Chimay

Here we have the infamous Chimay, a beer brewed by Trappist monks. Like a boss.

This beer was drunk wearing a shirt and tie in respect of it's boss status.

Strangely, when I opened the beer it started overflowing with foam/head, not exploding like it had been shaken up just a very slow stream pouring out of the top...

I left it sitting with a towel under it for 5 minutes while it did its thing.

Was this meant to happen? Was I supposed to perform some sort of blessing or ritual before opening the beer? I'm not sure.

Anyway, on to the holy water... this is like the mud cake of beers. It is rich and heavy (and 9% alcohol to boot). Despite this heavyness, it still keeps a cool persona. A bit like Elvis in his later years. It is a quality product, and in the end lives up to some of the fanfare that surrounds it.

You can't buy it in a six pack, and it's a 7 dollar beer, but if you're adventurous give it a crack.

8.5/10

Schofferhofer Hefeweizen

AS you may have worked out already, this beer is German.

It's unfortuantely another one of those "I have to drink half a litre of this?" moments. This was like fruit punch beer.

I know it's a hefeweizen, but shit, it's also a BEER!

I'm being a bit melodramatic here let's be honest, I'm just tired and pissed off after Carlton's loss and was looking forward to a good beer and got this instead.

There's also some oddly masonic/occult imagery on the label, next to a picture of Peter Schoffer Von Gernsheim there is a pyramid surrounded by three stars on one side, and a cross like an X on the other. Still, I would have thought the Illuminati could afford better beer?

3.5/10

St Arnou Pilsner

I had the Pale Ale from these guys a little while back, and it was a fairly decent beer. Very, very clean, not huge on flavour but a pretty polished effort and an easy to drink beer.

Here we have a Pilsner from them, which should be reasonably different in nature than a Pale Ale you would expect.

Not really in this instance.

It's very much in the same style as the Pale Ale, very crisp and clean. This is not necessarily a bad attribute but there's just not a lot of flavour going on. You do get that citrusy tinge, but it's just that... it's a tinge more than a burst.

It's a bit tough for me to rate, as with the Pale Ale, it does top most mainstream beers but when compared to creative micros it really does fall short. I think I gave the pale ale a 7.5, this is just a touch off it's pace so I'll rate it accordingly.

It's a good beer, but is staying too far within it's own comfort zone.

7/10

Bridge Road Breweries BLING IPA

I must say, my experience with IPA's have been very hit and miss. None of them are amongst my favourites, and considering they were designed back in the day by the British to be shipped to India it's not really a surprise. They were packed full of hops and malt and extra alcohol so they would survive the journey. Since combustion engines have been invented the point is almost lost, and often they are like drinking a Mike Tyson cross.

That said, you do find some interesting ones, and I do like a full flavoured beer when done properly. The label states that they have 'thrown everything' at this beer, so I'm intrigued to try it. BRB makes some impressive beers.

This offering really does cement them amongst my top brewers now. Finding balance when using such an elevated amount of ingredients is no mean feat. It is really heavy on the hops and malt, but the flavours are great. The bitterness is very punchy and will put some people off, it's almost borderline for me even. All in all, it's a great IPA, one of the best I've had.

8/10

Special Block 6

You know that surprise you get when you're eating/drinking something and suddenly get a taste/flavour you weren't expecting? Like if you accidentally pick up someone else's drink and have that massive WTF moment? That's pretty much the experience with Special Block 6.

This beer is seriously out there. It's a Belgian beer, and everything on label is in Belgian so it's hard to elaborate, but I'll do my best.

It is a FULL flavoured ale, considering it has the body of a light ale it's really hard to get your head around the taste. It has a sweet flavour to it that almost tastes like blackberry or something of the like. The ingredients say elderberry and pomegranite so I guess that is where it comes from.

The flavour is huge and overpowering, and unbalanced to be honest. It's not bad, it's just... not like anything I've drunk before.

I am really struggling giving this a score. It's ambitious and original, but unbalanced and confusing at the same time. It's not a great beer, it's not a bad beer. It's easy to drink, but doesn't really taste like a beer.

It's a one off, you wouldn't be knocking back a sixer of this any time soon. If you like trying strange beers, put this on your list.

6.75/10

Old Speckled Hen Fine English Ale

'Old Speckled Hen'? For real? It sounds like something you'd hear from a conversation between Sir Farnsworth Pennywhistle and Lord Geoffrey Nottinghamshire after a game of polo.

"Here, here old chap, let's go for a spot of Old Speckled Hen and some scones with apricot marmalade"

Strange name aside, the story is even weirder. On the bottle it states this beer was brewed to commemerate the 50th anniversary of the MG car factory.

Okaaay.

Can't wait for Foster's tribute to the LH Torana, should be a ripper.

Anyway, I must say the beer looks brilliant. It's a deep copper/brassy colour that changes depending on how the light hits the bottle. It's a beer with a fair bit of bite to it, the flavour is primarily malty and bitter but reasonably well balanced. It's different I'll give it that, doesn't really taste like any other lager I've had before.

It's probly a beer conniessuer's beer, your average punter won't really get into it. It's not something I'd probly get on a regular basis, but on a journey to taste a lot of different beers it was a worthy destination.

7.75/10

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Whenever I see this beer I can't help but think of that Dave Chapelle skit with 'Samuel Jackson Beer!', if you haven't seen it here's a link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9-xeTLBcB4

I've been avoiding it up until now because it cost a whopping SIX DOLLARS per beer. That's on some Trappist Monk shit right there. And considering it's a Yank beer, I hadn't felt the motivation to dip into my pocket and try one.

However... at this point, I just need to find beers I haven't drunk yet!

Six bucks might still be a bit exorbitant, but I'll say this is hands down the best American beer I've drunk. The catch phrase is 'America's World Class Beer'. It's fitting, as it is a class act. It has a deep, but smooth almost ale like
flavour to it, but then slides into that bitter lager finish. Almost like a hybrid between the two. It has an alcoholic bite at the end despite it being a standard beer, but it isn't unpleasant.

So, as Dave says, SAMUEL ADAMS! IT'LL GET YOU DRUNK!

8.75/10

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier

I wanted to have a bunch of new beers to put up after the weekend but only had this one in the fridge that I hadn't drunk, I really thought I had more of a stash. So I ended up drinking mainly Squire and Fat Yaks that were also in there but have already come off the list.

Anyways here we have Paulaner's Okotberfest Bier. The interesting design on the can shows an entourage of fat, unattractive beer wenches carrying steins...

A bit of a marketing lesson here Paulaner. Men love beer. A lot. When men think of German girls...at Oktoberfest...carrying beer...

Well all I'm going to say is it conjures up a very different image that is a lot easier on the eyes!

To the beer though, it's your typical German fare with a big, heavy, solid flavour and that fruity/citrus like aftertaste. This one does it better than most though, and has an elevated alcohol content at 6% that gets you drunk in an enjoyable fashion. Which is what Oktoberfest is all about isn't it?

7.5/10

Asahi Super Dry

I am yet to drink a bad Japanese beer. Yebisu, Sapporo and Kirin are all great beers, and Asahi is no different.
A culture that prides itself on quality is important in the modern world of cost cutting and profit margins, but while their economy is rooted the Japanese still stick to their guns.

I've drunken many an Asahi accompanied by some Asian food, often Chinese strangely enough, but it's always a reliable partner. I actually drank this one with pizza and it felt it a bit strange to be honest.

It's basically a crisp, dry lager the like that you've probably come across before, but it is definately one of the better ones. I'd say that Kirin slightly has it though, not by much but I'd rate an Asahi a close 2nd.

The flavours are fairly unique and balanced, the crisp body and dry finish make it refereshing and it's a good pallate cleanser.

8/10

Karlovacko

Given my run so far with Eastern European beers...I can't say I was excited to see another one in the fridge that I hadn't
ticked off of the list yet. They tend to be carbon copy watery lagers/pilsner that are about as refined as Doug Hawkins.
I pretty much thought I was going to have to force down another one, give it a shit review, and move on.

You might be thinking that I am using this intro as a lead in to say that I was actually proven wrong this time.

You would be wrong.

It's just like the others.

Seriously guys, pull your fingers out.

3.5/10

James Squire Amber Ale

This copper ale should be as sought after as the piping in the walls of abandoned houses.

This is the last of the big four from James Squire, following from the Golden Ale, IPA and Sundown Lager. Along with the Golden Ale, this is the pick of the bunch.

It's a full flavoured, deep, darker ale that tastes great from start to finish. It has a nutty/toffee like finish to it which is quite pleasant. Definately a winter style beer, but I've downed many an Amber Ale in summer aswell. Also goes

well with food. Great, versatile all rounder.

If you drink lagers or pale ales it might take a little while to get your head around, but if you drink darker ales and

haven't tried this already then it has to go on your list.

9/10

Dos Equis

This is the standard Dos Equis lager. The Amber is a better beer by far in my opinion, this is a really watery lager without a lot of balance. Like that British bloke trying to walk down the stairs in that video that's gone viral.

It's a bit of a chick beer really, and no offense intended to the girls out there who do like a good beer, but this is just really weak. Not really a beer drinker's beer I guess is the point.

Not much else to say really, I don't mind their Amber version but the standard lager has no oomph to it.

5/10

James Squire Sundown Lager

Here we have James Squire's offering of a lager. It's no secret these guys are one of my favourite breweries hands down, but they have a penchant for ales, not lagers.

It's rare that I drink a lager that makes me say 'Wow'. The most recent one I had was the 'Big Helga' from Matilda Bay. And the most recent it will remain.

This is a great lager, for sure, but it's only just poking it's nose in front of the pack rather than standing out.

The label describes it as a 'thirst quenching lager', and they're right. It's clean and sharp, but has a largely subtle bitterness to it's aftertaste opposed to most lagers.

Not the best lager, but still found in the canopy rather than the floor.

8/10

Bavaria 8.6

Ahh the freaky deaky Dutch. Naming a 7.9% alcohol beer '8.6' just to trip you out. I enjoyed my last beer from Bavaria
so was interested in giving this one a spin.

Given the fact it has a fairly high alcohol content, they've done a bang up job making it a smooth drink.

It's a deep, full bodied lager, that doesn't taste as tacky as your normal Euro lager. It's a bit pricey, but in the end
you do get your money's worth.

I'd say it's one of the better punchy beers out there, if you see in it in the fridge give it a go.


7.75/10

James Boag's Pure

This beer comes in a nicely designed bottle with the design pressed on rather than just your standard sticker/label.
I'd rather they spent the money on the beer inside the bottle.

Maybe 'pure' is the right word though. Because the beer does look enticing in that clean, green bottle, but once you've
gotten in there it simply doesn't put out.

There just really isn't much at all going on here. It's almost like fizzy malt water. It is a very clean beer I'll
give it that, so maybe there is 'something special' about the waters of Tasmania after all. It would've been nice if they

added something else to the water to actually make it a beer though.

If you don't really like the taste of alcohol but just like to blame it in the morning, then this might just be the beer

for you. Personally this just tasted like mineral water.

4/10

O'Brien Pale Ale

When spotting this in the fridge I figured it was just another local micro brewery pale ale. When I got to the counter, the bloke said, "Hmmm, trying the gluten free are you?"

In the ensuing conversation I discovered that this is in fact a gluten free ale. The bottle'o man's review went something like "Yeah...mmm...well...you kinda need wheat and barley to make beer". So expectations were now low, but when you have
to drink this many beers, beggars can't be choosers.

First off I will say, it's certainly drinkable. It's a strong, deep, pale ale with some tones that you'd normally
expect from a darker ale to be honest. It has that deep malty/almost chocolatey streak through it. Where it goes a bit
astray is in the aftertaste. It's hard to explain, because I don't know what they've used to substitute the normal
ingredients.

It does lose some lustre here, the aftertaste is a bit off. It's not a bad beer though, they've done a good job given the restrictions. If you can't ingest gluten, then here is a decent beer. Otherwise, there's no real reason to go near it I suppose.

6.5/10

XXXX Summer Bright Lager

What can you say about XXXX really? Queensland's VB, except it tastes even worse.

As you can imagine... I really wasn't very upbeat about this one. It's one of the last remaining beers at my bottleshop
I haven't hit up yet.

Given my experience with XXXX up North... I really didn't hold high hopes for this one.

At the end of the day, it's not great. It's a tame, weak, watery lager that probably most Queenslander's find
offensive. But it isn't really a BAD beer either. It's another one of those sort of light, crisp lagers that is
very easy to drink, and as the title suggests, a 'summer beer'. This just isn't really a good example of one.

So bit of a boring one this one, but en route to 365 beers we're going to have to come across a few so hang in there
and hopefully there are some more interesting beers to come.

4/10

Hansa

I was drawn to this $4 half litre bottle of imported German beer like a sailor drawn to the siren song of a mermaid...or something.

I walked home thinking it was a lucky find...

Then I drank it.

Yeah.

Mmm.

It has this really weird taste at the beginning that is very off putting, I can't even describe it. At first I was going
to give this like a 2...

however...

Things took a turn once I drank it with food. That strange opening flavour suddenly disappears. With food it's a
different beast. It's pretty subtle, but tastes a lot cleaner. It's not a huge improvement, let's not get
carried away, but it shifts from off putting to drinkable. I wasn't interested in finishing it at first, but the bottle is now empty.

4/10

Coopers Sparkling Ale

This is another one of those beers that you hear people say is their 'favourite beer'. This time though,
I would say it's justified. Given that it's a relatively mainstream beer nowadays, Coopers Sparkling Ale
is a top notch beer.

More expensive than a standard big brewery beer, but cheaper than a boutique microbrewery batch... Coopers Sparkling Ale is the much needed middle man. Like that rare band that attracts a huge audience without selling it's soul. I've probably neglected this beer a bit lately, I probably havent' had one for at
least a year maybe two.

It has the attributes of a micro, all the ingredients are natural and it's bottle fermented... it just hasn't
done anything outrageous. And really, that's fine, because it fills a spot in the market that is much needed.
An easily accesible, natural, full flavoured ale.

On top of that, it has an elevated alcohol content which is barely noticeable.


8.5/10

Tiger

Tiger is a Singaporean beer that is frequently found at Asian restaurants across the city, and generally goes
down alright with some dumplings. Tonight I'm drinking it with pizza, so we'll see how she fares. The label
calls it the 'World Acclaimed' Lager. Nothing wrong with a bit of chest puffing I guess. If you can walk
the talk.

In terms of a mass produced, heavily exported lager... it's good. It's nothing new, it's nothing out of the
ordinary, but it's a fairly balanced lager with some decent flavour. It straddles the fence on the malt
and hop flavours with neither being too prominent. It's a bit neutral all round. A Switzerland beer.

So rating it is a bit tricky really, because it's just a lager that plays a straight bat. Still, it has more
depth than the Euro Lager crowd and is good company with some chilli based dinner.

7/10

Tecate

Here we have a Mexican beer, and really in my experience, they aren't amongst the world's best brewers of beer.
They seem to have a penchant for making watery beers like Corona and Sol, that require a wedge of fruit to be placed in them to give the flavour some depth. So the stakes are low at this point.

It only came in a can which was a bit of a bummer, the design on the can also looks like something that came
from an early 90s timewarp. Almost as if the fridge that the beer resided in contained a portal to a land
of slap bands and hammer pants.

What we have there though, is a bit of a tangy lager. The can was very cold in the fridge, so i don't know
whether that's having a negative or positive effect on the beer as it's the first time I've tasted it. It
goes down easily enough, it is a bit light on the flavour though and what's there is... as is tradition...
a bit watery.

I imagine one of the reasons that Danny Trejo is so angry all the time is because this is about as good as it
gets with Mexican beers. There's some alright flavours there, some novelty, but not much depth. Kind of like
Trejo's acting I suppose. Don't tell him I said that.

5/10

Boag's St George

I've gone through most of the interesting beers at my local bottle shops and now have to start going for the beers
from the bigger breweries I've been trying to avoid. Boag's is an overrated brewery in my opinion, some people really
like it... I don't see the attraction.

I'd never had this before but it's kind of Boag's version of a crisp lager, it's a little bit like an Extra Dry
with some citrus tones to it.

For me, that just makes it worse. I didn't enjoy this at all. When I think, "Gee I'd love a beer", I'm not really
thinking about a watery lager with citric acidity.

3.5/10

Carlton Natural Blonde

I have to say I really wasn't expecting much from this 'low carb' offering from Carlton. Maybe those low standards
helped, but it's really not a bad beer! It's a malt driven lager, with a fair amount of flavour given it's a low
carb offering. The aftertaste is less crude than say, a Draught, and doesn't really taste as cheap and tacky as you
might think.

It's by no means a great beer by all standards, but it was better than expected.

I haven't really had that many, but as far as a low carb mainstream lager goes this one is a winner. Still, for me,
it's not something I would go out and buy, but if it's handed to me I'll be happy to drink it.

6.75/10

Steinlager

'Steinlager' sounds like a beer that Hitler would drink

This is 'New Zealand's Finest Lager' according to the bottle. I will say it has a fairly cool logo/bottle design, but
as for the beer, it's really a bit of a Euro lager copycat in the vein of Beck's and co. It doesn't hold a candle to
Monteith's and Mac's.

It claims to be - Crisp. Clean. Full Flavour. It is crisp, it's clean at the start, but it certainly is not full flavoured.

It does have that light, crisp taste to it to begin with, but the aftertaste is a bit crude with that sharp carbonation
to close it out. If you like Euro lagers, and this is cheaper at the bottle shop then go for it, but that's the only
reason I would suggest this beer.

It's a bit light on flavour, some subtle malt tones, and the the carbonation is poor.

6/10

Matilda Bay Fat Yak

Ahh the Fat Yak. This is a personal favourite, always been a fan. It's a very well rounded versatile beer. You
can knock one back after work, drink one with dinner, or just drink them all night long.

It's a full flavoured Pale Ale that is, just about, perfectly balanced. It's very hoppy, with some subtle citrus
tones to it with a clean slightly bitter aftertaste.

These type of beers are what turned me into a beer drinker. In terms of regular sixers that I pick up, Fat Yak and
James Squire are probably the most common.

Matilda Bay used to also have a wheat beer called Redback I think, which seems to have vanished from my bottle shop's
shelves. It was also a favourite of mine.

So yeah, if you've never tried one give them a go. They even sell them at the Liquorland at Coles now.

9/10