Beer and Brewer Magazine

The world is full of beers. Only Beer & Brewer sorts the amber gold from the rusty water and tells you why. Here's the inside skinny on what's hot in neck nectar.

BEER OF THE MONTH: WEIHENSTEPHAN KRISTALL (5.4%)

I've had a Weinstephan glass in my beer glass cabinet for 13 years waiting for a special occasion - taste testing the 2007 Grand Champion for Beer & Brewer was my chance! Some German brewers like their beers poured from the bottle in one single action. However, as the Kristal had a very high level of carbonation, I had to slowly pour a third of a glass and let it settle, before I slowly pouring the last of it. It built a beautiful 4cm foam with a nice ice-cream cone shape over the glass. Moreover, it displayed excellent foam stability highlighting the quality of the beer this brewery produce. There's a very pleasant banana and spicy clove note on the aroma, a caramelised malt flavour and spice complexity on the palate, and a refreshing tartness on the finish. At Redoak, I would match this beer with Pan Seared Ocean Trout wrapped in prosciutto and asparagus, sauté potatoes with fennel and sorrel salad. The spiciness of Weinstephan Kristal helps enhance the sweetness of the ocean trout whilst the caramelised flavours of the pan-searing with prosciutto emphasize and enhance the refreshing tart finish of the Weinstephan Kristal.

Verdict: A deserved winner of 2007 AIBA Grand Champion Trophy!

BEER OF THE MONTH is reviewed by David Hollyoak, 2006 Grand Champion henfor Redoak's Special Reserve

STAROPRAMEN

Hitting the palate like the US Navy on shore-leave this Czech favourite is a flurry of fruity blows landed in swift combinations before a devestating uppercut of hoppy bitterness sends your tastebuds to the canvas. A sweet brew indeed as pretty in the glass as in the bottle and a true allrounder apres food, in concert with it or, indeed, as a ready-made replacement.

Verdict: There's a florist and berry branch in every garrulous gulp.

HOEGAARDEN WITBIER (5%)

A distinguished, complex and flamboyant white beer, Hoegaarden has lots of blossom for the bugle on arrival and makes for a series of silky-soft sherbet detonations on the palate. Defiantly unfiltered, the White Hoe is deliciously swirling vortex of yeast and wheat characters and miniscule meteorites of ginger, coriander, lemon peel and frozen grapes.

Verdict: A deliciously hazy shade of witbier.

CARLTON PREMIUM DRY (5%)

"Premium ingredients... chill filtering... perfectly balanced... crisper, drier and sharper". Really? We couldn't taste much more than a soda-water like spritz in the mix followed by a dry finish, although hardly as "extra dry" as its stablemate eh? Dry is a low-carb brew typical of the species, lacking sustain on the nose, depth on the palate and legs in the home straight.

Verdict: A drought-stricken country doesn't need another Dry.

CASCADE PREMIUM LAGER (5.2%)

Still excellent after all these years, Cascade Premium bears all the hallmarks of its rustic south Hobart birthplace, with tall timber, malty metals and soft Derwent water in balance. Matched with food, it's a popular allrounder, as comfortable in the mitts of magnates and high-class cuisine as solid citizens in pizza joints and laksa shacks.

Verdict: No need for this Tassie tiger to change its stripes.

BARONS LAGER (4.9%)

Don't be fooled by this Lager's feminine side. Although there's delicate flowery flavours on the nose there's muscle in the malt and stubble of barley notes too. Full, sweet and gutsy yet soft-bodied and yielding like we like ‘em. the Barons boys leave us with a finish so crisp Nadia Comaneci would've eaten a pommel horse to emulate it.

Verdict: A cracking lager that endures sustained sipping (or swigging).

MOUNTAIN GOAT INDIA PALE ALE (5%)

The green beer du jour for those with an environmental axe to grind, Australia's first organic IPA zings with citrus and high-hopping and has a lovely toasted honey undercoat. Some have likened the big fizz and sharp kick of this one to licking a battery and weconsider that a good thing. Perhaps too much pep upstanding.

Verdict: A green beer and fine amber fluid.

JAMES SQUIRE PILSENER (5%)

High hopped by the Malt Shovel boys to amp that fiery, flowery spice-tinged finish, the JS Pilsener is a Sydney stalwalt at the top of its game. Perfect in the pre-meal graze phase when you're dipping bread and biscuits in cheeses, dips, oils or other imperialistic tidbits.

Verdict: A beer of which an old convict on high might be very proud.

LITTLE CREATURES BRIGHT (4.5%)

A strange brew at the power-level, this tangy ale uses the pungent B Saaz flowers from New Zealand as well as hop varieties from the north-west of the USA. Bright as a Berocca in the glass, the Bright wears a smooth suit courtesy of four malt fathers - Pale, Carapils, Wheat and Vienna - with a well-tailored trim of grapefruit and lychee notes.

Verdict: Another bright spark from a brewery with a brain.

CARLTON PURE BLONDE (4.6%)

Another of CUB's low-rent low-carb, low-flavour, marketing-driven beers OK with salty bar snacks. This one manages a head that disappears before the tap stops dripping (like most blondes) and has some wet wheat up front with a dash of malt down back, before fading into obscurity at the back of the tongue.

Verdict: Might be a good beer for those who don't like beer.

SINGHA (6%)

This pale, straw-coloured lager from the pulsating streets of Bangkok has an exotic blend of corn, bamboo, grassy notes and hints of green apple in the mix. Customised for the spicy cuisine it compliments, Singha plays a mean sidekick to a steaming tureen of spicy sour Tom Yum Goong or chilli-flecked Pad Kee Meow. We found it a neat match for chargrilled locusts too.

Verdict: A versatile food match or stand-alone thirst-slaker

CROWN GOLD (3.5%)

All that glitters is not Gold. CUB's new entry into the mid-strength divisions is, in fact, a featherweight. This one doesn't ever make good on the claim of being "full-flavoured". Lots of fizz on entry, it erupts in the glass as a pleasant apple-juice hue with a crumbly head. There are soft flutters of malt early but they flutter away fast leaving a dank tang disturbingly similar to that of a public pool changeroom.

Verdict: Fool's Gold.

REDBACK CRISTAL (4.5%)

This is the wrong end of summer for Matilda Bay's newie. Although it pours a bright yellow with pungent wheaty aromas, there are hints of an unpleasant aroma of old caravan and dust here and it's all over the place in flavour. Moreover, there's no escaping that low-carb watery mouthfeel with a wiezen start into old bananas and damp.

Verdict: A Redback without a wicked bite? Make it stop!

CROWN PILSNER (5.4%)

Don't be fooled. This is a corporate wolf in craft-brewing ugh boots trying to cash-in on the micro boom and the big brew backlash. With its spurious talk of "Wenceslas hops" and "cool brewing" and self-anointing as "Australia's finest Pilsner", it's little wonder this is so loathed - high carbonation, stale cardboard aromas, flat flavours, n high-pricing.

Verdict: They've gotta be taking the pils.

CASCADE PREMIUM LIGHT (2.8%)

The alcohol content hasn't changed but this one is getting lighter. Once as good as near-beers got, Cascade's straw-coloured softie is paling in its weight division as opponents such as Little Creatures' Rogers and Coopers Mild Ale flatten it with big flavours and deep complexities and reap big purses with designated drivers.

Verdict: Can't say "shandy"? This'll be dandy.

LITTLE CREATURES PALE ALE (5.2%)

There have been rumblings the legendary Little Creatures Pale Ale aint what it used to be. Balderdash! To our eyes, mouths and minds it's still the heartbreaker it always was. In fact, this effortlessly complex and rather-too-comely brew now comes with even more volumptuous curves courtesy of a spifflicating pint-sized 500ml bottle so there's more of it to love.

Verdict: The King isn't dead. Long live the King!

ORVAL (6.2%)

Class to it's cotton socks inside and out, the Orval is from Brasserie d'Orval in Belgium and is the only beer the Trappist monk brewers dare release to civilians. This one hit the bottle at 5.2, had ripened to 6.2% by the time we cracked it and may peak at 7.5% if cellared. Double-hopped and fruit-filled it's one to chase.

Verdict: Do you dare defy the will of God and not drink this beer?

HOEGAARDEN GRAND CRU (8.5%)

A beautiful formed and finely laced head announces this high-revving but gentle giant. There's more rust in the bustline of the Grand Cru than the witbier and the fruit is heavier - ripe-to-bursting peaches and mangos and fast-fermenting grapes. Lurking behind are waferish blankets of vanilla and even hints of musk and marshmallow.

Verdict: As fascinating to watch in the glass as drink

REDOAK IRISH RED ALE (4.5%)

Soft and light and content with the shadows, this is an Irish poet rather than a flame-haired gaelic footballer. That said, it hits the glass in a rich orange cascade and blows chunks of butter and caramel beyond the big noble head before fading to a grey but gorgeous Dublin morning.

Verdict: An able-bodied but itinerant cousin to the rambunctious Redoak IPA or Organic Hefeweizen.

COOPERS PREMIUM LAGER (5%)

Awarded Best Lager at AIBAs, this 18-month-old brew is rewarding the Coopers family's bold foray out of the ale range and into the decidedly chillier waters of the big brewing fish. This was a deserved winner, possessing a poise uncommon in mainstream lagers, a balanced platter of soft, sweet notes, grain in the guzzle and a high-hopping finish.

Verdict: Australian lager has a new leader.

JAMES SQUIRE HOP THIEF (5%)

Malt Shovel's latest limited-release brew captures the herbaceous aromas of the harvest season and harnesses them in a buttery blend of citrus and cream.Glows in the nose, a fine carrot for the palate not bung on the tongue and sure to linger in the fingers. Squire's latest larcenous effort looks set to be favourite of beer-loving fruit-fiends for many a season to come.

Verdict: Steal it if you have to.

COOPERS MILD (3.8%)

Bread notes and a whiff of citrus make this latest batch of Mild the best yet. It pours golden and cloudy with fine hop characters throughout but, come half-way, it requires a little cardiac massage to stay the course. A thin velveteen mouth-feel makes it a worthy welterweight but even the bland hues of its label hint at the empty heft of its content.,

Verdict: The shy, anaemic sister in a celebrated stable of beauties.

MATILDA BAY ALPHA PALE ALE (5.2%)

We gave this heavy hopper to rock ‘n' roll wolverine Tex Perkins. His face curdled and he spat it onto the floor, muttered something about "luke-warm cough medicine" and walked out, pausing only to break the new Beasts of Bourbon album over our head. An alpha male thing? We think it rocks.

Verdict: Loud, highly strung and distorted but still a big hit with us.

LITTLE CREATURES ROGERS (3.8%)

This lip-smacking, easy-drinking mid-range amber ale treads softly yet carries a big thwack of flavour. A lovely dense chestnut colour in the glass, Rogers carries a tad too much water but compensates with lustrous blends of malts and citrus sweet spots anchored with caramel and honeyed hop aromas.

Verdict: Don't dodge a Roger.

BARONS BLACK WATTLE SUPERIOR ALE (5.8%)

Big, rich and nutty (like the Barons boys themselves) the BWS is a brew to chew on. First of what they hope will be a range utilising unique bush tucker herbs. Huge caramel on the tongue with a dark, murky choc middle (thanks to the roasted wattle seeds) this has a smooth landing best from the glass.

Verdict: An Uluru in a field of polished stones.

REDBACK ORIGINAL (4.7%)

Now Matilda bay's released its twisted sister Cristal and there's a wheat beer glut on the street, this bastard offspring of the south-German creameries deserves reappraisal. Upshot? Redback is still the most perfectly callibrated beer for the Australian palate - crisp, lustrous and fizzing with subtle exotic flavours.

Verdict: Forget lemon, pop a prawn in the neck and chug-a-lug-lug.

JAMES SQUIRE PORTER (5%)

When there's snow on the roof this beer puts fire in the belly. Basically, a beef and burgundy pie in a bottle, the JS Porter is nuts, jaffas, roasted coffee and rum in one delicious murky magnificent package. Standing tall and still handsome after all these years, it's a spicily seasoned campaigner in the long winter months ahead at home or in a bar near you.

Verdict: A perfect winter hibernation companion.

SNOWY MOUNTAINS BULLOCKS PILSNER (4.5%)

We're all for rustic brewing but calling a beer ‘Bullocks' might be overplaying it. First brewed in 1842 in the Czech town of Plzen, it's reinvented here in a stampede of malt flavours that leave several large steaming depositories of flowery aromas and hoppy bouquets. Predictably great with a steak.

Verdict: Never mind the Bullocks, taste the pilsner

MILDURA DESERT (4.5%)

Tasting this one with Andrew O'Keefe, we both agreed something was lacking. "Monica Belluci?" I ventured. "No," said Andrew, sipping again. "Flavour." He was talking about this beer which we agreed was "flat and watery yet companionable". AOK then went to the gents and we popped our re-written questions for Deal or No Deal in his pocket.

Verdict: Desert: A lager with a taste as sexy as its name.

HOLGATE WHITE ALE (5%)

A tart little fizz bomb of a beer and a fine one at that. Lots of suds and sour notes rising fast on detonation and herbs mixed with metals as the barometer drops, the White Ale skitters across the palate as if someone depth-charged a lemon sherbet into a Redback at the late-hopping stage.

Verdict: The ‘white' may be wizz fizz but it spring-loaded our tastebuds all the rights ways.

MENABREA ITALIA

Soft-bodied with a fine lacing and an abiding hoppyness. No, it's not your ex-girlfriend. It's a lager from Italy and one of five currently flooding bottleshops at fair-to-suspiciously reasonable prices. This one's got plenty of travelling tang, fruity whisps and a subtle malt mist in the skolling.

Verdict: It's cheap, uncomplicated and handy in emergencies. Like your wife.

GRAND RIDGE YARRA VALLEY GOLD (4.9%)

Lovely mud up front in this bronze warrior from the Grand Ridge lads. A light skimming of cream and tiny mortar bombs of hoppiness pop and crackle amidst light roasted malts. Bitter ingrained in the sweetness, it's more oakey than smokey and sure to be a hit in Muskogee.

Verdict: A golden valley all the way from lip to hip.

BYRON BAY PREMIUM ALE (5%)

You can taste the Byron hinterland here - grass, salty air, light hopping and lots of dry open spaces. Alas, it's as pretty, windswept and faux-bitter as many of Byron's blow-ins and needs to be more earthy and herbal if it's to break its session beer rep. Crook label.

Verdict: We wanted Delvene Delaney in a glass but we got Leo Wanker.

RED DUCK HONEY PORTER (6.6%)

A hunky dory honey porter in limited release these next few months is a stew of malts and timbers and coffee beans and, yes, even a little honey in the back pocket. Plenty of potential post-meal for pairing with cheeses and chocolates or even elevated in the batting order to match it with a main of pork or venison.

Verdict: Duck and honey are fine bedfellows on the plate and now, on the palate.

SNOWY MOUNTAINS CRACKENBACK (4.9%)

Naturally brewed and fond of supernatural tales on their labels, Snowy do a roaring trade in fresh air and whip-cracking beers. This exits the bottle in a fast fizz of high lacing, hitting the glass in a nice haze of yellow and settling to a soft-glowing amber in which orange and brown sugar disrobe.

Verdict: A mettlesome colt your palate won't regret.

GRAND RIDGE GIPPSLAND GOLD (4.9%)

Gold in the glass and a tad metallic on the palate, the Gold holds it own against most bitters on the market today. Nice pillowy head might imply creaminess but it's more fruit notes with a butterscotch undercurrent. The beer also has good woodiness at the foundation and crystal malt improving the decor.

Verdict: A fine amber fluid indeed.

MILDURA BREWERY HONEY WHEAT (4.5%)

Light and lady-friendly, this one might cause a buzz if Mildura Brewery's distribution can crank up. After all, the success of MB's Beez Neez (which used Capilano honey) and Boag's Honey Porter (which favoured the heavier Leatherwood variety) is proof that honey tickling the tonsils on a sunny day.

Verdict: A beer with zing as good for male drones as queen bees.

NAIL ALE (4.7%)

This full-mash ‘Australian' pale ale from Perth's Nail Brewing, uses Crystal malt and Pride of Ringwood hops and came to us very highly regarded by those who'd sampled it from the pint glass as a draught. Rightly so too. Bursting with coppery hues in the glass, it goes hammer and tongs from the get-go with big lemon and lime wafts nicely anchored with some malty ballast.

Verdict: Beats a Screwdriver anyday.

ASAHI SUPER-DRY (5%)

As the quinella in the 2006 Melbourne Cup taught us, Japanese thoroughbreds are not to be underestimated. Asahi has long been considered a sprinter, thirst-quenching over the short-distance of a nori roll, but fading too fast when the heat rises at the wok-face. But as a cleanser paired with sushi or greasy snags, Asahi saddles up fine.

Verdict: Drinkable at dusk but not with a rising sun.

RED DUCK PALE ALE (4.5%)

From Purrumbete Brewing in Camperdown, Victoria this is one of eight great beers in the Red Duck range, from Strong Bitters to Honey Porters. This PA kicks off with caramel notes and with burnt roasty bits intermingled and there's little pocket rockets of citrus and zing as things proceed but it's more rusty murk than complexity in the long run.

Verdict: A fine bird of a feather but plucked of it's finery, undernourished.

MILDURA MALEE BULL HEAVY (5.6%)

A real bull with horns, this is the brew stud in Mildura's top paddock and it's a fine speciman. Heavy? It's only 5.6%, but the sticky malts and malt porridge flavours add heavy-density to the blend. The bull gets a fair head of steam up in the pour with cascade hops and pine fizz but it soon settles somewhere between fresh grass and molasses.

Verdict: A noble, no-bull beer coming into season now.

KNAPPSTEIN ENTERPRISE (5.6%)

Elegantly packaged as it is, we roadtested this special reserve from the Knappstein winery in South Australia at a can-stacked barbie and it cut the grease with aplomb. Fine carbonation hints at a hit but its a bouquet nose of grapefruit and pulped apricots that give it lift-off. And it keeps on rising...

Verdict: A finish so short it's like being stabbed with a strawberry.

VICTORIA BITTER ORIGINAL (4.6%)

We dips our lids to Carlton & United breweries for unearthing the colourful bloodline of the now-ubiquitous Veebs. A real surprise, VB Original is a winner - from label design to lip service. It's still ostensibly Vitamin B but with less metal and more roasty malt and nicely hoppy bitterness to chew on. I suggest swapping old and new immediatly!

Verdict: The original VB and, by a vast margin, the best.

MILDURA STORM (4.5%)

Our favourite of the Mildura range, the Storm has plenty of thunder and lightning on high in the form of Amarillo hop aromas and passionfruit and orange riffs, but blows itself out a little fast and is swamped by a sweet-coated metallic cloy at the finish. But we like it's golden hues and swirling clouds and it's a thirst-saturating brew while it lasts.

Verdict: Rain, hail or shine this Storm is welcome in our fridge.

BARONS PALE ALE (4.6%)

Like a passionfruit crop picker, this one is equal part tropical tang, golden sunshine and sweaty sun cream. It blazes the colour of bullion in the glass and, thanks to Pacific Hallertau and Nelson Sauvin Hops packs plenty of sav-blanc-esque effervescense up front. Holds to the end, finishing fast where its rivals fade to grey.

Verdict: Potentially the smoothest and driest PA since Miss Moneypenny at MI5.

MOUNTAIN GOAT HIGHTAIL (4.5%)

This American pale ale-style pours a lovely burnt-brown on delivery before detonating in the mouth with full rich toffee and roasted malt flavours. Delicately foiled with crispy hop bitters and a nose of mangoes and canned peaches, the Hightail boasts a savoury cut grass and spicy clove nose that favours Malaysian or Indian food.

Verdict: A highkicker best enjoyed from the glass.

BUCKLEY'S PILS (4.5%)

From the Yarra Flats out at Healesville, Victoria comes a Pils with a difference. The label looks like that of a lemonade and, alas, the contents resemble one. Green aple peel and sour cider vibes from the outset this is a lime chutney jar filled with saltwater then soda and left to ferment.

Verdict: They've got Buckley's of getting us to ever drink another one.

Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)