehaut, Wallonia, Belgium
Importer - Innspire, Wilson, QLD
Verdict - Malty ale. Perhaps a little too mellow. It's not that it lacks hops or that I like hoppy beer - quite the contrary, it just lacks a bit of punch. The bottle lost its shit and surged upon opening though, so it may have impacted on how it poured and tasted.

Bourgogne des Flandres, Flanders, Belgium

Name - Bourgogne des Flandres
Type - Blonde Ale
Vol. 6.0%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Timmermans (Anthony Martin)
Origin - Itterbeek, Flanders, Belgium
Importer - N/A
Verdict - In a word, disappointing. Flat, thin head, light colour. Soda-ish flavour. I should have known - be very wary of a brewery that claims to pitch Flemish beer using the French language. I know Belgium is a multilingual, multicultural nation, but I'm naturally wary of stuff like this. Takes the name and iconography of Brugge in vain. It can't touch Brugse Zot.

Old Admiral, Lord Nelson Brewery

Name - Old Admiral
Type - English Ale
Vol. 6.1%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Lord Nelson Brewery
Origin - Sydney, Australia
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Robust, malty English Ale. Certainly better on tap, but what isn't, especially when it's brewed a few metres from where it's sold? Nonetheless, nice to be able to buy Nelson's products elsewhere. Unfortunately quite pricy, so maybe better to head direct to the brewery and enjoy it up there.

Triple Moine, Yvioir, Wallonia, Belgium

Name - Triple Moine
Type - Blonde Ale
Vol. 7.3%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Brasserie Du Bocq
Origin - Purnode, near Yvioir, Wallonia, Belgium
Importer - Phoenix Beers, Bayswater, WA
Verdict - Sometimes you can confuse mellow with flat. Beautiful, light pearly head, clear colour. Lightly hopped, so it's a smooth, fruity drinker.

Rochefort 6, Wallonia, Belgium

Name - Rochefort 6
Type - Blonde Ale
Vol. 7.5%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Rochefort Abbey
Origin - Rochefort, Wallonia, Belgium
Importer - N/A
Verdict - Trappist deliciousness. Reddish and spicy. Warm and enjoyable, without the alcoholic belting that trappists sometimes give you. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes.

Monteith's Golden Lager, New Zealand

Name - Golden Lager
Type - Lager
Vol. 5%, 330mL crown sealed bottle
Brewer - Monteith's

Origin - Greymouth (SI), New Zealand

Importer - N/A

Verdict - Light and refreshing, more malty than hoppy. These fancy pants lagers give me a bit of cause to think we can do reasonable lager down here if we actually try.