Reginald
Blackman's Brewery

Birthday gift from the family in August 2023. Drunk in October 2023.

L: Deep golden yellow with an ultra-bright, fluffy white head. Lacing is left in the glass. A torrent of bubbles flies up the glass. A very nice-looking beer!

S: Pine and citrus, spicy hops and tangy rich caramel malt. Very inviting!

T: Exactly as foretold by the nose. Delicious spicey pineapple and tangy, piney hops with a strong caramel malt body backing up the show's stars. Bitterness is moderate to high, and the finish is dry.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, Carbonation is medium. The mouthfeel matches the flavour profile well.

O: For mine, this one is right up there with the best of the Australian IPAs. It's a delicious piney and hoppy IPA that I would drink whenever the opportunity arose.

Cheers!
#343

Reg!!! What an Aussie name for a beer, could you get any more Aussie than Reg? According to Monty Python: Yes, Bruce is the most Aussie a name can ever be. Still Reg is pretty damn Aussie, if you cut Reg he would bleed meat pie gravy. Analogy aside, I come into this review correcting an injustice: I thought that I had already reviewed Blackman’s Reginald IPA. Turns out I had not. Things can get hazy once get past 800 beer reviews - stuff begins to slip through the cracks into the “have I/haven’t I reviewed this?” ether. In any case I have remedied the situation and now I have a lovely 330ml can of Reg sitting in front of me ready to be pierced by my hipster male gaze *stares at can for an entire hour*.

Poured from a 330ml can into a nonic pint.

A: Visually pleasing hazed caramel-hinted amber body with an Ecru 1 centimetre head that sticks around rather well. Lace patterns on the side of the glass, good protein content in that head, tasty looking stuff so far. 9/10.

S: Diacetyl hits the nose, an acceptable level of butterscotch in the aroma - move on, piney/citrus hop notes bring to mind a West Coast IPA that may be (Diacetyl considered) a touch on the malty side. Caramel malts in the nose as well. Apart from Diacetyl the aroma is pretty clean/moreish. 8/10.

T: Even-keeled IPA right here - none of this showy Pirate Life/Green Beacon/et al biz here - just a nice West Coast IPA. The Diacetyl level in this can is dangerously close to over the edge though. Flavours of piney/citrus/floral hops upfront on palate with a broad caramel malt base to carry it through to the finish, which is mildly bitter. TBH this tastes a bit different to the first time I tried it on tap (no notes from that unfortunately) it’s definitely not as fresh with the hops and I don’t remember any Diacetyl in the batch from the tap. Still pretty drinkable regardless. 8/10.

M: Medium bodied with a light creamy carbonation - excellent body, especially for an Aussie brewed IPA (let’s face it: some Australian brewers are lacking in this department). 9/10.

D: Despite the Diacetyl, and the hops not being fresh, this is still a fairly solid Australian IPA that I will buy again in future (paying special attention to the brewed on/best before date). One thing I appreciated with this brew is how approachable it was - my favourite Aussie IPA is still Pirate Life - but you can’t drink Pirate Life (or live it) every day, so it’s good to have options like Reg. 8/10.

Food match: BBQ ribs, oh yeah!