Mikkeller are coming!

On the back of the huge success of Rogue late last year comes another of the most sought after breweries on the planet!

Mikkeller are two Danes who started brewing commercially in 2006. They have a broad and unique range of ales, having produced many of them in conjunction with some of the most highly acclaimed US craft breweries.
Check them out at: http://www.mikkeller.dk/index.php?id=6&land=1

We are expecting them to fly off the shelves, so we will be taking pre-orders later this week.

Stay tuned!

Recent Tasting Notes - Crafty Locals

Red Hill Belgian Blonde
Pours hazy, golden/orange body, off white head. Nose displays peach & vanilla notes in conjunction with earthy hops. Carbonation is medium to high. Palate brings a touch of vanilla sweetness before noble hops take charge. Finishes with a good amount of abv driven spice, which complements the robust hop profile.
Love the fact that these guys use their own hops, you really notice the difference!

Kooinda Pale Ale
Pours hazy, orange/amber with substantial off white head. Aromas of caramel and biscuity malt with resiny hops. Palate is aggressive, as expected and a tad rough around the edges but i really like it! More caramel, toffee and biscuit like malt gives way for assertive hops that bring some citrus fruit. Finish is long and bitter. Great effort for a newcomer! Clearly don’t give a damn about pleasing main-stream palates! Of the same ilk as Jamieson Beast IPA.

Arctic Fox Ice Cap Lager
Pours hazy, golden/orange (dark for a lager) with a substantial white head. Aromas are very attractive. Hops bring alot of citrus and stonefruit as well as a nice resiny character, promising signs! Palate is alot more subdued. Shows a hint of fruit early before a whack of grainy malt brings us back into lager territory. Carbonation is spot on, which is nice to see as it is bottle conditioned. Good effort for a newcomer, has potential to dethrown Knappstein Lager...

All of the above will be instores next week. (If not already)

New Releases & Fresh Stocks

Austria
Eggenberg Mac Queens Nessie $5.00
Eggenberg Urbock 23 Degrees $7.00

Belgium
Cantillon Grand Cru Bruoscella $24.00
Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise $28.00
Cantillon Fou Fonne Apricot $24.00
Rochefort 8 $7.00

Italy
Le Baladin Nora $31.00
Le Baladin Noel $33.00

New Zealand
Emersons Weissbier $8.00
Emersons London Porter $8.00
Emersons IPA $8.00
Moa Harvest $8.00
Moa Noir $8.00
Moa Blanc $8.00
Moa Lager $8.00
Moa St Josephs Belgian Tripel $9.00
Moa 5 Hop Winter Ale $8.50
Moa Weka Native Lager $6.50

UK
Meantime London Porter $22.00
Meantime IPA $22.00
Meantime London Pale $10.00
Meantime London Stout $10.00
Meantime Coffee $8.00
Meantime Chocolate $8.00
Wells Bombardier Bitter $7.00
Wells Bombardier Burning Gold $7.00
Wells Bombardier Satanic Mills $7.00
Youngs Bitter $7.00
Youngs Special London Ale $7.00
Youngs Ram Rod Ale $3.50
Youngs Kew Garden Gold $7.00
Directors Courage $7.00

US
Rogue XS Imperial Stout $38.00
Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barley Wine $38.00
Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar $15.00
Rogue American Amber $15.00
Rogue Oregon Golden $15.00
Rogue Mocha Porter $15.00

Recent Tasting Notes

Rogue Dad's Little Helper Malt Liquor (11/20)
Funny kind of beer but its works ok. Very light amber in colour with a very thin head. Nose is unmistakeably creamy soda with a sweet confectionary-like malt sweetness. Palate is comparatively dry with a lager-like bitterness kicking in late. All a bit simple really but I quite enjoyed it. Although, and as the percentile rating indicates, not in the class of the other Rogue beers.

Red Hill Christmas Ale 2008 (13/20)
Nice looking beer; caramel hue and a thin persistent head. Nose shows rich malts and some mild brandy fruits. Quite elegant actually. Palate is dominated by fizz early and this makes the flavours hard to shine but settles after a while to reveal quite bitter and aniseed malt flavours, a lick of abv heat, and some bitterness to finish. Good beer but not in the class of the best from the house.

Youngs Kew Gold (13/20)
A pretty decent, if slight pedestrian, English golden ale, but the real hook here is the excellent hop impact on the palate. Very nice herbal flavours with a greater than expected bitter finish. Quite fizzy too; perhaps a little more than required. Good summer ale. ($15 @ Peese Cafe, Elsternwick, Melbourne)