April: An ox, a goat and a beast

Been a while between drinks on the blog, but have been busy making my way through a bevy of different beers from around the world and seldom keeping my opinions to myself. So here's to the beers I drank in April that made me sit up and take notice....

Way back on the Easter long weekend, when the water was barely warm enough to take a dip, I dropped in at Red Hill Brewery on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. Their Hop Harvest Ale was on handpump and couldn't resist having a pint. Anyone who's spent anytime in Ol' Blighty will be familiar with the old ale vs. lager arguement. There's plenty of good lagers in the UK, yet none of them have anything on a good ale, served at room temperature (which in many parts of the UK is around 8 degrees anyway).  The Hop Harvest Ale is one such style bitter, using hops grown about 5 meters from the bar's front door. Can't get much more local than that!

Later in the Easter Long Weekend, I headed up to Merrijig ("where the frig is Merrijig" as the pub's bartenders t-shirts retorically and satirically asked). Picked up a Jamieson's Brewery sampler from Mansfield IGA of which an old favourite The Beast proved a hit around the fire, staving off temperatures that may be called sub-room temperature in the UK. Suitably named, the Beast is more of an English style IPA, but not shy on the hops. The biggest delight is the rich caramel backbone the malt provides.

Some time towards the back end of the holiday, I dropped into Cambridge Cellars in Caulfield North, who specialise is Eastern European and Russian spirits. They have a small, yet cheap beer selection that mirrors this geographical bent. Okochim porter is a Polish porter in the robust porter tradition. Bit of a power house and very rich. Black as night, smooth and with a satisfying warming alcohol kick.

Picked up a Fuller's 1845 India Pale Ale and a Samuel Smith's India Pale Ale. Good side by side comparison, difficult to split. So i've included them both here. Both fine examples of an English IPA.

Speaking of pairing styles, two beers that really blew me away in April were both black IPAs. A trendy style at the moment, the best examples are dark, almost stout like, but unlike stouts have big hop aromas, and then a mix of roasted and hop flavours. Very complex. Mountain Goat / Mikkeller Pepperberry IPA is a move in the right direction for Mountain Goat's Rare Breed / Cross Breed line of specialty brews. The pepperberry was admittedly barely noticeable, but still had all the hall marks of a great black IPA. Another Mikkeller collaboration is the Dark Harvest from Bridge Road Brewers/ Mikkeller. All the big pineapple and stone fruit flavours from the Beechworth breweries' Harvest, with a dark roasted twist. Bloody awesome beer.

Some other notable beers I had in April were the massive Ox, from Red Duck. A monster Imperial Stout. Brooklyn Brewery delivered a perfect use of the lemony hop Sorachi Ace and brewed a saison with it called...Sorachi Ace. Genius. Finally two Tasmanian Moo Brew beers really floated my boat, their excellent Pilsner (finally available on the mainland) and a seasonal saison, which takes the cake for the beer name of the month, Saison de Moo. 

April was a good month for beer.

Some of the better Australian craft beers from 2011.

For a blog about beer was probably not the wisest of decisions of me to begin in Febfast. Credibility shot before it even had a chance to take flight. 


And even though we are almost half way through the second month of the year I thought it'd be interesting to take a quick look back at some of my favourite Australian beers of 2011. These aren't necessarily the best beers I had last year, they are in some sort of vague order. But I find that past one or two absolute standouts it's very difficult to "rank" beer, so these were the amongst the most memorable. 


2 Brothers Guv'nor (VIC)


A barleywine to kick things off. A absolute monster of a beer and one that I had several of on Melbourne's darkest, bleakest winter nights in 2011. Rich and warming, the 10%+ alcohol is somehow keep in check and is far more drinkable than it sounds. A rare beer where you would happily sit on one bottle all night. Hopefully the Moorabbin lads at 2 Brothers release it again this year as I'll be certainly stocking up. 

Bridge Road Brewers / Nogne - O India Saison (VIC)


A hybrid of Saison and IPA, this hopped up collaboration brew between Beechworth's Bridge Road and Norway's gypsy brewers and impossible to pronounce: Nogne - O. I've not yet had the version brewed in Norway, but mates assure me it's equally impressive. The main reason I love this  beer is very simple. Two of my favourite styles and put them together and it really works! A must for any blink-and-you'll-miss-it Melbourne summer. 

Hargreaves Hill ESB (VIC) 


A "new world" interpretation of and English classic, this beer never fails to impress. Nice malt sweetness and a lovely earthy hop punch. If only it was more readily available. Get up to the cellar door at Yarraglen and grab one on tap. A too rare treat. 


Moo Brew Barrel Aged Imperial Stout (TAS)


A stunning beer from one of my favourite breweries. One of the richest, silkiest, luscious beers I have ever had. A real sipper. If this appears on a beer list again this year, indulge and order a glass. Absolutely world class. 


Bridge Road Galaxy Single Hop IPA (VIC)
Another appearance from Bridge Road who have really hit their straps I think in the past couple of years. Whilst their core range at times can verge on the boring, their Single Hop series is an exciting detour. The first of their single hop range which now extends to Stella, Summer and the recently launched Pride of Ringwood. A stunning tribute to an Australian hop variety that is starting to get some recognition on the world stage 


Honourable mentions: Mornington Peninsula IPA, Murray's Whale Ale, Van Dieman's Hedgerow, Cooper's Stout, Brewboys' Ace of Spades Stout and Seeing Double Scotch Ale, Beard and Brau Bon Chiens and Feral Hop Hog.


And there you have it, some of my favourite beers from these shores I drank last year. I'll post some International favourites soon.