New Beers
Barely a day goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery. We'll do our best to tell you what’s coming when, where it’s going and – where possible – what it tastes like before it goes on sale. Be aware, however, that just because a venue’s getting a beer doesn’t mean they’ve tapped it straight away so maybe check it's pouring first.
Bright Brewery Smoko 2017
Tapped Today
Smoko is the act of taking a break from work for a smoke. It's also a riverside campsite in Bright in the Victorian High Country. And, back in 2015, Bright Brewery decided to take those concepts and combine them in a beer. And now they've done it again, albeit looking to recreate a campfire experience as opposed to brewing a beer with the characteristics of a durry. They've done so by collating a quartet of smoked malts – beechwood, mesquite, cherrywood and peated – and making them the stars… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Smoked Beer
- Stockists
-
Grape and Grain Liquor Cellars
Bright Brewery
Plonk
More stockists...
Sailors Grave Winter Farmhouse Ale
Tapped Yesterday
It's fair to say Sailors Grave has got off to a pretty unimpeachable start. Not even a year old, the East Gippsland brewery has won admirers for its beers and its artwork while working closely with its home region's producers. However, this could be the moment at which the good work is undone... Sure, the ethos remains the same, with this winter seasonal following in the tradition of its predecessors in combining a farmhouse style ale with foraged ingredients; they've even brought Pinot Noir barrels… Read more
Red
- Style
- Barrel Fermented Red Saison
- Strength
- 5.6%
Bright Brewery Stubborn Russian 2017
Tapped August 19th, 2017
The 2016 vintage of Bright's Stubborn Russian Imperial Stout was the first time the brewers had worked with near neighbours Bright Chocolate. Clearly, both parties were happy with the outcome as they got the gang back together for the 2017 release. This time around, the chocolate makers selected Tanzanian cacao nibs and husks, which were added to the mash and then again via a “dry hopping” technique as the beer was maturing. The beer also nudged up a little in potency, moving from 10 to 11 percent… Read more
Black
- Style
- Russian Imperial Stout
- Strength
- 11.0%
- Stockists
-
Grape and Grain Liquor Cellars
Bright Brewery
Masons of Bendigo
Plonk in Canberra
More stockists...
3 Ravens Wild Ravens Pinot Noir Golden Sour
Tapped August 18th, 2017
The last of the current quartet of Wild Ravens mixed fermentation beers from 3 Ravens is something of a misnomer. It may say Golden in the title but here is a beer that has picked up so much juice from the Kilmore Pinot Noir pomace from Payten & Jones with which it spent time canoodling that it presents more like a sangria or a sparkling red – it possesses a ruby hue and a pinkish, rapidly dissipating head. It's a companion piece of sorts to the Riesling Golden Sour that kicked off this quartet… Read more
Red
- Style
- Pinot Noir Golden Sour
- Strength
- 6.0%
- Bitterness
- 10 IBU
Tallboy and Moose & Carwyn Cellars Dark Side Of The Moose
Tapped August 18th, 2017
For the most part since they first opened the doors of their Preston brewpub, Tallboy and Moose have focused on making tight and generally lower ABV beers. That's certainly not the case here. Dark Side Of The Moose is the first imperial stout they have brewed since their We Make Beer days and the biggest beer the pair has brewed full stop. They've been joined by their mates at Carwyn Cellars for this brew too, creating a beer they're calling a "big daddy of an imperial stout". We've yet… Read more
Black
- Style
- Russian Imperial Stout
- Strength
- 9.0%
- Stockists
-
Tallboy and Moose
Six String Double Dark Red IPA
Tapped August 17th, 2017
When Six String launched back in 2013, the beer that won them the most beer geek cred was their punchy Dark Red IPA, a style few made at the time with any regularity and one the Central Coasters effectively made their own. Fast forward to IPA Day 2017 and the Six String brewers decided to take their beloved red IPA, run it through the amplifier and crank the dial all the way up to ten. The Double Dark Red IPA has double the malt and triple the hops of the original, making this ten percent ABV and… Read more
Red
- Style
- Imperial Dark Red IPA
- Strength
- 10.0%
- Bitterness
- 100 IBU
Wayward Brewing The Wayward Son & Big Richard
Tapped August 17th, 2017
There is no moment in one’s life comparable to the birth of a first child. For the parents, in that instant – consciously or not – everything changes and a once familiar way of life begins a gradual demise, shifting its boundaries to make room for something infinitely more complex, confusing, terrifying and wonderful. It’s a big deal, and it’s worth celebrating. So when one of the parents of a new baby is a brewer, a quite natural thing to mark the occasion is with a special beer. At Wayward,… Read more
Golden
- Style
- West Coast IPA & Doppelbock
- Strength
- 7.3% & 9.7%
Two Birds Brewing Double Sunset (bottles)
Tapped August 17th, 2017
In the winter of 2016, Two Birds released Double Sunset – a souped up take on their Sunset Ale – as a celebration of their twin wins at the Australian International Beer Awards (Champion Brewery and Champion Amber/Dark Ale for the Sunset. The beer proved rather popular and not just with drinkers – it's the in-house favourite of the head brewers too. So now it's back and it's been bottled too. If you're unfamiliar with either Sunset, the original is a well balanced, hoppy red ale and the Double… Read more
Red
- Style
- India Red Ale
- Strength
- 7.3%
- Stockists
-
Grape and Grain Liquor Cellars
More stockists...Two Birds Nest
And select good beer stockists
Wheaty Brewing Corps Booty Blocker Brown
Tapped August 14th, 2017
Since launching a decade ago in 2007, the Adelaide Roller Derby has enjoyed a long connection with the Wheatsheaf Hotel. The venue has supported the league since the beginning, first brewing the Booty Blocker Brown on grand final night in 2014 and continuing to release it at the same time each year since, changing the recipe slightly each time. This malt driven brown pours a medium brown in colour, with a deep red glow when held to the light. Dark chocolate subtly drifts from the glass, some coffee… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Brown Ale
- Strength
- 4.4%
- Stockists
3 Ravens Wild Ravens Industrial Farmhouse Ale
Tapped August 11th, 2017
Back in May, a group of brewers and other beer industry folk from Portland headed to Melbourne as the first guests in Good Beer Week's Good Beer Mates program. While here, the brewers from Breakside and The Commons hooked up with local brewers to create a beer. In each case, it was to be an Aussie twist on one of the American brewers' best known beers. For Breakside, this became an Aussie hopped take on its Wanderlust IPA; The Commons headed to Thornbury to reinvent its Urban Farmhouse Ale, again… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Farmhouse Ale
- Strength
- 5.7%
- Bitterness
- 16 IBU
Australian Brewery Fire and Brimstone Smoked IPA
Tapped August 11th, 2017
Barbecue and beer go hand in hand. But barbecue in beer? Well, yes, it turns out that concept can work too – at least, it does if the latest release from The Australian Brewery is any evidence. It’s called Fire and Brimstone, it’s a smoked IPA and that style as descriptor gives a pretty good indication of what this beer smells and tastes like. Beers dealing in smoked malt can be notoriously divisive; some drinkers can’t get enough of the puff while others find the character offensive even… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Smoked IPA
- Strength
- 6.0%
Bridge Road Brewers & 8 Wired Saturday
Tapped August 10th, 2017
The fun with foeder continues apace at Bridge Road Brewers with the latest release combining a few past projects in one. The base beer fermented with Brettanomyces is a pale ale, similar to the first beer to have passed through the brewery's tower of oak. To the mix has been added locally foraged botanicals collected in conjunction with High Country gin producers Reed & Co, as with previous release Thursday. And an old sparring partner of Bridge Road's, 8 Wired founder Søren Eriksen, was involved… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Spiced Brett Pale Ale
- Strength
- 6.0%
King River Brewing The Schlieffen Plan
Tapped August 10th, 2017
Brewer's notes: Chief of Staff Alfred von Schlieffen devised the Schlieffen Plan in 1905 as the only way a sandwiched Germany could survive the impending war. The idea was to rush through Belgian's "Chocolate Soldiers" and knock out France within 48 hours. Much like the Schlieffen Plan, this Belgian Pale uses all German malts which provide a sweet backbone and pleasant taste to the beer bu,t as the malts advance, they are blocked by the Belgian yeast from Westmalle, which takes over the… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Belgian Pale
- Strength
- 4.4%
King River Brewing Robust Fig Porter
Tapped August 10th, 2017
Earlier in 2017, when The Crafty Pint swung by King River Brewing to check out the fledgling brewery, co-owner and brewer Nathan Munt took us for a wander along the driveway leading to the family farm to pick some figs from his father-in-law Wally's little copse. Delicious, soft and juicy they were too, with those that didn't end up in Crafty Pot Jr's mouth or Wally's vanilla fig jam set aside for a beer. And that beer is this robust porter. Nathan says it's: "A traditional English porter with… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Fig Porter
- Strength
- 5.2%
Moon Dog Cake Hole
Tapped August 9th, 2017
Moon Dog has a fondness for adding things to dark beers. OK, they have a fondness for adding things other than malt, water, hops and yeast to pretty much any beer that passes through their brewery. But, over the years, their darker beers have come laced with oak, smoke, Redskins, truffles, bugs and, well, you get the message. The latest is Cake Hole, the second stout to leave the brewery in quick succession, following Black Lung VII, and one tagged a Black Forest Stout in tribute to the famous, always-on-menus-in-the-1970s… Read more
Black
- Style
- Black Forest Stout
- Strength
- 6.5%
- Stockists
-
More stockists...
Moon Dog Brewery
The Public Brewery
And select good beer venues
3 Ravens Wild Ravens Sourdough Ale
Tapped August 7th, 2017
The fifth in the rapidly growing Wild Ravens series is a beer that came about as an unexpected bonus from some experimentation on the part of head brewer Brendan O'Sullivan and his mates Pippa and Michael at South Yarra's Tivoli Road Bakery (where Brendan's sister has worked for a few years). The latter specialise in sourdough bread, croissants and pastries, have picked up awards galore for their hot cross buns, use 3 Ravens' Druid in their Christmas pudding, have worked with the brewery's spent… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- Sourdough Ale
- Strength
- 4.4%
- Stockists
-
3 Ravens Brewery
More stockists TBA
More stockists...
Mornington Peninsula Brewery Brown Ale (Cans)
Tapped August 7th, 2017
Such is the popularity and reputation of Mornington Peninsula Brewery's Brown Ale (in that cultish manner beers like brown ales are destined to occupy), it came as quite a surprise to learn recently it almost never was. During June's Crafty Cabal event at the brewery, founder Matt Bebe told us that, back in the earliest days of the brewery, head brewer AG couldn't get the beer to a point where he was happy with it. Apparently, the beer was close to being scratched until "one last go" ended… Read more
Dark Brown
- Style
- Brown Ale
- Strength
- 5.0%
Nail Brewing New Zealand Pale Ale 2017
Tapped August 7th, 2017
Nail Brewing continues its 2017 draught only releases with this New Zealand Pale Ale, the name a nod to the South Island-grown Moteuka hop. It’s another example of the Bassendean brewery’s push into New World hops following recent beers featuring the likes of Galaxy, Astra and Calypso, not to mention the pineapple and tropical El Dorado hop driven VPA, currently Nail’s best selling beer and a long way from the Pride of Ringwood focused Nail Ale upon which the brewery’s legacy was founded.… Read more
Golden Yellow
- Style
- NZ Pale Ale
- Strength
- 6.0%
- Stockists
-
A limited number of kegs will be available at good venues and growler filling retailers from this week.
Red Duck Golden Dragon & Tiger Shark & Brasil
Tapped August 7th, 2017
You just can't slow the man down. Yes, here's another round of limited release beers from Ballarat's Red Duck Brewery. Admittedly, one of them, the Golden Dragon isn't new, but an old favourite of the brewer's making a reappearance. Tagged a strong Celtic ale, it's all about the sweet, fruity malt, alcohol and yeast characters: within its blood orange depths you'll find sultanas and dates, toffee, treacle, brown sugar and the like. Low carbonation ensures it's a sipper for the sweeter toothed among… Read more
Golden
- Style
- Various styles
- Stockists
-
Red Duck Brewery
And select Victorian bottleshops
More stockists...
Shenanigans Brewing Flight Path: Dunkeled Edition
Tapped August 4th, 2017
As part of a re-jigging of its seasonal releases, in 2017 Shenanigans put a hold on brewing the usual autumn beer, Flight Path – a red ale infused with coffee – in order to make space for the much-loved chilli beer, Hoppy Gonzales. While a generally popular decision, it did leave a certain emptiness in the roster. So, when it came to lining up their usual winter beer, the Malt Assault dark lager, they figured they might as well do Flight Path as well. But in the one beer. So it is that we have… Read more
Rich Brown
- Style
- Coffee Dark Ale
- Strength
- 6.0%
