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Craft beer a festive treat

Chris Shanahan

Coopers Thomas Cooper’s Selection Celebration Ale and 8 Wired Brew Co Saison Sauvin.
Coopers Thomas Cooper’s Selection Celebration Ale and 8 Wired Brew Co Saison Sauvin.Supplied

The explosion of craft brewing, aided by our strong dollar, gives us an amazing choice of Christmas beer styles - from merely cold and wet, to complex, even challenging. Over the year, I've tasted many outstanding beers. Some were seasonal, now sold out. But the five-star brews below should be available at specialist outlets, like Plonk at the Fyshwick markets.

For an irresistible American take on the classic, malty, bitter Czech Pilsen style, savour Samuel Adams Noble Pils (355ml $8.40). Also from the United States, and pole-vaulting to the hoppiest of hoppy heights, is Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Whole-cone IPA (355ml $7.70). Fullers Golden Pride (500ml $8.40) offers sumptuous maltiness and satisfying bitterness, while fellow Englishman, Taddy Porter (550ml $7.40), provides robust, velvet smooth, sensuous drinking. Here's a favourite each from Australia and New Zealand.

Coopers Thomas Cooper's Selection Celebration Ale
355ml 6-pack
$18-$20
★★★★★

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The party goes on. The commemorative ale Tim and Glenn Cooper released last year to mark Cooper's 150th anniversary has become a regular offering. The ale is reddish, fruity, with citrussy hops high notes, generously flavoured and finishing lingeringly bitter.

8 Wired Brew Co Saison Sauvin
500ml, $10
★★★★★

This is a Kiwi take, from the heart of Marlborough sauvignon blanc country, on a traditional Belgian brew. Pungent, spicy sauvin hops from Nelson permeate the rich, smooth, high-alcohol palate, leaving a bitter, spicy, hoppy aftertaste. Big and assertive but well balanced.

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