Kooinda Belgian Witbier

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Here is my second tasting of a Kooinda or Happy Place Brewing Co. brew and this time round it’s a not so limited release….come to think of it I haven’t strayed too far from the Karaka at all and I’m not really sure why?

This is a hand crafted, unfiltered Belgian Witbier that is brewed with wheat and Pilsner malts.  In keeping with Belgian Witbier tradition Kooinda have also spiced up this beer with coriander and sweet orange peel.  It comes on tap where available and in 330ml bottles sporting a deep orange label.  It has an ABV of 5.5% which equates to 1.5 standard drinks per bottle.  You won’t find this brew in BWS, Dan Murphy’s or 1st Choice so don’t bother looking for it there and depending on where you do find it expect to pay around $5 per bottle.

My bottle poured with a massive foamy white head that quickly dissolved to leave just a white ring with no lacing.  It had that typical cloudy straw colour which one come to expect of a traditional Witbier.  Both the sweet orange peel and coriander were noticeable in the aroma which was good to see.   Unfortunately though I found the taste to be thin and light on, it started off refreshing, finished dry but left a metallic like tang in my mouth.  The beer also seemed over carbonated for what it was.

Kooinda have done a decent job of creating a traditional Witbier in most aspects but in the taste department I found their version to only be reminiscent of the real thing.

Quick Facts: 5.5% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top

FYI Kooinda Boutique Brewery will be open to the public this Thursday 22nd December 2011.  Their address is 28 Culverlands St, Heidelberg West, Victoria – ‘Take Yourself There’ as Kooinda would say.

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Holgate Double Trouble

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

An Abbey Ale that’s in Double Trouble in more ways than one.

Holgate Brewhouse has created this beer to be a shining example of a Belgian Abbey Ale or Dubbel, but as I’ve found time and time again those crafty Belgian monks aren’t easily upstaged.  A Dubbel style beer by definition usually will have an alcohol range somewhere between 6-8% ABV, be rich in malts and have a mild or understated hop bitterness.  Double Trouble has all of the above and sits at the top end of the scale with 8% alcohol per volume and an IBU of 38.  It is a limited release beer that only comes in 330ml bottles at the cost of around $5 a bottle.

Double Trouble has a big caramel malt aroma mixed with dark fruits like raisins.  It is copper in appearance with a half inch off white head that unfortunately disappears to leave no lacing or beading.  The bottle I opened seemed well under carbonated and almost flat which was disappointing to find.  You can certainly taste an abundance of dark malts in this beer though it all comes through too alcohol like for me.  The smell and taste of this beer both had an almost burning sensation like having a shot of whiskey.  Holgate recommends trying this beer with sticky desserts or cheese platters.

In my opinion this beer has nothing on a real Belgian Dubbel like Westmalle Dubbel.  Plus when you consider for an extra $2 you can pick up the real thing imported all the way from Belgium, why wouldn’t you!  Please try Double Trouble  for yourself and make your own mind up on whether the Aussies or Belgians do it better.

Rating (out of five):


Quick Facts: 8% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop Top

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Brewdog Hardcore IPA

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Is this double/Imperial IPA, Hardcore in a good or a bad way?

This is Brewdog’s second incantation of the Hardcore IPA.  It has a new & improved recipe and label as well as a slightly higher alcohol content of 9.2% over the original 9% variation.   The new version of Hardcore took out the gold medal in the Imperial IPA category at the Brewers Association World Beer Cup in Chicago of April last year.  The new version is said to be a double dry hopped monster, which is meant to be much darker with more malts than the previous release – unfortunately I can’t verify as I sadly don’t have access to the original Hardcore IPA which is now retired.  Hardcore pours a blurry deep orange colour with a firm head of white foam which slowly subsides to leave lovely intricate lacing.  The aroma is straight up fresh, hoppy, herbal like and all round pleasant to smell.  For a brew of 9.2% alcohol this is exceptionally easy drinking and smooth on the palate.  It has a hop filled earthy presence up front followed by a lingering bitterness and is an extremely well balanced with the three types of malt used in it.  I couldn’t wait to for my next mouthful and now just wish I had more of it.

Hardcore DIPA is a solid brew for its style.  My only regret with this particular beer was having it late at night and being too tired to truly enjoy it.  Also considering a 330ml bottle set me back $7.50 this wasn’t the smartest move on my part.  So there you have a Hardcore beer of 9.2% alcohol that won’t bite but may leave your taste buds wanting another bite or two!

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Lobethal Bierhaus Pale Ale

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

During my travels last week I was recommended to try some Lobethal Bierhaus brews and that’s exactly what I did.

I purchased a mixed six-pack of Lobethal Bierhaus beers from my local craft bottle shop for $25, a reasonable price for beers I have not yet seen elsewhere.   After contemplating my selection for a few minutes I went with two of their Pale Ales, two IPAs, a Hefeweizen and a Pilsner.  Out of the four different styles of beer this was my favourite and reviews of the others will follow.  The Lobethal Bierhaus is located in . . . you guessed it Lobethal, which is 45 minutes from the city centre of South Australia.  The micro-brewery first opened its doors on the 26th May 2007 and currently produces seven different types of beer which surprises me further that I haven’t seen anything from them until now.

This American Style Pale Ale or otherwise known as an APA pours a hazy ruby-amber with plenty of sticky lacing and you’ll notice some settling sediment towards the bottom of your glass.   It has a quick erupting beige head that lasts well and ends up as a neat ring of beading.  It’s immensely tasty and has a real creaminess to it which I loved.  This beer is packed full of sweet caramel malts which are noticeable on both the palate and nose.  The hops used in this beer leaves your mouth with a slight lingering bitterness, making it ever so morish.  Other than the caramel malts the aroma has some pleasant fruit notes like mango.  You can buy this beer directly from the brewer’s website here but unfortunately a carton doesn’t come cheap – $82 plus postage depending on state.  There is also a list of stockists here if online ordering isn’t your thing – though be warned their website is not the easiest to navigate!

Lobethal Bierhaus APA is a very tasty and competently brewed beer.   As mentioned this was my favourite out of the four different styles I picked and would love more of it, shame it’s not easier or cheaper to come by, though with that said you do get what you pay for.

Quick Facts: 5.6% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top

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Brewdog Paradox Isle Of Arran

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

I love Brewdog!  I’m sure I’ve said it before but I’ll say again and why do I love them so much, well take a look at the picture below for starters.

Last Thursday was International Stout Day and I thought what better beer to enjoy than this one.  This brew comes from a partnership between the two Scottish companies Brewdog and the Isle Of Arran Distillers, hence its unique name and label.  Each limited batch of this beer is matured for six months in a number of scotch malt whiskey casks, with some formally used for sherry.  Paradox is an Imperial Stout which weighs in at a hefty 10% alcohol per 330ml bottle.   Imperial Stouts by nature are usually dark brown to black in colour, have intense malt roasted flavours and generally exceed 8% alcohol – all of which this one does and does well.

This Imperial Stout pours a solid black with a rapid forming monstrous tan head (seen in the above pic) that was very reminiscent of foam and surprisingly it didn’t leave any lacing on my glass.  It has low carbonation which I think works well with this style of beer.  There’s an intense aroma of chocolate, whiskey and charred wood and this hits you as soon as you open the bottle.   The taste is rich, full of roasted malts (five different malts are used in the making of this beer), chocolate and some coffee notes.  You can really feel the flavours lingering in the back of your throat until the next sip.   I loved this beer from start to finish and that was honestly over and hour for the one bottle.

Paradox Isle of Arran is an extremely smooth and enjoyable Imperial Stout.  It should not be quaffed, but rather savoured and enjoyed.  I would happily have another right away… if I had one!  It’s a feast in a bottle or for some a beast in a glass, either way I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.

Quick Facts: 10% alcohol – 330ml brown bottle – Pop top

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Bitter & Twisted Beer Festival

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

This Saturday & Sunday (5-6 November 2011) the Maitland Gaol situated two hours north of Sydney will once again be full of people, but this time round they won’t be hardened criminals they’ll be beer lovers!

The Bitter & Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival once again will be tempting thousands of beer lovers to the now open cell doors of the Maitland Gaol in the Hunter Valley, NSW.  This year it will be featuring over 50 beers from sort after Australian craft and speciality international brewers.  Some of the featured brewers include; Hunter Beer Co, Bluetongue Brewery, Murrays Craft Beer Co, Illawarra Brewing Co, Little Creatures, 4 Pines, Matilda Bay, Brew By U, Fusion Brewing and Rocks Brewing Co.  Beer and brewing classes will also be available on the day for those wanting to learn more.  The festival will feature various styles of live music from artists all over Australia.  Plus you won’t have to go far to wash that beer down on the day either, as there will be a selection of local and international food that has been paired to suit every brew.

Tickets start at $15 each with various options available.  For more information on this fantastic day please head to the official website http://www.bitterandtwisted.com.au where there is currently a chance to win a double VIP pass!

For those heading to the festival this weekend we wish you fantastic day of beer, food and music and would love to hear your thoughts on the experience in the comment section below, CHEERS!

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Moa St Josephs

Monday, October 31st, 2011

St Josephs is Moa Brewing Company’s take on a traditional style Belgian Tripel.  It certainly has the alcohol strength of a Tripel but does it have that traditional Belgian Goodness?

This is the second brew I have reviewed from the New Zealand based brewers, the first being their Five Hop Winter Ale which scored 5/5.  Since then the entire Moa range has undergone a facelift in labelling with the above labelling system now featuring across their range.   A four pack of St Josephs will set you back $25 which I believe is a decent price considering each 375 ml bottle contains 2.8 standard drinks and 9.5% alcohol.  It is recommended that you serve this beer at 8°C in a goblet and gently roll it prior to pouring to distribute the sediment signature as it is bottle conditioned.  If sediment turns you off as it does some, please note there was only little specks of it in this beer.

St Josephs pours a golden haze with a fluffy white head that has excellent retention and leaves plenty of lacing down your glass.  This brew is heavily spiced, which is noticeable firstly on the nose.  There are also citrus and clove notes in the aroma.  There are some very complex flavours to this brew with a notable kick of spices on the palate and the mouth-feel is well carbonated.  Unfortunately I found the alcohol in the beer to be noticeably strong so much so that I was feeling the effects of it after only a few mouthfuls.  This is certainly not a session beer nor a beer to be quaffed.

Personally, I found this beer to be overpowering in the alcohol department and unlike its traditional counterparts wasn’t as well hidden.  If you’re looking at testing out what Moa have to offer I would be giving their Five Hop Winter Ale a go first, even if summer is just around the corner.

Rating (out of five):


Quick Facts: 9.5% alcohol – 375ml dark green bottle – Pop top

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Kooinda Karaka Belgian Witbier

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

How would you feel about trying a traditional Belgian Witbier with a berry twist?  Well that’s exactly what Karaka is said to be, but how big is this berry twist exactly?

Kooinda Karaka comes from the Happy Place Brewing Co in Heidelberg West, Victoria.  Kooinda means ‘Happy Place’, though I’m not sure where this meaning originates.  The Kooinda Boutique Brewery currently produces 800 litre batches of hand crafted brews, with regular offerings including an America Pale Ale, Belgian Witbier, Black IPA and Golden Ale.  This particular brew is currently limited to 250 bottles, but the brewers are hoping to make another batch in the near future.

$37 – that’s what my friend and I paid for a 750ml bottle of this limited release beer and I’ll tell you why we did so, the label!  The purple label on the front of this bottle (actually the only form of labelling on this bottle whatsoever) reads the following in white text:

This delicate, easy drinking beer is a traditional Belgian Witbier with a berry twist. The beer is crafted with coriander & sweet orange peel late in the brewing process. Then racked onto fresh raspberries & secondary fermented for seven days. The beer is reracked onto karaka berries for another week.

So that in a nutshell was what sealed the deal for our $37 expenditure that evening and the following afternoon with cracked it.

Now for what would we believe was sold as having an abundant amount of berry zing to it, actually had very little.  We both agree that the berry factor seemed non-existent in this brew, neither of us could taste nor smell raspberries or karaka berries – which are a hybrid berry that can be likened to a mild blackberry in flavour.  This was really disappointing as we both expected a lot more from $37 worth and I don’t take that amount lightly in the beer realm and I’m sure a lot of others would agree.  We did however smell and taste the coriander and citrus elements.  This beer pours an amazing, lasting white head full of tightly packed bubbles with a slight pink colouring to it.    It’s a misty reddish-orange in appearance and simply beautiful to look at – if I could rate it on appearance alone it would get 5 out of 5.

Karaka was not exactly what my friend or I were hoping for in a $37 bottle of beer, though we both are grateful to have tasted it.  It certainly has the taste and appearance of a Belgian Witbier but there’s no berry twist to it.  So with that said if you’re happy for an Australian take on a Belgian wheat beer without a berry twist I’d give it a go.

Rating (out of five):


Quick Facts: 5.5% alcohol – 750ml green bottle – Pop top

| Posted in Beer Reviews, Witbier | 1 Comment »

8 Wired Tall Poppy India Red Ale

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there’s something very special in that water down in New Zealand!

This is the second brew from the 8 Wired Brewing Co. that I have had the pleasure of trying, the first being Hopwired IPA.   I honestly have to continue my 8 Wired journey cause their beers never seem to disappoint!  You can tell straight away that this company is passionate about beer just from reading the label.  What took my fancy was this particular sentence from the back of the red label:

“Please don’t binge this beer.  We have worked too hard for it to be wasted”

It cleverly goes on to say the following under the barcode about storage:

“Heat and sunshine may be your best friends but they are beer’s worst enemies!”

At around $14 a 500ml and currently in short supply you would be mad to binge this beer, not to mention missing out on the experience of actually tasting it.  This tall poppy pours a fantastic two finger thick cream head that dissipates slowly to an even ring of micro bubbles.   The 500ml of liquid fitted snugly in my Duvel tulip glass.  It pours a rich deep ruby colour and reminded me a little of gravy at first glance.   It’s heavily bodied but moderately carbonated, so it doesn’t leave your mouth wanting to explode.  There are big, sweet, fruity hops on both the palette and nose followed by a real sharp bitterness that lingers on to your next sip.  It’s actually somewhat tart with the fruitiness which makes it refreshing I think.  This was an outright pleasurable beverage from start to finish.

Tall Poppy India Red Ale is another absolute gem of a brew from the 8 Wired Brewing Company.  I would prefer their Hopwired IPA to this but would happily consume either and thoroughly enjoy doing so.

  Rating (out of five):

Quick Facts: 7.0% alcohol – 500ml brown bottle – Pop top

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St Peter’s Ruby Red Ale

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

It’s been over a year since I’ve had anything from the St Peter’s Brewery in Suffolk England, but thankfully my local Dan Murphy’s store has reconnected us which was a surprise.

If there’s one thing that draws me into buying a St Peter’s brew it’s the green oval shaped bottle that appears to be unique to this brewery.  The label on the one I just opened says the following about the bottle;

“Our beautiful flask-shaped oval bottle is a faithful copy of the one produced c.1770 for Thomas Gerrard of Gibbstown, just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.  The original is now kept at St. Peter’s Hall and is a rare example of an oval Eighteenth Century beer bottle.”

This brew pours a lovely clear ruby colour as one would expect and is well carbonated.  The head is an off-white and soapy in appearance, and leaves dots of lacing on your glass.  There’s a big caramel & roasted malt aroma to this brew and it’s very pleasant on the nose.  It is an easy drinking beer that has smooth malt tones up front, followed by a dry hoppy bitterness but both are fairly mild.  As mentioned earlier it was a surprise to see this beer stocked at my local Dan Murphy’s and hopefully if you want to try it your local store will have it as well, no promises.  A 500ml bottle costs $8 and equates to 1.7 standard drinks here in Australia.

To me this brew actually tasted slightly watery and somewhat bland.  Other than the green oval bottle there’s not much that makes this brew out of the ordinary.

 Rating (out of five):


Quick Facts: 4.3% alcohol – 500ml green bottle – Pop top

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