Black Boris
Matilda Bay Brewing Co.

Pours a dark coffee colour with some light showing through. Head is tan, dense and creamy. Looks pretty nice.

Smells... a little odd. Chocolate malt notes with a touch of roast and lots of US hop character - fruity and citric, but a touch of phenol as well. Odd.

Taste is not bad. Dark and vinous for the most part, with notes of red wine and clove vying for the mid-palate in particular. Quite phenolic on the back and a touch of roast overall. Not bad, but an odd blend between vinous and dark notes.

Thin body lets a touch of alcohol heat through, as well as a bit of carbonation.

Not a bad beer, but a bit muddled, and I'm not getting a lot of peat from it at all.

A "hoppy, peated, Belgian black" is the style attributed to this beer. Sure, let's see where this goes. Tried on-tap at the 2013 GABS festival in Melbourne.

Pours a roasted brown colour with some hazing, and a slightly gelatinous body. Head is solid and fine, mocha-hued, that leaves decent rings down the glass as lacing. No visible carbonation. Looks pretty good.

Nose is vinous initially with a sweetness like raisins that also somewhat suggests garbage sitting in the sun. More acidity (something I really didn't expect), grape juice and a faint, vague toasted character. Despite the weirdnesses, it's all pretty light.

Light rounded entry on the palate before the acidity comes through again, a musty fruit skin character. I don't get much in the way of hops, and certainly no peat-smoke. On the back the palate just drops out all together—further cementing this as a weak beer. Nothing on the aftertaste but a slight remembrance of roast and acid.

Feel is light and clean, but empty.

I'm not a fan. Mostly, it's just dry and dull, but the characters it does have tend towards unpleasantness. Not something I'd seek out again.