2012 Coopers Vintage, by Michael Maher

I have recently tried the 2012 Cooper's Vintage Strong Ale and boy o boy do those lads know how to make beer. The latest creation is a truly great beer and somewhat different to previous vintages. It has less of the soft caramel and nutty flavours of previous years and a lot more hops.  Cooper's yeast and malt flavours are still there in abundance and the balance, especially when the beer has warmed up for some time, is great. Still Australia's best beer!!!!!

The only downer is the bottle size (335mls) which is an absolute tragedy.

MM

some random selections from Andrew

Green Flash Brewery "West Coast IPA". A cracking IPA from West coast USA. The bottle says "extravagantly hopped" ....say no more! ....outstanding!!! (found this at the Emporium bottle shop, at Emporium in the valley)

Croucher (NZ) "Patriot" American Style Brown Ale. This is magnificent! (found this at Cellarbrations Toowong)

Brooklyn Brewing (USA), "Brown Ale" and "East Inda Pale Ale" ( at 1st Choise Toowong)

Siera Nevada "Ruthless Rye IPA" an IPA that includes Rye malts. (Emporium)
  

Victory Brewing Hop Walloop

What a great beer! As the name suggests its all about the hops, it has a creamy sort of feel to it but with a great cleansing bitterness to finish.

A real leafy green noses with slight caramel back notes. I'm gonna be happy when I can get this in a 650ml bottle, this stubby didn't last nearly long enough!!

Graham

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This is another wonderful product from Australia's best beer producer.

Before I start on the beer I would like to make a couple of comments about the new labels on all the James Squire range...

Why did you change the old labels? Why would you mess with something which has worked so well for so long. Anyway I don't want to dwell but I hope you did not pay the marketing people too much money.

So about the beer. It is not the type of pale ale we are used to. It is not a Little Creatures Pale, it is not a Alpha Pale, it is not a Coopers Pale. The Fifty Lashes Pale (which I am going to call Squire Pale) is a much more approachable beer than the one I have previously mentioned. Not approachable in a good way or a bad way, just approachable.

Approachable because I like Pale Ale to be a little confronting. I like a bit of herbaceous lift and citric acidity, some genuinely sour hop flavour. It is like all the edges have been softened. Still, it is very good. I am judging this beer harshly because it comes form Squire, I have come to expect perfection. For some (the majority) this will be perfection in a Pale Ale and I am enjoying mine right now however I would like to see it a touch more dirty, a bit more grippy.

Either way I am sure this will be another successful product and I am going to pour myself another.

Dan

Coopers Extra Strong Vintage ale 2011

Coopers.... How good is Coopers.....  We have, in the past reviewed a few of these and this is one of the best vintages I have tried as a young beer.

As usual the head is off white, has big bubbles and disappears pretty quickly. This leads to a smooth rich, lean mouth feel. Normally I find the coopers vintage to have a strong vegemite bitterness when young, this beer is different, its softer.

There are hints of apricot and caramel which are so smooth that it feels like this beer could be a couple of years old already and almost no bitterness, it tastes developed and there is more than average sediment for a young beer.

As I drink it I am reminded that the alc volume is 7.5%, not because of overpowering fruit flavour, but because I am feeling a bit pissed and I have only had about half the beer (how fantastic to realise I have the other half to go...).

This is exceptional. All the flavours are so subtle, it is just so easy to drink.

Graham, if your out there, could you put a box of this vintage aside so we can try it in a few years? If I try that it will only last the rest of the week.

Dan

Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner

I love good packaging and Coney Island Brewing/Schmalz Brewing Company have the funky retro labels down pat!!
But as we all know labels don't make a beer...

When I first smell this pils it has an almost tinny character that is quickly replaced by a nice gentle herbal smell. A small spicy/ginger note too, which is kind of nice.

On the palate its a but clean and simple with gentle spicy finish that may come from the rye that they use to brew this.

Pretty good, one to look out for as I think it'll be a bit of a limited beer for now.

$6 - 355ml
5% abv

Graham

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La Baladin Isaac

What a fantastic beer, the nose is floral citrus and a gentle sweetness akin to peaches.

The palate is much the same, great palate weight, and lovely orange blossom sweetness. The only criticism is a lack of bitterness on the finish that I feel would balance the beer.

Fantastic!

5% alc vol.
$9 - 250ml

Graham

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Little Creatures Single Batch "The Dreadnaught"

The Dreadnaught is the newest single batch from Little Creatures and it's a belter!

It pours dark as you can imagine with a golden brown head, the nose is all roasted malt and a slight bitter edge. It has a beautiful velvety mouthfeel and seems very balanced, not too heavy and gluggy.

All in all a fantastic effort from the boys at Little
Creatures! Look out for it as there isn't much around.

7.4% alc vol.
$6.50 - 500ml

Graham


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Location:Stewart Rd,Ashgrove,Australia

Red Oak Organic Pale Ale

The first sip is bad. Its like a bitter lemon shandy.

The second sip is better and i can see what they are trying to do but the lemon tart lacks herbaceous astringency, it is thin and just a bit dull.

It is a classic part of Pale Ale that the drinker gets a 'green' astringent flavour. Often, this comes from American hops and can be found in the Rouge 'Yellow Snow' or a 'Little Creatures' Pale, it is best delivered in recent times through the Cascade First Harvest, but this is all wrong.

I understand that this beer is meant to represent an english style pale but i have never tasted one like this.

I am glad it is organic, i am glad they make 20 different 'craft beers' at Redoak, but i can't help thinking it would be better if they just made half a dozen good beers (and made them a little cheaper...)

Thankfully i have a Squire Pilsener ready to get the flavour if bitter lemon out of my mouth.

Dan

Cascade First Harvest 2011

So I drop into my in-laws the other day. My father-in-law (Mike) is not there, but he has left a bottle of current vintage First Harvest on the table for me with a note attached which reads...

Drink before other beers - Hoppy nose - Starts like a larger, middle tastes like an amber, ends like an American Pale with a very bitter aftertaste....... I loved it!

And i will say no more.....

Dan

Music Club Beer Selection

Here we are after a little hiatus and Dan, myself and a few of the boys got together for a music club and we drank some very very good craft beers, I'll list them now and review them later and try and get this blog back up and running.

Moo Brew Pilsner
Moo Brew Hefeweisen
Southern Tier 2XIPA
Southern Tier Matt & Phins
Tuatara APA
8 Wired Hopwired IPA
Eggenberger Urbock 23
Eggenberger Hopfen Konig
White Rabbit White Ale

There might be a few more but I can't remember them at the moment, anyway this will be a good start to get the blog back on track.

Graham

A little detour into Cider country

Le Pere Jules is not a beer. It's a French appellation controlled 'Cidre' from Normandy. Last Tuesday night Graham, Adrian ('Cider is the new Beer' Facebook group founder), and myself tried out a bottle of the 2008 vintage Brut. Graham had tried the 2006 before and I had some hazy memories of tasting some in a cafe in Monmatre back in 2006. We both agreed it had a distinct blue cheese note and briefly discussed bringing in some nice baguettes etc but ended up shelving that idea.

This was the first time any of us had tasted the 2008 vintage and both Graham and I recalled the blue cheese note being a lot more distinct. Graham suggested that it may well develop over time. None the less we all enjoyed it and agreed that baguettes and some Camembert would have been an excellent accompaniment.

I deferred to Graham for the verdict and the lingo on bouquet and finish and he summed it up thusly. The cider is fresh on the palette with the sweetness well supported by a light sparkle. The finish is short, not making it unpleasant to drink on it's own, but confirming that it is well suited to the creaminess of a Camembert (we checked with a food and wine guide).

Adrian chimed in at this point saying it fell into the eating cider category. The only other category being the drinking or quaffing cider. We all agreed.

Graham suggested we organise another tasting accompanied by baguettes and cheese. He thinks we should try the Cidrerie Anneville - Cider Doux made with Binet Rouge (red lady) apples. This one is also from Normandy and has been similarly described as having fresh sweetness with small bubbles. It has an even lower 2% alcohol.

I think this one will go well with a Livarot cheese also from Normandy which is quite stinky but very creamy and a little spicy and is recognised as one of the forebears of Camembert. I'll be buying the baguettes at Banneton wood fired bakery and the Livarot from Black Pearl Epicure.

All in all I'm very glad to have had this opportunity which is somewhat of a coupe for Cider and very much look forward to properly pairing it up with food.

If this has piqued your interest in cider you might like to check out the Cider is the new Beer! blog and follow the goings on in the cider world.

Cider????????

We haven't reviewed for a while.... Graham has been away, traveling through Europe and i have been pursuing other projects (namely a very fresh baby who is not so fond of sleeping). So now seems a good time to bring in another reviewer.
Cider.... I have never really 'got' cider...... Having access to Strongbow and Mercury as the only Australian staples, i have not had the opportunity to taste any real quality. The growing trend towards cider drinking has led the market to import some good quality apple and pear cider from NZ, France, Ireland and England, and i am actually getting into it.
One man who is into it is Michael Swifte. Anyone involved in the West End underworld will know him as 'Swifty'. Author of the blog The Age of the Warlords Cook Book, Swifty is a big time cider drinker and has agreed to review a couple for us.
Look forward to seeing something soon.
I am back to the beers and will review something soon.........
Dan

Crackenback pale ale

Pours nicely with a beautiful, cloudy golden colour. The smell has very faint hints of caramel and a touch of green from what smell like good quality hops. I haven't done any research but i don't think they are American hops as the flavour is not overly astringent.
Crackenback has the taste of pale but it is also rounded and a little soft. A lot less acidity than a Coopers pale and a bit more easy going than a Little Creatures, so it is a kind of 'user friendly' pale ale.
No one thing in the beer is overpowering and there is a really interesting hint of dark, bitter chocolate as an aftertaste.
This is a well balanced beer, given to me by my father in law, which i have enjoyed drinking.
The only thing i would say is that it could be a touch more bitter on the finnish. Instead of getting a clean, bitter taste i get a little too much round alcohol flavour. This is a very minor complaint.
Really good beer.
Cheers
D

White Rabbit Dark Ale

White Rabbit Dark Ale

Healesville, VIC

6pk - $21

This is a new brew from the guys at Little Creatures. As they are owned by Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander they decided to build a brewery in the heart of the Yarra and start brewing a dark ale, the result is White Rabbit.

The photo doesn't do the beer justice but it's not really dark, more a deep amber. It has a rich forest fruit nose with a slight hoppy herbal note. The palate is more of the above with a nice creamy end. The release notes say it's about half as much bitterness as Little Creatures Pale Ale but it doesn't show with the fruit palate dominating.

Do I like it?

Yes

Will I drink it a lot?

Probably not

While a good beer it's not really my style, but it's had quite a bit of hype (mostly due to the fact that they promised its release in early November and it wasn't released until December) and people want to try it. So get out there and try a few.

Graham

Old Speckled Hen

Old Speckled Hen

English Fine Ale

5.2% alc/vol

It's been years since I last drank an Old Speckled Hen and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

It has a rich golden colour with minimal head and minimal bubble. A lovely rich caramel on the nose, with a slight maltiness on the palate and a fine bead. A bit of herbal hopiness which makes this similar to Knappstein Lager with that full rich flavour but a nice crisp dry finish.

A classic beer named after an old MG, you'll have to buy a bottle or go to the website to get the full story.

Graham

Kross golden ale

We just tried this one in the shop and will soon have it on the shelf.

Kross is a golden ale from Chile. Not traditional golden ale, by my understanding but a very good beer.

Beautiful golden colour, and what i would call a 'bright ale' nose with hints of banana. Full, round flavour with a fine, dry finnish. All the flavour in this beer is complex, its rich but soft.

At the end of the day it tastes a lot like a Little Creatures bright ale.

The finnish could be a touch more bitter for my taste but a ripper beer.

Cheers

Dan

Brunehaut Amber

Brunehaut Amber

Belgium

6.5% alc/vol

$8.50

When I first poured this beer it had that look and smell of Chimay Blue, but when I had my first sip it took me straight back to Coopers Vintage. Really fruit cake and spice on the nose but a lean dry finish. Very elegant too, obviously made with the idea of having more than one at a time, unlike Chimay Blue which I find too heavy and gluggy.

I was wondering why I had never heard of these beers considering the brewery was started in 1890, so I did some research and Belgium has more than 130 breweries making some 600+ beers. No wonder that a few of them escape my notice.

If you can find it, enjoy

Graham

timmermans kriek

This tastes like really good quality medicine (although i think in some way, that's what beer is...). It has that flavour of macerated cherries that was used to disguise the taste of cough medicine when you were a kid.

Lambic beers are not the sort of thing i like to have more than one of at a time. Very rich strong flavour and nothing subtle about it.

So its made with sour cherries which explains the taste. This is straight from Wiki... 'A traditional kriek made from a lambic base beer is sour and dry as well. The cherries are left in for a period of several months, causing a refermentation of the additional sugar. Typically no sugar will be left so there will be a fruit flavour without sweetness'

At the end of the day its not the beer for me but to my surprise my wife loved it and suggested it a good match for a fruit cake... so nice to see her enthusiastic about beer.

Dan

Kirin draft

One of the best draft style lagers just got better. It now comes to Australia in a 500ml can.

If you are one of the few people still drinking the xxxx version of kirin now is the time to change up!

The best thing about this beer is the malt flavour. Like most Japanese beers there is a nice smooth, round malt flavour. Its not rich and over powering its just right. The finish is still fresh and dry without the steely acidity of the kirin lager.

The lager is the perfect beer for after a mow (of the lawn) and the draught is the one you have after that.

Good beer, good size, brewed for good times!

D