OnTap Magazine

BREW REVIEWS REVIEWERS: Andrew Dell, Tracey Cleary and Brian Leopold Everyone has their lockdown “saviour” beer and this was mine! I managed to get my hands on a couple of boxes towards the end of prohibition, and with only the ghosts of my home brews and a few bootlegged lagers left, this stout brought sanity to a world gone crazy. The beer is a deep black colour with an off-white head, and just a hint of floral hops on the first aroma. There are prominent chocolate and toffee notes, with subtle coffee flavours. Slight acidity and roast keep this beer in balance, and at 5.2% alcohol just enough warmth for a cold evening, but not so much as to keep you from grabbing a second, or a third! Tip: allow the beer to warm slightly. I confess, this is not a beer style I am too familiar with. It is an amber-coloured beer with a dense white head, and gentle warm spices on the nose. Lactose brings a nice sweet balance to this beer, and I recognised nutmeg and cinnamon as it warmed up. This beer seems to be all about mash-ups and collaborations! Home-brewers Peter Daley and Neil Newcombe jump in on what seems like a rather fun recipe design day, and designer Ashley Reid and artist Adele van Heerden present a bucolic pumpkin patch scene with just a suggestion of Halloween malice. What would my American friends say about this beer? No idea, as I enjoyed this too much to share, but I have no doubt they'd be very happy to see more South African breweries attempting autumnal ales. (Editors note: yes they would!) At first glance, the black and lime green metallic can label seems fairly generic until you look more closely…WHOA, what's going here!? You have my attention good sir! Closer inspection of the label shows not all flowery hop curves, but the kind of marketing for adult beverages that rings my bell! The can calls for you to drop your inhibitions, and hope for a hoppy ending, among other things. Hold the can to the light and rotate, to see the cleverly disguised images. The beer itself is deep amber with a fairly dense white head. It has a medium fruit aroma, with a palate that hints toward citrus and maybe guava, although I struggled to identify individual flavours. The mouth-feel is towards the thin side, and finishes with a dry bitterness that lingers just long enough. For personal IPA preference, I'd like more prominent fruit aromas and tastes, with the malt backbone also coming to the fore. That being said, this was an enjoyable, sessionable IPA. Also, 10/10 for bravery and cleverness on the can! The first thing to notice about this beer is the cool can art. A product of Balinese abstract artist Rai, who, according to the can, is honoured in this recipe. It has a lovely hazy straw colour, a medium bubbled white head, and a juicy, tropical, pineapple nose. It is citrusy, tangy on the palate and has a noticeable alcohol warmth. I struggled to find the vanilla, though a possible whiff as the beer warmed up. I'm not sure this style needed vanilla, what with four different hops in the recipe. With the second can, I sadly still detected no vanilla, although I wonder if it added to the alcohol warmth or possibly that nice round mouthfeel. That second can had a slight salinity to the finish, which I didn't find unpleasant at all! Drop the ABV to 4.5% , and this is a beer I can smash all day long! SHACKLETON BREWING COMPANY RICHMOND HILL BREWING COMPANY FRONTIER BEER CO. RICHMOND HILL BREWING COMPANY COCOA OATMEAL STOUT 5.2%ABV. JUST A BIT MORE, PUMPKIN PIE ALE 5.2%ABV. KARMA CITRA IPA 5.3%ABV. OCTO X ALE VANILLA NEIPA 6%ABV. 4.2 4.0 3.6 3.0 56 | Winter 2023 | ontapmag.co.za