WA Beer News #18

New beers from Nowhereman, White Lakes, Boston, Mash and Eagle Bay + more!

There is a lot of stuff happening in WA’s craft beer scene that it’s genuinely hard to keep up with all the new beer releases and WA really is kicking ass when it comes to craft beer and so I thought I’d try and make a regular feature out of all the new beery goodness our state has to offer.

The girl+beer Facebook page has a list of upcoming beer events that you might find worth subscribing to!

new beers out now …

Nowhereman Six Seasons

5.5 percent ABV
Saison

Head brewer Paul Wyman describes Six Seasons “as a beer for those people who say they don’t like beer.” If you ask me, there is not enough Saison in the world so it is great to see not only a new Saison kicking around but one by a local brewer! Brewers notes on this one include gentle bitterness, banana, bubblegum, clove, pepper, spice, musk and lemongrass.

Boston Sinker Bay Oak Aged Stout

7.5 percent ABV
Limited release

White Lakes Festival Amber

Marzen style beer
Limited Release

Marzen is a German amber lager known for its bready and toasty malt character and White Lakes have put their own modern twist on the style using New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops which provide fruity and white wine notes.

Mash Brewing + Petition Boys to the Yard

Chocolate Milkshake Stout
6.3 percent ABV
Launching 28 September

You gotta love a great pun and cheesy beer names and Mash’s limited releases have been killing it lately! The beers have also been fantastic and so I’m expecting this chocolate milkshake stout to be no different.

coming soon …

Rocky Ridge brewing

Busselton’s Rocky Ridge will be releasing their 500ml cans in early October!

Eagle Bay Citrus IPA

Brewers Series
Available in 330ml bottles and on tap

Brewed with grapefruit, lemon and orange zest Eagle Bay Brewing released this beer back in late 2015 and it was stunning! Expect the new batch of Citrus IPA out soon but if you’re the impatient type, they’ve got a sneak peek of it at this weekend’s Beer & Beef Festival.

news …

4 Pines Brewing

The big news in Australian beer this week was the acquisition of 4 Pines Brewing by AB InBev, bringing the New South Wales brewery into the global portfolio that also includes brands like Yak Ales, Great Northern and Goose Island.

Of course, if you prefer to drink independent craft beer then sadly you’ll have to cross 4 Pines off your list but it has to be acknowledged that the brewery has had a big impact over the years on the brewing scene and have worked very hard to brew great beer and get it all across the country. Not too shabby for a couple of boys from WA’s south-west!

Read: Crafty Pint – 4 Pines: Behind the Sale

Read: Australian Brews News – AB InBev Buys 4 Pines Beer

See You Later, Charlie

After six years at Mash Brewing, head brewer Charlie Hodgson is leaving WA to go to a new brewery opening in Brisbane called Helios Brewing. Charlie has been hugely influential to the WA scene over the years and has been responsible for introducing some great beers to local drinkers like the multi-award winning CopyCat AIPA and Sarcasm to name just two.

See ya Charlie and thanks for all the beers!

Stout -v- Stout: Round 3 – Chocolate Cake

The cold winter nights have left me craving stouts so my boyfriend and I decided to conduct a little beer battle – Stout versus Stout. One night after dinner we sat down to a table of three desserts, two stouts, a notepad and a pen (this is what normal people do, right?). This post sees the stouts matching with homemade chocolate cake!

To briefly recap …

The cold winter nights have left me craving stouts so my boyfriend and I decided to conduct a little beer battle – Stout versus Stout.

One night after dinner we sat down to a table of three desserts, two stouts, a notepad and a pen (this is what normal people do, right?)

The Stouts: Coopers Best Extra and 4 Pines Stout

Stout -v- Stout — Coopers Best Extra Stout 4 Pines Stout
Coopers Brewing (SA) 4 Pines Brewing (NSW)
6.3% abv | Foreign Extra Stout Style 5.1% abv | Irish Dry Stout Style

Round 1: Homemade Creme Brulee – the best match was Coopers Best Extra, read all about it here

Round 2: Chocolate Brownie – the best match was 4 Pines Stout, read all about it here

Now it is time for Round 3 – Chocolate Cake.

The chocolate cake was a belated birthday cake from a friend and was homemade – happy days! Now it seems that there are varying degrees of chocolate cake, from the light chocolatey all the way to the extreme “death by chocolate” approach where you might as well have just bitten into a kilo bag of sugar. This cake was more on the lighter side and definitely delicious!

Judging from the lightness of the cake I would have initially picked 4 Pines for my favourite match but when the two came together what most jumped out was the coffee bitterness, it was kinda sharp and unexpected. Perhaps there wasn’t enough chocolate in the body of the 4 Pines to lift those flavours from the cake. The Coopers Best Extra seemed a superior match, mostly in texture as it has a more creamy body which went nicely with the light fluffiness from the cake. There was much more milk chocolate notes in this matching, perhaps the creamy texture of the beer washed over the cake and brought out those flavours. I’m not really much for technical bits and bobs so I’m really just guessing here! Whether I’m way off track with the reason, it tasted good me to!

Whilst it wasn’t a match that set hearts and palates racing it was Coopers Best Extra that tasted like it had the upper hand.

Best Match … Coopers Best Extra Stout. I think the next stop will be cheese!

Stout and Chocolate Cake — Stout -v- Stout + Chocolate Cake

Stout -v- Stout: Round 2 – Chocolate Brownie

Cold nights means STOUT and what better way to explore this great style by diving head first into some good ol’ head to head tastings. Going all Aussie, the stouts doing battle are 4 Pines Stout versus Coopers Best Extra. The first round was against homemade Creme Brulee with Coopers Best Extra proving the more exciting match … now it’s round two … bring on the Chocolate Brownies!

The first round of Stout -v- Stout saw 4 Pines Stout match head to head with Coopers Best Extra to see what would be the superior match with my homemade Creme Brulee. I’m not the greatest at desserts, except banana bread – my banana bread kicks ass – but the result was pretty damn good. To read the match ups and see which was the favourite pair, read on here.

Now it is time for Round 2 – Chocolate Brownies.

Normally we don’t have a lot of dessert in the house but winter has been damn cold so we are looking for any excuse to turn on the oven; as a result my boyfriend frequently disappears down the cake mix aisle at the shops.

Baking is always fun and usually a little messy in the mixing process. Like a true gentlemen my boyfriend gave me the wooden spoon to lick; I don’t care how old you are, it is always fun to eat the mix straight off the spoon!

Coopers Best Extra got a little overrun by the chocolate brownie. There was indeed great chocolatey notes from the beer and brownie but it seemed the bitterness and almost liquorice flavours stood out like an awkward pimply teenage at a school dance. The difference was a little jarring on the palate.

The 4 Pines Stout proved to be more complimentary; the sweet dark chocolate flavours from the beer and brownie was nicely balanced. There was still an element of coffee bitterness as in the Coopers but the 4 Pines was a more subtle and delicate touch. The more we tasted these two together, the more delightful the combination. Smooth, balanced and just lovely – perfect for a winter night and the fact the house warmed up whilst the oven was on made it even better!

Best Match with Chocolate Brownies … 4 Pines Stout!

Next Time: The third and final round between 4 Pines and Coopers … good old trusty chocolate cake!