Barossa Valley Brewing - Bee Sting

5.0% abv 330ml

A new entrant in the world of Honey Wheat Beers a style certainly domesticated and dominated by the likes of Beez Neez from the Matilda Bay Brewery. Bee Sting, brewed in the Barossa Valley known for its fine wines, has little hop character which is certainly ideal for those with a sweeter palate. Complexity is gained through bottle conditioning and the use of tartness of the malted wheat.

Matilda Bay - Barking Duck

5.5% abv 750ml

Another one of the specialty flock from Matilda Bay, this Barking Duck is certainly unusual. Inspiration for this brew comes from the European farmhouse ale. The beer is pale golden, cloudy and pours with an exuberant effervescence. The aroma is fruity and spicy but the real surprise is in the taste. The beer's predominant taste is sourness which might sound like a bit of brewing quackery, however the beer has just enough of a sour edge to be refreshing. It is brewed with wheat, oats and barley and is flavoured with a blend of spices including cassia bark. This would be a great beer to cut through a a pasta carbonara or a béchamel smothered crab lasagne.

Coopers - Vintage Ale 2007

7.5% abv 375ml

Coopers have been releasing this beer for around a decade, and many beer lovers wait for it with great expectation. From its initial release last year to this point, Vintage Ale has already undergone remarkable change from exuberance to grace. An aroma of refined caramels, dried fruit and spirit welcomes the nose before the beer hits the mouth to display a deft balance between sweet malt, acidity, bitterness and complex meaty yeast flavours. Coopers recommended cellaring this beer for up to 5 years, I think it is drinking great right now and recommend the sampling of some of your stash. Perhaps with a little side of blue cheese and muscatels.

Billabong - Blonde

4.5% abv 330ml

This beer is from WA and is produced in a brew on premises facility that has now acquired a producers licence. The Blonde is described as gluten free low-carb beer. Ingredients include specialty grains and malts, noble hops and curacao orange peel. The beer is pale golden in colour and slightly cloudy. It has a delicate floral aroma. The beer has a medium body and a low bitterness with a clean slight tart aftertaste. The foam on this beer collapses in the glass leaving a slightly sticky dense meringue-like feature as if tetra hop is used. This beer would go well with crispy battered flathead, garfish or whiting.

Gage Roads - IPA

5.1% abv 330ml

IPA was the style that helped build an empire. Keep the troops with beer and the nation is yours. Gage Roads IPA is perhaps not as aggressive as some but manages to convey a real sense of the style. It has a brilliant copper orange colour that sits beneath a white foam cap that is the nucleation point for an earthy and citric (marmalade) hop aroma. Malt shows itself in the form of anzac biscuits and toast. Hop resins are felt in the mouth bringing in a moderate lick of bitterness that is lightly balanced by the toasty malt. Best consumed fresh from a tumbler style glass along side pappadums and chutney.

Guinness - Draught (nitro can)

4.1% abv 440ml

Perhaps the most famous beer of all, and one that every reader is sure to have consumed at some point. But how long has it been for you? The head on this beer is definitely its most talked about feature, perched abnormally dense on top of this black beer thanks to the nitrogen loaded widget in the can. The nose is touched with notes of milk chocolate whilst the body is light and carries simple touches of bitter, roasted coffee with a minerally seabrine touch, perhaps a reason it has so often been paired with oysters. A classic brand.

Guinness Extra Stout

6% abv 750ml

We always think we know this beer but can never be quite sure, this version is the bigger brother to the nitro-can version that most are more familiar with. It pours a very deep brown colour that borders on being pitch black and is capped by a rich tan head with the appearance of whipped batter. The nose attacks much more than the canned ‘dry stout' and displays an aroma of bitter coffee and dusty chocolate cake batter. The initial mouthfeel is soft before a bitter dryness takes over leading to a sharp finish that is slightly reminiscent of scorched coffee and sugar. It's Guinness alright, but maybe not as you know it. Try it alongside BBQ ribs.

Bluetongue Premium Light

2.7% abv 330ml

This beer is the little brother of the original Bluetongue Pilsener. The beer has a mid golden colour and pours with a dense white foam. The aroma is mild with a floral hint to it.The low body of this light beer is noticeable. The taste is initially malty, there is a faint hoppiness and then a moderate afterbitterness to the finish. Such light beer is a good option when you prefer to moderate your alcohol intake. This benefit means you will probably drink the beer with any food but it would be better suited to the lighter more delicate food tastes particularly fish. It would go very well with a selection of sushi.

Barons Lemon Myrtle Witbier

4.5% abv 330ml

Sherbet, lemon sorbet, cloves very good aromatics. Tucked away behind this is wheat beer yeastiness. Nose evolves into a freshly chopped ginger. A very interesting combination on the nose. Palate maybe a little skinny, lacks real weight, but with a mouth cleansing phenolic. Finishes with a slightly muddy yeastiness that worked for some but not for others. Would be a winner with beer battered fish and chips.

Bridge Road Brewers Celtic Red Ale

5.2% abv 330ml

The Celtic Red Ale is especially brewed for the local Beechworth Annual Celtic Festival and has initial malt sweetness with some good toffee caramel characters. A deep reddish hue that has a rounded mouthfeel aided by bottle conditioning, true to style and an ideal Autumn beer.

Bluetongue Ginger Beer

4.0% abv 330ml

This relatively new product on the market has as inviting fresh ginger character on the nose supported by a distinct ginger palate making it a delightful drink on a hot summer afternoon. It would also drink very well with a dessert or even with an entree with a clean, slightly thin flavour. It is surprising how ginger beer is not drunk more as a thirst quencher in Australia as it does the job very effectively as long as it is not too sweet.

Bright Blowhard Pale Ale

5% abv 330ml

This American Pale Ale has an Australiana influence, using locally grown bittering hops from the Bright region and American Cascade hops on aroma. A novel attempt to combine the popularity of American pale ales with the sessionability of Australian ales. Pours hazy pale amber with big fluffy white head that lasts well. The aroma is very nice - floral hoppy with touch of citrus. Palate is very fizzy with a medium body. Flavour starts with a refreshing floral / citrus taste moving into some malty sweetness and finishes with a strong bitter finish.

Duke Pale Ale

4.8% abv 330ml

The Burleigh Brewing Company is the new baby of former Oxford 152 brewer Brennan Fielding. Brennan is fastidious about his beer's freshness and has limited the borders of "Duke Land" to a couple of hours north and south of the brewery to minmise time spent in transport. Duke Pale Ale pours with a tight white head that caps a beer of a hazy (unfiltered) orange hue. The nose is one of dense citric (cumquat) hops and in the mouth it displays a solid bitterness that is held in check by a touch of biscuity malt. Very more-ish and would pair well with spicy chicken dishes.

Bridge Road Brewers Bling India Pale Ale

4.8% abv 330ml

The Beechworth Brewery has been under the stewardship of Ben Kraus since 2005.The Bling India Pale Ale is a beautiful deep rich copper colour with a dense cream coloured foam. It has a floral hoppy aroma and a bold bitter aftertaste that lingers on the palate. The body is on the light side and gives the beer a rather moreish drinking quality. The combination of colour, aroma and bold taste aid the overall enjoyment of this beer. This would be an ideal beer for an appropriate English meal --a curry.

Bridge Road Brewers Bavarian Wheat

5.0% abv 330ml

In an effort to replicate a Bavarian character the label says the beer is made from German malt hops and yeast. The aroma is mild with little of the clove character that could have been expected. The taste is slightly fruity and sweet with a mild bitterness in the background. The flavour did not conjur up images of a bier garten in summertime Munich. This is a unique rather than a typical German wheat beer. In Bavaria they serve these beers in tall half litre glasses but in Australia a tall widemouth glass would be just as good. The sweet fruitiness of this beer would be a good partner to chicken schnitzel or cheesecake.

Billabong Pale Ale

5.5% abv 330ml

A good white head and slightly cloudy appearance, followed by an initial pronounced and unusual hop character which is interesting. The beer flavour is slightly oxidised and the bitterness is a little astringent. The slight aged character detracted from this sample which is not indicative of the normally fresh, clean beers from this brewery. This new entry to the WA craft brewery scene is producing some very different and interesting beers.

Coopers Extra Stout

6.3% abv 375ml

A favourite amongst many stout lovers and with good reason. This stout will never disappoint on appearance with its deep ruby black colour and a head that is almost mousse like. The aroma rises quickly and makes its presence felt with notes of deep dark chocolate and lots of fruity esters of figs and currants. This is followed by a big body that carries a coffee'ish roast bitterness that sits beside a touch of sweetness that reminds me a bit of molasses. Lightly oily but still somehow dry. A great Australian ‘Foreign Stout'. Oysters ... uh, yeah! But how about some mud cake too?

Bridge Road Brewers Chevalier Saison

6% abv 750ml

The third release from Bridge Road under the Chevalier label and presented in the same 750ml Champagne-style bottle. Poured into a tulip style glass the beer displays a very hazy straw colour with a high carbonation that pushes up and supports a very large and rocky head that domes over the rim of the glass. The aroma is one of yeast, spice, pear and grass with a rustic bread undertone. The mouth is rewarded with a sharp acidity that tingles along with spicy lemon and hop flavours. An excellent farmhouse-style beer it's truly refreshing. Pairs well with blue brie or Thai spiced seafoods.

St Arnou Pilsner

4.5% abv 330ml

Originating as a brewpub in Auckland, Master Brewer Brian Watson moved operations to Australia in 2001 and focussed on the emerging premium beer draught market. St Arnou is the Patron Saint of Brewers and this Pilsner is packaged in an impressive original shaped bottle. The beer has all the characteristics of a premium beer, clean and refreshing on the plate slight hints of Czech Saaz hops. An easy step across from domestic beer.

Wicked Elf Pale Ale

5.4% abv 330ml

Cascade hops, roasted potatoes and solid Tokay characters - slightly fish oilly - these characters on the nose are very positive. Creamy, vegemitey, malted milk (as in milk bars in the old days). Fresh bread dough. A complex beer that really works and is well liked, but probably a ‘1 bottle' beer (as opposed to a session beer).

Duke Premium Lager

4.8% abv 330ml

This is the second full strength release from the Burleigh Brewing Company. Poured into a pilsner glass this beer is a light gold colour with a tight foam supported by a strong bead of carbonation. The aroma is fine and spicy with fresh floral highlights that hint at a European pedigree. Warm bready notes fill the mouth before a welcome smack of bitterness. Very quenching on a warm Queensland afternoon and great with a fresh prawn sandwhich.

Bridge Road Brewers Chevalier Hefeweizen

4.6% abv 750ml

The initial pour is typical for the style with a big pillowing head and strong carbonation, but that is where normality ends. The colour is a light tan, an indicator to the chocolate liquor nose that follows. The classic banana and bubblegum notes are there, but are certainly not the caricature that some hefes become. In the mouth there is lots of wholemeal and rye bread and the beer continues its rustic feel.

Bennett's Belgium Strong

7.2% abv 330ml

This beer poured slightly cloudy with a good head initially. High carbonation and a relatively low bitterness make it an excellent palate cleanser at the end of a meal. It is very deceptive as it is very drinkable and belies its strength at 7.2% v/v alcohol. Overall a beer that needs to be drunk with caution but, none-the-less, is very enjoyable and, again, would be excellent at the end of an evening with friends.

Wanaka Beerworks Tall Black

4.8% abv 330ml

This well established New Zealand microbrewery located in picturesque Wanaka produces 3 core beer brands. Tall Black is their dark beer, ideal for the colder winter months on the South Island, has a toasted malt flavour, with coffee and a little bit of chocolate. The hop presence is subtle with a slightly smoky finish. Perfect after a day on the slopes at one of the great ski fields that surround the Wanaka area.

Renaissance Brewing Discovery American Pale Ale

4.5% abv 500ml

Located in the iconic Marlborough wine region in New Zealand, this beer is brewed to emulate the Sauvignon Blanc flavours the region is world famous for. It has hints of passionfruit and tangy citrus hop aromas imparted from American hop varieties grown nearby in the Nelson region. Renaissance Brewing with a goal to reinvigorate English Real ale in New Zealand certainly impart that passion into the beer with a smooth English malt character. On the lower end of hoppyness for an American Pale Ale although not detracting from the beer.

Monteith's Original Ale

4.0% abv 330ml

Monteith's Original Ale has been brewed to the same recipe since 1868 to produce a full rounded flavour and a velvety smooth mouthfeel. Rich copper brown in colour this ale has a robust maltiness with notes of burnt sugar and caramel. It's well hopped with Pacific Gem hops and the yeast from the fermentation provides fruity/berry aromas. A good balance of sweetness and bitterness, while the mouthfeel is exceptionally round and smooth with a pleasant lingering finish. Serve with NZ whitebait, spit roast lamb, or enjoy it by itself in a pint glass at around 10°C.

Tuatara London Porter

5% abv 330ml

Hailing from Reikorangi, Wellington. Chocolate lovers beware! This brown porter is big on delivering all the wonderful flavours as promised in the aroma. You won't be disappointed - Chocolate, roasty/toasty aromas, fruity esters and hoppy notes are wrapped in silky sweet caramel and treacle. Medium to strong bitterness provides sturdy balance to the sweet smooth full body. Creamy and bittersweet. Rich and smooth. Lovely Porter. Tuatara's London Porter is a handsome example of the porter style.

Emerson's American Pale Ale

6.0% abv 500ml

This APA is bottle conditioned and very carbonated. The beer froths exuberantly in the glass on pouring. The aroma is not as intense as expected but gives hints of stonefruit, pine, melon and citrus. The beer is full bodied with a biscuity mid-palate from a blend of malts. The maltiness gives way to rich lingering hoppy notes on the palate before fading slowly. This is a beer for sipping and savouring and benefits from being served at around 5°C in a large goblet to fully appreciate the aromas and tastes unfolding. This beer goes well with rich flavours. A steak and kidney pie would be a good match as would a red Thai curry.

Epic Pale Ale

5.4% abv 330ml

Golden colour, very intense grassy hoppiness on both nose and palate. Burnt apple strudel (lots of sultanas, pastry and stewed apples). Quite bitter, coarse and full bodied. One for the bitterness lovers.

Limburg Hopsmacker

5.0% abv 330ml

This brew comes for Hawkes Bay in New Zealand. It has a deep amber colour and poured with a dense pillowy foam that subsequently laced well. The aroma was pungent hoppiness, fresh and vibrant. This ale has a medium body, a rounded balanced maltiness that supports the hoppy bitterness on the palate. The afterbitterness is pronounced but not harsh. The presentation, aroma and taste are all in harmony and make this beer a joy to drink. Serve this beer in a large widemouth glass at a temperature of 4 or 5°C to help release the full flavour. This flavoursome ale would go well with peppered loin of lamb or a beef rendang.

Ambar 1900 Pale Ale

4.8% abv 330ml

The Spanish brewery which makes this beer has been operating since 1900 and is a large, by Spanish standards, regional brewery. This pale ale does not follow the English tradition of dark rich malts. This beer is very pale golden, like a lager. It has a very mild aroma. The taste as expected from the light malt is rather subdued in character. It has a balanced medium body and a surprising robust bitterness. The afterbitterness lingers fading slowly and cleanly. This gives a satisfying and refreshing quality. This would be great beer to have with the famous Jamon Iberica ham that is served in the local tapas bars or even a Paella.

Ambar

5.2% abv 330ml

This Spanish lager originates from La Zaragonzana Brewey. Solid all round malt flavour balanced with typical nobel Eurpean hops and a light amber colour. With good carbonation it's a beer to be enjoyed after a siesta in the sun. No offensive aromas, a simple European lager which has sessionablilty and cerveza written all over it.

1906 Cerveza Extra

6.5% abv 330ml

This beer has a creamy, dense head with a slight haze with distinct flocks suggesting a little age or poor storage/travel conditions. It displays a smooth malty presence on the palate with a well balanced bitterness. The nose is slightly oxidised but also indicates the alcohol level. This beer would be an excellent drink before dinner but, with this alcohol level, beware of drinking it as a thirst quencher.

Peroni Nastro Azurro

5.1% abv 330ml

This sample was of dubious freshness but everyone knows the beer quite well, so we looked through that....good slugger/cleanser, very subtle bitterness that is strangely witlof or radiccio lettuce. A bit simple but a real lubriucant for anchovy pizza and salty food.

Westmalle Dubbel

7% abv 330ml

This beer is as much as a Belgian icon as chips in cone shaped bags, truffles or rich creamy chocolates. This Trappist beer has lucious flavours and is a beautiful chestnut brown colour, is hazy and crowned with a beige head. Slightly herb and fruity estery nose. Balanced sweetness and soft maltiness turning into a dry, hoppy finish. A classic and Moorish beer.

Sinha Stout

8% abv 330ml

Sri Lanka is not as famous as Ireland or London for stout or porter, but with examples like this perhaps it should be. A near black colour and large tan head are the initial greeting, but it is the aroma depth that will truly captivate. Musty cocoa is followed by stewed prunes and rummy alcohol notes with a wiff of tar. The mouthfeel is deep and oily with woody chocolate notes and maybe a dash of old smoke. The ABV is bigish and familiarity tells that this beer holds well against time and treatment, although fresh is still best. A classic Foreign Stout? ... surely a contender. Drink cool from a balloon shaped glass, great with roast beef.

Phoenix Beer

5% abv 330ml

Frank Zappa once said that to be a real country you must have a beer. Mauritius must surely then be a real country with its Phoenix beer. The bottle opens with a small hiss and pours out a hazy pale yellow colour with a smallish white head. A light aroma of sulphur rides atop of a faint yet pleasant touch of pear that is followed in the mouth by a light body that supports a flavour of white bread and asparagus. On a hot Mauritian beach this beer served ice cold might be the one to make you feel like a local.

Unibroue Ephemere

5.5% abv 355ml

This is brewed as an ale with apple must as part of the recipe and it is spiced with coriander and curacao. So it could possibly be described as a Belgian ale/cider hybrid. This innovative brew is a Summer speciality from Unibroue of Chambly, Quebec. The aroma is dominated by green apples with just a hint of spice in the background. It has a mid golden cloudy appearance with a good foam. It has a full body and a slightly sweet mid-palate. The aftertaste is again driven by apples with a slight tartness. This brew would go well with a sharp cheddar cheese or more appropriately for Quebec, a French onion soup.

Meantime London Porter

6.5% abv 750ml

Meantime is a fitting name for a brewery based in Greenwhich and porter, being the most London of styles, is a great start to their range. The beer is presented in an ornately labelled 750ml cork stopped bottle and when poured into a brewery branded ‘snifter' style glass displays a deep brown colour with woody red highlights. The aroma is full of nutty coffee and chocolate backed up by a touch of caramel sugars. Smooth and rich malt notes build up big in the mouth before being balanced by some acidity and bitterness. Excellent lacing is left on the glass. An exceptional beer. Pair with crispy skin salmon, shellfish, or sirloin with a rich jus.

Sidra Cider

5.0% abv 330ml

This example imported from Spain had an initial head of large bubbles which rapidly dissipated. It is very full bodied and clean with a very bright, straw yellow colour. A strong SO2 on aroma and flavour masks some of the apple and ester characters - and, at these levels, it should really carry a warning on the label. There is some astringency and acidity to the after-taste despite the sweetness.

Pipsqueak Best Cider

5.2% abv 330ml

This WA brew is an elegant and refined cider. The emphasis is on subtlety and finesse. It has a pale straw colour and a mild aroma of freshly diced apple pieces. The taste is light, spritzig and with a refreshing clean apple aftertaste. Of course there is no foam despite the vibrant carbonation. This seems to be a drink that fits well between beer and sparkling white wine with a moderate alcohol and a fresh clean taste. It would go well with a cheddar cheese and crackers or a loin of pork with apple sauce. You could serve this cider in a flute or white wine glass and it would not look out of place.

Whisky

Talisker

45.8% abv 700ml

Despite my many trips to Scotland and the number of distilleries I have visited there over the years Talisker has somehow eluded me thus far. Perhaps I'm trying to keep the best till last? Recently lauded as the world's greatest Scotch whisky for its 18yr old by Whisky Magazine, Talisker is one of the true classic Scottish malt whiskies. Founded in 1830 by the MacAskill brothers on the Isle of Skye, one of the most scenic islands on the west coast of Scotland. They named the whisky after the Talisker estate, a remote location on the coast four miles west of Carbost where the distillery is located. However, the MacAskill's were better at sheep farming than whisky distilling and the bank took back the distillery in 1848. Since then the distillery has changed hands many times, yet managing to develop a distinctive taste loved by whisky connoisseurs everywhere. Talisker is well known for its high peat content and slightly spicy and salty character as well as its distinctive black pepper finish. Although Talisker is the only distillery on Skye, the island has often been referred to as its own style of whisky, perhaps most famously so by the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson who, in his 1880 poem The Scotsman's Return from Abroad, referred to Talisker as "The King o' Drinks". Although the distillery has some modern fixtures and has been rebuilt a couple of times (once due to a blazing fire that burned the distillery to the ground in 1960), Talisker remains an ‘old school' whisky. It is one of only a handful of distilleries that still uses a worm tub for the condensation of its spirit as they believe this is an integral part of what gives Talisker its unique, robust and peppery taste. Although there are a number of expressions of Talisker available at the distillery and internationally you're most likely only find its superb 10yr old whisky here in Australia. Look out for Talisker 18yr old when you're shopping Duty Free!

What's hot off the dock

This edition we are excited to see two very famous English breweries landing their wares on our shores. First of all we have the Samuel Smith range. As luck would have it, Jamie Cook included the Samuel Smith's in this edition's Top 100 article (page 45). The Old Brewery at Tadcaster was founded in 1758 and is Yorkshire's oldest brewery. Samuel Smith is one of the few remaining independent breweries in England and is the last to utilize the classic Yorkshire Square system of fermentation solely in stone squares. For those of you who love their beer, but love animals even more, you're in luck. All Samuel Smith beers are vegan products. Already available in WA, Samuel Smith beers will also soon be available in the East via BID. Trade enquiries: Steve Leopold, Lionel Samson - Liquor Manager. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

From Yorkshire's oldest, to a more modern classic. Founded in 2000 by brewmaster Alistair Hook, Meantime has quickly established an outstanding reputation and is already the second-biggest independent brewery in London behind Fullers. Situated on the banks of the Thames at Greenwich - hence the name - the brewery produces a range of outstanding beers. Brewer Hook fears that English beer has lost its soul and complains that when he studied brewing at Heriot-Watt University beer was treated as an industrial product. His enthusiasm for brewing was reignited in Munich and America and his beers have a decidedly American character. This is the first line to be imported by distributor Innspire, but the "purveyors of finest quality imported beers" have exciting plans so stay tuned. More information www.innspire.com.au.