As cool weather cloaks mid-year West Australia, bottle shops, bars and breweries begin flowing with a stream of dark beer releases. Some are much-anticipated annual favourites, and others are inspired debutants, as beer expert Guy Southern explores.
Seasonal Brewing – Lil’ Otis (4.0% abv)
Lil’ Otis lands somewhere between an English Mild Ale and a sessionable Red Ale, thanks to a quintet of West Australian malts. Smooth caramel, light toffee and subtle toast offer more generosity and charm than a beer of this stature should.
White Lakes Brewing – Dark Lager (4.8% abv)
This former WAGFG Beer of the Year podium placer feels like a beer that should be in everyone’s fridge. Character-filled yet crisp and affable, here is a dark beer for WA’s moderate winters. Look out for the stunning Baldivis venue reopening later this year.
Lucky Bay Brewing – The Mountaineer (12.0% abv)
Barley wine is the cognac of beer styles: opulent, luscious and deserving of a slow, rainy afternoon with little to do. Here, the Esperance brewers carefully age a rich, toffee-malt-focused beer in whisky barrels for months, harmonising mellow, spirited layers into this multiple award-winning sipper.
Eagle Bay Brewing – Cacao Stout (5.5% abv)
Cacao Stout’s appeal only grows as the days shorten. This bona fide WA classic balances roast malt layers, chocolatey Bahen & Co. cacao husk character and affable elan. There’s good reason these fantasy-postcode brewers have been making it for nearly 15 years.
Gage Roads Brewing – Little Dove (6.2% abv)
Little Dove makes a limited return to celebrate a decade since being crowned Australia’s Champion Beer. Tropical aromatics vault from the rich malt base and, while enjoying a can is easy, sipping a fireside pint at Gage Roads Freo while watching the squalls roll in offers the ideal pairing.
Limited Release: Big Fun Dark Beers (Various abv)
Each year a clutch of highly limited, and equally anticipated, big-fun dark beers appear before vanishing for another twelve months. Blink and you’ll miss them. This year’s highlights include Boston Brewing’s Cake Shop Quartet Nitro Stouts in four nostalgic flavours (7.0% abv), Cheeky Monkey Brewing’s Silverback Imperial Stout (10.0% abv), Finlays Brewing’s Mutiny Imperial Stout (9.2% abv), Margaret River Beer Co.’s Panther Cream Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout and Blueberry & Coffee version (both 10.0% abv), and Rocky Ridge Beer’s Sangiovese & Shiraz Imperial Stout (10.0%+ abv).