Overview
Nothing warms the cockles of our hearts more than traipsing along to a warm enclosure and getting an educational experience while we fill up on the newest stout or IPA. And it's the perfect timing for such merriments, with Melbourne's Good Beer Week in full swing and the GABS taking over the Exhibition Building this weekend.
With an impressive 15 beers being released every week in Australia alone, it can be hard to get a grasp on all the best brews on the block. To help, we tried and tested an innumerable amount on your behalf. You can find most of these ten beauties at your local craft beer bottle shop, or you can take your legs along to one of Melbourne's many beery events this weekend. So grab a glass and hop to it y'all.
10. BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS — MOON DOG
The experimental Moon Dog crew have created another taste-explosion, and it's the ideal choice for when you can't decide if you need the hair of the dog in beer or tomato format. Moon Dog's answer is to mimic the classic Bloody Mary — but instead of tomato juice, we're talking Red Ale. Three types of chillis have been infused but these aren't added to dominate. Instead, they leave a warm tingle on the tongue. Vonnegut might surely agree that this sort of nonsense is Moon Dog's strength.
9. SUMMER ALE — MOUNTAIN GOAT
When it comes to a supernatural weekend getaway, cruising the liquor isle in search of non-glass beers is a headache. Thankfully, the Mountain Goat lads are helping us out by packaging a passionfruit style favourite into cans. Not only will your beer be hoppy and aromatic, but it sure does make it easier having a chilly bin filled with tinnies so you don’t have to worry about security stealing your stash. Something to note for next summer.
8. MISS PINKY — BOATROCKER
There are not many beers the Germans didn't think of first, and sour beer is one of them. This sour style is called Berliner Weisse and is becoming increasingly popular on Australian palates. So how do you make such a sweet drink turn pink? Well, the Boatrocker Brewers have added 100kgs of sour raspberries to their ale yeast to create a cloudy pink beer. It's a tart, fruity character, yet surprisingly refreshing. Just make sure you get your lips wrapped around this lady at the beginning of the evening.
7. WATTLE PALE ALE — BREWSMITH
Using a 110-year-old recipe stolen from the beer gods, BrewSmith give you the chance to create your own batch at home. Their Aussie Wattle Pale Ale kit comes with a mix of wattle seeds, malt extract, hops and specialty grains, all of which you can leave in a dark nook for three weeks. What you're left with is a lighter pale ale (at around 4.4%) — one that will impress any backyard gathering.
6. MOTLEY BREW — CAVALIER
Collaboration is a beautiful thing. And so is the Motley Brew: a Summer Wheat IPA rocking those fruity and hoppy characteristics we’ve all come to enjoy. It's the love child of 15 different breweries (possibly the biggest beer collaboration ever achieved), using 5 different hops, which have all been left to ferment into one good taste. Although the Motley was only a limited release, the Brunswick-based brewers will be showcasing another collaborated tasty during Good Beer Week. Make sure you don’t miss their next one.
5. GO FIGA — GRAND RIDGE BREWERY
By substituting figs instead of sugar, the Grand Ridge Brewery have spiced up the classic ginger ale — and it's one to go wild about. It's long been their ethos not to add any sugars, chemicals or preservatives, so they’re sticking with organic figs. To top it off, there are even subtle hints of coriander, making this complex brew a real infusion of flavours. Their fig and ginger ale has even had a life as a sorbet — but with winter nearly afoot, we recommend lighting your inner fire with a bottle or two of this fresh, yet toasty delight. It will be available for the first time at GABS this weekend.
4. BLACKMAN'S UNFILTERED LAGER — BLACKMAN'S BREWERY
A young couple from Torquay are naming their brews after family members; cousin Arthur might be a smoked porter and uncle Bob the spiced witbier. But it's their Unfiltered Lager that’s making us go all gooey – much like those delicate, honey-like malt flavours you'll find in this brew. Unfiltered lagers can tend to be difficult to make well, but Blackman's are using a mix of German and Czech styles to create one elegant, refined beverage. Notes of citrus hops are present, which is pretty ideal for a brewery based right near the coast. This lager just became your perfect accompaniment to your sunset feast of fish and chips.
3. BOHEMIAN LAGER — BROOKES BEER
If you like your coffee Vienna style — you know, with a cheeky dollop of cream to smooth and cool your cup of joe — then you'll be keen on Brookes' Bohemian Lager. Full-on hops, cold coffee and chocolate notes are what you can expect from this copper-coloured beauty. These Bendigo-based brewers have been in the business for a mere 18 months, so you would be forgiven for not having heard of them already. Just make sure you don’'t forget them, as this malty Vienna lager is one to add to the 'session list'.
2. #003 MILK STOUT — EXIT BREWING
Who doesn’t dream of throwing in their mundane day job and making a living from brewing beer? Well, it's the actual fairytale ending — or rather, beginning — for the two gentlemen who quit their IT jobs in the UK to create Melbourne-based Exit Brewing. The Milk Stout may have seemed a risky bet, at only their third release, but it's one stout that's firmly in our hearts. She's dark and nutty, but her velvety creams balance those hints of rum. If you are lactose intolerant, steer clear, as it's the real deal.
1. RAMJET WHISKY BARREL AGED — BOATROCKER
What happens when you put imperial stout in just-emptied whisky barrels? The Ramjet, that's what. And with notes of caramel and toffee, this stout is out of this world. There's a reason this vintage, barrel-aged brew works so well — once the beer is removed from the barrels, they're bottled and left to age for another six months. The end results in roasted chocolate characteristics, followed by subtle hints of oak and whisky. The Ramjet Imperial Stout is our number one. And should be yours too. Roger that? Good. Over and out.
Hero image: Dollar Photo Club. Moon Dog image credit: formulatorrah via instagram; Boatrocker Miss Pinky image credit: gerert via Instagram; Grand Ridge image credit: sekainobeer via Instagram; Blackman's Brewery image credit: brewer_ash via Instagram; Brookes Beer image credit: beardface151 via Instagram