Recent Tasting Notes

Ale Stars @ The Local
Porter Night

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter (14/20)
Pours dark brown with hints of crimson, small/medium sized tan head. Nose is really inviting! Substantial roasted malt present with madiera cake and fruit spice. Palate is much the same, with biscuity malt taking a back seat to coffee roast and hinting fruit preserves. Finish is malty with slight earthy hop bitterness.

Bright Brewery Staircase Porter (13/20)
I’ve had this on multiple occasions (bottled) and its always grumpy and aggressive upon pouring. Colour is dark brown with some ruby highlights, towering tan coloured head. Nose shows dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans. Palate is much of the same with a touch of sweet malt to add balance. Quite lively carbonation. Finishes with dry roasted malt and medium earthy hop bitterness.

Red Duck Queen Bee Honey Porter (12/20)
Poured dark brown with ruby highlights and quite good clarity (when up to light), head formation was limited. Nose is dominated by honey (duh!) and caramel with a hint of toffee. Palate is a little more reserved, as far as the honey goes. Displays an abundance of sweet caramel malt and toffee with a rather short malty finish. (kinda reminds me of an ESB without the substantial bitterness)

Meantime Coffee Porter (14/20)
Pours a very attractive dark brown with ruby highlights sporting a quick fading cream head. Nose displays tonnes of bittersweet roasted coffee beans and some dark chocolate with perhaps a hint of toffee. Palate is more of the same with rather dry earthy hop notes prevalent. Really full flavoured and satisfying!
Usually i’m not a fan of brews that use real ingredients to portray a flavour that should already be present (feel kinda cheated) that said, i thought this was a ripper!

Recent Tasting Notes

Brasserie de Silly "Abbaye de Forest" (12/20)
Good old school Belgian blond. massive fizzy head early but settles very quickly. Good lift on the nose with coriander and spice, and perhaps an underlay of candy. Slightly more pedestrian to taste as the sweet spice note character falls away to leave a mildly bitter finish with licorice. Very line and length, and hard not to like a little bit.

Jamieson "The Beast" IPA (15/20)
No doubt this a power style. Masses of sweet hop and marginally less malt impact. Very complete mouthfull right the palate although the sweet heavy weight of the flavour can be a turnoff if you were drinking pot after pot of the stuff. Crap note but I’ll reassess soon. Heaps better on tap.

Island Brew Pale (11/20)
Possibly one of the newest beers in the country and the brewer was kind enough to send a few samples over. Nice looking beers with a thin super-white head and a body of glowing orange / tan colour. Aromas are quite mild with faint hop and sweeter honeyed-like notes. Same story in the mouth; very subtle malts, mild spice and a appealing citrus / honey flavour come through. Seems well built but the flavours need a bit more intensity for this beer to get interesting. Nice to see the beer is truly "local" with the malt and honey contribution coming from Kangaroo Island produce.

New Releases & Fresh Stocks - July

There's a swag of good kit that's just hit the shelves. Please note that the Cantillon is very limited.

Australia
Otway Estate Wheat $3.30
Otway Estate Summer Ale $3.30
Otway Estate Pilsner $3.30
Otway Estate Ale $3.30
Otway Estate Red Ale $3.30
Otway Estate Stout $3.30
Otway Estate Farmhouse Ale $11.00 750ml
Otway Estate Saison 2008 $11.00 750ml
Otway EstateReserve de Otway $11.00 750ml
Otway Estate Beligan Strong Ale $4.00
Red Hill Imperial Stout $5.00

Belgium
Cantillon Gueze Lambic Bio 375ml $9.50
Canillon Gueze Lambic Bio 750ml $15.00
Cantillon Kriek Lambic 375ml $10.50
Cantillon Kriek Lambic 750ml $18.00
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus 375ml $10.50
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus 750ml $18.00

Dupont Biere Miel Bio 750ml $14.00
Dupont Bons Voeux 750ml $14.00
Dupont Cervesia 750ml $13.00
Dupont Moinette Blond $6.00
Dupont Moinette Brune $6.00
Dupont Saison Biologique 750ml $10.00

Lindemans Kriek $6.50
Lindemans Framboise $6.50
Lindemans Peche $6.50
Lindemans Cassis $6.50
Lindemans Gueze $5.50
Lindemans Gueze Cuvee Renee $7.00

New Zealand
Moa Original $6.50
Moa Noir $6.50
Moa Blanc 750ml $15.00
Moa Lager 750ml $15.00

UK
Badger Golden Glory $6.50
Badger Golden Champion $6.50
Badger Tanglefoot $6.50
Innis & Gunn Ale $6.50
Samuel Smith IPA $8.00
Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale $8.00
Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale Ale $8.00
Samuel Smith Organic Best Ale $8.00
Samuel smith Organic Lager $8.00
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter $8.00

Vietnam
333 Premium Export Lager $2.80

Beer News - Latest Prices

Oi,

A quick reminder and heads up for those that don't know................all pricing is now truly dynamic and can be found at our on-line beer store at www.slowbeer.com.au.

I update beers and pricing nearly everyday so you can be very confident on accuracy of pricing and certainty of supplier.

cheers

Recent Tasting Notes

Young's Waggle Dance (10/20)
Big fluffy head on pouring; looks the goods but is short lived. Stale malts on the nose which are really quite lager-like, and just a sliver of honey / fruit. Fairly tame and simple to taste with more real drive from malts and hops, or honey for that matter. A strange sweet malt flavour comes through late, like cheap sugar. Not particularly attractive but not a total disaster.

Guiness Foreign Extra Stout (14/20)
Brewed in Ireland with a BB of Jan 2008. Kept back for about 1 year after purchasing. Great looking beer; dark brown body and a totally delicious choc orange / mocha coloured head. Holds a good creamy body. Chocolate and brandied fruits / fruit cake on the nose, definately hints of barley wine here. This is impressive, aromas-wise, but the flavours don’t really transfer to the palate. ABV is more evident with some burn. Flavours are tight; I get some bitter chocolate and perhaps oak, but there’s not a lot of ’love’ here. Slightly tinny finish. Not sure if the cellaring worked on this occasion.

Bright Brewery Fainters Dubbel (16/20)
A big step forward for strong Australian beers. Although the brewery classifies as a dubbel is really is pushing into a fruity imperial for my tastes (and perhaps the 8.5% abv supports this view). Very much a malt and fruity story with dark liquered fruits that share some ground with a tokay desert wine, but the weight never gets heavy of cloying (notwithstanding the brandied character). Lightens out at the finish before some warming spicey alcohol kicks. The structure is very light and fluffy; a lamb in wolves clothing?

Recent Tasting Notes - Wicked Elf

Pale Ale (12/20)
Restrained and elegant style compared to most APA beers but regardless well made and enjoyable to drink. Nose shows mild hops, some grapefruit and a rusty metal hint. Hoppy again in the mouth, but the softer fruit notes given way to a slightly abrasive bitter / metallic character. But, well within the boundaries of the style. Well worth a look.

Pilsner (13/20)
Safe, conforming style that clearly gives a nod to the better Kiwi pilsners This is a well made beer. Aromas of citrus fruits and some talcum powder zing, and some underlying sweet fruits. Palate is relatively low fizz but aides the classic bohemian hop flavours nicely. Mild bitter kick on the finish.

Witbier (10/20)
Nearly but not quite. Looks good; big white fluffy head and slightly murky bright orange. Aromas are simple, a touch sweet but effctive with orange lollies and sherbet. Palate simplifies further with fizz and a confectionary orange / citrus note. Thickens slightly on the finish. Nice enough, super friendly, but hard to take seriously.

New Releases & Fresh Stocks - June

Australia
Coldstream Pilsner $3.20
Jamieson Beast $3.70
Jamieson Pale Ale $3.30
Murray's Pilsner $3.90
Murray's Nirvana Pale Ale $3.90
Murray's Sassy Blond $3.90
Red Hill Imperial Stout $5.00

Belgium
Bornem Tripel $8.00
Boucanier Dark $8.00
Leffe Radieuse $4.50
Satan Gold 750ml $19.00
Satan Red 750ml $19.00

England
Brakspere Triple $9.00
Greene King "Beer to Dine For" $9.00
Old Speckled Hen 355ml $4.50
Tim Taylor "Landlord" $6.50
Wadsworth "6X" $6.50
Wychwood "Circle Master" $6.50
Wychwood "Fiddlers Elbow" $6.50
Young's Special London Ale $6.50

Jamaica
Red Stripe 500ml can $3.50

New Zealand
Emerson's London Porter $8.00
Monteiths Winter Ale $3.00

Scotland
Belhaven Twisted Thistle $7.00

Beer News - Cider Stuff

Argghhh........sorry Chris!

I've been meaning to post this link for ages. Good transcript from ABC's Landline show interviewing Thorogoods. Read on here.

Recent Tasting Notes

Scheldebrouwerij Dulle Griet (13/20)

Massive head on pouring that took a while to settle. Murky reddish brown in colour. ’Warm’ flavours on the nose; coca cola, rich malts, a touch of sugar and aniseed. Palate is quite fizzy but this carries the heavy cola and aniseed flavours well. Quiet simple really. Good enough but not enough to make me come back for seconds.

De Cam Oude Lambiek 2000 Vintage (14/20)

Soft feel and very low fizz, perhaps accurately reflecting the 8 years of bottle age. Nose is low impact but the classic characters of sour fruits and vomit persist. Similar characters in the palate; shows good presence and depth, allow clearly this beer is mellowing and the flavours do tail off somewhat. Bitter finish.

Struise Pannepot 2006 Vintage (18/20)

Geez this was good. Amazing combination of spice, lifted floral red wine notes and malt drive. Such a balanced and beautifully constructed drink. Really impressive. Best beer I’ve had in some time.