Matilda Bay Brewing Company
Longshot
Coffee-infused dark ale
345ml | 6.0% abv

Dark beers come into their own over the colder months, the roasty, full-bodied flavours just perfect for cold nights in front a fire – or column oil heater. Matilda Bay’s Longshot, released last week, fits perfectly into the season.

It would be a little too obvious to say this beer is dark or that it has espresso and mocha notes, you can take these as read. What makes this such a good seasonal beer is the balance between the sweeter chocolate and caramel notes and those roasted malt and coffee flavours.

This beer is well rounded, soft and slightly oily in the mouth, with the expected coffee at first more of a sensation than a defined flavour. The coffee bitterness becomes more apparent as an aftertaste, gradually working its way to the fore. With each sip the beer offers glimpses of the added coffee characters, but these blend thoroughly with the natural roasted malt and sweeter caramels and toffees. Finishes with a lingering earthy espresso bitterness, but never overpowers

Reviewing beers from one sample on a single occasion can be deceptive, but I have been fortunate to enjoy this beer several times and each time time the enjoyment has been the same, though the experience has been slightly different, which highlights the complexity of this brew. Highly recommended.

Matilda Bay Longshot is only available through Dan Murphy’s, which is disappointing for the many smaller and independent retailers and the beer lovers who prefer to support these retailers.

RRP $19.99 for a four pack.

You’ll probably like this beer if: you prefer espresso to Nescafe, mocha to Moccona.

More on coffee beers:

• Brewing with beer
• Coffee and beer the flavour of the month.

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