Malt Shovel Brewery: Scribbly Gum Lager

This limited release lager pours a cloudy tan/yellow with a fresh-white head. Not too frothy either.
An elegant herbal and smoky aroma surprisingly comes to your attention. This is intriguing considering the strange things that the James Squire, Malt Shovel Brewery guys have given us before.
Two hefty mouthfuls into this beer and it is still quite hard to explain so i will just throw around some adjectives. Soft. Creamy. Floral. Herbal. Bitter. Smokey. Yes, smokey! It's also got a strangely bacon-like aftertaste (is bacon-like and adjective?).

Anyway, what the hell are you doing still reading this? You should be sprinting to a great liquor store near or far from your current location because this beer is weird! I am sure it may be obvious but, for those who are perplexed about the idea of what food could possibly go with this lager: cheese, bacon, barbecued anything, smoked anything. "Give me more details.." I hear you shouting... Fine! Baked chicken wrapped in a bacon jacket with chive mash. Satisfied? You should be.

640ml Bottles
6.5% Alc/Vol
AUD$10 (Approx)

Dieu du Ciel: Aphrodisiaque (Cocoa & Vanilla Stout)

Into the glass, this oily deep brown beer resembles liquid leather as it flops into the glass to produce a fat brown and dark head.

Typical bitter stout aromas lightly dance toward the nostril with gentle touches of cocoa.

Tasting this special stout knocks you into a dimension of unexplored territory by previously said style. The initial mouth feel is that perfect hot cocoa made by your Nanna after you have come in after playing outside in the cold twilight for too long. This, then is followed quickly by a long, smooth and decadent dark but lightly vanilla noted ale. Not until you swallow this beer do you really get the burst of bitter cocoa similar to the feeling of chomping off a square of dark (DARK!) chocolate.

This incredible French-Canadian stout from Montreal would go fantastic with any dark chocolate dessert, but more specifically: mousse.

341ml Bottles

6.5% Alc/Vol

Approx AUD$10 (yes, "TEN DOLLARS" for one small bottle of beer)

Keep on pushing boundaries and opening minds Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel!!

http://www.dieuduciel.com/

Brasserie Dupont: Moinette Biologique

Poured into a goblet style glass, this organic Belgian blonde appears more like a gold/amber ale. It is immediately obvious this beer is unfiltered as it is not only cloudy, but has quite a lot of sediment floating around. This should not be a point for concern as the beer undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle and this sediment enhances the flavour and in no way is bad for the beer; like those large brewing companies would like you to believe for some strange reason. Anyway, topping off this beer is a voluptuous lumpy froth.
Orange/citrus and sweet malt aromas hover around as a small dollop of the creamy head slides down the glass screaming "why aren't you drinking me yet!"
Malt sweetness fills the mouth with a few sneaky visits from your old friend mandarin. A Royal lingering bitter aftertaste hangs around until all the other guests have left the party in your mouth.

This lovely beer quenches a thirst that can be attained from a warm morning of walking through any historic town. Perfectly matched with a pork lunch, outdoors, cast iron seating, old stone building covered in vines.

750ml corked bottle
7.5%Alc/Vol
AUD$15-$20 Approx.

Little Creatures: Rogers

This mid-strength amber ale pours a treacle coloured body with a light amber/orange head.
A delicious, grassy hop aroma wafts from the glass with hints of honey.
The massive and unexpected initial sweet/bitter flavours erupt in the first mouthful of this beer, slowly fading out to a light nutty malt aftertaste.

This beer is perfect for the BBQ. Red meats are also the best match for the flavours this beer has to offer. Another great thing about this mid-strength amber ale is that you can drive home after a few of these and not worry about waking up the next morning in the slammer. On the other hand; it is a great drink for those times when you are at a lunch party that you didn't really want to go, you don't like the people and on top of all that; it's your day off. But, your partner pleaded with you to come along.
For this particular situation, you will find that you will not end up making a drunken idiot of yourself. You may even be legally allowed to drive your lovely partner home and they will think the world of you, because you have been drinking possibly Australia's best low alcohol beer.
6x330ml Bottles
3.8% Alc/Vol
AUD$18(approx)

Christmas Beers 2010

...And so it is Christmas. The wonderful time of family, friends, food and giving. Also it may be time to reflect upon the origin of Christmas and the legend of Melchior, Casper and Balthasar ("The Three Wise Men"). Upon meeting the new king of the Jews, this trio of alleged insightful males offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh...

...Now, if at least one of these three men were readers of Beer Reflections, they may have actually deserved the outlandish title of "wise". Thus giving the gifts offered, a bit more substance.
Gold; these days, has hardly the value it would have had two millennia ago.
Frankincense Oil; is a dated and unpopular perfume.
Myrrh resin; is multi purpose but can be replaced by cheaper and less ridiculous ingredients in any circumstance.

"What would Beer Reflections suggest then?" we hear you ask in a nasal and querulous manner.

Simple.
A Golden Ale, Franziskaner, and last but not least, Murphy's Irish Stout.

Poured into a real Belgian goblet-style glass, this pale golden ale, with slight cloudiness, pumps up a hefty white head that stands tall above the rim of the glass like a meringue.
Beautifully sweet malt aromas suggest that this won't a be your every day, run of the mill golden ale.
Taste this cracker of a beer to realise it ain't no run of the mill golden ale. It's initial sweet and delicate tastes go through a white water rapid ride of transformations ending up at the refined bitter aftertaste. The high alcohol content is hidden wonderfully by such complex distractions.
French style soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert sit in the passenger seat with this fantastic Belgian brew.

This Belgian strong golden ale is a gentleman and a devil. To experience it, it is handsome, polite and thoroughly satisfying. But, forget to notice the amount of standard drinks in a bottle of one of these babies and you'll be sent to bed sooner than planned. Truly great beers like Duvel, will always be seen as the original. The beer that everything is compared to.

330ml Bottles (or 750ml corked bottles and bigger!)
8.5% Alc/Vol
Aud$7-10 Approx

Gently guided into a tall chilled glass, this German wheat beer appears an opaque orange-gold with a big creamy head that holds itself up for the entirety of the consumption period.

The smell is a gentle sweet fruit wave with hints of ripe banana. Wheat beers often smell like this due to the fermenting temperature of around 22`C. A cooler temperature of around 17`C would have produced notes of cloves which this beer does not possess.

The velvety feel of this beer in the mouth is matched well with the slight sweetness. It is a great refreshing warm weather option that hopefully will make you forget about boring tasteless Corona-like beers that are affiliated with summer.

Franziskaner Weissbier (like every German wheat beer) goes great with a big freshly baked pretzel or pizza. But for something different try; crab, oysters or any basic seafood dish. Either way, you have to be outside in the sun with your massive glass of Franziskaner Weissbier.

500ml Bottles (and rarely 5L Kegs)
5% Alc/Vol
Aud$5 Approx.

Poured into a large and fat chilled pint glass, this Irish stout looks almost pitch black with a blonde to light brown and very dense head that will not disappear no matter how long you sit admiring this perfect looking beer.

A beautiful scent of caramel, toast and browned malt somehow passes through the chunky head.

This very dry stout is bitter with chocolate notes as well as being very smooth. Roasted malt is also quite present and surprisingly long lasting.

O.K. So I know you want to know what it is like compared to Guinness. It is a lot more bitter compared to Guinness. Murphy's has also has a lot more burnt-style tastes. Guinness is really a more widely appreciated beer with Murphy's being a more acquired taste.

The only place to properly appreciate Murphy's Irish Stout is in any old traditional pub with a great pub lunch menu. Order lots of gravy with whatever meal you have have chosen and make sure you are with some really good close friends so you don't have to feel awkward about getting drunk at lunch. Just eat up, drink up, and talk crap for hours.

4 x 500ml Cans

4%Alc/Vol

Aud$17 Approx.

Hammer 'n' Tongs Draught

Twist a cap off this Australian (Boags) beer and pour it into a glass too find a very clear, almost dark-gold body with quite a good looking white, thick and creamy head. After a minute or so, the carbonation quickly fades.
Stick your nose in the glass and you won't really pick up anything except maybe a slight wet-cardboard aroma.
Taking a large gulp of this beer produces remnants of warm dam water, not to mention zero bitterness with a lackluster and flabby malt aftertaste.

To be drinking this beer you must be suffering from extreme poverty, as it is probably the most affordable product on the market. Even the severely punished tongue of an alcoholic Vietnam war veteran would reject this poor attempt at "beer". It comes to no surprise that Boags do not defame themselves by putting their name on a bottle of Hammer 'n' Tongs. There is no culinary 'significant other' to this beverage. So the only thing left to match this beer with would be a completely different beer; partly to erase any memory of this terrible time in your life but mainly to restore your faith in the world. There is no reason why anyone should be subjected to this bottled form of bedevilment.

6 x 375ml Bottles
4.0% Alc/Vol
AUD$10 (from liqourland only)

BrewDog: 77 Lager

This deep gold coloured pilsner (pilsner is a style of lager) flows into a glass with good carbonation creating a solid and proper head.

The scent this beer creates is simply a beautiful showcase of the wonderfully fresh and premium ingredients which include pale malt, caramalt, munich malt and whole leaf hops. Upon watching and smelling this beer, you already know this is no ordinary lager.

The enigmatic taste, unexpectedly steals your attention like the presence of a thick Scottish accent in an outback pub in the Northern Territory of Australia. Again, the highly scrutinised ingredients boast a brilliant, bold malt and bitterness that finishes off this very smart brew.

"Think of everything you know about lagers. Then forget it all instantly." - Excerpt from brewdog website.

Being a brew from the cold northern lands that is Scotland, this weeks Beer Reflection probably should be suggesting traditional Scottish cuisine such as haggis, neeps and tatties... But, this week the theme of tradition is being exchanged with eccentric (maybe due to the influence from the team at brewdog). Thai Green Curry is a perfect match for this large beer. The Fresh load of ingredients within this pilsner compliment the 'bang' of a green curry.

I cannot begin to even express how much this beer will change your perspective on the way a pilsner, or lager for that matter, should taste.

4 x 330ml Bottles

4.9% Alc/Vol

AUD$14 (approx)

http://www.brewdog.com/77_lager.php