Doctor's Orders Vaccine - Wheat Wasabi Porter
Doctor's Orders Brewing

Pours black with a fading off-white head.
Nose shows chocolate/cocoa, horseradish, roasted malt. The dominant aroma is definitely chocolate.
More chocolate and dry roasted malt as flavours, along with the faintest hint of short-lived wasabi heat.
Carbonation is a little on the high side.

Today's reviewing has me feeling like a real contrarian. Having just slammed the universally-beloved Operation Paralysis I'm about to heap praise on a beer with very muted reception. Had this on tap at Cammeray Craft back in April 2014.

Pours a dark brown, touch of colour on edge. Head is bubbly, beige, nice lacing that doesn't stick around. Looks decent, porter-wise.

Smells interesting. Decent roasty notes with grain and a touch of chocolate. Then wasabi comes through, kind of horseradishy character. Savoury, somewhat roasty. Decent porter. With a twist.

Taste is portery, chocolatey and hugely full with a big, rich cocoa flavour that lasts a long time. Roasty, gets more burnt, but lovely and balanced and round in its roastiness. Quite bitter on the back. Maybe a touch of heat, but doesn't get very spicy. Feels like the wasabi is just kicking in at the right time to complement the roastiness, and round it out. Very tasty.

Smooth feel. Full but smoothes out beautifully. Little dry on the back. Feels good man.

Interesting twist on a porter, almost seems stouty but it's a unique bitterness on the back. I think the wheat and wasabi is frankly bizarre but even more bizarre is how well it works. Just a touch of earthy heat, not too much to overpower. Tasty.

Pitch black with a foamy, tan head. Good head retention. Nice lacing. Pretty good.

Lightly wheaty with a moderate roast aroma. Quite good. Reminiscent of the Haandbryggeriet Dark Force.

Tasty. Good roast flavour with an almost chalky character thanks to the wheat. The malt really works here. Not sure there is really any wasabi flavour here. If you are going to call it something, just add lots of it.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Fine.

A solid beer but the lack of wasabi character really lets this down.

A 100% wheat "porter", spiced with wasabi. Tried on-tap at the Quarrymans Hotel in Pyrmont.

Pours a dark, dark brown colour with a thin head of orange-beige that settles out fairly quickly, but leaves very nice, fine and tiny lacing. Body is really lightweight—almost brutally so. It almost looks thinner than water. Very strange.

Nose is slightly nutty with a touch of toasty malt coming through. Some vanilla sweetness or almond praline. There's a slight grassy, grainy hint, and perhaps just a suggestion of wasabi, but it's very mild. Not bad.

Taste is extremely thin with that watery body really conspiring to undermine things. Light husky toastiness around the outside with a touch of biting mustard heat on the back. Slight popcorn character comes through the centre. There's weird aromatics towards the back (I guess the wasabi), but there's no medium to carry the flavour. Afraid not.

Feel is really genuinely thin and weak. I guess this it what you get by only using wheat. It's a big disappointment.

Doc, what have you done? I get it—experimentation is your craft, but this is a bit of a dud as far as I'm concerned. I guess my shock is just an indication though that Doc's experimental duds are rare.