SLOWBEER'S SCAND-INVASION 2!

FEATURE BEERS
RED DUCK THE OX IMPERIAL STOUT 330ml $10.00
Its really great to see this beer back after a couple of years absence from the red duck seasonal line-up. To be honest I had pretty fond memories of it but this years offering exceeds my expectations of that! Though the price has certainly increased, however its quality is very much worthy of the price tag!

Pours almost jet black with the slightest hint of brown around the rim & has a rusty coloured head. Nose has masses of caramel, dark chocolate & roasted coffee as well as a hint of vanilla. Palate is an onslaught of malt, caramel adds a decent amount of sweetness, however the dark choc & roast coffee notes dry it out & bring it all in check. Finishes roasty with a touch of sweetness & abv heat as well as that trademark Red Duck yeast, that works oh so well in their dark beers. Certainly a great cellaring candidate & in my opinion the best local, bottled Imperial Stout around. The brew batch was quite small & very limited so get on it or you’ll miss out!

LEFT HAND IMPERIAL STOUT 355ml $9.50
This beer has an excellent reputation & on many occasions it fails to disappoint. That said, in comparison to the above beer it certainly looks nowhere near as menacing. Dark brown/black pour with a tan coloured head. Nose is again a little tamer though still has the caramel sweetness, dark choc & dry coffee roast tang. Palate is relatively full bodied & translates the nose quite well. Finish is long with dry coffee roast most dominant. Really good imperial stout but just lacks the raw power of the red duck.

Its worked out quite well that for once we are actually comparing apples with apples, same style, same price. If your into finesse, go with the Left Hand as it is a touch more understated but if you want a big, rich & powerful imperial stout then go the red duck. Either way, you wont be sorry!

SCANDI ARRIVALS DUE
MIKKELLER (DEN)
Mikkel’s Monster 600ml $50.00
Barley wine aged in both port & bordeaux barrels - 13% abv
Beer Geek Breakfast 500ml $16.00
Stout brewed with oats & gourmet coffee – 7.5% abv
Beer Geek Breakfast (Speyside Edition) 500ml $32.00
As above + aged in Speyside whisky casks – 7.5% abv
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel 500ml $32.00
Imperial stout brewed with world’s most expensive ‘weasel’ coffee from Vietnam – 10.9% abv
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Islay Edition) 500ml $40.00
As above + aged in islay whisky casks – 10.9% abv
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Highland Edition) 500ml $40.00
As above + aged in Highland whisky casks – 10.9% abv
Black 375ml $23.00
Imperial Stout fermented with champagne yeast – 17.5% abv
Black (Cask Peated Edition) 375ml $42.00
As above + aged in peated whisky casks – 17.5% abv
Black (Whisky Edition) 375ml $32.00
As above + aged in whisky casks – 17.5% abv
Black Hole 375ml $20.00
Imperial Stout brewed with gourmet coffee, oats, honey & vanilla – 13.1% abv
Big Worse 375ml $19.00
US inspired Barley Wine – 12% abv
Santas Little Helper 750ml $30.00
Belgian Strong Dark Ale spiced with orange & coriander – 10.9% abv
Drink Your Sorrows Away 375ml $32.00
Belgian Strong Dark Ale - 12% abv
Stateside IPA 500ml $15.00
US inspired IPA, hopped with chinook, cascade & amarillo – 7% abv
Green Gold 660ml $20.00
US inspired IPA, hopped with simcoe, amarillo & cascade – 7% abv
Single Hop Nelson Sauvin IPA 330ml $10.00
IPA hopped solely with NZ’s nelson sauvin – 7% abv
Drikkeriget GIPA 330ml $12.00
German IPA hopped with Tomohawk & Tettnang – 6.6% abv
The American Dream 330ml $10.00
Pilsner hopped to the hilt with US varieties traditionally used in IPAs – 4.6% abv
Draft Bear 750ml $30.00
Imperial Pilsner – 8% abv
Drink'n in the Sun 330ml %7.00
Heavily hopped wheat beer – 3.9% abv

NOGNE-O (NOR)
Imperial Stout 500ml $16.00
Imperial Stout (Highland Edition) 500ml $22.00
Imperial Stout aged in highland whisky casks – 9% abv
God Jul 500ml $15.00
US inspired dark winter ale
God Jul (Islay Edition) 500ml $22.00
As above + aged in islay whisky casks – 8.5% abv
Tyttebaer 500ml $16.50
Collaboration with Mikkeller, resulting in a cranberry lambic – 8% abv
NO Special Holiday Ale 500ml $17.50
Collaboration with Stone & Jolly Pumpkin (US), resulting in spiced ale with chestnut, sage & juniper – 9% abv
Andhrimnir Barleywine 500ml $16.50
Brewed by the Norwegian National Homebrew Champion at Nogne-O – 10% abv
India Pale Ale 500ml $14.50
#100 500ml $16.00
Hybrid between the IPA, Porter & Barley wine styles
Imperial Brown Ale 500ml $14.50
God Paske 500ml $14.50
Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed for the Easter period
Underlig Jul 500ml $12.50
Spiced Christmas ale similar to very popular Scandinavian mulled wine - 6.5% abv
Sahti 500ml $17.00
Collaboration with Dugges (SWE), resulting in traditional Finnish ale brewed with honey & juniper
Tiger Tripel 500ml $16.00
Belgian style tripel
Julesnadder 500ml $12.00
Porter 4.5% abv

PREORDERS FOR MIKKELLER & NOGNE-O:
We expect these beers to arrive with us in about a week or so, though as usual they wont stay on our shelves for long! Thus, we will be taking pre-orders on a first come first serve basis. If your keen to try some of these brilliant brews email: sales@slowbeer.com.au with your wishlist ASAP!

SOUTHERN TIER IS HERE!

FEATURE BREWERY
SOUTHERN TIER (USA)
Hailing from Lakewood, New York & having been operating since 2004 this highly acclaimed US brewery has plenty to offer. Being very much true to its North American craft brewing roots, creating a vast range of modern & innovative beers that focus on challenging the drinker. However don’t be fooled into thinking these guys are a one trick, hop-obsessed pony!

IPA 355ml $7.00
Pours orange/amber with a nice fluffy white head, looks a treat & smells even better! Plenty of citrus fruit notes from the hops with support from some light biscuit & caramel malt. Finishes with apricot & grapefruit hop notes that definitely hit the spot, not too aggressive. A nice, robust yet sessionable ipa. 6.5%abv

Phin & Matts Extraordinary Ale 355ml $6.50
Pours lovely golden/yellow with nice white head. Nose has a hint of sweet honey & lemon mix from the malt with the hops attributing some nice citrus fruit. Finishes with a light touch of hop bitterness. Ultimately a light & refreshing pale ale. 5.6%abv

422 Pale Wheat Ale 355ml $6.50
Pours pale straw with a white fluffy head. Nose is quite typical of the style, zesty wheat notes with subtle spicy clove-like yeast notes & touch citrus & spice from the hops. Apt that they go for pale wheat ale, as apposed to the traditional hefeweizen or witbier as it has elements of both but ultimately is a variation. 5%abv

Old Man Winter 355ml $7.50
Perhaps not so appropriate for our current weather, however this is a lovely beer all the same. American brewers sure like to come up with their own styles, this being termed a winter warmer. What that means exactly is anyone's guess! From what I gather it is a hoppy dark ale. This has quite a bit of dark malt bringing caramel & some dark fruit. Finishes with abv spice & some feint citrus hops & medium bitterness. 7.2%abv – Winter Seasonal

Raspberry Porter 355ml $6.00
Pretty self explanatory really, though I’ll give you some specifics! Pour gives a hint of raspberry treat within, dark brow with ruby highlights. Nose has chocolate & nuts from the dark roasted malt with sweeter raspberry hints hiding beneath. Quite light in body, which I suppose suits the mash-up of styles. Finishes much like the general palate, dry & roasty dark malt with hints of raspberry. 4.8%abv – Winter Seasonal

Unearthly 650ml $17.00
So you’ve been patient right? Time to get onto their bread & butter, that being heavily hoppy, experimental beers. This one certainly doesn’t disappoint! Pretty robust & full on right from the get go, quite full, almost slick caramel-malty goodness with a big old whack of bitter grapefruit & pine. Finishes quite bitter but still very full on the palate. Apparently this is up at about 150IBUs...which if you didn’t know is a lot! It shows but in the best possible way. If your a hop-head like me, you’ll love this! 11%abv

Iniquity 650ml $15.50
Hop-tastic beer #2! Pours dark brown/black but the nose completely messes with your mind. Sure, there's a lot of dark roasted malt but also a heap of citrus & pine from the hops. This is a dark ale but not as you know it. Being termed an Imperial Black ale is appropriate, as this is no stout/porter. Finish is quite robust with a slight tang from the dark roasted malt & citrus/pine hops. There's also sweet licorice character, which I would attribute to both dark malt & hops, almost like raspberry licorice. Really interesting & another winner for the hop-heads! 9%abv

Choklat 650ml $17.00
The hops are taking a rest in this one right? So what can we do to overtly flavor the beer? Chocolate perhaps? Well this beer has chocolate in spades! Though not in the subtle dark roasted malt way & while it does have that too it is actually like a nice, velvety milk chocolate. Not syrupy or artificial though, actual milk chocolate. Crazy, yet totally delicious. Would loved to have woken up to this in place of my milo every morning! 11.00%abv

Cuvee Series 2 650ml $19.50
This is part 2 of a trilogy of beers. Cuvee 1 is aged in french oak, this is aged in american oak & 3 is a blend of the 2 previous. So what to expect from this? Masses of caramel, milk chocolate, nuts & espresso all backed up by some toasty oak & vanilla. Maybe something of a crème brulee in beer form. Another peculiar, albeit delicious beer! 11%abv

SLOWBEER'S EXCITING ARRIVALS FOR 2010!

Firstly, we hope you all had a safe & happy holiday period with many great beers enjoyed!

Traditionally January is a relatively quiet month for most retail outlets. However I have a feeling that Slowbeer will be exceptionally busy, having just got word of the HUGE NEW ARRIVALS expected in the next couple of weeks from some truly world class breweries!

FEATURE BEER
BRIDGE ROAD BREWERS GALAXY SINGLE HOP IPA 330ml $5.00
Really interesting concept that we have seen done quite well by cult Danish brewer Mikkeller. The use of a single hop variety enables the drinker to pinpoint the exact characteristics attributed by the use of the hop. A great learning tool for budding home brewers!
Where Mikkeller opt for higher alpha (bitterness) US hop varieties, Ben of Bridge Rd Brewers up at Beechworth has gone for Galaxy, a relatively popular variety among Oz craft brewers. Galaxy is known for its tropical & citrus fruit notes & could be said to be the Oz craft beer scene’s equivalent to Cascade in the US. Where cascade started it all for US craft brewers some 20 years ago, Galaxy it fast becoming the quintessential Australian craft beer hop variety.

FEATURE BREWERY
SOUTHERN TIER (USA)
Hailing from Lakewood, New York & having been operating since 2004 this highly acclaimed US brewery has plenty to offer. Being very much true to its North American craft brewing roots, creating a vast range of modern & innovative beers that focus on challenging the drinker. However don’t be fooled into thinking these guys are a one trick, hop-obsessed pony!

Beers arriving include:
IPA $7 (approx)
355ml 6.5%abv
Phin & Matts $6.5 (approx)
355ml 5.6%abv – American Pale Ale
422 Pale Wheat $6.5 (approx)
355ml 5%abv – American Pale Wheat Ale
Old Man Winter $7.5 (approx)
355ml 7.2%abv – Winter Seasonal
Raspberry Porter $6 (approx)
355ml 4.8%abv – Winter Seasonal
Unearthly DIPA $16.50 (approx)
650ml 10%abv
Iniquity $15.50 (approx)
650ml 8.9%abv – Imperial India Black Ale
Choklate $16.50 (approx)
650ml 9.1%abv – Imperial Chocolate Stout
Cuvee Series 2 $19 (approx)
650ml 11%abv – American Oak Aged Strong Ale

If your keen to know more, check out the link: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/beers.html

PREORDERS FOR SOUTHERN TIER
We expect these beers to arrive with us next week, though being the very first time these brews have graced our shores means they wont stay on our shelves for long! Thus, we will be taking pre-orders on a first come first serve basis. If your keen to try some of these brilliant brews email: sales@slowbeer.com.au with your wishlist ASAP!

ARRIVALS COMING UP
MIKKELLER (DEN)
Mikkel’s Monster – Barley wine aged in both port & bordeaux barrels
Beer Geek Breakfast – Stout brewed with gourmet coffee
Beer Geek Breakfast (Speyside Edition) - Stout brewed with gourmet coffee & aged in Speyside whisky casks
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel – Imperial stout brewed with world’s most expensive ‘weasel’ coffee from vietnam
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Islay Edition) – As above + aged in islay whisky casks
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Highland Edition) – As above + aged in highland whisky casks
Black – Imperial Stout fermented with champagne yeast
Black (Cask Peated Edition) - As above + aged in peated whisky casks
Black (Whiskey Edition) - As above + aged in whisky casks
Black Hole – Imperial Stout brewed with gourmet coffee, honey & vanilla
Big Worse – US inspired Barley Wine
Santas Little Helper – Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Drink Your Sorrows Away – Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Stateside IPA - US inspired IPA, hopped with chinook, cascade & amarillo
Green Gold – US inspired IPA, hopped with simcoe, amarillo & cascade
Single Hop Nelson Sauvin IPA – IPA hopped solely with NZ’s nelson sauvin
Drikkeriget GIPA – German IPA hopped with Tomohawk & Tettnang
The American Dream - Pilsner hopped to the hilt with US varieties traditionally used in IPAs
Draft Bear – Imperial Pilsner
Drink'n in the Sun – Heavily hopped wheat beer

NOGNE-O (NOR)
Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout (Highland Edition) - Imperial Stout aged in highland whisky casks
God Jul – US inspired dark winter ale
God Jul (Islay Edition) - As above + aged in islay whisky casks
Tyttebaer – Collaboration with Mikkeller, resulting in a berry lambic
Special Holiday Ale – Collaboration with Stone & Jolly Pumpkin (US), resulting in spiced ale with chestnut, sage & juniper
Andhrimnir Barleywine – Brewed by the Norwegian National Homebrew Champion at Nogne-O
India Pale Ale
#100 – Hybrid between the IPA, Porter & Barley wine styles
Imperial Brown Ale
God Paske – Belgian Strong Dark Ale brewed for the Easter period
Underlig Jul – Spiced Christmas ale similar to very popular Scandinavian mulled wine
Sahti – Traditional Finnish ale brewed with honey & juniper
Tiger Tripel – Belgian style tripel
Julesnadder – Porter

PREORDERS FOR MIKKELLER & NOGNE-O:
We expect these beers to arrive with us in about a week or so, though as usual they wont stay on our shelves for long! Thus, we will be taking pre-orders on a first come first serve basis. If your keen to try some of these brilliant brews email: sales@slowbeer.com.au with your wishlist ASAP!
*NOTE PRICES WILL BE CONFIRMED IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS