As the mercury drops, it’s time to change colour when it comes to beers.
Well at least that’s what I do.
In the cooler months, it’s the perfect time to sample some brews which aren’t light in colour or body an alcohol – blacks, browns and reds.
Many people tend to think of stouts when they hear about black beers.
A few may think of ‘olds’ but being adventurous enough to try a dark beer is the challenge.
Dark beers tend to be seasonal – making an impact on the shelves in Winter – so there isn’t the familiarity with these types of beers in Australia as there is elsewhere in the world.
And Aussies don’t have a history of drinking dark beers with our main love affair being with ales and lagers which tend to be more thirst quenching.
The beauty of dark beers is that they tend to lend themselves better to experimentation.
It’s not uncommon for brewers to “mature” their brews in wine or spirt barrels to add a unique flavour, or juice them up with extra malts to add body and alcohol.
The appeal of dark beers in winter is that they tend to be higher in alcohol content, thus warming you up.
Yet the strange thing is that it is best to allow your dark beer to sit a little while and actually warm up to enhance the character of the brew.
When you delve into this sector of the brewing market, there are no limits to what you can do, though I have to admit that some brewers do push the boundaries a bit too far – eg Morrison Brewing’s smoked kelp stout.
A little-known fact is that many of these styles of brews are designed to be stored, like wines, to mature in character.
As I have said, most people associated dark/black beers with stout and when it comes to stout, the first thing people think about is Guinness.
Yes this is a dark, full-bodied, robust brew which has set a benchmark for stouts.
However, like any style of beer, there are plenty of variations of stout, ranging from the intensity of the flavour, the nature of the body and the content.
If you are interested in a big bodied stout (like those would appreciate full bodied reds), there are drops like Coopers Extra Stour, Southwark Old Stout, Carbine Stout or Sheaf Stout.
But for those looking for something special, try an imperial stout which ‘supercharged’ with an extra dose of hops and grains to raise the alcohol content.
Good examples of this are Holgate Double Stout Barrel Aged and Hawkers Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial.
Imperial stouts, named because they were ‘juiced-up’ English stouts with a higher alcohol content to preserve them on the long journey to Moscow – the Russian imperial family were big fans, are ideal for storing due to their high alcohol content but they are pricey.
Other styles of stout include milk stouts which are slightly sweeter due to lactose being added and aren’t as sharp but still have robust flavour without the body.
Sunshine Coast craft brewer Brouhaha produces a great milk
stout.
Some brewers even produce white stouts which have all the qualities of their dark cousins but are lighter in colour but not flavour.
Black beers can include olds and porters and tend to be not as heavy as stout.
You may find them more refreshing and palatable because they aren’t as bitter or as heavy in the gut.
These can be found from the main stream brewers and craft brewers alike and come in a wide range of ales and porters.
Among my favourites are Young Henry’s Motorcycle Engine Oil Porter Sapporo Black, White Rabbit Dark Ale, Monteith’s Black and Tooheys Old.
These are probably the most common of the dark beers but there are variations on these such as German Bocks and Dunkels – lagers which definitely pack a punch.
Don’t forget brown ales, well-known among English drinkers for a sweetish after taste and low degree of bitterness and Mornington Pennisula Brown Ale is a great example.
Then there are red ales which earn their colour from the slightly toasted reddish malted barley and can be very drinkable on warm days as much as they are on cold nights.
It is a style of pale ale that is brewed using a moderate amount of kilned malts and roasted barley, giving the beer its red colour.
Woolgoolga Brewing Rebel Red is a great introduction to this style of beer.
If you have steered away from dark beers in the past because you may have tried a stout, don’t be lulled into thinking all dark beers are like that.
Yes stout can be an acquired taste (I know have acquire a taste for them) but dark beers can offer as much variety as their pale brew counterparts.
If you are feeling game and willing to try some out, there is no better place than the upcoming Great Australian Beer Spectacular in Brisbane on June 14-15.
With more than 120 brewers serving up unique offerings (and many of them are coloured beers), it’s a way to find out just what type of beers you like and talk the peoples behind the brews on how they make them.
For more information on this wonderful gathering for beer lovers and those who simply love a good party, visit www.gabsfestival.com
