Monday, July 26th, 2010
I have always been a big fan of the consistently high quality beers that Brew Boys produces. Two months ago I walked for an hour in the the winter rain to the Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst to grab a pint of the Ace of Spades while they had a Brew Boys showcase on, and given the weather this beer didn’t disappoint one bit. The only problem was after tasting it was how was I going to get my hands on some more of the stuff? Luckily a friend had a few bottles spare so I was able to taste again and give it a proper review.
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Tags: Brew Boys, SA, stout
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Sunday, June 6th, 2010
The weather in Sydney of late has been cold and wet to say the least, signalling the time to switch from those easy drinking lagers and light ales that embody summer to the stouts and porters that bring warmth to the cold of winter. Iron House Paddys Head Stout covers the need nicely dark black and hailing from down South in Tasmania, where we assume they know a thing or two about staying warm in the cold.
The Iron House Stout poured from a bottle into a glass with a small tan coloured head, a low level of carbonation and a dark black body. The nose is a real highlight on this brew with plenty of different aromas to intrigue the stand outs being licorice, roasted coffee, cooking chocolate and a hint of vanilla.
On the palate this brew is not lacking in the flavour department chocolate, burnt toast, macadamia nuts, coffee, brown sugar and pepper were very easy to pick up. Considering the amount of flavours present I was extremely surprised how clean this beer ends, not much is left after swallowing except for a moderately sweet caramel aftertaste.
This is not a beer that works when overly cold as some of the flavours come through very one sided and harsh. But its not the sort of style you tend to rush anyhow, allowed to warm the taste becomes alot more rounded and the more subtle flavours really shine.
Verdict: A lovely Winter Stout this is a great brew to unwind with after a cold wet Winters day, I am definitely keen to get my hands on some more.
Score: 8.1/10
Link: Iron House Brewery
Where to buy:Seems Iron House beers don’t make it too far North from their home in Tassie, luckily they can be purchased online from the “Taste of Tassie” website.
Tags: Iron House, stout, TAS
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Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
The rain was pelting down in Sydney last night, but it didn’t stop a crowd of home brewers converging on The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst. Every few months the Taphouse plays host to an event for beer loves named “Brewshare”. A style for the night is set and homebrewers bring along their brews to share and be judged, last night the theme was Porters / Stouts which was a good choice considering the inclement weather on the night.
It ended up being a great night that was thoroughly enjoyed by all, below are some of the brews I was fortunate enough to taste (sorry to anyone I missed, your sheet didn’t make it home me!):
Oak Imperial Stout
Ben Buxton
Vitals
8.5% Alcohol
Ingredients
Caramalt, Crystal malt, roasted barley
Chinook & Cascade hops
Irish Ale & Whitelabs super high gravity
Notes:
This brew sat on bourboned oak chips for 3 weeks. This added a great level of complexity and also help smooth it out, even at 8.5% this brew was pretty easy drinking.
Pret a Porter
Peter Philip
Vitals
4.8% Alcohol
30 IBU
35 SRM
Ingredients
Pale malt, flaked barley, black barley, caraamber and chocolate malt
East Kent Goldings
Safale S-04
Notes:
This brew was transferred from keg to plastics bottles which I think result in a loss of the aroma. Although what it lacked in the smell it more than made up with in taste very smooth and easy to drink.
German Dark Ale
Greg Hughes
Vitals
none provided
Ingredients
Light malt extract, black grain
Northern Brewer & Hallertau Hops
European Ale Yeast
Notes:
Awesome aroma I think I am a sucker for anything with Hallertau in it, on the palate very tasty and easy drinking.
The Governor
Michael Hodge
Vitals
8.5% Alcohol
53 IBU
Ingredients
Light malt extract, roasted barley, crystal grain, caramalt, roasted wattle seeds
Perle & Hallertau Hops
Lager yeast
Notes:
This was possibly my favourite beer of the night, packed full of flavour. The roasted wattle seeds added a great uniqueness to this brew, on the palate Cherries and raisins shone though balanced perfectly balanced with the heat from the alcohol.
Cherry Fever Stout
Sam Haldane
Vitals
6.5% Alcohol
30 IBU
60 SRM
Ingredients
Light & Dark DME, Medium crystal, black malt, roasted barley
Northern Brewer & Willamette hops
Wyeast #1272 (American Ale 2)
Notes:
Very rich the cherries combined perfectly with the stouts richness to produce something akin to a Cherry Ripe in liquid form.
Kobushi Black Dragon
Jesse Hopwood
Vitals
6.75% Alcohol
Ingredients
Liquid caramel extract, light DME, Chocolate, pale, crystal and carafa I malts
Perle, East Kent Goldings, Chinook, Saaz and Northern Brewer hops
Safale US yeast
Notes:
This beer definitely didn’t leave you wanting for taste. The extensive use of different hop varieties gave a hug level of complexity.
Coco Coconut Stout
Anthony Mills
Vitals:
5.89% Alcohol
36.5 IBU
70.6 EBC
Ingredients
Thomas Fawcett Golden Promise – Chocolate malt, Simpsons Golden naked oats, black malt, Weyerman Caraamber, Bairds Maris Otter, Light and dark DME
Challenger and Fuggles hops
Wyeast #1028 (London Ale)
Coconut meat, 1 vanilla bean, 90ml Malibu rum, Cocoa beans
Notes:
This was my own entry into the comp, and it did alot better than I expected it came second and won me a yeast voucher from Daves homebrew store in North Sydney. The first few weeks in the bottle the vanilla was overpowering to the point it I was going to write it off as a dud brew given time to age though this died down to a more subtle level, I couldn’t really taste the coconut although most people said they could.
Related: IPA Brewshare @ The Local Taphouse
Tags: brewshare, homebrew, Porters, stout, The Local Taphouse
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
I hate to admit it, but i am waiting for a Monteiths beer to knock me over they seem to be trying alot of unique twists with their beer which is fantastic! But everyone of their beers i have tried so far has come up short in the taste and left me mildly disappointed. So when i got a bottle of the Monteiths Hearty Black Beer i got pretty excited, i love my darker beers and figured it was time for me to be bowled over.
Decanting the bottle into a glass this beer looks very appetizing with a light brown head about two fingers in size which died off over the space of a couple of minutes. The aroma on this brew was also very enticing packed with dark fruit, cocoa and spices. On the palate this beer is also pretty good consisting of a nice creamy mouth feel, light bitterness which brings out a nice nutty flavour. The flavours that lead the way are coffee and cocoa although toffee, honey and cherry flavours are also present.
The beer then finishes on the palate very clean with a very mild lingering mocha aftertaste.
Score: 5.6 / 10
Verdict: Started off great although something about the balance was a little bit of and by the end of the bottle i was a bit over it. Its not something i would go out of my way for again but i would happily drink another at some stage for something a bit different.
Where to buy: Dan Murphy’s stocks this, i got my bottle online from Slow Beer though.
Tags: ale, Monteiths, New Zealand, stout
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Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Mountain Goat is a relatively new Victorian brewery but they seem very capable when it comes to brewing a great tasting beer and this is earning them a legion of fans around the country. Their Surefoot Stout doesn’t seem to deviate any from the high standards set by their their other beers either.
In a glass it exhibits a medium sized tan head over a very dark almost black lightly carbonated body. Which aroma wise dominated by cocoa notes. To taste the flavor is mostly made up of toasted malt flavours accompanied by rich cocoa and coffee hints which leave a faint nutty quality in the aftertaste.
Verdict: I found this beer to be highly enjoyable and satisfying, perfect for unwinding at home after work on a cold winters night.
Rating: 7.9 / 10
Link: www.goatbeer.com
Where to buy:
Tags: ale, mountain goat, stout, tasting, Victoria
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