When the 24 breweries and brewing companies gathered for the first Good Beer Showcase this October, a few brought new beers or created twists on old ones. None went quite as far as Red Duck, however, but then again it's rare that anyone does. Six very recent or not yet released beers were unveiled - along with a new livery that's evolution rather than revolution - including these two. The Sabre Tooth is the latest big, hoppy beer from the Ballarat brewery (remember last year's Hop Bach with Kissmeyer featuring 26 different hops, for example). It's brewed with three of the American "C" hops - Centennial, Chinook and Columbus - that give it a big, fruity aroma and a backend kick and a half. It's light on its feet too, though, with a malt bill that refrains from getting too chewy, instead allowing the hops to take centre stage.
The other newcomer is a keg only release and is a beer that made its debut at this year's GABS festival in Melbourne in May. It's a Belgian style wit brewed with orange peel and flesh additions and also with new US hop variety Mosaic that anyone who's experienced it in a single hop beer, such as Mornington's, will know to be one orangey, even mandarin-y, customer itself.
Published October 22, 2013 2013-10-22 00:00:00
