Sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold - welcome to Melbourne's "spring". We've put together a lineup for this The One release that has all weather vibes covered. From impertial stouts loaded with delicious adjuncts through to a delicate and zesty BA mixed cultured saison.
While a tad more of this box's unicorn beer, a monster Quadruple IPA from Vermont legends Berlington, found its way on to our shores, these are the only cans releases to market - the rest of it was reserved entirely for the importer's personal consumption and, well, schmoozing ;)
What's in the box:
Phase Three • Pressed: Maple
Coffee & Maple Imperial Porter | 12.0% | Lake Zurich, IL America | ⭐
Phase Three have made it back to Australian shores, and boy are we glad they have! Their ‘Pressed’ series is a line dedicated to different iterations of Imperial Coffee Porters. This variant includes the addition of maple to produce a decidedly Northern states flavour profile. Think pancakes on a Sunday morning covered in copious amounts of maple syrup.
Ballast Point • High West Barrel Aged Victory At Sea
Coffee & Vanilla Barrel Aged Imperial Porter | 12.0% | San Diego, CA America | ⭐
Ballast Point, one of the OG breweries of the American craft scene, have had a tumultuous time in recent years. Having been bought for the tidy sum of $1 billion at the end of 2015, Ballast Point was then sold off to Chicago-based brewery Kings and Convicts just before the world went into lockdown. Most recently, they have teamed up with Behemoth brewing in New Zealand to package their beers for the Australian market. This edition of Victory at Sea has a subdued coffee character with bourbon, Tim Tams and Vanilla on the nose.
Behemoth • Pokeno Gold
Whisky Barrel Aged Imperial Stout | 12.0% | Auckland, New Zealand | ⭐
Having traded under the name Chur this side of the Tasman for their first 6 years, Behemoth came to an agreement with Kaiju earlier this year to share the Behemoth trademark in Australia. Pokeno gold is a rich and coffee-y (is that a word?) Imperial Stout that has been aged in Pokeno whisky barrels – leaving plenty of whisky on the nose. It pours with a great head with notes of chocolate, vanilla and tannins with a warming booziness smouldering away.
One Drop x Põhjala • Pime Suvi
Imperial Pastry Stout | 12.8% | Botany, NSW x Tallinn, Estonia
Pime Suvi, or ‘Dark Summer’, has been carefully cellared with us since it was packaged almost 33 months ago! In that time, the tartness of the hand-foraged Native Davidson plums has mellowed and melded incredibly well with the smokey birch flavours imparted on the base stout. It’s like someone has taken what are objectively the two best pub desserts (sticky-date pudding and chocolate mudcake) and turned it into beer form.
Range • Visions III
Barrel Aged Imperial Coffee Stout | 10.5% | Newstead, QLD | ⭐
Aged in Heaven Hill barrels, ‘Visions III’ is part of Range’s releases for the third year of their barrel program. It has a subtle, charred oak flavour that is lifted and sweetened by additions of cold drip coffee, vanilla beans, cacao nibs, and almonds. The aroma is reminiscent of marzipan and a hefty coffee, it’s like drinking your local bakery’s entire offering; almond croissants, vanilla slice, lattes, and all!
Range • Measure Twice, Cut Once
Triple Dry Hopped Hazy Double IPA | 8.2% | Newstead, QLD | ⭐
Range have absolutely nailed this ripper of a double hazy. The booziest brew they’ve ever triple dry hopped, this beer has a rating of 4.27 on Untappd – and we can see why! Thick and oh so juicy, the hops giving tropical fruits like papaya and passionfruit – this one could easily be mistaken for your morning glass of breakfast juice!
Side Project • Le Saisonnier: Blend #5
Barrel Aged Mixed Culture Saison | 4.0% | Saint Louis, MO America | ⭐
Side Project have been championing the barrel aged/fermented beer world for a decade now – and they don’t look like slowing down anytime soon! We have carefully cellared this beer since last year and we reckon it’s prime time to get it in your hands! Being mixed ferment, it is tart for a Saison, with a delicate aroma of fresh lemon and hay. The acidity has a great drive to it with plenty chardonnay-like richness to keep it from being overpowered.
Tilquin • Oude Rhubarbe Tilquin à l'Ancienne 21|22
Rhubarb Lambic | 6.3% | Wallonie, Belgium | ⭐
Having only started operations in 2009, Gueuzerie Tilquin has fast risen to be one of the benchmarks of the Lambic world. This brew has been created by blending 240g of fermented rhubarb for every litre of lambic. This gives a mouth-watering tartness with almost a slight savouriness to it, finishing with a bit of funk and on light bitterness.
Hargreaves Hill • Double ESB
Imperial Extra Special Bitter | 8.0% | Lillydale, VIC
Originally brewed for Canvent 2021, our annual craft beer advent calendar release, Hargreaves Hill have rebrewed this beast due to popular demand. An amped up version of their ‘New World’ ESB, expect the classic raisin-y, toffee you expect from a typical ESB, with a fun hit of passionfruit delivered by the new world hops.
Hargreaves Hill x Naught Distillery • Naughty
Gin Barrel Aged Schwarzbier | 5.0% | Lilydale x Eltham, VIC
Hargreaves Hill have teamed up with nearby distillery Naught, to bring you something very special. Having spent a brief stint in Naught Distillery’s Sangiovese Gin barrels, this one has lots of juniper on the nose with a slight toastiness and some liquorice, while the palate includes a warming gin flavour with a very dry finish. All the fruitiness from the gin barrels combined with the toasted malts of the Schwarzbier make it feel like beer-y jam on toast!
Hawkers • Impending Doom
Mosaic Hopped Triple Hazy IPA | 10.5% | Reservoir, VIC | ⭐
Just weeks ago we helped launch the finale of Hawkers’ Winter of big, barrel aged vintage brews, with three Willet barrel aged beers. It appears Hawkers have kept the foot on the accelerator since and come back to drop a stone fruit bomb in this box! This Triple IPA is hopped to the teeth with mosaic, giving a deliciously juicy, rockmelon character that we know and love. This one should come with a warning label on it, as it’s dangerously smashable for such a high ABV!
Burlington • Primal Carnage
Quadruple IPA | 11.5% | Burlington, VT America | ⭐
Burlington Beer Co recently made its way to Aussie shores for the first time and, between the graphic cans and the liquid gold inside, we can’t get enough of them! Lucky for you, we managed to get our hands on the ultra-limited ‘Primal Carnage’ – so limited, in fact, that you are holding one of only 48 cans to make it to market this side of the Pacific! This monster is a bit of East meets West in the IPA world, with a deep resinous bitterness while tropical, fruity flavours play at the forefront. A big, bold, beast of an IPA, get it before it gets you!
⭐ = 4 or higher rating on untappd!