Chris Shanahan: Beer review — Dan Rayner and Wig & Pen

Dan Rayner’s Beer Ape (Australopithecus Cerevesiae) pint $7.50
Archaeologist Dan Rayner won the local amateur brewing comp with a robust American pale ale style. And the Wig & Pen now offers a one-off batch brewed to Dan’s recipe. It’s a terrific expression of this in-your-face style with rich malt and aromatic, citrusy/resiny hops aroma, flavour and bitterness.

Wig & Pen Berliner Weisse pint $7.50
‘God, that’s not what we’re getting?’, a nervous drinker asked, eyeing three ruby-red, crimson-frothed beers. What he saw was the Wig’s new Berliner Weisse – a sour, tart, brew, mollified by elderberry’s startling colour, intense berry flavour and just enough countervailing sweetness. It’s a seasonal specialty that tastes like it should be good for you.