New Beers
There has never been a time like now: more breweries releasing more new beers than ever before. Here, in The Crafty Cuppa, and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you details – and, if we've sampled them, our honest, independent take – on as many of them as possible. Enjoy!
Boatrocker Double Barrel & Demi-Jaune (with Crittenden Estate)
Published Today
Boatrocker may have unveiled a new look earlier in 2022, but on the beer front the mission continues on a familiar path: a steady stream of "normal" (everything is relative with Boatrocker) beers in colourfully-attired cans encompassing IPAs, malt-driven ales, fruity sours, stouts and the like on one hand; and barrel-aged, blended and rather funkier beers on the other, which appear in rather more austere bottles. After tucking into a few of the former last week, it's into the latter now,… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Wild Whisky Ale & Wild Italian Grape Ale
- ABV
- 5.5% & 8.6%
Ida Pruul Wild Mango Sour & Westside Pineapple Bob & Lambic Ale
Published July 2, 2022
The power of suggestion can play tricks on one's mind. When I cracked a can of Ida Pruul's Wild Mango Sour and watched the thick, freshly squeezed juice-like liquid pour into the glass and settle with a white foam, I couldn't help but think: "Bucks Fizz" (or Mimosa, depending on your origins). Initially, it seems to present that way too thanks to the mixture of pulpy fruit, souring tingle, and vibrant carbonation. But despite that juicy appearance it’s the wild sour that’s the boss… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Fruited Wild Ale, Kettle Sour & Lambic Style Ale
- ABV
- 4.5% & 5.2% & 5.4%
Blackflag x Black Flag x La Black Flag Three Flags Hazy IPA
Published July 2, 2022
It’s not every day that tipsily googling your own name results in something nice. This is unless you are the folk at Blackflag Brewing and doing so leads to something a bit unique and magical: a beer brewed in collaboration with brewers who span three continents and are linked solely by having the words black and flag in their name. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a drunken email – sent out of curiosity and boredom – by the folk at Blackflag on the Sunshine Coast to their namesakes in the United… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Hazy IPA
- ABV
- 7.2%
Blackman's Brewery Angry Reg
Published July 1, 2022
They love making IPAs at Blackman’s Brewery and fortunately, they tend to be quite adept at brewing them. Their Same Day IPA series has shown a spotlight on beer freshness, their Needs More lets singular (and occasionally dual) hops shine and before either of those beer series launched, they were brewing Angry Reg, a dialled up version of their popular core range Reginald IPA. It's since become something of a phenomenon too, with the big beer in big tins being released each year when the days are… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast Double IPA
- ABV
- 8.8%
Frenchies Bastille 1789
Published July 1, 2022
I reckon I could count on one hand the number of beers I’ve had that gave me a strong hankering to abolish feudalism. You know what I mean? A couple of cool, refreshing sips in and you’re like “This whole lords, vassals and fiefs thing seems a bit iffy to me.” Then as you’re draining the last of your glass it’s all “Right, I’m off to storm the nearest political prison, let’s get a bit of bloody egalitarianism and liberty going around here. Time for the ruling elite to meet Monsieur… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Lager
- ABV
- 4.5%
Brick Lane Trilogy Of Fear (2022)
Published July 1, 2022
Brick Lane’s big, black and boozy saga is back for 2022, with a new Trilogy of Fear ready to shock and awe the senses during winter's depths. Much like 2021's iteration, the trio started life as one single beer before walking down different dark paths but what combines each is their jet black colour, viscous texture and how each is inspired by the dark recesses of North America. Although it’s the biggest of the three - nudging 11.6 percent ABV compared with the paltry 11.1 percent of the other… Read more
Black
- Style
- Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts
- ABV
- 11.6%, 11.1% & 11.1%
Ballistic Easy Stout, Grandfather Oaked Ale & Tropical Imperial Stout
Published July 1, 2022
Clearly they're embracing winter at Ballistic, with a trio of warming beers arriving in quick succession. When it comes to Easy Stout, the brewers have certainly delivered with this one. A session stout with a seven-part malt bill for a layered drinking experience, including oatmeal to provide decent body. It’s not at all thin, weak, or one-dimensional; there’s a gentle roastiness (or a roasty gentleness?), a wave of unlit cigar, and enough coffee and spice to add depth. And yet it lives up… Read more
Black
- Style
- Stout, Old Ale & Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 4.5%, 7.0% & 10.0%
- Bitterness
- 25, 35 & 48 IBU
Ballistic Neighbourhood Cold IPA & SWYD Triple IPA
Published July 1, 2022
“Welcome to the neighbourhood!” You might expect this kind of greeting from a Ned Flanders-type character, but the first entry in Ballistic’s Neighbourhood Collab Series greets you with a hellish alien monstrosity. (Though for all its terrifying ugliness, it seems to be quite harmlessly hanging out on the rooftop, reminding me of the aliens from my favourite scene in Men In Black.) This series is a chance for the brewers at Ballistic to collaborate with international brewers, and its opening… Read more
Pale Yellow
- Style
- Cold IPA & Triple IPA
- ABV
- 7.0% & 10.0%
- Bitterness
- 37 & 100 IBU
Ballistic Coup de Grâce Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (2022)
Published July 1, 2022
Well, Ballistic. You’ve bloody done it again. Yes, I expected good things from another year of Coup de Grâce, this one aged for seven months in a mix of rum, bourbon and shiraz barrels before being blended back together. But there’s just… so much going on here. And every single bit of it is delightful. It’s chocolate truffles filled with chocolate praline. It’s clusters of sticky sweet muscatel grapes, dried still on the stem. It’s caramel sauce made with burnt brown sugar. It’s mocha… Read more
Black
- Style
- Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 11.0%
- Bitterness
- 75 IBU
Balter Brewing NZ Hazy
Published June 30, 2022
Yes, it’s that time of year. The sun sets brutally early, fog covers the city each morning and the heating in your rental doesn’t come close to cutting it. But what’s the worst part of winter in Melbourne? Every time you open Instagram, an old friend or former colleague is somehow spending this month on holiday, with a European summer looking both blissful and brutal to your weary eyes. But fear not, you don’t have to get on a plane to enjoy a sense of adventure, with Balter’s final stop… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- NZ Hazy Pale Ale
- ABV
- 6.0%
Nowhereman FĂĽnke
Published June 30, 2022
After becoming thoroughly distracted, and laughing audibly for far longer than I should have, I was overcome with a sense that I needed to be doing something. That something was writing about FĂĽnke the beer, not researching FĂĽnke the fictional, confused-yet-loveable David Cross character from cult series Arrested Development. So, so many quotes, but removed from the context of this modern comedy classic, magic like “I blue myself” may not land as intended. But this, of course, is the FĂĽnke… Read more
Red
- Style
- Blueberry Saison
- ABV
- 7.6%
- Stockists
-
Available from the brewery
And Nowhereman stockists across WA
Otherside's June 2022 Quartet
Published June 30, 2022
Most breweries use GABS to stretch the very idea of beer into a Wonka-fied, sideshow alley carnival ride for your tongue. But not Otherside. No, their creative bent actually says far more about the brewery team than putting marshmallow fluff or bacon into a beer. Instead, they’ve made an imperial mid-strength version their core range Lo Fi, and are probably still laughing at the silliness of the 6 percent ABV Hi Fi that’s now that it’s finding a wider, possibly very confused, audience. A group… Read more
Black
- Style
- Various Styles As Indicated
- ABV
- 6.0% & 6.8% & 8.7% & 11.0%
- Stockists
-
In limited release from the brewery
And Otherside stockists
Black Brewing Blood Orange Honey Saison
Published June 29, 2022
Black Brewing's winter 2022 addition to their Special Release banner is a classically-styled beer with a modern, sweet and sour infusion that first debuted at GABS. It's a bone dry saison with the added zing of blood orange and some extra fermentables in the form of fresh, southwest honey. Pouring a striking golden pour, this fruited saison is bursting with classic yeast phenolics and orange zest on the nose. Aromatics like fennel, pepper and lemon complete the mouth-watering bouquet. On tasting,… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Fruited Honey Saison
- ABV
- 7.7%
Helios Brewing Athena's Courage 2022
Published June 28, 2022
Athena’s Courage likes to mess with expectations. If you’re an Aussie thinking, "Scotch ale", you may be surprised at how easy it is to drink: most Scotch ales made in Australia tend to be wee heavies (usually sitting above 7 percent ABV) whereas at 4.8 percent ABV Athena’s Courage sits comfortably in the export Scottish ale category. If you’re a Scot, you may be shaking your head: peat isn’t traditionally used in this kind of ale in Scotland. But when an Aussie brewer thinks… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Scotch Ale
- ABV
- 4.8%
Site Fermentation Project & Byrdi MTK
Published June 28, 2022
There must never be a dull moment at Hop Nation, with the brewers, winemakers and distillers constantly reaching across booze categories for new releases. MTK is a collaboration with Byrdi; the Melbourne cocktail bar that creates many of their own cocktail ingredients from scratch through fermentation, smoking and other means. The beer's name refers to its three hero ingredients of mango, tamarind and koji which were added to a blend of three blonde ales. The koji was created in-house by Byrdi and… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Mixed Culture Sour
- ABV
- 5.6%
Cheeky Monkey Space Oddity IIPA
Published June 28, 2022
Given the noise surrounding them, you might think Cheeky Monkey are heavily focused on developing a reputation for brewing juicy, thick fruited sours, but while they're doing that undeniably well, they're still highly capable of putting together delicious, full-flavoured, hop-driven beers. In this case, their Space Oddity Imperial IPA is another standout example of hop utilisation from the South West brewers. A smorgasbord of hops feature in this sizeable offering, including healthy doses of Chinook,… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Imperial IPA
- ABV
- 9.5%
Boatrocker Straight To VHS, Hello Stranger, Oakey Dokey & Roger Ramjet '22
Published June 27, 2022
Such is the swiftness and intensity with which many brewers release new beers these days, it can pose challenges for those of us covering the industry. There's the need to look after one's liver and ensure you factor in a number of AFDs each week, and also the need to work out how best to present them in cases like this, when six new releases from one brewery turn up at once. Thankfully, within this salvo from Boatrocker there's a quartet with a common theme: taking the drinker on something of a… Read more
Black
- Style
- ESB, Red IPA, Oaked Stout & Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 5.5% & 6.0% & 7.5% & 10.6%
Prancing Pony Blaze of Haze
Published June 27, 2022
Prancing Pony have brewed plenty of beers at their Adelaide Hills home that showcase hops and haze, doing so in all shapes and sizes too, including some of the chewier imperial IPA variants we've seen. So when they announce a new release called Blaze of Haze for which they've employed hops in LUPOMAX form, you'd be well within your rights to gird your loins for another potent beast. However, this isn't that: instead it's a beer blazing a trail to the part of your drinking repertoire marked “session”. Pale… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Hazy Pale Ale
- ABV
- 4.8%
- Bitterness
- 29 IBU
- Stockists
-
Head here and use the code craftypint to save 15% on cases until July 8, 2022
Rocky Ridge's June 2022 Quartet
Published June 27, 2022
June 2022 marks yet another busy month for the Rocky Ridge brewers who have dropped four new and entirely different beers for thirsty punters. Two fruited beers feature within the quartet: You Put the Beer in the Coconut is a coconut and finger lime spiked gose – classically light with dominant sweet coconut and punchy lime zest; and the more robust Ma Ma Mango, which comes in a bigger can where sweet, pulpy mango stars alongside subtle oak, pineapple and sweet vanilla. Falling within the “thicc”… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Tropical Gose, Imperial Pastry Sour, Oaked Pale & Imperial Stout
- ABV
- 4.0% & 8.5% & 5.0% & 16.0%
Slipstream Brewing Uncharted IPA HBC 586 & Fruit Cart Mulberry Sour
Published June 26, 2022
Slipstream have started another IPA series. This is wonderful news. Their Uncharted series is about exploring experimental hop varieties to see what flavours they can wring from them, and I don’t think anyone will have a problem with that. The first IPA out of the gate is a West Coast featuring HBC 586, a variety cultivated by the Hop Breeding Company in Yakima, Washington. And woof... There is a lot of intense flavour going on here; it’s hard to believe it’s all from a single hop variety. At… Read more
Red
- Style
- Single Hop IPA & Fruit Sour
- ABV
- 6.5% & 3.5%
