If the name and can design didn't give it away, it doesn't take long for T-Bone's latest fruity number to reveal itself. No sooner had liquid hit glass a foot away than sweet blood orange aromas were burrowing their way up nostrils like excited rabbits. The fruit addition lends Bloody Helles an Irn Bru-esque appearance, while the lightness of the helles lager style base beer allows the fruit to dominate on the palate too in a crystalline, almost cordial like manner, as opposed to anything approaching OJ. Light floral hops, a gentle flicker of malt and a modicum of bitterness remind you it's a beer, however, although one that's designed as a blood orange delivery system from first splash right through to belch test.
Accompanying it out the doors of the Hobart brewpub is Big Old Stout, a Russian imperial stout with a lick of nougat present alongside the densely sweet dark chocolate and burnt roasty edges. There's figgy dark fruits and treacle flavours too, coming together like a boozy, sticky, squishy chocolate dessert to which the chef took a blowtorch. Now I think about it, I wonder what the two beers would taste like blended...
James Smith
Published August 9, 2019 2019-08-09 00:00:00