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Abbey Ale, brewed by Chuck Hahn, for the Monks of New Norcia (Australia's only Monastic town). I liked it, had several sitting in the sun lapping up the atmosphere.

KoNG
 
3 Ravens Blond Altbier.
Nowhere near as good as Batz and Ross's versions or commercial ones I've had but a drinkable beer all the same.

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Imperial Porter... bitter, rich and tasted like port. Awesome.
Found this one at the local Liquor Legends. It had a small fridge full of some importeds I've never seen or heard of before.
Will be back for more.
 
The only thing better than drinking beer with a mate in the Sunday arvo sun, is drinking a Pliny with a mate in the Sunday arvo sun!

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The beer was a recent acquisition from GABF and more than lives up to it's hype :beerbang:

Great (expected) U.S. citrus aroma (Pliny is hopped with Columbus, Centennial & Simcoe); nice grapefruit notes. Incredibly creamy in mouthfeel. Reminiscent of cask (if I didn't pour it from the bottle myself, and had been served blind, I might have very well thought it pumped). Flavour is almost impossibly smooth, and by that I mean, with the level of IBUS propounded (90-95) you'd expect more bitterness.. was only grabbing bitterness on the front and sides of tongue, none at rear.. Giant giant hop flavour and aroma balanced perfectly with a sweet but not overpowering malt body. No detectable alcohol warming.. just smooth, creamy, pure flavour.. ah hell, heaven in a glass.

reVox
 
I don't believe so, & if you are lucky, the beer will still be fine. The trouble is these parcels are usually highly discounted distress sales, through large European Merchants, as the beer either reaches, or goes past its best before date. Hence the ability to send it all the way back to Australia & put it up for sale at a viable retail rate. I've been offered these grey imports at prices cheaper than buying direct from the Breweries in the States, but personally I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.


cheers Ross

Just an update Ross and Bum - got my dozen odd American beers today, only two of them are past their best before date and all the others are within their time...

Also re the dogfish head beers, their 60 min IPA was bottled on the 27th of Feb 2009, and their 90 min IPA was bottled on te 28th of May 2009 - Fresh enough for me B)

Now I have to stare at this box of goodies at my desk all day <_<
 
Why is this update for me? I specifically asked you not to tell me!

Hope you enjoy them, Rev.

Speaking of enjoying beers:

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Three Boys IPA - The colour has a little bit of copper in it which this picture does not show. Nice presentation, actually (I got a little carried away with the pour, however). Aroma is fantastic. But is this really an IPA? I am getting next to no bitterness. It is a lovely beer. Smell fantastic, very tasty but where is my beloved bitterness? I'm far from an expert in style descriptors but this seems more like a Kiwi hopped APA or something.

I let my wife try it (sorry) and she didn't even make "the face".
 
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Rich, smooth, a little sweet, subtle hop aroma. Could happily tuck into another 3 of these tonight, if I'd had the foresight to buy em!
 
A few final pix from NZ...

Pink Elephant Mammoth Strong Ale. Sweet/spicy aroma. Real medly of flavours. Another well made beer from this brewery.
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Emerson Old 95. I wanted to try my old favourite -Emerson IPA - but drinking time was running out so I grabbed to grab a beer to compare with the Mammoth. Sweet/fruity aroma and complex flavour.
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Moa St. Joseph's Belgian Style Triple. I'd try a couple of Moa's in Aus previously and hadn't been that impressed. I can't remember if they were past their use-by date, but I just remember them being pretty average. I am a forgiving person though so I thought that I would give them the benefit of the doubt and try one of their beers that had less miles under its belt. Unfortunately my bad run with Moa continues as this one was flat. Taste was okay, but it really needed carbonation for this beer to work. Has anyone had a good Moa?
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The Twisted Hop Golding Bitter - Good hop presence, but needs a bit more body. Citrusy aroma and a dry finish that allows the mild bittering to be felt.
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The Twisted Hop Challenger (Special Bitter) - :icon_drool2: This beer was great. Good hop presence throughout and more body than the Golding Bitter.
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The Twisted Hop Sauvin Pilsner - :icon_drool2: Wow. A crisp hoppy lager along the lines of Jever. This was one of my favourite beers of this trip.
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**** 'N' Bull Monks Habit - This is possbily a Belgian IPA as it featured a Belgiany sweetness, but with plenty of hop bitterness and aroma. Loved it. :icon_drool2:
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TaaKawa - Sessionable ale. Light on flavour (without seeming underdone). This would make a great session beer.
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Now its time to save up for my next trip...
 
A few final pix from NZ...

...
Now its time to save up for my next trip...

Dude!

Where in NZ did you get a hold of all those awesome beers? Are they available in all the bottle-O's over there?

Should be heading over (North Island) next year.

Bit you had fun fulling up your chully-bun, eh bro? ;)
 
Dude!

Where in NZ did you get a hold of all those awesome beers? Are they available in all the bottle-O's over there?

Should be heading over (North Island) next year.

Bit you had fun fulling up your chully-bun, eh bro? ;)

Warmbeer - I was , but luckily didn't find myself in the .

Generally speaking, the bigger supermarkets have a great range of beers. It may also be worth preordering some American and/or NZ beers from Beer Store. Regional Wines also have a good beer selection.

Check out this thread for places and beers to try...
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum//ind...;hl=new+zealand

Other than that, happy beer hunting!
 
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Jamieson Beast IPA - Now let's make this perfectly clear, I am a n00b. What is a n00b to make of a beer like this? Is it a good beer? Yes. Does it have the bitterness a n00b (who loves bitterness) might hope to find in an IPA called "the Beast"? Yeah, pretty much, it doesn't tear your mouth apart but you know it is there (it does fade kinda quickly, however). Is it a big hop orgy? I dunno. Compared to the bitterness and pretty huge malt presence it feels like the hop flavour has been considered as secondary - especially for a beer that claims to be AIPA inspired (IMO, naturally). What hopping is present seems pretty English to me (this is where it get really n00bish) - not really anything citrus or piney for me here, maybe a herby grassiness? Yeah, I rule at this.
 
Jamieson's Beast used to be a "hop party in your mouth" back when it was available on tap at the Local Taphouse. Would come away with a serious case of indigestion from all the hop oils after 2 pints, and made most other beers taste watery.

Bugger
 
Maybe it was an old bottle. Just having a bottle from the same retailer and this thing is 4 moths past it. Spewing.

Having said that, the Beast is a good beer. Talking more about my perceptions than anything else, perhaps. Will definitely have it again. Intend to call into the brewery, actually, as I'm hoping to be up that way soon anyway.
 
Maybe it was an old bottle. Just having a bottle from the same retailer and this thing is 4 moths past it. Spewing.

Having said that, the Beast is a good beer. Talking more about my perceptions than anything else, perhaps. Will definitely have it again. Intend to call into the brewery, actually, as I'm hoping to be up that way soon anyway.

Your perceptions (and your honest perceptions) in beer tasting are worth far more than re-appropriated jargon. Same with wine food and whisky as far as I'm concerned.
 
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says you can keep this one for up to 25 years. i only managed to hold out a couple.

and to think i used to pick the raisins out of my alpen as a kid. now i'm savoring the flavor coming from this tasty ale

slinte

christmasbender
 
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This was actually a real disappointment for me - not sure if it was a little old, but the hop flavor and aroma was just a bit underwhelming....... Should I give it another go?

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Meantime Choc and Coffee - both really great beers, but maybe a bit one-dimensional in my opinion. Massive chocolate and massive coffee respectively, but not a whole lot more going on. Would have liked some more toasty undertones in both.....
 
Crappy phone pic of what i was drinking tonight,

and a coaster of the alternative!

Hmmmmmmm 330ml of 3.5% water fot $4.50 or pints of guinness for $6.

I was a hard choice.

cheers

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Slightly :icon_offtopic:

On a slightly different tack GABOTIY. :party:
Apologies to all those sensitive souls out there & for the label being too wide for one pic. :)
Picked this one up along with others in '80\'81 from the Plough Inn on Southside Brissy long before that tourist trap came to be.

What a bargain! $0.75 for a week-old bottle of plonk. :lol:

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TP
 
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