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Warmer weather equals beer weather, and John Krüger recommends five fresh South Australian brews that make his tastebuds sing – from a watermelon-infused sour to a tropical-style lager and an ale that’s refreshingly pale.

Mismatch – New England Lager

While nearly every craft brewer is on the NEIPA bandwagon (that stands for New England India Pale Ale, but cool bottle shop staff understand if you say “Neepa”), Mismatch has put its own twist on the hazy tropical-style IPA by making, technically, a NEIPL. The L is for lager.

Some ale yeasts can produce fruity esters and contribute to the fruit character of the beer. (There’s also “biotransformation”, which is a whole new rabbit hole to look into if you’re interested.) Whatever the reason, this beer still works. It is indeed soft, hazy, juicy and tropical, with big aromas, soft fruity flavours and quite low bitterness. It’s 5 percent ABV in a 375ml can, but also excellent fresh on tap.

Food match: Spicy Jamaican jerk chicken with plenty of chargrilled fresh pineapple.

Little Bang – Shwangermelon!

It almost seems like the guys at Little Bang are coming up with a new beer every few weeks and the Schwang range of sours are definitely worth checking out. The latest, Schwangermelon!, is a watermelon-infused beer that’s perfect for a stinking hot day – definitely a beer to drink while wearing thongs.

It pours bright and clear with only a hint of pink; the watermelon aroma is also quite subtle but the flavour is a lovely natural watermelon fruitiness with soft malt and a soft acidic twang on the finish. It’s dry and very refreshing. There’s no artificial perfume-like aromas or flavours, just real melon and even a hint of watermelon rind. The Schwangermelon! is a quite restrained and well-made fruit sour and, at only 3 per cent ABV, it’s the perfect summer refresher.

Food match: Try this beer icy cold with a chargrilled watermelon, mint and pea salad. You could also add some chargrilled kingfish.

Pikes Beer Co – Limited Release IPA

Let’s hope this limited-release turns into a core beer. It’s a golden-orange-coloured ale which pours from a 500ml bottle with a strikingly pretty minimalist label by Adelaide’s Black Squid Design. I hope the font decal is as good as the label because this IPA is apparently sensational fresh on tap.

It smells of sweet malt and a good whack of hoppy citrus peel. In the mouth it’s slightly lighter than expected from the sweet aroma – well balanced in bitterness and sweetness, with some enjoyable candied-bitter-orange characters on the finish. The ABV is 6.5 per cent.

This ale is a bit like a shot of Campari and a toasted slice of raisin bread – delicious. Brewer Alister Pike reckons it’s gutsy but not over-the-top, and suggests not overpowering it with food that’s too spicy … so I’ve gone for a dessert.

Food match: Fresh cannoli, Galaktoboureko (a Greek dessert made with custard and filo) or crème brûlée. Candied orange and alcohol needs custard.

Pirate Life – Tropical IIPA

That’s not a typo. This is a double India Pale Ale, or Imperial IPA. IIPAs have more of everything: more hops, more alcohol, and generally some more body to balance the extra hops as well. This is a big 8 per cent ABV beer and, like Pirate Life’s original IIPA, it’s refined and perfectly made.

It pours crystal clear with a deep golden colour. It smells of passionfruit and grapefruit but on the tongue there’s strong pine, grapefruit, guava and a hint of pineapple. There’s a honey-like malt sweetness that carries all of the bitterness and it’s in perfect balance, although I don’t think this is the kind of beer you’d drink a few of while cooking a barbecue. It’s more the beer you treat yourself to when you get home on a Friday arvo (especially with 2.3 standard drinks from one 355ml can).

Food match: Pork skewers with habanero mango salsa. This needs some intensity to balance things out.

Uraidla Brewery – Forgotten Ritual Unfiltered Pale Ale

This is light and hazy. It’s nice to see a modern pale ale that’s actually pale, and this refreshing beer has a crisp lemony hop character and a dry, almost acidic finish on the tongue. It’s delicious.

The unfiltered aspect lets the yeast settle on the palate, softening the finish. It’s another great beer from a relatively new brewery and would be a perfect summer quaffer. It’s a full 5 per cent ABV or 1.3 standard drinks from the 330ml can, but would also be great when fresh on tap.

Food match: Pan-fried flathead and hand-cut chips with pink saltflakes. The lemony aspect would be very refreshing.

John Krüger is an Adelaide-based photographer and home brewer with a passion for good beer. He’s on the Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards committee, as well as being a beer judge with the awards.

Beer Radar for InDaily

Winter Warmers 2016

(First published by InDaily in 2016 http://indaily.com.au/eat-drink-explore/2016/08/22/dark-sa-beers-for-winter-cheer/ )

While winter is on its last legs and the mind wanders to sunny days and refreshing beers, there’s still time to embrace nourishing South Australian brewed winter warming beverages. There’s nothing better than a pint of stout next to an open fire and sometimes we forget how blessed we are to have fresh locally brewed stouts for our enjoyment. Forget Dublin, Adelaide has all you need for a hearty black brew that makes the soul sing. Some people object to the harsh acrid roast barley and roast malt that’s in some stouts but here’s some stellar examples of beers with a hint of sweetness to take the edge off the dry dusty ashtray character.

Southwark – Old Stout

Generally only available in South Australia and conjured like a miracle every winter in Thebarton. The beer nerds say it’s the best beer to come out of the West End brewery and it’s undoubtedly a beer we should be proud of. The experts also agree on its quality, awarding this rich hearty brew Champion Stout at the 2016 Royal Adelaide Beer & Cider Awards. It’s thick, slightly sweet and full bodied. Quite a mouthful. One brewer described it as “stout meets smokey Barossa Mettwurst”. There’s a hint of coffee, bitter chocolate a layer upon layer of roast barley, roast lamb and chocolate mud cake. It’s not quite the beer to drink on a Friday night on the way home from work. At 7.4%abv have a few of these at home instead of a glass of port. Unfortunately these days it’s only available in 375ml stubbies.

Food match: Oysters Kilpatrick. The bacon matches with the hint of smoke.

Source: Thirsty Camel

Fox Hat – Phat Mongrel

From the Willunga team who brought you Vale Ale, check out their new range of cans and kegs including this wonderful stout. It’s an American style oatmeal stout with a dash of nitro. In a nutshell, that means it’s got a bit more of a hop kick than our standard domestic stouts, the oatmeal adds body and a smooth silky mouthfeel and the nitrogen softens the carbonation for an even smoother finish. It smells of lightly of tar, hops, cocoa and dark rich sweet malt. The sweetness gives it a bigger body and balances against the higher hop rate to make a really enjoyable stout that’s a great after work beer in the colder weather. Definitely one to look out for on draught if you can find the perfect pub with a fireplace. 6.5%abv  375ml cans and draught.

Food match: Drink this sweeter stout with a slice of dark chocolate mud cake. The perfect dessert pairing.

Source: Highway Hotel

Lobethal Bierhaus – Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

He’s almost old enough to be called the Grandfather of South Australian Craft Beer and Alistair Turnbull has won plenty of awards for his fine range of beers. His Red Truck Porter is legendary and the Choc Oatmeal Stout is also a lesson in balance and honing a recipe until it’s perfect. The stout almost starts off with flavours of bitter sweet Chinotto before swapping over to dusty cocoa and freshly ground coffee. There’s enough coffee to consider a bottle with a Sunday bacon and egg breakfast. The oatmeal takes the harsh edge off the roast barley and smooths out a stout that could easily be a session beer as well as a single treat. 5.8%abv 330ml stubbies and draught.

Food match: Quality Barossan bacon with eggs on rye. If breakfast beer is frowned upon in your house, drink this instead of a glass of red wine with a well seasoned roast leg of lamb.

Source: Highway Hotel

Little Bang Brewing Co – (Warning) May Contain Traces of Panther

Possibly the coolest beer name to ever grace a beer. While technically more aligned with a Porter, this is definitely a dark winter warmer worth including. Great balance of sweet and bitterness, this deceptively easy drinking beer is one of the first bottled products to come from the micro-brewers based in Stepney. It’s dark but still a little light through revealing a deep dark red hue. It has some wonderful complex caramel notes but also enough roast to make it into this list. Let it warm up a little to enjoy the dark bitter chocolate and espresso coffee flavours and aromas. For brewers who love their hops, this shows nice restraint and is a joy to drink. 6.5%abv 330ml stubbies and draught.

Food match: Scallop and Chorizo skewers. Salty seafood and spice are complimented by the dark malts.

Source: Highway Hotel

John Krüger is an Adelaide based photographer and home brewer with a passion for good beer. He’s on the Royal Adelaide Beer and Cider Awards committee as well as a beer judge with the awards.

Beer Radar for TWTW.

Aussie brewers are showing their support for the folk of Queensland by doing what they do best; brewing great beer. Stone & Wood in Byron Bay have brewed a “Red Relief” ale. Jamie Cook from Stone & Wood Brewing Co. says “As craft brewers, we’re not exactly a big corporate with a big balance, but we do know that Aussies treat beer like currency, and we can brew beer. We’ve decided to work together with other good craft beer people to offer craft beer drinkers the opportunity to donate to the cause by simply buying and enjoying a beer. “

This special brew will be first available at the GAB SpecTAPular on the 12th of Feb and local Byron Bay pubs, and other good craft beer venues around the country the following weekend.

Proceeds from every keg sold across the bar will be donated to the Queensland Flood Appeal.

Mildura sign writer and graphic artist Carlie Rees decided to do something positive and knock up some simple stubbie holders to raise some money for the flood relief. Expecting to sell 20 or so, she asked her friends on Facebook if anyone was interested. She’s now inundated with over 200 orders and Adelaide venue, the Highway hotel is reported to have ordered 100 stubbie holders from her to sell across the bar. She’s unfortunately unable to produce many more without having to register as a charity.

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Feral Beers (First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2012)

Even though the winter months slow down beer consumption, the industry certainly doesn’t go on holidays. There’s some amazing beers coming out, but sometimes the release dates don’t match up too well with the weather. A prime example is Feral’s Watermelon Warhead. It’s a naturally sour Berliner Weisse flavoured with watermelons. Now that’s worth a mention just for the style. I tried it on a particularly cold day and thought the release timing was a bit odd being such a great lower alcohol beer for stinking hot weather, but wow, what a beer. It’s absolutely sensational. It’d also be my first pick for beer of the year. It’s certainly a different style and there’s no other examples of locally produced sour beers that come to mind to compare it to. I was worried that the lactic acid sourness would be narrow and sharp like a Cantillon beer from Belgium but the sourness is broad, smooth and almost savoury. I also wasn’t sure if watermelon in a beer would be my kind of thing, but the subtle layer of flavour and aroma it adds is totally complimentary.

Feral is also blowing us away with their barrel aged Hop Hog and their Karma Citra, a black IPA with plenty of tropical fruit flavours from Citra hops. Brewer Brendan Varis must be doing everything right because they’ve just won Best Australian Brewery (again) at the recent International Beer Awards in Melbourne.

Another favourite brewer of Beer Radar is Owen Johnston. His work with Moo Brew in Tasmania is always rock solid and super tasty. Moo Brew have just released a new Belgian style pale ale called Belgo. It’s not super high in alcohol so I was lucky enough to drink a pint of it with Owen recently. Some Belgians can be quite strong in alcohol and that funky yeast phenolic department, but Belgo is very balanced and a pleasure to drink. It’s also thankfully missing the ‘hot water on Weetbix’ aroma and flavour. For a roasty stout, keep your eyes peeled for the Moo Brew seasonal stout, colloquially known as ‘the Velvet Sledgehammer’, or their oak aged imperial stout if you deserve a special yet expensive treat.

Little Creatures have got the timing right and have just released their spiced winter ale called Day of the Long Shadow. It’s a sipper, sitting at a whisker under 9%abv. It’s flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and the bottles are primed with Muscovado sugar. I usually avoid “Christmas” or “spiced” beers because the spices are always too dominant. While the spices in this beer are restrained, the flavours build with every sip so it’s definitely for spiced beer lovers only. The layers of specialty malts give it a very aromatic and gutsy malt backbone and it makes this seem like drinking an ingredient rather than a finished beverage. I’m tempted to try the dessert pairing options with this beer, or even using it as an ingredient. The ultimate Christmas beer pudding, or dare I suggest, spiced beer donuts. Oh yeah.

*Moo Brew Belgo and Little Creatures Day of the Long Shadow were supplied by the breweries.

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Endeavour Beers (First published in Wine Business Magazine in 2010)

Our first few points of contact with Endeavour beers were unusual. We spotted them on our Twitter feeds and checked them out. Their profile mentioned using fresh ingredients. Hallelujah! Someone making commercial beer is as keen about fresh hops as we are.

A while later someone from Endeavour contacted us to tell us they are keen followers of our blog. This got us worried, as we don’t have a blog. (Oh the irony! 2016) In our opinion blogs are somewhat like writing a very poorly edited directionless rant in lemon juice and hiding it in a pile of lemons and paper.

Then we saw their press release. At first we suspected a young PR lady with little or no knowledge of the brewing process had gotten a few points from Wiki arse-about-face and botched some crazy stuff together before her mid-morning soy decaf latte. We enquired but they insisted that they’d written it themselves even though some of their declarations just don’t make any sense.

Yeast added to the mash? It’d get killed during the boil.

Purifying rain water (which is essentially distilled) by adding minerals? Isn’t that adulteration, not purification?

Mentioning fresh bittering hops but nothing about the freshness of the finishing hops. Bittering hops get boiled to the shitter and are probably the only stage where you can get away with anything less than fresh hops.

These points made us worry further.

The third time we were worried was when we saw the tiny 330ml bottles. We hate tiny bottles, but it looks like they’re here to stay. More crazy statements on the labels, and the labels are brown. Not a nice reddish brown but public toilet surprise brown. Surely poo brown must be the least desirable colour on any food packaging.

Well, all of the worry was unfounded once we tried the beers. Sure, they might not be our holy grails of beers, but if we found these brews in a friend’s fridge we’d happily accept an Endeavour beer over the majority of mainstream beers hands down.

Here’s our thoughts on their two current 2010 beers:

Endeavour 2010 Reserve Amber Ale.

Beautiful rich golden colour with chocolate and sweet malt aromas.

Lovely balanced bitterness, not harsh or too resiny considering Pride of Ringwood hops are used. Certainly not the classic Aussie flavours associated with Pride of Ringwood. Restrained chocolate and toffee flavours. 5.2%abv so a good solid flavoursome beer yet still very easy to drink. Carbonation is spot on, which is where newcomers can get into strife, especially with a new range of bottle conditioned beers.

Endeavour 2010 Reserve Pale Ale.

Very pale with a green tinge. Smelling of American hops, old-lady perfume and tropical fruit. Musk lollies. 4.5%abv. Light and easy drinking. We wonder if a little more crystal or beefing up to a 5% beer would have given it just a little more oomph, but it’s very light and easy to drink. Still showing a persistent hop presence but a little low on bitterness for our tastes. Still a clean balanced beer that would be too easy to drink quite a few of. Still beats the pants off the latest offerings from XXXX and the like.

 

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Alternative Beers (First published in Wine Business Magazine in 2013)

Looking for something a bit different? Check out some of these unique offerings that’ll wet your whistle and blow your mind at the same time. They’re also great beers for cooler weather.

Feral Brewing – Raging Flem

Don’t worry, the “Flem” in the title is in regards to the Flemish brewers who took the art of brewing beer and gave it a few amazing twists and turns with their northern Belgian ales. Their yeasts throw an amazing array or spice, funk, and sometimes acid. This Feral beer is an unusual combination of Belgian funk and classic ballsy American style India Pale Ale. I’ve never seen anything like it, and most beer fans take a step back when they hear about it; but wow, it works so well. There’s still a bucket load of American hop aroma but the spicy phenolic yeast merges with it amazingly well. Loads of full malty body and a good kick of spicy tropical fruit from the hops. This brewery in Western Australia really knows how to push the boundaries of “normal” beer, but still manages to make everything super tasty. Try some Raging Flem. It’s essentially a kick arse IPA full of hops and funk.

 

Gage Roads – Abstinence

Another Belgian style, and again, brewed in Western Australia. Belgian style beer are a little unusual because some people can find the funk and spice a little confronting, although this is also a beer with good balance and very approachable. This Gage Roads limited release is a Belgian Dubbel Chocolate Ale. Two different yeast strains have been matched perfectly to give a broad range of spicy flavours and aromas. It’s a deep mahogany coloured ale with a load of caramel, toffee and vanilla aromas and flavours. There’s also the unmistakable presence of real chocolate; Premium Ghanaian chocolate to be exact. This beer has seen the use of noble hops, which give a clean spicy finish without citrus and the tropical fruits derived from the popular American varieties. The whole lot works together amazingly well and I’m guessing that development and trial batches would have taken quite a bit of work, especially with all of the different components being quite diverse. The chocolate is pronounced but doesn’t dominate, and it’s not that cheap Easter egg chocolate flavour either. There’s an aftertaste of old fashioned creaming soda and a surprisingly dry finish. There’s a whiff of alcohol as it warms and as it’s a 7.4%abv beer, that’s no real surprise. The vanilla and alcohol aromas behind the chocolate remind me of quality rum. In fact, I think I spent more time swirling and enjoying the smells than I did drinking it. Abstinence is an unusual beer no doubt, but it’s still very enjoyable. Sip and swirl from a tulip beer glass or brandy balloon if you have one.

 

Young’s – Double Chocolate Stout

Staying with the chocolate theme but ditching the Belgian influence, here’s a beer from the UK designed for dedicated chocolate fans. It’s called “double chocolate”, but technically, could have been called “triple chocolate”. One of the ingredients in the grist is Chocolate Malt; a dark, kilned barley malt (or wheat malt) that’s been roasted specifically to produce a dry, powdered cocoa flavour in beer. It’s quite amazing. Another grist component is oats, which contribute a beautiful silky texture. Young’s also add real dark chocolate as well as chocolate essence to this beer. The base stout is fairly restrained in comparison to the ball buster, acrid style stouts most of us are used to, so the layers of chocolate are unmistakable, but it still has a dry, burned husk finish that is an essential character of a true stout. When it’s warmed and opens up, it’s almost chocolate overload for me but I’m certainly no chocoholic. Imagine a large glass of after-dinner chocolate stout on a cool evening with a whisky chaser and a Dominican cigar. Now that’s how to enjoy the cooler weather.

 

The Mash Collective – Aureus Chrysalis (Dubbel Scotch Ale)

I was in two minds about the idea of The Mash Collective. One part of me observes an individual: one person’s obsession and passion focused into a laser beam of biased creativity.

Then I remember the joke about a committee designing something. The punch line describes a watered down, useless or lowest-common-denominator result.

I’m not sure how and why the people involved in the Mash Collective are there. I’m mostly interested in the resulting beer, although Tattooist Trevor Bennett has to be mentioned for some classic psychedelic label art that’s “legendary beer t-shirt” worthy.

With the beer, once again there’s a style crossover. A classic European ale with a Belgian twist. I’ll preface by saying I’ve never really enjoyed the over the top toffee and caramel in a Scotch ale. They (sometimes) have a thick syrupy body and a load of cloying toffee sweetness with a counter bitterness offensive.

The Mash Collective have made me take a step back with a really nice Scotch ale. This still has caramel coming out of its wazoo but it’s not too sweet and the body is just right. Grippy charcoal and smoke, spicy yeast, over-ripe fruit and weedy herbal bitterness on the aftertaste leave it far from one-dimensional. It’s a really interesting beer with a lot going on. 500ml bottles that you’ll enjoy to the last drop. Tuck a few away for 12 months and compare.

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Big Bumper Booze Guide 2011 (First published in Wine Business Magazine in 2011)

It’s time to head out to a decent bottle shop and fill the fridge with glorious cold beverages. Here’s a brief explanation why we’d buy any of the following beers & ciders. Buy yourself a rollercoaster of flavours instead of a 30 pack of fizzy dish water.

Beer

Feral 

Hop Hog – Punchy hoppy goodness from Western Australia. Resiny aromatic hops meet bitter marmalade, caramel and burned white toast. It’s a chewy mouthful of bitterness and it’s so enjoyable.

Hitachino Nest 

Japanese Classic Ale – Been waiting for a Japanese made India Pale Ale that’s been matured in cedar sake casks? Wait no more and embrace the cedar. Pencil shavings and wooden sauna with sappy pine needles. It’s an amazing left field beer and it’s surprisingly good.

Espresso Stout – Forget the idea of coffee at the end of a meal, enjoy an espresso and a stout at the same time. High alcohol and a good whack of dark roasted coffee beans. Based on the Russian Imperial stouts, there’s coffee and sweetness in a big delicious stout. It’s seamless. Candidate #1 for Breakfast Beer of the Year.

Cascade

Pure – It’s a beer surrounded by weird carbon neutral and low-carb marketing. Ignore all of that. The fact is it fared quite well in blind tastings and is a clean easy drinking summer quaffer with a hint of fresh hops.

Epic

Armageddon IPA – Not as scary as their Hop Zombie, it’s still a formidable beer. There’s a very liberal amount of hops, loads of bitterness, aroma and flavour but also a sweet honey character that provides balance. What a beer!

Coopers

Sapporo – Now made by Coopers in Regency Park, South Australia. Very easy to drink session beer with good malt character. Knock off a few washing down some seafood. We’ll be smashing these down. A good father-in-law beer.

Pale Ale – The fresher they are, the better. A fresh pale is a slightly malty sweet, hoppy and a vibrant beer with yeast complexity. Every fridge should have a few ready to go.

Matilda Bay

Alpha Pale Ale – Not too aggressive, but still very tasty. A session style of hoppy beer rather than a tongue buster. There’s plenty of hop aroma and flavour that’ll make you finish a six-pack before you know it.

Endeavour

2011 Reserve Pale Ale – Munich malt flavours with a background of fresh hops. Good pre-dinner beer. Malty and fresh.

Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn Lager – An American take on a Vienna lager. It’s malty, hoppy and very tasty. It’s nothing like a watery Aussie lager. Once punters realise a lager can also be packed full of flavour, this will be huge.

St. Ambroise

Framboise – A raspberry ale that’s reeking of fresh berries. Looks weird but tastes great. Not everyone loves fruit in beer, but this would be perfect with the Christmas turkey. Candidate #2 for Breakfast Beer of the Year.

Cider

Old Mout

Feijoa & Cider – A wonderful zingy pineapple tasting cider and a fantastic summer drink. Definitely one of our favourites. Everyone loved this.

Bulmers 

Original Cider – Red apple skin colour and chewy skin tannins. Fairly dry but still has some body. Good size 500ml bottles to share or fill a pint glass with some ice.

Strongbow

Clear – Lower sugar and body makes for a good session cider. As far as you get from a farmhouse style but very easy to knock off four or more.

Matilda Bay

Dirty Granny – A good middle of the road cider that’s thankfully missing the unnatural cider flavour some popular ciders have. Tastes like fresh dessert apples. Knock them down like bowling pins from the dinky 330ml bottles.

Lobo

Cloudy Cider – Hints of funky ferments can turn away the drinker used to clean one-dimensional ciders, but this has some beautiful complexity. A cider for those with a need for something different and old-world.

Royale – The fancy version of the Lobo cider is more challenging with stewed fruit, natural ferment and farmhouse qualities. The bigger, sweeter and richer flavours will pay off for those who appreciate the funk. Funk lovers only.

Perry

Bulmers

Pear Cider – Very flavoursome, a dense body and a building sweetness. One for the sugar fans but a very enjoyable pear flavour.

Lobo

Pear Cider – The least funky of the Lobo range. Still chock full of fruit in Lobo’s old-school style. It’d be an excellent cocktail base too. Sweet at the start but ends medium-sweet and bready. Perfectly cloudy. 500ml punt bottles.

Little Creatures

Pipsqueak Pear – A hint of tartness makes this pear cider refreshing and bright. Not too sweet in typical Pipsqueak fashion.

This site will shortly be the home of the Beer Radar archives – A compendium of reviews of Australian and International domestic and craft beers. If you should be encouraged by these writings to explore any of the wonderful brews described herein, I’ll be pleased as punch. Cheers!

John Krüger.