On tap at True South Taproom, Melbourne outskirts. Pours clear amber brown with an off white top. Aroma: malts, caramel, toffee, butterscotch. Taste: dry, moderate malty, light bitter, caramel malts, dates. Medium bodied, average carb, smooth mouthfeel. Dry, light bitter, slightly smokey finish

Growler (Tru Bru), 10C. Dark brown with a large beige head that’s pretty well retained. Aroma of cola-ish caramel, some nuts and chocolate, passionfruit, grapefruit. Light bodied. Very smooth. Chocolate and nutty sweetness, tropical and grapefruit, bitter with (like Iron Lung) an odd note of Sichaun pepper at the end. Some licorice too. Part of me wants to grizzle about whacking lots of new world aroma hops into a black lager, but eh, it’s pretty tasty.

Growler. Clear pale greyish green, vanishing white mousse, high bead. Aroma of sweet apples and their skins. Very light-bodied but there’s a slight creaminess that stops it from being entirely watery. Tastes of apples - slightly sweet, with a finish that’s fairly dry and slightly astringent. Just a plain refreshing cider really but the balance in the finish is deft. Pleasant warm weather aperitif.

Tap. Darkish gold with a large white head that doesn’t last all that well. Spicy aroma with coriander and ginger, oranges, apples, a little blue cheese. Taste is a decent balance of grainy/ orangey sweetness, tart and spicy bitterness, although the spices don’t seem quite integrated. Dry finish.

Tap. Hazy burnt amber with an off-white head that lasts. Aroma of grapefruit, caramel, white peaches, vanilla. Rather light-bodied. There’s a little peach and biscuit there, but there’s not much to the malt side of things. The bitterness is enough to match the citrus and stone-fruit aromatics. A bit overclean and in need of a bit more body for my tastes, but very refreshing.

Tap. Pale gold with a white head. Aroma of hay with grass and some lychees. Clean and drinkable, but could use a touch more bitterness.

Tap. Copper with a small cream head. Aroma of fat caramel and grass. Quite light mouthfeel. Taste has plenty of caramel and biscuit flavours that are more delicate than suggested by the aroma. Balancing bitterness. Refreshing.