Beer Radar for WBM June 2013
(First published in Wine Business Magazine in 2013)
By John Krüger
Aussie Winter Warmers
A big Shiraz or a shot of whiskey certainly help make a chilly night better, but a cold beer still rocks on a cold night. The beers don’t have to be icy cold, just lightly chilled is fine. A mate of mine Tony Yale runs a Real Ale pub called the Prince Rupert in Newark, Nottinghamshire in the UK. They only serve real ale at a cellar temperature of 12C and they’ve won a CAMRA award for their diligence at serving the perfect pint. The wonderful flavours in beer are muted by serving a beer too cold. Knocking back icy cold beers will always have an important place in Australians hearts but it’s not a blanket rule for everything beery. This month I’ve dug out some great Aussie dark beers that are beautiful drinking at any time of the year but especially warm the heart in cold weather. Pour them into a big glass like a tulip or Nonic and let them warm up for a little while to really enjoy them.
Moo Brew – Dark What a great beer. It’s based on a American Brown Ale but it’s a beautiful dark ruby red with more roasty flavours. It’s so balanced and smooth that it’ll take a few sips to lock on to the generous hop flavour. It’s nice to see a clean finished beer without secondary fermentation yeast floating in the beer. Easy and very enjoyable drinking with a dark roast finish.
Stone and Wood – 2013 Stone Beer This years version is darker. Going from last year’s rich red ale to a black beer. The extra chocolate wheat malt in the grist has added dry cocoa and coffee layer of flavour and made this beer a definite addition to the winter list. It’s still got a good whack of hops which turns a black ale into something interesting. You can also buy this year’s Stone Beer in their popular 500ml ceramic swing-top bottle from their online store www.stoneandwood.com.au
Prancing Pony – Black Ale It’s turning into a very popular beer. De-husked roasted malt avoids some of the acrid character associated with really dark beers. This is smooth and sweet with loads of coffee, a hint of liquorice, dry chocolate and a sweet malty body. It’s not too alcoholic so it’s still nice easy drinking. I prefer a dryer finish but the Pony range tend to lean towards sweeter maltier style of beers, which might explain why their Black Ale is so popular.
Murray’s – Heart of Darkness Now it gets weird, this is a Belgian Imperial Stout. It’s hard to miss the cool 1950’s horror movie style label artwork. Spicy Belgian yeast esters explode out of the glass before you even try to smell it. It’s a thick Chinotto tasting stout weighing in at 9.6%abv. It has a load of weight in the mouth but still finishes surprisingly dry with a lingering spicy chocolate finish. Give one a try. It’s a meal in a glass.
Kooinda – Black IPA Black Rock n’ Roll IPA in a glass. It’s a well balanced, yet resinous hoppy India Pale Ale (well, not pale) hidden in a smooth black stout. The two styles meld beautifully. The hops are added late in the boil and dry hopped as well, so there’s no doubt it’ll make hop heads happy. The hop flavours range from earthy and spicy to pine resin and grassy. There’s a hint of dry chocolate and coffee coming from the roasted malts and an enjoyable medium body.
Southwark – Old Stout Such an under-the-radar stout but everyone should try it. I think it’s the finest beer to come out of Lion’s Thebarton brewery. It’s rich, balanced, still traditional with a hint of smoke and sweet dark toffee. Drink it wearing a beanie and think of home. At a recent beer dinner, Technical Brewer Karli Small from Lion’s West End brewery portrayed the subtle smokey character as akin to Barossa Mettwurst, which nails the description perfectly.
