2024 BEER & SPIRIT AWARDS

Kalle Wevel’s beguiling and vibrant beer wowed the judging panel with intricacy and a progressive nature, while wrangling an especially difficult profile into elegance.

Pitched as a Black Oat Cream NEIPA (New England IPA), what arrives is closer to a Juicy Black IPA. The noir ballet of oats, dark and roasted malts, alongside Idaho 7, Cryo Citra and Mosaic hops, and a buoyant yeast selection, harmonises with smooth personality and rare elan. 

Juicy dark chocolate malt, Milo and espresso crema characters meld with feint minerality. A subtle roast profile gives way to sweaty diesel hop notes, pithy citrus rind and chinotto drips. Resinous sticky bitterness asserts, fine pine dust lilts. And when taken as a whole, these competing and contrasting elements have no business being this balanced, this integrated and this good. 

Mudi is wildly fascinating and perfectly executed.

While there’s acute technical merit here, there’s also something special about an Aussie pub rock-like efficiency spun through a very traditional German Schwarzbier lens – not in the least the plaintive ‘Dark Lager’ moniker. 

This is the kind of beer that glides through the seasons with character and drinkability. A deceptively light, ruby flecked, deep mahogany hue welcomes milk and baker’s chocolate notes, Nutrigrain, cola and light roast filter coffee. Integrated bitterness and an incredibly clean length furthers notions that West Australians should be drinking more Dark Lager, and what a place to start.

Eagle Bay’s lengthy cold conditioning affections continue to explore the expansive possibilities of Lager; and none more so than their 90 Day Pilsner. On balance, most would question the sense of making a beer longer than it’s actually available. That is until they’ve tried it. 

Lime, exotic sweet citrus and light diesel aromatics vault from the lean malt base. Flashes of cannabis and herbal resin join through tasting. Spot on fine bitterness and a cleansing dry riposte only further thoughts of ‘this should be core range!’ before the reality of limited release appears. Mark your calendars.

Its tropi-citrus affair surges unencumbered with orange, mandarin, passionfruit, pineapple and mango while remaining nimble and moreish. Though a touch sweet, Symbiote is the best Hazy Pale that our panel has seen since its inception.

Described by one judge as the best non-alc beer they’ve ever tried, the Denmark brewer’s magic trick over-delivers from its petite stature. Balanced raspberry additions provide character, palate weight and a level of refreshing tartness for the lightly zippy finish to work around. Little Wren feels astonishingly close to its imbibed siblings while proudly offering personality and opportunity of its own accord.

Most Oat Cream IPAs use lactose, a milk derived sugar, to create a round, silky mouthfeel, often with lingering sweetness. Here the team opt for an oat heavy mash, biotransformative yeast and modern DIP hopping techniques featuring Idaho 7 and the experimental HBC 638 hop.

The result is an imminently smooth weave of papaya, sweet orange, grapefruit and candy notes atop a swathe of tropical fruit. It’s noted that Nudi pairs particularly well across the Seasonal menu which features one of the largest vegan and vegetarian offerings in WA.

Brewing at various locations around WA, Brewcha Libre’s wrestling obsessed husband and wife team of Ryan & Georgie Walker have carved out a highly creative stable of limited releases, including this Pacific Rice Lager.

The pair’s invented style melds a Japanese Rice Lager with an Australian Pacific Ale as evidenced by use of Japanese Sorachi Ace and Aussie Galaxy hops. Light bodied and flawlessly clean, the palate’s dynamic hop profile is awash with lime splice, mint, candy and tropical punch before a snappy resolution begs for warm weather, or luchador entertainment.

No frills, no fuss, just polished efficiency with a spark of late bitterness marking this crisp slaker as elevated from the crowd. Crystalline light glances through clear light straw hue, as if congratulating the honest choices here. Fresh, immediate and incredibly social, but you’d better get a second pint just to make sure.

These fantasy postcode brewers managed to slink this plump Hazy IPA into their core range with little fanfare, and then astutely let it find its own space, and people; quietly nurturing the momentum, and refining the technique. 

The plush, opaque orange pour is a fruit bowl of sweaty papaya, kaffir lime leaf, orange zest, Fanta reduction, over-ripe nectarine, lemon soda and, of course, pineapple – fresh and crushed tin rings. Wisely, a late bitter silt grounds sweeter intentions, all of which may be the reward for a morning’s MTB circuit, in the pines, across from the Brewhouse.

If lifting the can doesn’t provide enough insight into the density of the enclosed liquid, then the heavyweight pour surely will – this is a beerfied coco-choc-cherry bar treat. Beyond the obvious sour cherry, desiccated coconut slice and cherry cola, it’s the bang on dark chocolate character which delivers on the theme. Dessert is served!

Seasonal’s sunny fruit combo welcomes tart elements, and subtle funk, while keeping the mood breezy, as after all, a refreshing focus is paramount here. Light minerality and a sherbety quality adds layers for those looking. Meanwhile, everyone else should happily carouse with this incredibly drinkable sour. Golden hour sipping optional.

Tropi-citrus themes abound through the light gold mist. Apricot nectar, preserved lemon and subtle mint freshness support. Pairs well with endless sunshine and low stakes endeavours.

Our judging panel celebrated the smooth, lactose free palate and overall harmony. And with a playful ‘drink me now!’ clarion, it’s no wonder that Rocky Candy has become one of WA’s favourite Sours.

This hoppy, fruit forward fun belies tacit capability beyond the soft, easy drinking pour. A roll call of pineapple lollies, passionfruit, over-ripe peach and lemon sherbet steal the show as a light bitter mist curtails sweeter ambitions. Best consumed while discussing possible origin stories of the human race. 

Opaque and charming as they come, juicy grapefruit leads throughout with suggestions of pineapple upside down cake, pithiness and dank blushes. Effortlessly smooth, here’s a big personality with a welcoming citrus heart.

A misty yellow downpour of tropical and stone fruit notes spans pineapple, mango, light peachy-apricot and swash of OJ. Late bitter wisps counter the semi-sweet arc. Late dank hints reveal further surprises. Literally bursting, and available year round.

Cacao Stout has repeatedly featured in the Top 25, and at this point, over a decade after its debut, the Bahen & Co cacao husk imbued beer should be telling stories about us, not the other way around. The mature dark malt base is woven with milk and dark chocolate, mocha and liquorice touches before pragmatic bitterness asserts, a judicious resolution to a Western Australian classic.

King Road’s go-to IPA, is as clean and fresh as ever. Strata hop led, there’s more working BTS here, but, as is Olbury brewer’s way, there’s zero fuss. Dank passionfruit, torched pineapple, and decent bitter thwack; carefully realised, and applied via clear caramel malt. King Road’s IPA is a 2020s WA brewing icon.

Surely there’s a lavish, swirling lake of confectionery beneath Phat’s West Perth digs? If not, then this cookie dough, chocolate and hazelnut stout has a lot to answer for. Then spike that with chocolate and cookie dough ice cream floats and you’ll be close to the fanciful energy here. This is giddy fun, and Phat are reveling in it!

Energetic, generous yet lean. Then there’s a knowing hoppy wink that feels like a new band that you’ve already known for years. 

River Dog’s casual confidence straddles a taut caramel malt profile and assertive sextet of boisterous new wave hops. Mango, ruby grapefruit and green papaya follow an underlying resinous throughline, and fine pointed, pithy bitterness; a Margs arvo mistral seemingly adding late mineral touches to this instant classic.

A quirky combination of multiple yeast and bacteria strains, some souring, considered malt selection, and oak barrels, requires deft alchemy. 

As such, Homestead’s Flanders Red should be subtitled ‘things to get lost in’. Cherries, prune & plum compote, chinotto, liquorice, balsamic dabs, fine oak texture and wisps of smoke. A sweet, tart, acidic equilibrium skillfully resolves this curious beer with composure..

Instead, Clout Stout, one of Australia’s most celebrated beers, gets a sublime Rye Whiskey finish. The OG’s Imperial Stout now features sticky date pudding, stewed fruit, toasted pecans, stave cinnamon, crushed jalapeno, Bourbon vanilla and a lengthy warm finish. Tasting demands blue cheese sides and not much to do, should you be lucky to find a bottle.

Well constructed, this lower ABV beer features El Dorado and Mosaic hops. Summery citrus floats upon a light yellow mist, with sherbet notes and veiled tropical mango and pineapple. This is a fish and chips beer, an impromptu neighbours catch up beer, watching sport with snacks beer, and a ‘Yes!’ to more snacks beer.

Feral’s Aussie Lager. Ample, not assertive, bitterness, and fleeting limey citrus reminds the drinker that this isn’t just any fizzy yellow beer. It’s from Feral after all. As one judge quipped ‘who’s up for pub pints of this?!’

Inviting stonefruit and melon aromas expand with subtle sweet citrus on a light bodied base that’s not asking for anything other than your relaxation. Shelter’s repose awaits.