First up we’ve got a beer from Brewcult’s master brewer, Hendo. Can’t Fight The Funk earned me the Trip to the Farm (Level 5). The beer was, as most of Hendo’s creations are, weird but very tasty. It’s a heavily hopped saison and the mix of New World hop and Belgian funk is very alluring!
The Tru Bru Bear Club almost always throws up an Untappd badge for me. October’s pack was no exception with Hot Water Brewing’s About Time IPA delivering Drink Like a Kiwi (Level 10). In the past level 10 would have been the end of the badge for drinking beers from across the ditch. Now with the leveling update you can expect plenty more!
Woodend’s Holgate Brewhouse provided what I believe is a first for me; 4 badges with one check-in. The beer was Mt. Macedon Pale Ale, a very sessionable pale ale which I don’t buy anywhere near enough of! The badges were Beer Connoisseur (Level 12) – possibly another error with this badge, Down Under (Level 50), Pale as the Moon (Level 28) and Photogenic Brew (Level 50). So Down Under and Photogenic Brew are maxed out once again. I would highly recommend a 6-pack of Mt Macedon Pale, it’s not the best beer you’ll ever have but it’s very drinkable.
Double Jack from Firestone Walker was the next beer that earned me some badges. I believe in IPA (Level 50) and Land of the Free (Level 25) were the ones ticked off. The beer itself was a little hot for my liking with raw alcohol a little too present, however the citrus, in particular grapefruit, flavours were excellent. It’s an Imperial IPA that I would really like to try fresh!
I felt like a dark beer tonigh and Wicked Elf Porter happened to be the only one in the fridge (don’t worry I’ve re-stocked now!). Heavy Weight (Level 22) was the badge that this one unlocked. It’s a seriously good Aussie Porter. It’s got chocolate and coffee elements with plenty of roast thrown in for good measure. There’s a reasonable about of bitterness provided from some spicy hops towards the back end. I’ll be certainly getting more of this, Wicked Elf’s Porter really surprised me!
A pint of Carlton Draught at the Yarra Hotel, near work, saw me rack up Lager Jack (Level 35). As the name suggests this badge is for drinking different lagers. I’ve clearly knocked off a number of Carlton’s in my time, still leading the Untappd count by about 50. I get knocked a bit for how much Carlton I drink, but it is what it is, if we hadn’t all liked/tolerated that first macro lager we had we wouldn’t be craft beer drinkers today.
Garage Project are one of my favourite New Zealand breweries. They’ve teamed up with New Zealand Hops & Plant and Food Research (NZ) to produce this soon-to-be series of IPA’s; Hop Trial. Much like BrewDog’s IPA is Dead, Hop Trial will be brewed with the same base and provide a platform for new experimental hops to break into the market. I have to say this beer was sensational and I can’t wait for this hop to become a regular. The stunning yellow and white can really appealled to me and one of the reasons I’m glad it earned me Drink Like a Kiwi (Level 11).
La Biere de Belœil from Brasserie Dupont is quite an interesting drop. It’s been billed as a Belgian Pale Ale, but definitely had hints of Saison – I assume in part to the Dupont yeast lineage. The reason I say it’s quite Saisony, is that it’s more yeast than hop/malt driven. In saying that, it is quite malty and it does work quite well. It notched up Belgian Holiday (Level 13) and this years Coast to Coast Toast badge. If you want this badge, you need to check into any one of the beers on this list before December 1st.
The second from last beer in this monster Untappd Catchup is another from October’s Bear Club; Brooklyn’s Weizenhammer. As the name hint’s at it’s a Weizenbock, basically a higher ABV Wheat beer. It’s got plenty of banana, with hints of bubblegum and cloves peaking through. Thankfully it’s missing the raw ABV that is known to destroy beers of this style. It’s unlocked Land of the Free (Level 26) for drinking American beers, the second such badge unlocked in this review (you’ll be seeing plenty more of this badge in the future.)!
The honour of Pucker Up (Level 11) went to Holy Snappin’ Turtles from HopDog BeerWorks. Having immensely enjoyed knocking three off these off over the last few weeks, it seems right that this beer picked up a badge so I can talk about it a bit. It’s an incredibly sour beer with nice fruit flavours that come through. You would never have any idea that this Wild Ale clocks in at almost 10% ABV – it’s dangerously refreshing!
So there we have a quick wrap up of 10 of the beers I’ve had in the last week or so. It’s a pretty eclectic mix so I hope you at least got one beer of interest out of it for you. As usual hit me up with any questions you may have, beer suggestions are also always welcomed, as well as any general beer comments you may have for me.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
