Q: What's two nights plus 70 dark beers?
A: OMG, yes!
Newtown's Union Hotel is set to unleash the sixth edition of its increasingly epic winter annual, The Dark Nights, with their venue preparing to be overrun with scores of the finest dark beers that brewers across this very fine land can conjure up.
Here's how it works:
At midday Friday they'll load 15 taps with 15 different dark beers, plus another dozen or so canned dark beers in the fridge. At midday Saturday, they'll pull whatever's left and start again, but with 15 different dark beers on tap and an entirely new range of cans. AND, they'll have another dozen or so dark cans in stock over the whole weekend. So, in total, over the weekend, we're looking at around 70 different dark beers within your reach.
Now, given that's quite a lot to choose from, they'll have tasting paddles available both days – but only until about 7.30pm (things tend to get a bit busy thereafter). Jugs will be on offer until 10pm, and the kitchen will be doing its thing for lunch and dinner from midday til 9pm.
If you can't make it at all, or have to bail early, the bottleshop will have “Dark Nights at Home” Party Packs available for takeaway. And, if there's anything left in the kegs, they'll tap (or re-tap) the best of whatever's left for a chilled out Sunday session.
It's important to note that there'll be just one keg of each beer, so if there's something you especially want to try, plan your trip appropriately. It's quite a list...
Friday kegs
- Bridge Road Brewers “B2 Bomber: Mach 11” Black Belgian Double IPA (9.3%)
- Mr.Banks Brewing Co “Accept All Cookies” Black & White Cookie Imperial Milk Porter (8%)
- Working Title Brew Co. “Moonlight & Pretzels” Salted Caramel Pretzel Pastry Stout (8%)
- Wayward Brewing Company “Island Life” Coffee & Coconut Stout (7%)
- Modus Operandi Brewing Co. “Koko Black” Chocolate Hazelnut Belgian Stout (6.9%)
- Balter Brewing Company “Handsome Elvis” Nitro Stout (6.5%)
- KAIJU Beer “Cthulu on the Moon” Black IPA (6.5%)
- Little Bang Brewing Company “Dark Arts” Chocolate Stout (6.5%)
- Bad Shepherd Brewing Co. Peanut Butter Porter (6.4%)
- 3 Ravens Brewery “Coconut Chocolate Milkshake” NE Black IPA (6%)
- Little Bang “Brown Falcon” American Brown Ale (5.8%)
- Mountain Culture “Moon Dust” Stout (5.6%)
- Burnley Brewing Oyster Stout (5.5%)
- Future Mountain Brewing and Blending “A Million Stars” Dark Farmhouse Ale w/ Rosemary & Juniper Berries (5.5%)
- Capital Brewing Co. “All Night Long” Dark Lager (4.2%)
Friday cans
- Deeds Brewing “Peanut Butter” Imperial Stout (10%)
- Garage Project “Surrender to the Void: Miso & Chocolate” Double Pastry Stout (11.5%)
- Garage Project “Surrender to the Void: Maple Pecan Affogato” Double Pastry Stout (11.5%)
- Batch Brewing Company Blueberry Danish Pastry Stout (6%)
- Batch Affogato Pastry Stout (8.5%)
- Range Brewing “Morning Ritual” Stout w/ Coconut, Vanilla and Lactose (6.7%)
- Tiny Rebel “White Russian” Coffee Cream Ale (5.2%)
- Big Shed Brewing Concern “Golden Stout Time” Dessert Stout (5.4%)
- Bridge Road “Magical Easter Unicorn” Chocolate Porter (6%)
- MOO BREW “Winter IPA” Black IPA 6.5%
- Moon Dog Craft Brewery “Breaker of Chains” Chilli & Vanilla Imperial Stout (7.7%)
- Moon Dog “Watcher on the Wall” White Chocolate Imperial White Ale (9%)
Saturday kegs
- Mountain Culture Beer Co “Big Richard” Imperial Stout (10.4%)
- Mountain Culture “Toast” Coconut Stout (9%)
- Sauce Brewing Co. “Zoooom” Choc-Pecan Mudcake Stout (9%)
- Slow Lane Brewing “Oaty” Stout (5.4%)
- Big Shed “Golden Stout Time” Dessert Stout (5.4%)
- Range Brewing “Spell Check” Oatmeal Stout (5.1%)
- White Bay Beer Co. “Drip” Coffee Porter (6.5%)
- Moo Brew Stout (8%)
- Bad Shepherd Brewing Co. Double Chocolate Hazelnut Brown (7.2%)
- Bridge Road “Dark Harvest” Black IPA (6%)
- Stone & Wood Brewing “Stone Beer 2021” Porter (6.4%)
- Stone & Wood “Stone Beer” Porter Barrel Aged 2020 Release in STARWARD Whiskey Barrels (10%)
- Akasha Brewing Company “Sequoia” Stout (6%)
- Thirsty Crow Vanilla Milk Stout (5.2%)
- Shark Island Brewing Company Small Batch Bock (6.5%)
Saturday cans
- Mr Banks “Accept All Cookies” Black & White Cookie Imperial Milk Porter (8%)
- Sailors Grave Brewing “Law of the Tongue” Smokey Oyster Stout (5.8%)
- Bacchus Brewing Co “Belgian Mocha Stout” Coffee Stout (7.8%)
- Bacchus “Salted Caramel Reserve” Specialty Pastry Stout (14.5%)
- Bacchus “Froot to the Beet” Fruited Pastry Stout (12.7%)
- Bacchus “Hyperpastry Espresso” Coffee Pastry Stout (12%)
- Bacchus “Hyperspatial Espresso” Coffee Stout (7.8%)
- Mountain Culture “Moon Dust” Stout (5.6%)
- KAIJU Beer “Cthulu on the Moon” Black IPA (6.5%)
- Capital “First Tracks” Imperial Stout (10.5%)
- Founders “KBS: Kentucky Bourbon Stout” 2019 (12%)
All weekend cans
- New England Brewing Company Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (8.9%)
- New England Brewing Co. Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (9%)
- New England Brewing Co. “Smouldering Stump” Smoked Porter (4.8%)
- Grifter “Demon Lungs” Smoked Porter (5.8%)
- Hope Estate “Extra Shot: Hazelnut Coffee” Porter (6%)
- Hope White Chocolate Porter (6.5%)
- Hope “Spiced Cane Cutter” Extra Stout (7.5%)
- Nomad Brewing Co. “Powder Keg” Cookie Cream Donut Milk Stout (7.8%)
- Bad Shepherd Hazelnut Brown (5.6%)
- Hargreaves Hill Brewing Company “White Russian” White Stout (6.5%)
- Boatrocker “Kokomo” Coconut Brown (5.5%)
- Yulli’s “Fat Nerd” Vanilla Porter (6%)
If for some reason you're not into dark beer, no need to go elsewhere! We definitely saw a white stout hiding somewhere in that list, but they'll also have the odd pale ale and pink lemonade sour to bring a glimmer of light.
