Fresh from a top ten finish for The Big Dipper in the Critics’ Choice hottest 100, Little Creatures has released it’s latest single batch, a hybrid ale described as a hoppy Belgian and is called The Quiet American.
Details from the brewery below. It will be available in pint bottles from the brewery as of 19 April, and thennationally in the following weeks.
The Quiet American
Specifications:
1. Style: Hybrid Ale – A Hoppy Belgian
2. ABV: 7.2%
3. Malt Bill: Pale Ale Malt, Abbey Malt, CaraBeige, CaraAroma, MunichMalt and Belgian Candi Syrup.
4. Hops: A showcase of our new season US Cascade and Chinook
5. IBUs: 55IBU
6. Colour: 22EBC
7. Ferment: A warmer Belgian ferment to encourage the ester and higher alcohols to shine
8. Filtered: Filtered bright
9. Bottle conditioned: No
10. Pasteurised? Certainly not.
11. Anything else about the beer that makes it unique?
A very unique hybrid of Belgian Strong Ale – think esters, spice (although no spices are added!!), higher alcohols (fusel oils), fruity, zesty converging with a big and loud American IPA – think green, citrus, pine, resin, bitter, It presents with an orange hue, a nice tight white foam and a lively carbonation.
12. The beer – in a nutshell:
A mash up of Belgian and American flavours and brewing styles, influenced by the quiet talents of the Trappist monk brewers while celebrating the loud and proud US IPA’s through the use of the new season American hops -in Best enjoyed in moderation.
American Belgian mash ups like this have been pretty common in the states for a wipe now. Stone’s Cali Belgique, Deschutes’ Conflux No.2, Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch, and Green Flash’s Le Freak are all examples that have been available for a while.
Once again, Little Creatures has simply copied an American brewing trend and fobbed it off on the Australian public as their own innovation. Their Pale Ale is probably the biggest example of this flavour plagiarism as anyone who knows Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale can confirm.
Still, I give them credit for introducing their so called “unique” brand to the dull landscape of macro brewed pap with million dollar advertising campaigns that the public knocks back.
Wow, you’re harsh. I can’t think of too much that is happening in the Australian craft beer scene at the moment that couldn’t also be described as derived from what is going on the the US or elsewhere…and are you going to have a crack at every Australian micro that has a derivative American-style pale ale as well?
I agree with Editor here, that was a strangely aggressive reply.
I think Australian craft brewers can be (and are) proud that they have followed in the footsteps of the US craft brewing revolution (albeit belatedly) and brought about a big change in our national drinking scene in a relatively short time. No one makes any secret of the fact that the US is where the inspiration has come from. The number of microbrewery labels on the market continues to expand all the time.
I wonder if your hostility is along the lines of some other beer lovers I’ve encountered, in that Little Creatures is 40% owned by a large foreign corporation, therefore they’re doing the devil’s work now? If that’s the case, it’s a shame. I hardly think that means they necessarily turn out crap beer or are worthy of derision. Look at Penfold’s wines as an analogy – surely part of a massive corporate conglomerate but yet they turn out some of the highest quality and most highy sought-after Australian wines in the world.
My derision is not based on the fact that Little Creatures has made a name for themselves in the craft brewing industry by mimicry. I am also not surprised to find out that they are now OWNED by a large corporation. What could possibly be the results of a large multinational entity protecting an investment to ensure the bottom line. Watery beer? Never.
Little Creatures has taken no risk in developing their recipes because they have always just ripped off American versions and then slightly tweaking them to make them profitable in a country with high alcohol taxes (weaker).
Hey mate, if they were so jazzed with Australian ingredients, how come they took out an exclusive import license to source their hops from the states.
Seriously, you can’t even compare the innovation of ken grossman, Tomme Author and Sam Calagione with little creatures. They innovated while the creatures just stood on the backs of giants and sold out fast.
The real question is will it be as good as the US or Belgian versions.
What is frustrating is that this beer will be on some top ten list next year for here and the Mikkeller/ Bridge Road and Mikkeller/ Mountain Goat beer will be forgotten. Much like Thornygoat was.
No.
Only those that truly rip off the American beer scene.
Take Boat Rocker’s Alpha “Queen” for example…
Three Floyd’s has been producing a beer called Alpha King for years.
Alpha queen is good beer no matter what it’s called, it’s just another example of what you can market down under to a public that is mostly unaware of the scene outside of this country.
That’d be like me coming up with a big hoppy ale and then calling it Pliney The Oldster.
It’s just to close to the successful established brand but in a land full of people who don’t know, I’d get away with it.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the Australian craft brewing movement that is still in its infancy is not being half as innovative as the American scene was at this stage in its development and a lot of ideas and styles are simply being milked down here because they worked overseas. The beer is better, yes, but we haven’t developed a style that is ours.
West coast ales were the developed and enjoyed by people who wanted to drink big, hoppy, flavorful beers in California Oregon and Washington. The beer speaks of both the region and the beer drinkers.
Australia is yet to develop a style based on Aussie ingredients for Aussie beer drinkers in a region of the country. However, I think that Stone ‘s Pacific Ale is definitely the closest thing we have to this now. The mixture of Australian Galaxy balancing a smooth and sessional malt base that doesn’t strictly adhere to a style category may just become a style of its own. And it isn’t ripping of the marketing nor the innovation of another brewery in another country.
Hi There,
I guess this little article has stoked the fire a bit….
For our Single Batch beers we basically come up with a style we like (yes we are influenced from existing beer styles from around the world and don’t pretend that we are reinventing the wheel) just do some calcs, do the brews and cross our fingers and hope it turns out good – trying to have some fun, but more importantly just trying to get more varieties of beers into everyone’s hands. There is no detailed product development plan or even a pilot plant involved – we just do it. We’re only trying to make good beer with our own slant on a particular style, and I know that there will always be some people we can’t please.
I guess with the link to Lion (and now Kirin)…. Lion has always been a shareholder since we started. In 2005 we became a public company and now we have many hundreds of shareholders, including fair number of employees and all the original founding partners are all still involved in the business. Despite Lion’s shareholding, we have always remained independent in how we operate – doing our own raw materials purchasing, brewery expansion projects, recruitment, business planning, marketing, sales, etc. I can’t honestly say that we have sold out…..and in fact becoming a public company actually enabled us to install a new brewery in Fremantle which has helped us grow, which in turn has helped us get the Geelong Brewery project off the ground.
Hops…. you are correct in saying that we have an import license. This was because back in 2000 1) we wanted to use raw hops and 2) we wanted certain varieties that weren’t grown here, or for which there weren’t substitutes. To say that we don’t use local hops now is incorrect – I was interviewed by Crafty Pint a few weeks back and I let him know that now we are purchasing the majority of our hops local now (local = Australian & NZ). We have been a big supporter of Hop Products Australia in recent years, and are purchasing more and more from both Ellerslie and NZ hops. This year we are receiving very large consignments of both Australian and NZ hops and have visited all of our suppliers this year (HPA in TAS and VIC, Ellerslie in VIC and NZ Hops) to check out the harvests and get to know their new developments. As I type this two of our guys are in NZ doing hop selections…..
Anyway, just a bit of info to through into the debate.
Cheers,
Alex Troncoso
Thanks for the input Alex. Always great to hear from those involved to get some perspective.
As for the beer, I am excited to see what your interpretation tastes like and always put more weight in that than what the media release tells me. Cheers
Joe
“Their Pale Ale is probably the biggest example of this flavour plagiarism as anyone who knows Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale can confirm.”
HAHA!This is one of the funniest things i have read for a bloody long time. D, you seem to have a HUGE and personal chip on your shoulder, mate!
What a shame to see people who just sit back behind their anonymity thinking they ‘know it all’ come here with their bitter posts instead of embracing the expansion and diversity of our Aussie Beers. Something for everyone, this beer will no doubt give folk a chance to try out new flavours and styles, something they may otherwise not have done.
Good work, Little Creatures! I look forward to trying your new single batch.
To D, What a downer to throw all that negativity you have stored up for little creatures and write it here announcing the news an exciting new release! I’m with the other beer lovers, your replies seem unneccesarily bitter, harsh and well, quite frankly a lot of it very uninformed!
On a happier note, i am very much looking forward to trying this new brew. if it’s anything in the same realm (quality wise) as the Big Dipper it will be a beauty!
A BIG thank you to Alex Troncoso for taking time out to jump online and clear a few things up. Much appreciated. It’s refreshing to see brewers join in and deliver honest answers, it makes it much clearer for all of us.
Cheers to all!
I suggest not wasting your time reading the overblown rantings of self professed beer afficianodos, as evidenced in surplus below and actually try drinking the beer.
A great beer, whether inspired by my Norman Gunston or Peewee Herman, i do not care, enjoy every last drop you can get your hands on, the like liquid gold it is. It won’t last long and finding my next bottle is my next objective.
A fellow lover of beer flavours, now spoilt for choice, my friend felt embarassed to follow my offering of Quiet American with his Hop Rocker! A very respectable support cast but Quiet American is my beer highlight of the last 12 months. He agreed enthusiastically!!
If your serious, Fremantle is a great spot for a holiday:))
ps.
“Seriously, you can’t even compare the innovation of ken grossman, Tomme Author and Sam Calagione with little creatures. They innovated while the creatures just stood on the backs of giants and sold out fast.”
This statement is just ludicrous.
D does seem bitter and unapreciative of Australian craft brewing, but he has got me thinking about a truly Aussie style of beer.
The world knows us for Fosters yet we don’t drink it domestically and lagers are a European style.
I think there is a challenge in D’s dribble.
Sami, I think you and D should sit down and have a beer together. I think you guys would get on very well together if you only got to know each other. You wouldn’t have to travel too far to find each other I suspect.
As for a ‘truly Aussie beer style’, can you name for me one beer style that it truly original and unique? All beer styles are derivative of what went before. They are slight additions to existing styles, not breakthrough ‘new’ styles. Taking absolutely nothing away from him or his beer, Sam Calagione’s ‘innovation’ is to recreate Peruvian and Egyptian beers, or devise new ways to extend the hop additions to IPAs, or add new ingredients to existing styles. Australia has a ‘unique’ beer style – at least according to Michael Jackson, the Coopers Sparkling Ale. It existed nowhere else in the world in the 90s. Now I think you could add the New World Pilsner – an aromatic pilsner hopped with Australian and/or New Zealand hops and even the Pacific Ale, which is a tricked up variation of the Australian Ale to that.
It’s great to see a new beer being released, I hope people like it and I hope the hard working brewers and passionate people behind it are happy with the result.
Well I have to eat my words a little bit here, because a few weeks ago I tried the Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, which has recently begun appearing in Dan Murphy’s stores.
The Quiet American is almost identical to the Ballast Point beer !
My taste buds amazed me. The only difference being that the Ballast Point is slightly more full bodied, and in my opinion, a better beer. And certainly more original!
Jeepers creepers. Now I know what D is on about. If anyone’s been enjoying The Quiet American and is disappointed it’s all gone, never fear just snap up a six pack of Ballast Point and you’ll be more than chuffed.