Welcome winter at NOLA with three days of dark beer.

As the clock strikes June, so begins the Great Tap Rotation.

In pubs and bars right across Australia, summery saisons and golden hefeweizens are rolled out of the keg room, and just as blue skies inevitably give way to encroaching grey clouds, so too do the beers become a much darker affair.

To properly welcome winter into the East End, NOLA are turning every one of their taps to dark brews sourced from across the country, for three nights only, this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.

With 25 individual beers to get around, we spoke to three ADL locals on the lineup about the art of dark beer and why we should be drinking theirs.

Big Shed Brewing – Craig Basford
Russian Imperial Stout

Describe your Russian Imperial Stout and how you came to design that recipe?

The Russian Imperial Stout is everything we love about big dark beers. It is a style that we are big fans of and had in the works last year, but winter came too quickly. That’s why we put it aside for this winter.

What appeals to you about that style of beer?

Firstly, it’s the flavour profile. It’s big with lots going on and can be enjoyed simply for that. If you’re a beer nerd, you can have a great time dissecting it too; looking for all those subtle flavours, it’s like a liquid ‘Where’s Wally?’ It can also encourage non-beer drinkers in. It isn’t the classic ‘beery’ flavours as they may expect and at least opens their minds to what else beer can be.

How would you describe the flavour profile and experience of drinking your Russian Imperial Stout?

Put simply, it’s BIG! Classic roasty malts, sweetness and spice not unlike Christmas cake. We’ve added 20kgs of coffee, which adds another layer of complexity, which, while smooth, is not backward in coming forward. The booze is almost unseen at first (it is 9% ABV) but then as its warms and you imbibe, you won’t be left unsure of its potential. It’s a decent guard against the chill of winter.

What other brewery is doing a really good dark brew this winter?

Locally, the lads at Mismatch are knocking out a cracker in their chocolate stout. I see Little Bang has put Breakfast at Stepney in cans, which is a sweet drop too.

Interstate, I cant go passed Exit Brewing’s Milk Stout, it’s a personal fave.

What is the secret to creating a well-balanced dark beer?

Depends on the style your chasing, but I do like a winter dark that lets the malt shine through and has a bit more punch booze-wise to slow you up and let the flavour develop in the glass. They usually have a bit more sweetness too which I like, but that’s the beauty of beer – everyone has their own preferred style.

Lobethal Bierhaus – Alistair Turnbull
Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Describe your Chocolate Oatmeal Stout and how you came to design that recipe?

Brewed here in Lobethal, the Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is very much an established part of the portfolio of 20 different beers we presently offer. First brewed for winter in 2008 and largely unchanged since.

How would you describe the flavour profile and experience of drinking your Chocolate Oatmeal Stout?

Based on a sweet stout style our stout has hints of dark chocolate and roast coffee character coming from the combination of Australian dark malts used in its recipe. Golden rolled oats are added to increase mouth feel, alcohol is a warming but not too pronounced 5.8%, while malt sweetness is balanced against a blend of traditional British variety hops, making this beer easy to drink and perfect for that cold winters eve.

What other brewery is doing a really good dark brew this winter?

It’s a great time to be a beer drinker here in Adelaide; there are now a large variety of excellent beers being produced in many different styles right here in South Australia.

Little Bang Brewing – Filip Kemp
Scratchy Vinyl

What is Scratchy Vinyl and how did you come to design that recipe?

Scratchy Vinyl is a black IPA. We decided to brew this style to celebrate Record Store Day and it was so well received it became one of our regulars.

What appeals to you about that style of beer?

New world hops and dark malts do go together really well and can work both in the warmer and cooler months whereas a lot of people only associate dark beer with winter.

How would you describe the flavour profile and experience of drinking Scratchy Vinyl?

Resinous pine in the aroma, a pleasant not-too-intense hop flavour followed by some dark chocolate and toasted bread malt character.

What other brewery is doing a really good dark brew this winter?

Big Shed’s Frankenbrown is a cracker of a beer and very similar in style to Scratchy. Well worth checking out.

What is the secret to creating a well-balanced dark beer?

It’s really about getting the intense bitterness off the dark malts balanced against the hops and body of the beer.