Bootleg Brewery " Black Market" Black IPA - Australia (ABV 6%)

Another limited release single batch beer from Bootleg. I was lucky to pick this one up about 10 minutes after it was delivered to the bottle shop fresh from the brewery. I quite like the labelling and its link in with the prohibition themed "Speakeasy IPA" label.

This a an excellent Black IPA brewed with US hops (Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo) it has a real IPA hoppiness to it with that lovely roasted maltiness of a Porter. Pours into the glass looking like a Porter but the smell is very much the citrus, pine and fruitiness you expect from an IPA.

Loved this Black IPA, it is a much better effort than the 2011 version.

Gage Roads Brewery & Jeremy Sambrooks "Rapid Fire" IPA - Australia (ABV 6.3%)

A home brewer wins a beer festival competition for home brewers and has his winning beer brewed commercially, what a great concept.

Jeremy's Rapid Fire was judged best home brew at the Sail & Anchor Hotel in the 2013 Homebrew Challenge and as a result local commercial brewer Gage Roads collaborated with Jeremy to produce a commercial batch.

This American style IPA is a very good beer. I love hoppy USA style IPA's so this is right up my alley. Brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe hops all apparently added in generous quantity. This IPA has a pine and tropical fruit nose and flavour, slightly hazy dark amber colour and a crisp rather than bitter finish.

I enjoyed this IPA and will probably buy more if I can find it.

Up and About Breakfast Stout - Bootleg Brewery Ausrtalia (5.8% ABV)

Brewed with oatmeal and coffee this is an awesome effort from the brewers at Bootleg. I have also recently tried the very well regarded Founders Breakfast Stout (USA), I preferred this "Up and About Breakfast Stout". The Founders has a lot further to travel to Western Australia, this one was brewed just before I tasted it.

Like the Founders, this is brewed with coffee and oatmeal. There is a definite coffee aroma in the glass but the flavour is very much roasted dark chocolate with a hint of vanilla. It has a silky mouth feel and is incredibly easy to drink, I loved it.

This is a one off small batch from Bootleg and will sell out, I have already been back to purchase more.

Aurora Borealis 2 - Bridge Rd Brewers/Nøgne Ø - Norway ABV (9.1%)

A limited release Belgian style Triple, brewed in Norway and then shipped to Australia in Cognac barrels. This beer has an unmistakeable Cognac aroma but that lovely soft Belgian ale mouth feel and taste. There is a slight lingering of  sweetened Cognac on the palate. It also looks fantastic in the glass with cloudy amber colour, good carbonation and a pillowy head.

Another excellent collaborative effort from Bridge Road and Nøgne Ø.

Bootleg "Speakeasy" IPA - Australia (ABV 5.5%)

A terrific offering from the Bootleg Brewery in Margaret River, the heart of Western Australia's best known wine producing region.

This IPA  is very much in the West Coast USA style and is meant to be drunk fresh. I understand it contains loads of hops with new US variety Belma, Centennial and Simcoe in the kettle and Amarillo and Citra added afterwards. The malt backbone makes this a very nicely balanced beer, I really enjoyed it.

I tried it on tap at the brewery and have tried it in the bottle a few times, it is sublime fresh on tap. The picture above is a bottle purchased (from the brewery) and consumed on the same afternoon, it went down a treat at Smiths Beach!

A great IPA to enjoy fresh.

Beaten Track Brewery "Brewmasters Small Batch Double IPA" - Australia (ABV 9%)

This beer was a nice surprise, I had not previously heard of the Beaten Track Brewery and this double IPA was very tasty. The "Brewmasters" beers are the breweries special one off or seasonal brews so the Double IPA is not in regular production.

You can see the lovely orange amber colour of this beer and the smallish creamy head. It has a fantastic aroma mainly a piney hop but with some underlying caramel maltiness. There was quite a bit of sediment in the bottle, I guess yeast esters from bottle conditioning. This beer feels great in the mouth and has mildly bitter finish, it was very easy to drink.

This beer was good enough for me to seek out more of the Beaten Track Brewery's range.

Billabong Brewing Nelson Sauvin Ale - Australia (ABV 5.5%)

This is an interesting and refreshing ale highlighting the flavour of the Nelson Sauvin hop.

Brewed in the American Pale Ale style with a nice malt balance. The Nelson Sauvin hops are ever present giving this ale a tropical fruit aroma and the unmistakable "gooseberry" flavour.

The Nelson Sauvin hops don't have a lot of bitterness making this a little fruity for my palate. It is however a refreshing sessionable summer ale.

Feral Brewing "Boris Russian Imperial Stout" - Australia (ABV 9.1%)

Once again Feral brewing have produced a gem of a beer. 
This Russian Imperial Stout pours like old engine oil, viscous black and gloopy with a small beige head.
Lovely aroma of toasted chocolate and coffee but with a hint of sweetness. The texture is sublime, it has a lovely silky feel in the mouth. There is some roasted coffee bitterness but  balanced with a sweet cocoa maltiness.The alcohol makes this a warming comforting beverage, exactly as an Imperial Stout should.

Feral Brewery "Raging Flem" Belgian style IPA - AUSTRALIA (ABV 7.3%)

This is another locally brewed special beer that made its way into my fridge immediately it was released.

Feral have produced an awesome Belgian style IPA, it is tasting like a good Belgian Triple. Although a different beer to the Little Creatures "Shepherds Delight" I prefer the "Raging Flem".

This beer has a super hoppy aroma and flavour, malty sweetness and is only lacking an obvious Belgian yeastiness. I love tasty beers and I am a big fan of fruity hoppiness, I also prefer a dry rather than puckeringly bitter finish. This beer ticks all my boxes.

An enticing dark orange amber colour in the glass with only a small to medium head, but the yeast seems to push along the lacing and carbonation. This beer looks as good as it tastes, go get some and drink it now!

Little Creatures "Shepherds Delight" Red IPA - Australia (ABV 6.4%)

The latest single batch offering from Little Creatures arrived in the shops today so naturally I had to get in early. This is the first single batch brewed under the ownership of Lion Nathan, hopefully they allow Creatures to continue to brew these one off specials.

This Red IPA is packed with hops and has a lovely maltiness that not only provides the copper colour but balances this beer beautifully.

Creatures have used New Zealand "Southern Cross" and "Dr Rudi" hops together with Australian "Stella" and "Victoria Secret", US "Chinook" and UK "Goldings". The hops give a citrus aroma and flavour and a dry, slightly bitter finish.

This is a very good single batch, the hopiness harks back to a previous offering,  "Big Dipper" double IPA . Get out and get your hands on some while you can.

Bone Yard Grapefruit IPA- Australia (ABV 6.1%)

Boneyard Brewing have brewed this IPA using a touch of Grapefruit zest that complement the citrus hops to produce a tasty refreshing beer.

Brewed using  4 hop varieties (Zythos (bittering), Centennial, Cascade, Falconer’s Flight) and 4 different malts (Pilsner, Vienna, CaraHell and CaraPils). They also add some Ruby Red Grapefruit zest and juice.

Pours a pale orange amber colour and has a quite pronounced citrus hop aroma. The malts make for a quite light, smooth, easy drinking beer. It has a slightly bitter finish with the Grapefruit tang making it a quite refreshing drink. A very good summer IPA.

Murrays Anniversary Ale 6 - Australia (ABV15%)

This is one big beer, barrel aged, 15% alcohol and a mix of 5 different Belgian yeast strains make for a beautiful Belgian style Barley Wine.

The "Number 6" anniversary ale has been barrel aged in both French & American oak. Pours a hazy dark tan colour, it has a very rich complex warm flavour. The only thing lacking was a little carbonation, it poured with little or no head.

At 15% ABV and with a rich flavour this is a beer to share, I could not drink 750ml on my own.

"Day of the Long Shadow" Spced Winter Ale - Little Creatures Australia (ABV 8.9%)

I am a real fan of  Little Creatures single batch beers, it is great to have something different to taste every now and again from a very good brewer. I hope these "one off" efforts don't stop after Lion Nathan take control of the company.

I feel a bit of a "beer geek" having already had this beer at home in my cellar before getting the email from the brewery saying it was being released in the shops this week.

This beer is something a bit different from Little Creatures. They have used spice adjuncts to give this beer some spicy winter warmth. They have continued on from "The Quiet American" by again playing with sugar, this time priming the yeast with "Dark Muscovado Sugar". The relatively mild hop varieties, UK Sovereign and Challenger hops, have been used and are almost imperceptible in the tasting.

This Red Ale has a spicy aroma of Nutmeg and Cinnamon, it is quite sweet and warming but lacks a bit of hop bite in the finish. I love the attempt to brew something different and the fact that an Australian brewery has brewed a northern hemisphere Christmas winter beer. This beer just doesn't quite work for my palate, others may love it!

Little Creature Single Batch "Quiet American" - Australia (7.2% ABV)

Another terrific single batch from Little Creatures, a mix of US style generous hopping and Belgian specialty malts with "candied" sugar.

Pours a slightly dark coppery amber colour with a small head. The aroma is of sweet tasty beer, the US Cascade and Chinook hops have an unmistakable presence. The taste for me was a more flavoursome, slightly sweeter version of Creatures Pale Ale. The Belgian malts give this beer some complexity and beautifully balance the US hops.

A very good, very tasty beer.

Bootleg Brewery Oatmeal Stout (Australia)- 5.5% ABV

This is a lovely winter beer. It pours a very dark brown with a small creamy almost beige head. The aroma is all roasted malt and licorice.The aniseed spiciness has been produced by the addition of star anise to the post ferment. The four malts must contribute to the smoothness of this stout but the star anise slightly overpowers the malt.

A very tasty and enjoyable winter stout with a slightly different flavour.

Growlers & Squealers- Fresh Beer!

Growler -"Bridge Rd Chevalier Saison" (Australia) ABV 6%
I was really looking forward to trying this beer and in particular getting hold of a "fresh" 2L growler to sample.

The concept of the "Growler" is a good one. Your shop can get in fresh kegs of a variety of different beers, when they tap the variety you want you pop in and get a 2L Growler (or 1L Squealer) filled with that beer. You then take it home and enjoy it.

As my first experience of beer from a Growler this one was a little disappointing. The Chevalier lacked a little carbonation and a little freshness. This beer has a reputation for forming a big soft creamy head, you can see in the photo a very slight head. The taste was unmistakably Saison, yeasty esters, some grassy hop and a noticeable acidity. A good beer but not great, I think this may have been a dud batch!

Squealer- "Beer Hear Lupulus APA" (Denmark) ABV 4.7%
This American Pale Ale is brewed at the Søgaards Bryghus in Copenhagen. The name is derived from the Latin "Humulus Lupulus" for Hops and further plays on the Latin "Lupulus" for Wolf. The brewery describes this beer as a wolf in sheep's clothing!

This excellent American Pale Ale is brewed with a variety of different malts and packed with NZ Green Bullet, Simcoe and Chinook hops. The malts give this beer a lovely coppery orange colour and a slightly caramel sweetness to balance the  bitterness of the hops. The hops used give this a super resinous hoppy aroma with the finish crisp to dry rather than bitter.

A beautifully balanced beer tasting super fresh out of the squealer!

Bridge Road Robust Porter- Australia (5.2%ABV)

Bridge Road Brewery in Beechworth can be relied on to produce good beers and this is no exception.

With the cooler weather nearly here its time for the dark beers. Poured a very dark almost black colour with a small creamy tan head. Loads of roasted malt flavours, particularly dark chocolate & coffee.

A very pleasant tasty porter, perfect for watching television on a cool evening!

Bridge Road (Australia) & Nøgne Ø (Norway) India Saison (7.5%ABV)- Comparitive tasting

A collaborative brewing by Bridge Rd & Nøgne Ø, a part Saison (using Belgian Ale Yeast, Pilsener & Wheat Malt) and part IPA (Australian Stella & Galaxy Hops). Both breweries brewed the same beer using essentially the same ingredients.


Both beers have a very similar hop aroma (both are brewed with Stella & Galaxy Hops) but a quite different appearance. The Nøgne Ø pours a darker colour with a much bigger head than the Bridge Rd version, both are similarly hazy in the glass (similar quantity of yeast in the bottle). The Bridge Rd, to my palate, is closer to a true Saison with the Nøgne Ø closer to a true IPA.


Both very tasty, very well made, beautifully balanced beers. I preferred the Nøgne Ø but only just.

Murrays Icon 2IPA - Australia (7.5%ABV)

My Australia Day beer for 2012.

Murrays have become one of my favourite brewers, producing a wide range of craft beers and I have yet to taste a bad one.

This is brewed as an American style double IPA. Lovely dark amber colour and chunky off white head promises plenty of flavour. It has a citrus and fruity flavour with some hop spiciness and malty sweetness, I even get a hint of honey. It is a surprisingly sweet beer, still full flavoured and with a dry rather than bitter hop finish.

It is difficult to get hold of in Perth but can be purchased online directly from Murrays

This gets my vote as possible Australia's best IPA.

Little Creatures "Big Dipper" - Australia (ABV 7.8%)

This is a single batch effort from the brewers at Little Creatures with a limited release in the beautifully proportioned "Pint Size" bottles. I also tasted a single barrel version of this beer on tap at the Western Australian Craft Beer Show.

A fine Double IPA brewed with 7 different hops (Columbus, Cascade, Chinook, Stella, Centennial, Citra and Simcoe). Pours a nice dark amber with only a small quickly dissipating head. Overwhelmingly fruit hop aroma and flavour, not a super bitter or challenging double IPA.

A very good IPA and for me a highlight for 2011. The craft beer show single barrell of a single batch tasted better  than  the bottle version. Its a shame this beer is a "once off", I would buy it again!

Visit Little Creatures HERE