What's wetting the whistle P.4

Tropical Torpedo is nice, I would opt for this over the original, I like the subtle tropical notes and it's less cloying than the original...it still has the strong house profile but it's well integrated with the new hops so I'd call it a success

 

Mixed bag recently.... Jai Alai and KBS on tap were brilliant. Lizard of Koz on tap was a disappointment (too sweet for me and don't like sweet fruit flavours in beer). Ballast point Sculpin, Stone IPA from cans and Founders Breakfast Stout from a bottle were excellent. Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout from a can was OK (don't like the smell). Evil Twin Even More Jesus from a bottle was awesome. Still - overall you'd have to be happy!!

 

Some recent Australian hoppy things:
Mt Goat Attack of the Killer Hops (7.7% IPA): good but nothing new.
Moon Dog A Phine Mess (10.1% DIPA): a bit hot but fun.
Bent Spoke Crankshaft (6.1% IPA): a bit old fashioned in terms of balance, but nice enough that I didn't really mind the lack of hop punch.
Last Rites Love Country (6.5% "Piña Colada inspired" IPA): A bit sweet for me and maybe a bit busy, but promising.
CoConspirators The Butcher (6% Red IPA): Not really my sort of thing (red IPA with tropical fruity hops), but again, promising.
Modus Op. Lost Key XPA (5.2%): Lovely quaffer with a bit of originality - liked this as much as anything from MO so far, bar maybe Zoo Feeder.
Nomad Sideways Hoppy PA (4%): Some of Nomad's erm... market positioning activity I find irritating. But this is very good and quite different to the old Sideways pale. Interesting that I got this in CostCo.
Hawkers IIPA (9%): Hoppy but mannered and very smooth. I know they're going really well, but this is the first beer from Hawkers that has reall impressed me. If you're prepared to go non rambunctious in a DIPA this is still worth a look (had it again last week and still fine).

That's too many from this genre, really. And I've acquired more. Soon the weather will change.

 

I rated The Butcher very highly. Thought it was incredibly balanced.

Agree on the Hawkers IIPA. Far too easy to drink at that abv. Hardly noticed the booze.

 

didn't mind bad shepherd smash or the hawkers iipa

the hargreaves son of zenith was way too malty (unless im getting it confused with the hawkers but i dont think so)

thornbury lager had cool packaging and was tasty, dunno if id buy it again though

wasnt particulary impressed with the bridge road mayday blackberry, didnt taste particularly sour or well made to me

 

Had WA Beer Farms IPL,which was surprisingly good, basically a Hoppy Kiwi Pils
Kaiju Krush: Not bad at all
,also had some thing by "hopped Up" brewery, which I think is here in WA,
which I think I thought was ok,
but wondered if I had mixed up glasses,
at it tasted alot like the Kaiju krush...?

 

I enjoyed the Beer Farm IPL a lot. Wish we saw more kegs on the East Coast.

 

The Hawkers Imperial Stout was similar, very balanced and dangerously drinkable for the ABV

 

3 "tinnies"

8 Wired Cucumber Hippy, on the occasion I drank it today, was an absolute masterpiece. Would put it up against De Garde any day of the week. Slightly grainy-tasting berlinner (although the graininess goes in and out) and just an amazing marriage of the hops and sourness. I also loved the base beer but the cucumber has added an extra tinge of sourness and just a great subtle brininess/extra sourness.

To Øl DIPA Underground- nowhere near a modern American DIPA but more of a malt bomb with a blue cheese drizzled over fruit salad profile. Enteric, bandaid-y brett notes are noticeable even though this supposedly isn't soured unlike a lot of their other IPAs these days. Very European and enjoyable.

Beer Geek Breakfast- Probably the best experience I've had this beer (I normally favoured the Weasel for which I also have a can of the latest version). Really demonstrates how Mikkeller made a name for themselves. Really dry profile with a great extraction of the coffee flavours not unlike how I recall a cappuccino from back in the day.

 

Had Van Dieman Hedgerow Sour ,
2014
pretty nice,
very rose-hip-pey, not all that sour, but an enjoyable surprise

 

Drinking Kaiju Krush and wondering how the can dating works...this one says 22/03/2017...is that the date of canning? I find it hard to believe they would have used 3-month dating for this beer seeing as I think it only came out less than 6 months ago

 

Dunno about Kaiju Krush but I'd be confident they are several batches in.

Alesmith Speedway Stout: A swig from the can was irresistible. Sure I'll go and get a glass in a tick. Any moment now.

 

Boon Vat 109- tasted alongside Armagnac as I didn't have any cognac

Really great fresh and bright tasting, nose is extremely fruity- I get orange, orange rind, peas, ginseng, five spice and fatty meat (so pretentious).

 

Canned Beer Geek Brunch- terrible, all green apple, tastes like a bad vintage of Wild Thing

 

Bridge Rd Creek- Excellent, 100 times better than the rotten milk version they were serving at GABS 2016. Paired with St Agur and would side by side with Rose De Gambrinus as it would be an interesting comparison

 

Hey @Narkee did anyone in WA get stock if the Mikkeller beer geek breaky cans?

 

Re Store got some and so did Mane.

Re Store only had one left when I was there Saturday. Give Mane a call, they will hold one for you if they have any left.

 

drinking gueuze girardin 1882, thanks to @Gasc0igne for sending me a while back

great beer, lots of cheesy flavours, very funky indeed

thanks mate

 

Interested to know if anyone got their hands on some of the Wildflower released yesterday? Would love to know how it went if you have drunk it.

 

Went to a low key release and tasting at Platinum Liquor last night. Left with a few bottles each of the "gold" and "amber". The 3% "table beer" was also available for tasting but wasn't for sale and isn't intended to be sold outside of the blendery as I understand it.

Was impressed by them all. Expected a re-run of the early days of 2 Metre Tall, but there were only a few mild rough edges. Lively, aromatic yeast character with plenty of depth. Doesn't beat you down with acidity (or oak).

Excited to see how they develop in the bottle.

 

Vat 109, delicious.

 

The closest beers I can think of are Fantome Blanche and 2MT Original Soured Ale. It's got some floral/herbal character, some stonefruit and a bit of sweaty/cheesy funk. Fairly delicate with nothing overbearing.

Not at all like the one-note acidity and oak from, for example, Rare Barrel, Almanac and Bruery sours.

 

Echo this. Beautiful beer and I could smash numerous on a hot Australian day.

Had Mountain Goat's Attack of the Killer Hops. Really enjoyed it. Nice and oily and resinous on the palate. Aroma was big tropical fruits. Nicely balanced.

 

I also picked up a Cucumber Hippy (can). Cheers for the heads up on that. Good thing was I only had to walk to the closest bottle store to find it. Lots of good stuff here in NZ now.

 

Haven't heard a single person mention this beer, seems to be a bit of a sleeper.

Really nice barleywine character, getting loads of jersey caramels with a mild blue cheese funk over the top. Almost tastes like they blended a mostly aged barleywine (I know it's supposedly an old ale but that's essentially the same thing) with a small amount of fresh american amber, there's still a slight freshness and hoppiness to it.

Tasty beer and well-priced for what it is.

 

actually tastes a lot fresher and more vibrant (and not necessarily just in terms of hops) than the previous

the Eel River was apparently aged in first-fill bourbon for 6 months whereas this was aged on "French oak" for an indeterminate amount of time.

I'd love to see more attention drawn to the cask-aging length of beer. I know Old Money sat for 3? years in casks and was legitimately probably the best Australian BA beer (literally rivalling BCBS and far surpassing the likes of KBS, at least in my opinion) as a result.

It's a hugely underrated factor and more time does not necessarily equal better but it definitely has an effect on the outcome.

 

Did the one at GABS have pectin haze?

 

Bright Hop Harvest is one of the more inspiring Australian beers I've had in a while...perfectly structured creamy and full body which is all about the hops and a rather unique strawberry candy aroma/flavour with some tropical and slightly earthy/truffley stuff in the far background.

I wish they did all their IPAs in this style

 

Went down to Feral and had a try of their NEIPA Biggie Juice - a collab they did with the Royston.

Hands down the best Australian Brewer interpretation of the style. Colour, carbonation and mouthfeel was perfect. Plenty of pineapple (plenty) and apricot in the aroma. Palate has a nice fruity hit which gets more prominent as it warms. Bitterness hits you on the back end.

The only knock on it is I think there was a bit too much bitterness in the end which needed to be sharper. This bitterness would be fine if the fruit followed through with but most of it falls away by the time the bitterness hit and linger. Most of the Tree House and Trillium beers I have had balanced the two aspects perfectly. This is a really picky criticism though as the beer itself was outstanding. It will definitely get the masses on board.

Also bought a squealer

 

Also had a 3 Font Zwet.be. First time I have had this beer. So good.

Had the roasty flavours of a porter but also a subtle sourness which lingers. So much better than Tart of Darkness which was just way to acetic imo. This beer is perfectly balanced.

 

Had Seasons in the Abyss which @spicelab sent over to me for BIF.

This was fantastic. Aroma was chcocolate, vanilla and some vegetal elements. Palate was sweet vanilla, chocolate, roasted coffee beans and molasses. There was some oxidation but it wasn't spoilt and complimented the other elements of the beer. Really enjoyed it!

 

Cantillon Gueuze on tap at Beer Deluxe, loved it

 

The Chop by Hop Nation. Probably the best IPA available in the Melbourne market. Fantastic hop aroma and flavour that dances between juiciness and pine. None of the yeast bite that comes with other local attempts at hazy IPAs. Best of all is I only just remembered it is 7% after getting to the bottom of a scooner in a heartbeat. Super drinkable.

 

Yep, it's one of my favourite Australian brewed IPAs.

The Fix is another worth getting your hands on.

 

Always interesting to see different perspectives. I like The Chop but the fact that it's 7% and a good quaffer is its major negative for me.

 

Another beer I was pleasantly surprised with was the Belching Beaver Hop Highway. Almost an east coast west coast hybrid. Very clean flavours with nice fruitiness and floral hops. Recommend grabbing one.

 

hmmm, Almanac Tropical Platypus which I have just found out is 'retired' - i think the moral is drink barrel aged beers fresh... tastes sour but stale :-(

 

I really like Rodenbach Alexander. As comparators, whilst I liked the Vintage and Caractère Rouge I haven't bought more because I didn't find them _that_ much better than Grand Cru (still a very cheap beer for the quality, IMO). I got more Alexander next time I saw it.

It's quite sweet and with fine rather than particularly bold flavours.

I haven't opened the Mornington Pumping Station yet - I bought on the same basis as you.