Last Fortnight in Beer - 8th to 19th of December

Hey all, I'm back with a new blog, won't be quite as long as last week's giant essay, it's been mental at work and at home the last couple of weeks so I haven't had TOO many fun beers...

First, a shoutout to my Reddit Secret Santa, I recieved a big box of craft beer from them! Lots of great new beers to try!!

I figure how better to start this week's post than by sampling one of the beers I just recieved, so we'll begin with the Elysian "Superfuzz" Blood Orange Pale Ale:

If nothing else, a cool label

Pours a hazy, light orange colour. Aroma is of Apricot and citrus with a hint of pine, very standard American hops. On the palate, it's dominated by the apricot flavour from the hops, as opposed to the promised blood orange flavour, which is very slight. A lingering citrusy bitterness after the main flavour is long gone, which could well be from the Blood Orange. A very enjoyable pale ale, just not quite what I expected

Overall: 3.5/5

Next up, a newish beer from the team over at Stone and Wood. I've always been a big fan of the Stone Beer, and their Garden ale was great this year, so when I saw another limited release I was super keen, and while it didn't disappoint, I wasn't super impressed either

Metric pint bottle, imperial pint glass... D'oh!

Pours a clear, deep amber colour. Tropical fruity aroma that leads you to believe it'll be hoppy, but on the palate it's a bit lacking flavourwise. It's not bad by any means, but it's kinda... Bland and inoffensive with minimal hop bitterness. I guess it'd be a good entry level craft beer for someone used to macrobrew. Decent but nothing special

Overall: 3/5

Finally, I promised last week I'd review a couple of La Sirene's beers, so to start off we have La Sirene's Super Saison

One of the prettiest labels I've ever seen

Pours a clear golden colour with ample white head. Aroma is interesting, notes of citrus and saison yeast, along with some earthy hop spicyness. On the palate, a mix of sweet orange peel and spicy pepper/clove notes that fade into a rounded, earthy finish. As the beer reached room temperature, a little more of a wheaty character came through as well, giving it a seriously smooth finish. Highly recommended, great example of a saison!

Overall: 4.5/5

And to wrap up this week's reviews, we have an absolute cracker of a beer, this year's winner of Best Festival Beer at GABS, La Sirene's Praline

Like the aforementioned pretty label but holographic!

Right off the bat when you pop the cap, there's a mellow, chocolatey aroma. It only intensifies when poured into a glass, with some nutty notes coming through alongside the cocoa. Pours a dark, opaque brown, almost black, with ample, frothy, light brown head.

On first sip, it's almost immediately cloyingly sweet, like drinking melted chocolate icecream, but as it sits in your mouth some dry, roasty notes come through alongside an earthy hop bitterness to help balance out the flavour.

Overall the closest flavour I can compare to is that it's like drinking a choc-hazelnut mousse, it's absolutely delicious and perfect alongside a bowl of vanilla icecream.

Overall: 5/5

That's all for this week folks, next blog likely coming just before the new year, detailing many more of the beers that I've been drinking, as well as a bit on my trip to the Little Creatures Brewery in Geelong. 

Until next time!