No sooner has the year started than Phat have reason to celebrate with the second birthday of their brewery home. To be honest, with all the energy the West Perth brewers offer, it’s hard to reconcile that they are still only in the toddler phase, so to speak. Nonetheless, in what is becoming tradition, Phat’s simply-labelled Birthday Beer arrives to party as an oat cream IPA.
Bumping the ABV up slightly from last year's release, this is one for the dessert beer fiends. Lashed with lactose and plumped with actual birthday cake, there’s nothing subtle here. Expect a liquid birthday cake with layers of vanilla sponge, vanilla cream frosting, a whisp of confectionary citrus and single digit IBUs – the kind of thing that makes you giddy from the first sip, and doesn’t stop.
Carrying the party mood into a considerably more hop-forward realm is Big Phat Krush. Brewed with Mallokup malt and this year’s lupulin darling, Krush, the confectionary theme continues yet without sweetness. Bold white peach, melon Starburst, candy necklaces and bubblegum leap from the glass, and if you close your eyes the hop profile recalls Y2K-era cocktail shakers, save for the tropical resin sneakily sliding underneath. The bitter, arid length and 8.5 percent ABV eventually stump up some beer credentials for what is a very delicious, and curious, release.
Guy Southern
Published February 10, 2025 2025-02-10 00:00:00
