The Black Box 2022

June 14, 2022|Hannah Baars

The ultimate luxury dark & barrel aged beer box.

If Dry July is a thing, then we’re declaring August monsoon season at Carwyn.

The Black Box is a super-premium Canvent style 12 pack for only the most dedicated of dark & barrel-aged beer lovers. We have assembled an all-star lineup of the best producers of these styles in Australia and given them free rein to go absolutely nuts on a custom beer created especially for this project.

The Black Box 2022

Well friends, The Black Box 12 daily brews is done and dusted, and we've loved seeing you all enjoy them alongside us! We've got limited amounts of Black Box beers available as singles, and even a couple of cheeky boxes up for grabs.⁠
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For those of you with patience (and a resistance to temptation), pop a couple in the cellar and take later you on an adventure!⁠

#1 • 3 RAVENS (VIC) - COROWA CONSPIRACY

🍺 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout⁠ • 🥴 12.7% ABV⁠

Notes of hazelnut, biscuit with a mild fruity character that reminds us of Terry's Chocolate Orange. Light liquorice background character, but as it warms up, the whisky comes through on the nose. The roast and hop bitterness are balanced out by a bit of sweetness that sneaks up on you. The whisky is really well integrated, no wonder it was designed to be barrel aged in those Hungarian oak horseheads (ex-Corowa Distillery).⁠

#2 • BANKS (VIC) - BARREL ROYALE

🍺 Barrel Aged Imperial Pastry Stout⁠ • 🥴 10% ABV⁠

This is basically liquid fudge brownie! Notes of raspberries, with a character reminding us of a Lamington. Rich and decadent but not overly sweet, with mild notes of coffee and coconut on the palate. Delicious, with a lush mouthfeel and a smooth finish. A beer worthy of royalty.

#3 • BRACKET (NSW) - FLIGHT RECORDER DO NOT OPEN

🍺 Black IPA⁠ • 🥴 7.8% ABV⁠

Damn! Big heavy citrus, and light tropical character coming through as we pour the beer. Juicy fruit and grapefruit on the nose. Flavour-wise, the fruit character follows through with a touch of pine and a toasty and lightly roasty notes. The hop and roast bitterness combine in the finish and complement one another beautifully. In the words of our GM Ben Duval: "Geez that's a delight".

#4 • GOOD LAND (VIC) - BARREL AGED JAZEKER

🍺 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Coffee & Vanilla⁠ • 🥴 11.7% ABV⁠

This is the BA edition of their 2021 release of Jazeker. First thing we note is absolute lashings of coffee! Big and bold, slightly savoury with notes of dark chocolate covered coffee beans or a freshly made mocha. Only a brush of sweetness on the palate, followed by the dark roast, with a light bourbon character and a slightly drying tannic finish.⁠

#5 • MOUNTAIN CULTURE (NSW) - BARLEY DAVIDSON

🍺 Black Barleywine⁠ • 🥴 10.5% ABV⁠

What can’t we find in this beer?! Toffee, dates, plum, blackberry, banana, etc… It lightly resembles a Christmas cake, with notes of candied orange peel with the boldness of a regular barleywine, but the freshness of a Black IPA. Good length in mouth with a solid balancing bitterness.⁠ Absolutely not cloying, with notes of molasses in mouth and just a bit of roastiness on the finish. The finish is surprisingly dry after the sweeter nose. Just a magnificent beer with unparallel malt complexity.

#6 • WORKING TITLE (QLD) - DECEPTION

🍺 Bourbon Barrel Aged Salted Peanut & Chilli Imperial Stout⁠ • 🥴 10% ABV⁠

The nose starts with subtle chilli and a light peanut character, with an aroma that we could only describe as cola. The mouthfeel is creamy, with fading herbal notes. All backed up by a light oak character with light sweetness from the Bourbon barrel and a good roast character. It’s a journey from peanut through to chocolate with chilli popping in between. Oh what a ride!

#7 • BOATROCKER (VIC) - RYEJET

🍺 Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout • 🥴 10.6% ABV⁠

As we pour it, the gorgeous mocha colour of the head begins to release the spicy and roasty character. Quite prominent rye notes, backed up by a complex malt character resembling fudge brownie and black liquorice. The flavours also provide mild caramel (but really far taken caramel, close to burning but not quite). ⁠The rye shines throughout the tasting, giving you a completely different experience from their iconic BA Imperial Stout.

#8 • DEEDS (VIC) - DARK SEAS

🍺 Akoya Oyster Stout • 🥴 8% ABV⁠

Notes of hazelnut and vanilla bean. A subtle brininess that seems to accentuate as the beer warms up; mineral on the taste with a nice toasty earthiness. Well balanced bitterness with a dry finish. The intense minerality of this beer makes it a very interesting food match option.⁠ Undoubtedly unique, you won’t see many Akoya oyster beers lining the shelves of Dan Murphy’s.

#9 • SOBREMESA (VIC) - HIGH TEA

🍺 Barrel Fermented Dark Mild • 🥴 3.6% ABV⁠

The name for the beer is perfect. The first intake of aroma resembles steeped tea followed by a fruity, berry-like character. The beer feels slightly savory, but with a refreshing component. The toasted malts and a mild lemon flavour follow you throughout the journey, with a delicate and oaky dry finish followed by tea-like tannic after taste that fades away. Call it an “elevated tea experience”, or just call it a beautifully brewed beer; you can’t go wrong.

#10 • FOX FRIDAY (TAS) - FUSION

🍺 Red IPA with Marionette Mure & Bitter Curacao • 🥴 8.5% ABV⁠

This is certainly an experiment, taking liquor (Marionette Mure & Bitter Curaçao) and adding it to the beer to lift up the character that’s already there and add richness to the body and flavour. The citrus character is off the charts! With that colour we fully expected the malty rich beer with just the classic pine and dank hops (which are present) but the liquor really shows and blends beautifully with the darker malts.⁠ Notes of preserved lemon and orange with quite an herbaceous character. In mouth the citrus notes continue reminding us of bergamot, with biscuit backing it up. Finishes off-dry, with a mild lingering orange sweetness.

#11 • ONE DROP (NSW) - MELANGE A TROIS

🍺 Triple Barrel Blended Imperial Stout • 🥴 10.7% ABV⁠

This is huge honestly; we couldn’t stop mentioning flavours and aromas throughout the tasting! The nose is sweet, with a mild oaky character and a lot of different things going on: Rice pudding, cinnamon, marzipan, vanilla, gingerbread, horchata, etc. In mouth a lot of those notes follow, with a nice roasty backbone and mild chili heat. Drinks sweet but finishes with a warming off-dry taste. A heavy but delicious treat worthy of sharing.

#12 • HAWKERS (VIC) - DOUBLE BOURBON BA IMPERIAL STOUT 2022

🍺 Double Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout • 🥴 13.7% ABV⁠

First sip is sweet up front and BOLD, but it starts feeling lighter and smoother, especially with the second sip. Big creamy mouthfeel, backed up by a lovely blend of malts with toast, chocolate, espresso and a light nutty character. Finishes with an oaky and roasty aftertaste, everything just comes together really well, amazing work friends.