Rockafella
Stockade Brew Co

Obtained at Market Place, Tanglin Mall, Singapore. Imported by Thirstywork, Singapore.

Horrible overall. The taste was sour, skunked (DMS), oxidised, and thin. Could detect strong vanilla and light roast in the nose upon opening. Very thin and watery in the mouth.

When I saw it in the store, I was excited because it is rare to find interesting dark ales in Singapore. The only interesting thing that I've been able to get that isn't from Belgium is an amazing imperial stout from New Zealand that recently appeared on the shelves. When I saw Rockafella, and read the label, I thought that we are moving further in the right direction. Only when I got home did I see that the label said "HND KRFTD IN OZ" and realized that it was Australian (why they can't use complete words, I have no idea). To be honest, I have never had an Australian beer that I've liked (or even thought was remotely good or interesting, frankly). But I was prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt. Opening it, I thought we were on the right track because I could smell vanilla and maybe roasty chocolate. However, tasting it, I realized I was duped. Because i've been able to get a good, dark ale from New Zealand at this same store, I don't think storage was an issue. I have two theories: a) this brewery in general is crap (I don't know, I've never had anything from them before) and they took horrible beer, added some caramel colouring and vanillin and repackaged it. b) they took reasonable beer that had oxidised at the brewery and sent it to Asia (unethically and perhaps for racist reasons) figuring that we wouldn't know the difference. Anyway, I'll avoid this beer and this brewery and continue to avoid Australian (or is it OSSIEE?) beers with even more determination.