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!

Red Duck Porter

My experimentation with some darker beers continues. Tonight I have sampled a Red Duck  porter from the Purrumbeet Brewing Company in Camperdown A fine drop for a cold night like tonight. Stay tuned for more Porters and stouts (although I will be off the air for the next few weeks as I take a holiday)

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.