There aren't many beers that have been around for a dozen vintages. To achieve such longevity, the liquid and the concept behind it needs to be pretty special – take Bridge Road's B2 Bomber, which turned 12 in 2022 too – and that's the case with Moon Dog's Black Lung, even if it's no longer called Black Lung. From here on in, the smokey stout is to be known just by its suffix, but if the name has become smaller, the beer has only become larger; the first release back in 2011 weighed in at a paltry 7.7 percent ABV, whereas number 12 is almost twice the size.
That's not the only way in which it's larger either; the use of barrels that previously house The Gospel's rye whiskey has left one heck of an imprint. Jeez, those Gospel barrels love to give it up: as with every beer we've had that's been aged in the Melbourne distiller's hand-me-downs, there's a vibrant juiciness – young whiskey, rum-soaked fruits and the marzipan and fruitcake layers of an old wedding cake put through a blender – potentially enhanced by the sweetness that comes with 13 percent ABV of chocolaty malts. The sharpness you can get from peated malts is mollycoddled by said liquid chocolate fudge, leaving you with the sort of beer destined not just to coat your palate but also plaster itself across your lips.
James Smith
Published July 15, 2022 2022-07-15 00:00:00
