Shnoodlepip by Wild Beer Co

Shnoodlepip by Wild Beer Co + Good George Brewing Co (NZ) + Burning Sky Brewery - 6.5% abv

Once upon a time, there was ale, and there was wine. And never the twain shall meet. Then a dining scene took the palates to hitherto unexplored reaches, and this shook the foundations of common or garden dining. And it shook the manner and authenticity of wine in its  fermenting, its ageing, the multiplicity of flavours having signatures as well as sense of place, and woe betide heavy handed manipulation. Brewcraft too explored recipes, Belgique and European heritage, and was prepared to diversify, to boldly take on flavour studding and arrive at complex, dining enhancing beers. These are, indeed, the best of times.

Shnoodlepip, sounds like a Dickensian miscreant. It isn't. It is funky, for sure, funky, sweaty fruit and feral on the nose, clean, linear palate, brettanomyces and subtle spice over a moderately carbonated Saison. Spelt grain is used to lend body, Pink Peppercorns an aromatic spice, Saison and Brettanomyces yeast strains bring a dry spicy character, and finishing with wood-ageing in French red wine barrels for 3 months before a chock load of Hibiscus Flowers complete the brew. Well-toned, this is a 1* Michelin Beer, correct, held in check, sour notes matched by full flavour and twisty windey spice notes, exotic fruit flavours of passion fruit, papaya and guava. I've heard it touted as the World's best beer. It isn't. But the brewers and their experimental edge may well ruffle feathers, garner plaudits and make for great dining beers. It's another meeting place where funky Natural Wines meet Brewcraft, where flavour spectrums inform each other. Which, I suppose, is a love-song of sorts!

Siren Bière de Gouttière, Belgian Saison

Poor man's Champagne, Siren Bière de Gouttière, Belgian Saison 4.4% abv - it's gout! I'd get oot more often if the beverages were as gout as this!

hazy, bone-dry, pin prick carbonation, delicate, refreshing, wood shavings, herbaceous (burdock root!), thyme, dryed grass, sous bois woodland. Easy brew!

Collab brew by Siren + Jon Laffler from Off Colour Brewing (formerly of Goose Island, Chicago).

'tis the season for les saisonniers

Potlatch by Omnipollo X Prairie brewed at De Proef Brouwerij, Stockholm 7% abv

A seasonally adjusted Saison, aka a Farmhouse Ale hopped exclusively with Mosaic and refermented with brettanomyces, the funky duck walk stuff.

Frothy foamy head with a cloudy body from bottle conditioning, full straw/pale amber in colour.

Earthy aromas of hay and composting grass, bready esters, bakery wafts.

Palate is dry, all fresh with a zingy moderate carbonation and forward flavours of lemon ginger punch, bergamot, creamed honey, with seasoning (saisoning) of white pepper and clove notes, medium minus bitterness, malty body carries the beer with delicacy. 

The workers will be happy and productive, loyal too.

briney the coastal brew

Er Boquerón - Beer with Sea Water, hailing from Spain

Let's cut to the chase - how many lagers do you want to not end? This is a brew that ends all too soon! 

techy stuff - 

low carbonation from double fermentation, brewed with 4 malts and Mediterranea, which made its debut in 2012. Mediterranea is extracted from pure Mediterranean seawater and is designed to imbue foods with the taste of the sea, as well as to boost the nutritional profile of dishes with naturally-occurring minerals. 

Aromatically complex, beguiling. Sea salt and herb foccacia, a vapour trail that's less the much-touted iodine trail, more a malty heart, muted palate, clean, dry finish but good length. Interesting! Very interesting!

if you've got it, flaunt it, and hang'em out to dry!

Ger'onimo! Beavertown in Collaboration with Jameson Irish Whiskey

Limited Edition Imperial Stout aged in Jameson Whiskey Barrels - 9% abv

and very very pricey!

So, if beers were Superheroes, which they never will be, then this is The Incredible Hulk. Ripping at the seams and lacking in sartorial eloquence, it's a bruiser! A Weeble Wobble of gigantic proportions. Thing is, Imperial Stout, hello, this is my cookie, my deep-fried cod, my number, my personal preference - power, richness, viscosity in equal measure. All present and correct - umami, spice, black jacks, bitter sweet, a knuckle duster to the palate. 

This is an arranged marriage, someone's got the bucks. Like a drag impresario Dolly Parton, all up front, F-cup, get a load of my flavours, tottering on platform heels, either this needs time, or the beer is out of balance. 

At this expense, one needs a head-check, leaving a feeling of disappointment. 

I wanna paint the future, paint it black...

black is the colour of my true love's hair -

Bearded Lady Imperial Brown Stout by Magic Rock Brewing 10.5%abv

like a Turkish massage with knuckle dusters on, you cannot hide. low carbonation, ultra high engine oil viscosity, black jacks, chocolate sorbet, coffee and prune cake, sous bois, savoury bouillon, umami finish. relish!

memorable, like a train ride in a foreign country.

there ought to be a law against you comin' around, you should be made to wear earphones!

Worlds End by Ilkley Brewery - whisky aged chipotle chocolate stout

this is the way the world ends, not with a whimper, but a bang! (sorry T.S. Elliott)

not for the faint-hearted, a chipotle spiced chocolate stout that spends 9 months in 15 year old whisky casks, it's freakin' Islay casks - hello! It's a marriage a la Burton and Taylor, and gives great copy. There should be a law, but imagination has no laws. And it works, like spinning plates. Like a souped up custom car, this boy is klaxon horns, cow bells and a rollicking tune. 8% abv. Aromatically complex, rich, peat smoke, malt and chocolate, low carbonation, smoked kippers washed under tides of umami tainted Cocoa. The results are imperious!

Doff your cap to imagination and it's' successes! 

put a brew on, will you!

Good brews 2014 begin with this find from Siren Brew. What do I hanker for in 2014 in a brew that's going to truly excite and astound? Martial artist, black belted and mega hopped? A Five Alive of Tropical punch? Judicious balance of malt and hops and good water source? Henry, the mild-mannered janitor - could be! 

Following 'Broken Dream' are truly memorable finds from 2013, ales that share a commonality of having had their flavour spiked (Narwhal exempt), and herein lies the alchemy for the most adventurous brewers.

'Broken Dream' Breakfast Stout by Siren Craft Brew 6.5%abv

lovely weight without being a wrestle with Big Daddy, tonal smokey notes (smokey jumper, kindling), autumnal sous bois, coffee walnut cake, cocoa nibs, smooth creamy malty finish. given the reference point as to the diurnal, a food match would be Dorset Cereals Chocolate Granola with Macadmia Nut - but hey, drink responsibly - over the yard arm, if you please!

Grade A, Probably the most stunning ale of 2013 

'Three Philosophers' by Ommegang 9.7%abv -

unique Belgian style blend of Ommegang Quadruple Ale & Liefman's Kriek (from N.Y. Duvel family of brewing, no less). Results of the highest order, Bruges froze over! sometimes brevity of notes is reciprocal to astonishment! 

'Lugene' Chocolate Milk Stout from Odell 8.5%abv -

beginning to appreciate the restraint from Odell. Like someone's spiked your glass of cold chocolate milk - a grind of pepper, some mulchy earth, some twiglets...

Hardknott 'Rhetoric Edition II' 10.2%abv - 

serious gear! astonishing sweet cored stout, viscosity+ like a good linctus, cherry knobbled coffee/prune cake, sous bois, rich mocha and marzipan on the finish. A length until 2014. awesome+ I'm 99 points on that!

'Narwhal' Imperial Stout by Sierra Nevada 10.2%abv - 

hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...

a glorious head like an espresso martini, roast coffee, bitter chocolate, prune tatin, earthy peaty aromatics, black jacks liquorice, fathom deep malty richness, the kind of brew to reflect on Captain Ahab & the Pequod's missions... Call me Ishmael!