The Black Box 2023

|Hannah Baars
The Black Box 2023

Bigger. Bolder. Blackerer. Our super premium Canvent™ style winter 12 pack is back! 12 custom dark & barrel aged beers created especially for this box, from 12 of the best producers of these styles in Aus.

Our super premium Canvent™ style winter 12 pack is back!

12 custom dark & barrel aged beers created especially for this box, from 12 of the best producers of these styles in Aus. This year, we are not pulling any punches, with a huge amount of barrel aged beers and even more imperial stouts. No sours or IPA this year, just 100% malty dark goodness.

To add another level of excitement, we are collaborating with our friends The Coolroom on this year’s box. This means live and interactive video sessions with each of the 12 brewers, hosted by the legends at the Coolroom.


The Coolroom Black Box Tasting Events

Catch our friends at The Coolroom Podcast's live and interactive tasting sessions, featuring chats with each of the 12 brewers.

Listen back to the Podcast episodes!
Black Box Episode 1: Hawkers, Fox Friday & Boatrocker

Ft Maz from Hawkers, Justin & Joe from Fox Friday and Matt from Boatrocker!

 Listen Here
Black Box Episode 2: Dangerous Ales, King River, Slow Lane

Ft Damo from Dangerous Ales, Nathan from King River and Alex from Slow Lane!

 Listen Here
Black Box Episode 3: Good Lands, 3 Ravens, Bright

Ft Jimmy from Good Lands, Brendan from 3 Ravens and Evin from Bright!

 Listen Here
Black Box Episode 4: Spotty Dog, Banks & Deeds

Ft. Klint from Spotty Dog, Chris from Banks and Curtis from Deeds!

 Listen Here

The Black Box 2023

#1 • HAWKERS (VIC) - BOURBON BARREL AGED IMPERIAL STOUT 2023 - PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY EDITION

🍺 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout⁠ • 🥴 13.1% ABV⁠

On the nose, raspberry cherry jam & bourbon notes, with a slight nutty character. In mouth it’s just a delicious treat: Medium full bodied, well balanced, with no character outshining the rest and dangerous drinkability for a 13% beer!

#2 • FOX FRIDAY x VILLINO COFFEE x PIGEON WHOLE BAKERS (TAS) - NEIGHBOURS

🍺 Imperial Pastry Stout⁠⁠ • 🥴 11.3% ABV⁠

Gentle coffee character on the nose, with notes of caramel & biscuits. The pastry character really translates with notes of toasted croissant or pain au chocolat. In the mouth, super smooth with no acridity whatsoever from the roasted coffee. Tastes like picking up a coffee and a pastry on the way to work, with a solid backbone of chocolatey goodness. Finishes semi sweet, with very little bitterness lingering.

#3 • BOATROCKER (VIC) - B.A. Extra Special Bitter

🍺 Extra Special Bitter⁠⁠ • 🥴 8.5% ABV⁠

The character in nose resembles caramel & dried fruits like apricots and grapes, with a nice barrel notes coming through. In mouth the flavour resembles whisky, with a medium body and a warming character. Those dried fruit notes follow the nose bringing sherry flavours and some esters. As it warms up the malt notes appear, with salted caramel, bread crust and toast. Finishes off-dry with a light acidity and mild lingering bitterness.

#4 • DANGEROUS ALES (NSW) - CHERRY CHOC STOUT

🍺 Strong Stout • 🥴 7.2% ABV⁠

Aromas of caramel, biscuit and toasted coconut completely dominate the nose, with a mild sweet fruity character that comes through as it warms up. The flavour follows the aroma with added notes of toffee, fresh coconut with a nice vanilla yogurt-flavour and a cherry tartness that tickles the palate.⁠

#5 • KING RIVER BREWING (VIC) - SCHWEIZENBOCK

🍺 Dark Weizenbock⁠ • 🥴 9.0% ABV⁠

Highly carbonated so the aroma comes through beautifully; dried bananas with a roasty character and a hint of clove. The mouth follows the nose with banana and clove, but with the addition of blackberry and a mild roasty acidity. Like most wheat beers, it's very spritzy in the palate, yet quite dry for the style (in the best way).

#6 • SLOW LANE (VIC) - STICKY SITUATION

🍺 BA Maple Imperial Stout⁠⁠ • 🥴 12.0% ABV⁠

Boozy in nose, with a complex layer of rich dark malts and dark fruit like dates and plums. When it comes to flavour the maple starts coming through. A roasty bitterness is prominent, with a mild oak character that balances out that maple sweetness, making it finish much drier than most examples of this type of Imperial Stout. Big, bold and roasty.⁠

#7 • GOOD LAND (VIC) - S’MORES CAMPFIRE STOUT

🍺 Bourbon BA Peated Pastry Stout⁠ • 🥴 11.5% ABV⁠

As we were pouring this beer, we could immediately smell the peat coming through, once settled though, notes of chocolate and light herbaceous character start coming through. The flavour is a wild ride: with campfire roasted pink marshmallows (yes, the pink ones), roasted red apples, light bourbon, dark chocolate, biscuits, Vietnamese coffee and smoke, with a bitter but slightly caramelly finish. Quite syrupy in mouthfeel, honestly just a FLAVOUR BOMB! Wowser.⁠

#8 • 3 RAVENS (VIC) - JAMES BEAN

🍺 Barrel Aged Barleywine⁠⁠ • 🥴 11.5% ABV⁠

The nose in this beer is just a wonderful showcase of Bourbon and malt-derived aromas like toast, biscuit, and caramel. In mouth, the notes follow and intensify; soooo caramelly, in the best way possible. Toffee and Bourbon blended with biscuits and very light molasses. The alcohol is incredibly well hidden, and the bourbon shines beautifully. Although our Beer Ambassador did enjoy this beer on ice, he recommends drinking it straight and letting it warm up a bit to enjoy all those complex notes.

#9 • BRIGHT (VIC) - MUSHROOM BEAR

🍺 Mushroom Infused Imperial Stout⁠⁠⁠ • 🥴 12.0% ABV⁠

Lucious as it pours, with a nice tan brown head. Quite roasty in the nose with a light herbaceous note and an earthy aroma that comes through. It also showcases some stonefruit esters that add another layer of complexity to the experience.⁠ Velvety mouthfeel, with a big roasty character and notes of toast and chocolate, with a slight umami backbone. This is a big beer with a dry finish and a gorgeous character that takes a normal RIS to a whole new level of depth.⁠

#10 • SPOTTY DOG (TAS) - BLACK SPOT

🍺 Schwarzbier⁠⁠⁠⁠ • 🥴 5.4% ABV⁠

Aroma resembles caramel, with light apple-like esters and some toasty notes. When it comes to flavour the light roasty bitterness makes an appearance, with other malt notes like bread crust. Quite clean with light fruity esters, with a light mouthfeel and a very refreshing dry finish.⁠

#11 • BANKS (VIC) - WHISKEY SPICE & EVERYTHING NICE

🍺 BA Imperial Pastry Stout⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • 🥴 10.6% ABV⁠

In the nose, the character resembles coconut & vanilla, with a light marzipan character and a mild minty/herbal note. It’s also reminiscent of the classic “Golden Rough” which we LOVE.⁠ The flavour follows the nose with the Golden Rough and adds a hint of chilli, with raspberry jam and a barrel note that brings it all together. The vanilla makes this very pastry-like without becoming over the top sweet. Velvety-soft in mouth, just YUM.

#12 • DEEDS (VIC) - RUINOUS ARCHES

🍺 BBA Belgian Quad & Imperial Stout Blend⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • 🥴 12.3% ABV⁠

Oh, that lovely aroma… sweet, sweet, bourbon and caramel, with a light chocolate, date and even some dulce de leche. The flavour is as fascinating as the nose: chocolate, toast, raisins, spiced fruit… Is this grandma’s Christmas cake? Delicious! Everything is surrounded by the bourbon with some light oaky tannins to bring even more layers to this beer. Quite drinkable for such a big beer.