PINING FOR A STOUT?

The current bout of cooler weather affecting the eastern seaboard has meant the season of enjoying dark beers continues unabated.

For those of us who live in warmer parts of the country, this means we can actually nurse and savour a beer, rather than having to chug it down before it reaches the temperature of a very warm room.

In the spirit of enjoying what passes for winter in Central Queensland, a be-jumpered Hugh the Neighbour and I sat down to enjoy a stout from 4 Pines Brewing – a once microbrewery from Manly in Sydney.

4 Pines, like so many other craft brewers, is now part of the AB InBev group based in Belgium but with tentacles all over the world, including brands like Labatts, Coors, Budweiser and Corona to name but a few.

In fact, you may have downed quite a few beverages from AB InBev without even knowing it. But enough bemoaning the corporatisation of craft brewing, back to the stout.

It is an Irish-style stout, which for me means maltiness and bitterness, and the 4 Pines certainly delivers on both. At 5.1 per cent alcohol content, it is full-strength without being too strong and pours inky black in the glass with a thinnish head giving you a real hit of coffee on the nose.

HTN felt it was a bit too bitter for his palate, however it was actually the way I remember most stouts when I was first of drinking age. Not one for your first beer, but for the dark beer aficionados among us, one that is worth a try.