Choc Hops Chocolate Stout (Australia)

www.mildurabrewery.com.au
Choc Hops Chocolate Stout
Mildura Brewing Company
ABV 5%

This is the first beer that I have tried from this Victorian brewery.  They produce five permanent beers along with seasonal beers like this Chocolate Stout which is a limited release.
The brewery was opened in 2004 and so far the brewery has won 22 medals for their beers including Silver Medal 2010 Australian International Beer Awards for their Desert Premium, Sun Light and Honey Wheat beers.  The brewery renovated an old historic theatre that they now run as a pub selling all of their beers on tap with some great food.

Review

Immediately the chocolate comes through, a malty chocolate (almost chocolate milk like) aroma is present.  The chocolate is not overpowering and infact works wonderfully.  A dark, flat beer with a tan head which disappears quickly.  The beer does has a dark chocolate flavour that is very bitter, roasted coffee comes through which compliments the beer.  I would describe the beer to have no sweetness, nice bitterness, a perfect weight to the body with a smooth finish.  I really enjoyed this beer I found it a great drop with not much to fault.  If you don't mind chocolate give it a go, it really surprises you how well it works.

Scores

Aroma 6/10
Appearance 3/5
Taste 6.5/10
Palate 4/5
Overall 15/20

Total 69%

St Peter's Ruby Red Ale (England)

www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk
St Peter's Ruby Red Ale
St Peter's Brewery
ABV 4.3%

The unmistakeable bottle of St Peter's Ruby Red Ale dates back to 1770.  The brewery now produces 12 year round beers in bottles plus a few seasonals; these include St Peter's Cream Stout and St Peter's Fruit Beer.  A total of 83,000 pints a week is somehow managed to be produced which is quite an output!  The original brewer Richard Eyton-Jones brewed a trilogy of fruit beers including Lemon, Ginger and Elderberry. 

The Ruby Red Ale is a tawny red ale with subtle malt undertones and a distinctive spicy hop aroma from Cascade, Styrian and Goldings hops. Ruby Red won a Silver Medal in the 2010 International Beer Challenge.


Review

The mix of hops are definitely apparent on first pour.  The aroma bursts out, fragrances of banana or grapefruit are pleasantly there.  Some of the darker malty characters come through and develop as the beer warms.  A tan head sits upon a dark, "ruby" cloudy liquid.  There are some good dark nutty, malty flavours with a good bitter finish.  The beer is creamy but quite flat.  I certainly enjoyed this one but was not blown away.

Scores

Aroma 6.5/10
Appearance 3.5/5
Taste 6/10
Palate 3.5/5
Overall 14/20

Total 67%

Bitburger Premium Beer (Germany)

www.bitburger.com
Bitburger Premium Beer
Bitburger Braugruppe
4.8% ABV

The town of Bitburg is home to this German Brewery.  Producing beer since 1817 it has become one of Germany's most famous, exporting worldwide.

They are proud of the fact that although they are selling very large quantities overseas they maintain that the beer is still very flavoursome unlike some of the other European rivals.

Bitburger is brewed with both German and French barley malts.  Hallertau hops are used to add depth and floral bitterness to the mix.  Another thing to note is that the beer is not pasteurised and therefore the flavours are not lost in the heat whilst brewing.

Review

My first impression once the beer was poured was that you could almost smell the brewing process in the glass, which was a plus.  A clear, golden, carbonated liquid with a white head is present.  Not a great deal of flavour but some bitterness added character.  Quite a medium bodied beer which is surprising as it looks so light.  Not a bad lager really.

Scores: -

Aroma 4.5/10
Appearance 3/5
Taste 4/10
Palate 3/5
Overall 14/20

Total 57%

Red Oak Organic Pale Ale (Australia)

www.redoak.com.au
Red Oak Organic Pale Ale
Red Oak Brewery
ABV 4.6%

Red Oak Brewery is a Sydney based brewery that is doing some good things.  It now has it's own Boutique Beer Cafe where you can taste some of it's many fine beers. 

The man behind the enterprise is David Hollyoaks, who has reportedly been brewing since the age of 14 years old.   "David's brewing successes have been amazing. He has achieved in a short space of time what some brewers spend a lifetime aspiring to. He won 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal at the World Beer Cup, USA 2006-2010 which now takes Australia's total tally of gold medals to nine (9) in the history of the competition - of which David proudly holds 3 of them. He also won the Grand Champion Trophy at AIBA 2006 for the highest scoring beer judged against 974 other beers. He has won a Silver & 4 Bronze medals at the European Beer Star, Nurnberg, Germany 2007-2009. Redoak won 'Champion Small Brewery' at AIBA 2008. David is without doubt proving that he is a 'world class' brewer".

The Organic Pale Ale is one of many great drops that this brewery produces.

Review

Immediately there is a honey, yeasty aroma on the nose.  A golden, cloudy liquid is poured with an attractive white head.  Some good flavours are present, maybe a little light on flavour for me but there is certainly some bitterness which is good.  On the whole a good medium bodied beer.

Scores: -

Aroma 6/10
Apprearance 4/5
Taste 5.5/10
Palate 3.5/5
Overall 13/20

Total 64%

Sol (Mexico)

no website found
Sol Cerveza Importe
Sol beer
4.5% ABV

This beer is a cheap Mexican lager in a similar vein to Corona.

Review

Faint lager characteristics on the nose, a golden clear liquid is poured with a white head.  Not really any flavour to write about, very light.  The beer has no weight or body.

If you want a flavourless, cheap beer that is very easy to drink then this is it.  Definitely a quaffer.

Scores: -

Aroma 2.5/10
Appearance 2.5/5
Taste 2/10
Palate 2.5/5
Overall 11/20

Total 41%

Murray's Best Extra Porter (Australia)

www.murraysbrewingco.com.au
Murrays Best Extra Porter
Murrays Craft Brewing Company
8% ABV

Murrays Brewery is situated just outside of Port Stephens on the mid north coast of NSW and is definitely a must stop, see and sample place.  They brew lots of different varieties and some very special single batches that are all available to try and the tasting rooms.

The Extra Porter was designed by New Zealand brewer Graeme Mahy to be a winter warmer like a Brandy or a fine Port.  These days Shawn Sherlock looks after this brew and each year it is tweaked accordingly.

Review

This beer has been brewed since 2008 and is definitely worth hunting out.  A very high alcohol level content is matched with some rich complex flavours that compliment each other.  The aroma is full of roasted coffee with caramel and an initial beautiful aroma of malt.  A dark, cloudy ruby liquid is poured with a tan head.  On tasting an instant explosion of flavour is unmissable.  The high level of alcohol is there but this adds depth and complexity to the mix of flavours.  The beer has quite a smooth palate but it is quite heavy, a slightly bitter finish rounds off this delicious beer.

Definitely something to sit and enjoy, a real beer, quite strong with some typical porter characteristics although you probably couldn't have too many.

Scores: -

Aroma 5/10
Appearance 3.5/5
Taste 6.5/10
Palate 3.5/5
Overall 15.5/20

Total 68%

Sapporo (Japan)

www.sapporobeer.com
Sapporo Premium Beer
Sapporo Brewery (Brewed in Canada)
5% ABV

Sapporo Japan's first brewery has been producing this since 1876.  These days the beer available in Australia is brewed in Canada which is quite surprising. 

I did however contact Sapporo to enquire why Canada?  To be told that the beer is actually going to be brewed under license by Coopers in Australia, which is great news for Australia.

Review

On pouring there isn't really any worthy aromas to write about, very faint characteristics of a lager are there.  A pale, light, fizzy beer is present once poured with a white head.  There isn't a lot of flavour going on, a little malt, a little grassy, you can taste a little alcohol but would have preferred to taste more malt characters.  The beer was very light in body, very easy to drink.  Refreshing and very session able.

For the type of beer this is this isn't bad.  You can drink a skin full and not get any overpowering characters.  A good quaffer.

Scores: -

Aroma 3/10
Appearance 2/5
Taste 4/10
Palate 3.5/5
Overall 14/20

Total 51%