Timothy Taylor Landlord Strong Pale Ale 500ml $7.90
It’s not particularly pale – mid-amber’s more like it. Nor is it strong at a modest 4.1 per cent alcohol. But it’s beautifully fresh and wonderfully, lingeringly bitter – although not in the harsh, resiny way seen in some heavily hopped brews. Indeed the hops aroma and flavour work well with the underlying maltiness.
Petrus Oud Bruin 330ml $5.10
Oud Bruin (literally ‘old brown’) is a distinctive, dark, sour beer from Flemish Belgium. The Petrus version of the style is aged in oak barrels for 20 months, allowing plenty of time for a microbial tag team to produce those distinguishing sour notes. And that’s what it is — dark, tart, sour and idiosyncratic.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009