I'm back baby

Well, I haven't posted anything new for a while... a long while. This is mainly because I was so disillusioned by the schism of the conscience cognitive assimilation of beer from the metaphysical experience, to the point where as I had to take a leave of absence. That and the fact I am a chronic procrastinator. Regardless I'm back for now and in the time between the gap I have learned to focus my efforts on domestic beer mostly as the majority of quality we get imported is quite shite. I have also decided on revamping the blog which I will do over the course of the next few weeks. My focus will be more on Australian beers and perhaps to roll-in a ranking system to generally be more helpful.

Murray's Icon 2IPA

As the name indicates this is a mix of two styles, American IPA and Imperial Indian Pale Ale. This is a seasonal release by Murray's and although I didn't notice this at first this beer has a whopping 7.5% ABV (Woooo hoooo!). On the bottle it claims to be an extreme beer, well we will see about that. On the pour I got a murky caramel colour with a red tint to it, it is a heavy looking beer with a big dense head. The aroma is really pleasant, there is a strong passionfruit hit which kind of reminds me of passiona, there is a complex herbal element (too complicated to decode) and sweet caramel. The passionfruit is in the taste too as well as the herbal (reminiscent to Jagermeister). The taste is also creamy, toffee/caramel, peppery, quite a bit of bitterness and maybe some citrus. This is a thick beer, nicely carbonated and the finish is amazingly persistent. The flavor soldiers on, not only the bitterness but all of it.

As Murray's claims this is a serious drop and "not a beer for the faint-hearted", I would say this this beer has a set of iron balls. This is a complex, quirky, powerful beer... all I can say is WOW. Go out there and get some.

Brewery: Murray's Craft Brewing Co.
ABV: 7.5%
RRP: TBA

Wicked Elf Pilsner

I was initially drawn to this beer by its charming name and wicked little elf with a hook nose on the bottle. I found that it is a microbrew, hand crafted and produced in small batch so all the hallmarks of a quality beer are there. Right away I can tell this beer stinks of pretentiousness, but I decided to disregard this even at the stake of looking like an ostentatious arsehole drinking it. The little brewing company (TLBC) are the brewers behind this beer, going to their website I can see a whole bunch of awards for all their beers (another good sign). On the pour I got a really big fluffy head and a sharp orange/copper colour, so far things are going well. The aroma isn't terribly complex but I can smell a herbal tone and nice malt sweetness. The taste is however fairly complex and the flavors play well together. Tangy apples, citrus fruits, sweetness from the pilsener malt and maybe a hint of toffee. The bitterness is really well balanced, there is no real aftertaste and there is good amount of carbonation so this beer goes over really well.

I am really impressed, this is tasty and is really drinkable. This is definitely up there and this will something nice for the warmer weather coming up. I would recommend putting aside the "Yuppy factor" (unless thats what your into) and give this a try, good job TLBC!

Brewery: The Little Brewing Company
ABV: 5.0%
RRP: $14.99 per 4 pack (AUD)

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

This is another English beer I decided to review today hoping my luck would go better than Fursty Ferret as this is another expensive British 500ml import. I’ve wanted to do a write up on a stout so I though what the hell? Judging this by its packaging alone it looked pretty tempting as an indulgence and I can tell you now that it doesn't disappoint. Appearance wise I got a foamy hazelnut head which was fairly persistent and no light could penetrate its shadowy depths, doesn't it just look appealing from the photo? Definitely tops marks in the appearance. The smell to me was all chocolate so what it lacks in variety at least makes up for honesty in its "double chocolate" status. I was hoping for something special in the taste, what I got was... chocolate, shocking! To be more specific and less sarcastic I would say it is a dark chocolate taste, then comes creme and black coffee followed by a smooth burnt cocoa like bitterness. The feel of it is very silky and surprisingly not a thick as I thought it would be.

This is the nicest beer reviewed to date even though it is not perfect. Specifically I would of like this thicker and the bitterness balanced a bit better. Regardless this is a fantastic, enticing, soothing drop to savor that is worth the cost for the occasional treat (especially Christmas time I think).

Additional note: True Brews have coincidently just reviewed this too, so check it out.

Brewery: Wells & Young’s Brewing Co.
ABV: 5.2%
RRP: $6.99 per 500ml bottle (AUD)

Fursty Ferret Ale

Fursty Ferret, man what a great name for a beer. When I saw this bottle with ferrets merrily investigating an oak barrel of booze I knew I had to try this out. This is the first imported beer I have reviewed which hails from England from the Hall and Woodhouse brewery. After the charming name and animation the first thing I noticed was the bundy 500ml quantity which looks more like a scotch bottle than a beer bottle. On the pour I got a fluffy beige head which started at one inch and quickly deteriorated to 1mm. The colour when examined is a classic clear amber. The nose is fairly sweet, cream, caramel yada yada yada. Now the taste had some pretty good elements to it with a strong hop and malt flavour balance and again creamy/caramel characteristics. With that said, lets go into the negatives. There is this odd earthy (best adjective I could come up with) taste which I found rather unappealing. Also I found that there is a soapy astringency on the aftertaste.

Apparently this is a real popular drop over in British supermarkets and what-not, but for all of it's exterior charms you do not get your moneys worth on this one.

Brewery: Hall and Woodhouse
ABV: 4.4%
RRP: $8.90 per 500ml bottle (AUD)

Red Emperor Amber Ale

I had never seen this beer until I stumbled across it in Dan Murphy's last week (Dan Murphy's FTW!) and the sexy mermaid on the bottle was enticing enough. On the Fish Rock brewery website I can see that this company only makes two beers, this amber ale and a pilsner type concoction. I also noted that their beers are made under the Reinheitsgebot law which I don't believe is very commonly practiced here in Australia. The beer has a nice mousse-like head with a clear ginger ale like colour. This is another beer that seemingly has no smell, but once it had been agitated a little I could start to detect a fresh floral aroma. I found this ale to be a slow sipping drop with tastes of fresh fruit (lime, passionfruit and perhaps watermelon) and meringue. Although not as prominent as some other ales I have tried there was a nice maltiness to the palate.

My one complaint about Red Emperor is that it is a bit anticlimactic, theres just some X factor missing I can't quite pin-point. Regardless this is a very nice well-rounded beer, the kind I would like to enjoy on tap while having a nice counter lunch.

Brewery: Fish Rock Brewery
ABV: 4.5%
RRP: TBA

Hey kids, drink beer.... Kanpai!