New Beers
Barely a day goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery (if not ten). Here and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you news and, if we've sampled them, our take on as many of them as possible. Happy hunting!
Big Shed Erebus & Viscosiraptor 2021
Tapped Yesterday
Erebus and Viscosiraptor first appeared in 2020 in a spot of cross-city, big-beer rivalry with Little Bang Brewing, with the beastly pair back for another outing in 2021. In Greek Mythology, Erebus is the god of deep darkness, a fitting name indeed for this Russian imperial stout, which gains its colour through healthy additions of Eclipse, light chocolate, roasted barley and dark crystal malts, while the traditional hop Fuggles meets New World Sabro in the boil. The pour from the can takes time,… Read more
Black
- Style
- Imperial Stout & Barleywine
- ABV
- 11.2% & 10.6%
TWØBAYS Brewing Co No Doubt Stout
Tapped June 15, 2021
Fresh from receiving a gold medal at the 2021 Australian International Beer Awards, TWØBAYS Brewing's No Doubt Stout received a national release at the start of June. But the gluten-free brewery says that beer goes back further, with their fans long calling for such a dark drop to help them survive winter's bite and which they could enjoy without any doubt they'd be drinking down any gluten. No Doubt is a particularly fitting name for the beer given that when you try it, it certainly looks and… Read more
Black
- Style
- Stout
- ABV
- 6.2%
Hawkers Nostalgic Tones
Tapped June 15, 2021
When you release a brown ale called Nostalgic Tones and decorate the cans with artwork that wouldn't have been out of place covering the walls of a 1970s kitchen, one might easily suspect you were taking a trip down Memory Lane. The sort of trip that would lead you into the malty, earthy presence of an English ale, perhaps. Hawkers don't really do that sort of thing, though. Instead, what you have here is an India brown ale with the balance tipped heavily in favour of the India. Bright orange and… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- India Brown Ale
- ABV
- 7.0%
Little Bang Brewing Tangent #4
Tapped June 14, 2021
The Little Bang team has been playing around with their barrels once more, releasing their craziest blended concoction to date. Tangent #4 starts with a co-ferment of merlot and saison that was housed in French oak grenache barrels, before being joined with some sour, wild fermenting cherries in American oak shiraz barrels. The last piece of the puzzle came in the form of a fresh, light, citrusy Berliner Weisse, there to tie the complex, decidedly different masterpiece together. In some ways it's… Read more
Red
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Sour Blend
- ABV
- 7.4%
Akasha Project Little Korben
Tapped June 13, 2021
"Oh, have a look at the little bloke! Bless his little cotton socks, he’s adorable. Now, I thought he was supposed to be bigger?" "No, no, mate – this one’s a new species or something. It’s what they call a Little Korben." "A Little Korben, they reckon? You wouldn’t bloody read about it!" "He’s still built like a brick shithouse, though." "My oath! Still… he is very cute." Akasha’s latest Project release is Little Korben: a dramatically… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- West Coast IPA
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Stockists
-
Find Little Korben here
Holgate Brewhouse Campfire Red IPA & Double Stout
Tapped June 11, 2021
There's a bit of a problem with one of Holgate's new winter releases. If you do as the name intends, you won't get to enjoy it in its full glory. Sure, Campfire Red IPA is the sort of beer you'll want to enjoy by a campfire. But, should you do so, you'll miss out on the nerdy joy of pouring it into a glass, holding it to a light, and admiring its appearance† – bright as you like and with the glow of a pre-dawn ember. What you will still get to enjoy is the coming together of citrus rind and red… Read more
Red
- Style
- Red IPA & Double Stout
- ABV
- 7.0% & 8.5%
- Bitterness
- 80 & 75 IBU
- Stockists
-
NB Double Stout set for release week commencing June 21
Wolf Of The Willows Steep 'N Deep IIPA
Tapped June 11, 2021
As hazies and NEIPAs continued to take over the world of IPA (and, to a growing extent, pale ales too), the clamour from those drinkers after the more traditional India pale ale† pleasures – those of a clear, lean and unencumbered form – only grew louder. And, while 2021 has proven to be its own peculiar sort of shitstorm after the relatively one-dimensional shitstorm of 2020, it does appear those people's prayers are being answered. Joining the ranks of clearest of clear IPAs is Wolf of the… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast IIPA
- ABV
- 8.5%
Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Mach 11.0
Tapped June 11, 2021
Sixteen years of beers brings us to the eleventh in Bridge Road Brewers' B2 Bomber series of birthday beers. Arguably what's most remarkable about the series – other than the typically high standard of the beers as they've evolved over the years – is how little else like them has appeared over the decade since the first one took flight. A black Belgian double IPA was a rarity then and remains one now, even with the B2 Bomber's cult status. Clearly, not too many brewers fancy throwing dark malts,… Read more
Black
- Style
- Black Belgian Double IPA
- ABV
- 9.3%
Bad Shepherd Wolves in the Flock
Tapped June 11, 2021
The saying goes that too many cooks spoil the broth. So, what happens when a brewery invites ten of their biggest fans to get involved in designing and brewing a beer? Let's find out, shall we? Because that's the case with Wolves In The Flock, for which Andrew Bishop, Jake Neasey, Anya Shindler, Kris Kristinsson, Clint Bee, Louis Willcock, Daniel Brady, Luke Gilchrist, Gary Moller and Matthew Mann joined the brewers to create a limited release beer. The chosen style was a DDH American brown ale and… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- DDH American Brown
- ABV
- 6.0%
- Bitterness
- 35 IBU
Rocky Ridge SMASH Strata Session IPA
Tapped June 11, 2021
Rocky Ridge are no strangers to collaboration and, for their latest team-orientated effort, they’ve thrown down with Scarborough Cellars and Palace Arcade to bring punters a 90s gaming-themed session beer. Although it sounds a little complicated, Smash Strata Session IPA is pretty simple: a single hop, single malt (actually, single maltster) session beer that clocks in at a very drinkable 5.5 percent ABV. Joe White malts and US Strata hops combine for an uber clean, super sippable ale that exhibits… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- SMASH Session IPA
- ABV
- 5.5%
- Bitterness
- 35 IBU
Margaret River Brewhouse Talus IPA
Tapped June 11, 2021
Margaret River Brewhouse know their way around hops, and for their latest limited release in collaboration with Vic Park's Dutch Trading Company, they’ve decided to showcase a single hop variety, the relatively newly arrived Talus from the US. Talus IPA pours crystal clear with a lasting, lacy white head and dark orange hue. The hop’s trademark pink grapefruit character is almost palpable, delivered with gentle pine, orange zest and a candy like sweetness on the nose. On tasting, spritzy carbonation… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Single Hop IPA
- ABV
- 6.4%
- Bitterness
- 43 IBU
- Stockists
-
And other MRB WA stockists
Philter Henson Park Draught
Tapped June 11, 2021
When you think of beer at the footy you don't tend to associate it with the types of beer typically featured on The Crafty Pint. Personally, the term "footy beer" reminds me of tastes that are flat and soapy, often mid-strength and nearly always in a plastic cup. I'm not a snob, however. I know there is a time and place for footy beer but can a beer still be crafty if it's made for gulping at the footy? Luckily, Philter have answered the question with a frothy "Yes!" Henson Park… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Footy Beer
- ABV
- 4.5%
Aether Brewing Event Horizon
Tapped June 10, 2021
If you ever get the opportunity to head into space and look into a black hole (that’s the dream, right?), you won’t actually see anything. That’s because nothing – not even light – can escape it. That phenomenon is known as an event horizon and is discussed at great lengths by physicists and sci-fi lovers alike. But whether you’re an astrophysicist or just a punter whose knowledge of space is limited to what you learned from Interstellar, you’ll notice that Event Horizon is about as… Read more
Black
- Style
- Spiced Rum Porter
- ABV
- 6.7%
- Bitterness
- 42 IBU
Braeside Brewing American Lager, Dad Jokes, Kitchen Sink, Cherry Pie Sour & Gypsy King
Tapped June 10, 2021
Well, they’re certainly keeping busy at Braeside Brewing, with the Melbourne brewery releasing an impressive five beers at once at the start of June 2021. They're a diverse enough mix of styles to make it hard to know the best way to work through them too but, almost certainly, the best place to start is with American Lager. The inspiration stems from Braeside’s head brewer Chip’s time living in America, where he fell for the amber and malt-driven lagers for which Brooklyn Brewery are particularly… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Various
- ABV
- 4.5%, 7.0%, 6.2%, 6.4% & 6.0%
BentSpoke Brewing Co Descent 21
Tapped June 9, 2021
Rich and Tracy from BentSpoke were good enough to come along to The Crafty Pint's IPA Blind Tasting Championship as part of Pint of Origin at Good Beer Week 2021. Their reward, along with all the other guests – brewers and paying attendees – was to spend two weeks in quarantine after it turned out a positive COVID case had been in the pub at the same time. Thankfully, they escaped in time to celebrate the brewery's seventh birthday the day after quarantine ended. And thankfully for those of us… Read more
Black
- Style
- Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 10.0%
Dainton Beer Plum Pie
Tapped June 9, 2021
Just a couple of weeks on from bringing out a chocolate pretzel stout, Dainton are back seeing what sweet treats they can transport into beer with the imperial pastry sour, Plum Pie. Is plum juice a thing? Assuming it is, then the beer certainly looks like how plum juice should look, pouring the same purple colour Dainton have switched their logo to on the cartooned can. Not only have I never drunk plum juice but I'm not sure I've actually eaten a plum pie but assuming they tend to be loaded with… Read more
Red
- Style
- Imperial Pastry Sour
- ABV
- 8.4%
Slow Lane Brewing Before Dawn
Tapped June 9, 2021
Having a glass of dunkel is like having a little taste of history itself. Dark German lagers are, in effect, the grandparents of all modern lagers, pale included. If it wasn’t for those plucky Benedictine monks and their penchant for open fermenting wort in the winter, I may very well have not had a plastic cup of XXXX Gold in my hand as I experienced a moment of joy so intense that I would later swear I saw the face of God (Johnson, Harris and Lyon combining to see England lose six for nine after… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Dunkel
- ABV
- 4.6%
Bright Brewery POW, Affogato Stout & Stubborn Russian 2021
Tapped June 8, 2021
From recycling missions to looking out for our canine friends and, in the case of POW, a campaign to help protect the environment in their Alpine home while encouraging positive action against climate change, Bright walk the talk when it comes to being good citizens of the craft beer world. With POW – Protect Our Winters – they're doing it in a similar manner to Doggobrau, opting for an easy-going and approachable beer. It's a 4 percent ABV pale featuring Mosaic, Motueka and Sultana hops to create… Read more
Black
- Style
- Pale Ale & Affogato Stout
- ABV
- 4.0% & 5.5%
CoConspirators Brewing The Whistleblower
Tapped June 8, 2021
Is there something the two couples behind CoConspirators Brewing know that the rest of us don’t? There they go, releasing a beer called The Whistleblower at the start of June and a week later, the largest crime sting in Australia’s history takes place and more than 200 members of the local mafia and other ne’er-do-well associations are arrested. Given it’s an oatmeal stout, we can probably assume that it's a mere coincidence at the very least but given the description of the beer discusses… Read more
Black
- Style
- Oatmeal Stout
- ABV
- 5.5%
Prickly Moses Black Knight
Tapped June 7, 2021
Black Knight is a regular winter release from Prickly Moses and while winter setting in might not bring cheer to everyone, the imperial stout is one thing many fans of the Otways' brewery do look forward to as the days shorten. It's not just fans and locals that have grown appreciative of the beer either but judges at the Australian International Beer Awards too, who gave the beer a gold medal in 2021. We can't pretend to speak for those judges - or anyone else for that matter - but what was likely… Read more
Black
- Style
- Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 7.8%
- Awards
AIBA 2021 Gold Medal
