Beer Moo Brew Trippel

The first beer in what we're promised will be a series of barrel-aged beers from Tasmania's Moo Brew is a Belgian Tripel. It was flagged up on the site a few weeks back and has since made its way to beer bars across the land. It's this year's Spring Seasonal from Moo and, as such, is a keg only release. It's also, as the name suggests, a Belgian style Tripel, albeit one granted an additional "p", perhaps in tribute to the "oo" in Moo. Either way, one of the Moo Crew tells us he reckons it's the best beer they've ever brewed down on the Derwent.

We're also told that they utilised barrels (or in this case barrel) rather differently to the now-defunct Vintage Stout program. Just one new American oak barrel was filled with the beer, which was then blended back in with the rest of the batch, allowing the oak to add a new dimension without overpowering what, despite the nine per cent ABV, tends to be a pretty delicate style.

According to the brewers, it's "a deep yellow with rich dense foam. It has a complex aroma with fruit esters, hop character and a detectable contribution from the oak barrel. Given the intensity of the beer the mouth feel is relatively light and supported by hop bitterness, spicy phenolics and oak tannins. The elevated alcohol is present as a late mild warming that lingers."