Red Hill Imperial Stout

OK Now its getting serious. As detailed previously, I have recently been tasting a few darker beers, mainly porters. Having been tempted by the dark side, I felt the need to go further. My latest was a stout from Red Hill Brewery, one of Victorias best known and acclaimed microbreweries. There may be no going back!

Flying Horse Dirty Angel

After a month’s break – from blogging, not beer tasting – I have a lot to report. I have spent some time in Indonesia where the beer choice was severely limited (although I did find one reasonable craft brew). I have also been to the fantastic Local Taphouse in St. Kilda for a dinner hosted by the Beer Diva. More about these happenings later. I have also sampled a few new beers, including a good porter, Dirty Angel from the Flying Horse brewery in Warnambool.

Jamieson Brown Ale and Mountain Goat Stout

I’m finding myself drawn to darker ales and stouts recently and here are a couple of good ones. The Jamieson is a non-threatening highly drinkable brown ale and the Mountain Goat a little more gutsy.

Holgate Temptress

Still trying out all the Holgate brews in an attempt to broaden my tasting horizons a little (well thats my excuse). Here is the latest.

Brewer: Holgate Brewhouse, Woodend.

Variety: Temptress Chocolate Porter (6% ABV)

The marketers say: Luscious chocolate, coffee, and caramel flavors are balanced by a hint of vanilla and a body of 6% alcohol

Appearance: Dark, almost black with a hint of head. Like a flat Guinness

Aroma: Desert smells – coffee and chocolate with a little vanilla

Taste: The rich chocolate aroma gives way to a slightly bitter cocoa flavour. Felt quite creamy in the mouth and had a smooth finish.

Overall: I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. I could see myself having one of these instead of an after dinner coffee.

I still have a few Holgates to go – Double Trouble, Woad Warrior, ESB, dunkel weizen, Mt Macedon Ale, Pilsener and whatever else they come up with in the meantime. Stay tuned but for the next little while I will be having a couple of Cricketers Arms lagers which have found their way into my fridge. I don’t know much about this beer but have had one before and it seems like a fairly mainstream brew despite the craft brew claims.

Cheers

Holgate Nut Brown Ale and Christmas Ale

I am certainly learning to appreciate the appearance and aroma of beers much more and in many cases this seems to be having the effect that I am slightly disappointed by the actual drinking. I often expect more than what is delivered. I suspect this is a matter of educating my palate a bit better but it may simply be my choice of beer. Just as I was getting a bit worried about this along comes Holgate’s Christmas Ale which had a taste that blew my socks off.