Clearly I drank far too much this year but it has highlighted to me that you can drink a beer a day (or more) and only drink from Australian breweries if you want and you won't get bored or run out of choice, it is an amazing time in the craftiverse!
Favourite Australia Beer of the Year?
Six String Brewing Co - Dark Red IPA
This malt driven hoppy beast was a surprise to me after having it on tap so much so that when the cans were announced I searched high and low. Eventually I wrote a rant post about how hard it can be to find specific beers sometimes. But not being able to easily find it just made it all the sweeter when I did get my hands on a six pack of this beautiful Australian craft beer.
If you are wanting to try this beer and live in Brisbane I would suggest trying Archive Beer Boutique in West End or Brewski on Caxton street (bar and take away) as they seem to have it more often than not.
Deschutes - Fresh Squeezed IPA
This is a no non-sense IPA with big a big fresh hoppy flavour but it still has a decent amount of malt, enough to give it a smooth, hoppy caramel finish.
Since being announced as a year round brew (in the States) so we have started to see it here in Australia a lot more and you can find it right now at a few bottle shops around Brisbane.
I last saw it at The Wine Emporium in Gasworks at Tenerife, just before Christmas so there might be some floating around!
There has been a lot of great seasonal and new permanent release beers this year, certainly plenty to keep the beer nerd or IPA fiend filled with hoppy joy!
Just to mention a few of the high lights from Aussie beer releases this year..
Boris from Feral Brewing: a Russian imperial stout sitting around 9% abv. and a super tasty stout at that and now a year round release for this great Aussie brewery.
Two to the Valley IPA from Newstead Brewing: a tasty little IPA that is a great entry level beer for this style and in less than 12 months of being open in Brisbane the brewery is now selling this and many other staple brews in bottles from the cellar door and bottle shops around Brissy.
Wayfarer USA from Green Beacon Brewing, changing the formula slightly since it's inception this tasty Wheat Beer adds American hops and has become quite popular especially now that the Beacon brews are available in cans from their cellar door and bottle shops around Brisbane.
Bacchus Brewing in Capalaba opened its cellar door early this year and they have a myriad of brews with 15 on tap at any one time and constant changes and additions of new brews almost daily in some cases, making this a place to check out if you are on the Redlands side of town.
Early in January I will be adding "Beerientation" section aimed at the craft beer novice to help explain the basics of styles, taste and aroma and get you on your way as you begin your journey across the craftiverse! As well as also providing some insight on where to find certain beers and also recommend some for the novice and even a couple for the experienced craft drinker. So if any of the above seems too adventurous, never fear there will be a great list of local, national and international brews to start your adventure with all on this one blog!
Cheers and Hoppy New Year.
-Roger
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