Cthulhu On The Moon Black IPA
KAIJU! Beer

Had on tap. Some really nice elements to this beer, the best of which is the waves of flavoring, where just when one is settling into the dark fruits, dark chocolate, roasted malt and vanilla, a wave of coffee, hops, and barley come cascading down! Fun! The booze does get a little exposed on the finish though, which is weird for this abv. Solid

 

 

Appearance - pours dark / black with foamy head that retains well, lacing holds. Overall nice warm and inviting appearance. Aroma - I smell vanilla, taste - hoppy however not as much as I had initially anticipated. Feel - some astringency, works well in combination with the mild bitterness. Overall - appreciated well balanced beer. Would recommend.

Great taste, a balance of dark toast malt and plenty of hoppy bitterness. It starts with a little malty sweetness and a fair amount of dark toast, black chocolate and dried fruit, raisins tastes and a little smokey.

 

 

 

 

Well now I’ve met Callum from Kaiju! Beer as well (he was manning the booth at the Sydney Sip & Savour event). We had a brief chat about their brews and he was very friendly and approachable (also passionate about beer), but as I’ve often said [this is the first time I’ve said this] “All’s fair in beer reviews, and war... two totally unrelated things.” Next up from Kaiju! is their Black IPA, the new beer style trend in Australia.

Poured from tap into 100ml sample cup at the Sip & Savour event in Sydney.

A: Deep chocolate brown body with a nice half centimetre pockmarked tan head. Big an appealing as a Black IPA should be. I’m really looking forward to this! 9/10.

S: Earthy organic chocolate, cacao nibs and a hint of unroasted coffee. Everything has a fresh, organic fragrance to it. Once again Kaiju! have stuffed their beer chock full of ingredients and it shows in the aroma. 9/10.

T: Damn! It all comes together superbly with that earthy organic chocolate, cacao nibs, unroasted coffee and a nice herbal hop bite at the end. There is a decent amount of hop oiliness as well. Not as big as Behemoth, but it was never going to be. 8/10.

M: Medium bodied with a nice dense carbonation and some slight hop resin adding slickness to the feel. 8/10.

D: Big and tasty. Hits less hard than Behemoth (of course) but it's still a monster brew with bold, rich characteristics. The earthy organic flavours give it a real freshness, you know Kaiju! take real care when brewing, it shows in everything from the bottle labels to the taste. On the plus side I imagine this brew is cheaper than the $20/500ml Behemoth... though I wouldn’t imagine by much. 8/10.

Food match: For some reason I felt like a Vietnamese dish called Bún thịt nướng (or grilled pork with vermicelli, salad and egg rolls), don’t forget the fresh chilli!