7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Black with a dark tan head that never quite disappears. Dramatic looking beer. Powerful, fumy aroma of plums, sweet citrus reduction, blackstrap. Syrupy, lowish carbonation. Taste has some roasted malt, mocha and licorice as well as dried fruit and herbal lemon. Bitterness is quite strong. Started at about 12C, and there were some burnt and solvent notes at the end but they faded as it warmed a little more. There’s a lot going on here but it didn’t quite cohere for me.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Oct 2015
at 08:39
8.8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
On tap at Keg & Brew, Sydney on 15th September 2015. Black with pale brown foam and full lacing. Rich and intense roastiness in aroma with touches of woodsmoke and cherry. Roasty in-mouth with fine spices, smoky touches and a bitter coffee flavour. Intense coffee roastiness in finish with a lactic touch, lingering bitterness and peppery spice in subtle measure. Full-on mouthfeel without being overly "heavy". Well-crafted, and quite possibly the best beer I drank during my visit to Australia.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Sep 2015
at 12:31
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Black with a large tan head - having had a few HopDog beers now, I figure a pint glass will just fit a 330ml bottle, and it barely does. Hard roasted aroma with earth, mocha, a whiff of vanilla and oak. Perhaps smells stronger than 6.2%, but doesn’t feel like it. Quite intense roast and mocha flavours, earthy with a drying woody and fairly bitter finish. Pretty good, getting towards the limit of how much oak I want at the finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Sep 2015
at 08:42
8.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Time for the 2015 edition of the Super Beast. As the 2013 and 2014 incarnations are amongst the best Australian beers I’ve ever downed, expectations are high. From a 330ml bottle on 1/9/2015. Pours black with a tiny tan head. The nose is very interesting - mostly sweet, with stewed fruit, caramel, a hint of coffee, and basement notes. Take a sip and a real sweetie, with treacle, dark fruit, caramel, fudge, and milk chocolate up front, with some coffee and some roasty and hoppy bitterness. The texture is syrupy and the carbonation soft. It’s a complex brew that defies characterisation. Not really a barley wine but more a cross between an imperial stout and an imperial black IPA. This is a really impressive dessert sipper, even if it it doesn’t quite reach the heights of 2013 and 2014 Super Beasts.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Sep 2015
at 07:34
4.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 5
Bottle. Amber with a large white head. Aroma of biscuit, mandarins, vaguely fruity dough. Muddled biscuit and tinned fruit with astringent pineapple and a bit of a plasticy note at the end. Not good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Aug 2015
at 08:25
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Very hazy brown with a beige head. Aroma is spicy and bready with some chocolate and orange peel. Rye spiciness but also ginger and cloves. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation. Sweet dough, dark sugars and a little chocolate at first, then that’s overtaken by (Bretty?) zing, spices, a little oak and quite high bitterness. Interesting and unusual.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Aug 2015
at 09:06
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
From a 330ml bottle on 26/6/2015. Pours a dark amber with a small head. Has a curious but not unpleasant fruity aroma featuring lychee, peach and apricot, with some bread in the background. The flavour is really intense, with oodles of rye and sharp lemony noes most prominent,. along with some grapefruit, caramel and yeast. Full bodied with lively carbonation. Was less than sure when I first took a sip but it definitely grew on me. A weird but quite interesting brew which actually tastes bigger than 6.5%.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Jun 2015
at 05:26
6.5/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Excellent name. Bottle, 10C. Amber with a large loose white head that collapses. Aroma of peach, pineapple, bread crusts. Not as fizzy as feared, but a little much for this sort of thing. Bread and some caramel behind tropical fruit and some earthiness. Slightly astringent. Medium-high bitterness. Not bad, not convinced it’s bottled all that well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 May 2015
at 07:24
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
On tap at The Local. Pours reddish amber. strong berry aroma, plums. Full mouthfeel, umami. But I’m missing the hops in this one.
Tried
from Draft
on 11 Apr 2015
at 08:01
4.8/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 2
Overall 5
Pours copper with a massive head. Impossible to pour.Nose shows alcohol, brown sugar, apple notes and soft spices.Similar flavours. Booze, cardboard-like malt notes, some spices, a little sweet malt.Carbonation is insanely high.
Tried
on 21 Mar 2015
at 19:37