AWOL Taproom

Eddie and Toshi are set up and ready for in Melbourne tomorrow! We have 4 AWOL beers for you to try including a brand new barrel-aged Apricot Sour.

It’s always fun tasting what’s coming through at AWOL.

We will be attending on July 23 and bringing 4 different beers (you’ll have to come to find out which ones).

As for yesterdays tasting here are some notes!

Apricot sour tasting incredible
Some of the Rebellion Stout in the whiskey barrel hasn’t turned out and won’t be launched :(
Flanders needs longer but showing a lot of potential - one batch in white wine barrels will be ready first
Original insurgent not yet dry hopped - Tasting very interesting, pretty, fruity, fair bit of heat. Re-brew insurgent, dry hop then blend and it should be a banger.
Additional golden sours in back barrel room tasting nice but needs longer for more souring
Imperial Stout out the back is tasting great. Lower ABV than Rebellion and not in whiskey barrels. Thoughts are to potentially release one as is and one blended with cherries and do both at the same time. Might be a while but this one is going to be great.
Project Z beer - tastes great one barrel not sour one tasting perfect, maybe a bit more time but it’s coming along really well given it hasn’t been in the barrel too long.

Learn about the complex nature of barrel ageing by joining one of our monthly tours. If you’re lucky, you may get to pick the brains of the man behind these intricately brewed beers.
There’s still plenty of tickets available to purchase online for the upcoming tour, June 11th.

Barrel aged beer is definitely an up and coming, niche market so it’s amazing when a passion project develops into something that can begin to be recognised and enjoyed. Whilst a difficult category to score in, AWOL’s Maison De Plage and Talle Wild (wild ferment) each came away with a Silver Medals at last nights AIBA’s.
We’re stoked with the results and excited to see how the AWOL journey progresses.

Worried you missed out on the recent AWOL birthday beers?
We have a very limited amount available online now.
Link in bio, get in quick.

Finally, our 4th iteration of our original wild ale AWOL #4. The reason AWOL exists at all is because of a missing keg of beer back in 2018! Found after 6 months, the beer tasted surprisingly good; sour, but good. This keg was dubbed 'AWOL' and thus began the AWOL brand.

Each year we have experimented with different versions of this beer using the original yeast strain that we have kept alive, and each year it gets better. When you taste it you will be surprised that there is no addition of fruit, yet has very fruit-forward flavours. With a medium body, soft carbonation and a mild sourness, this adaption has impressed all that have tasted it.

Tasting notes from sensory:
VISUAL: Dark yellow color with a light haze, a small amount of white foam & minimal lacing.
AROMA: Pineapple, tropical, citrus, berry along with some melon, woody but also oak, florals & grassy notes.
TASTE: Mild sourness, slightly sweet and gently mineral.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium body, warming, a soft carbonation, mildly spicy and moderately mouthwatering.

Next we have Wild Cane, an 8.6% experiment with the legends at .

The guys at Husk grow their own sugar cane that they harvest once a year to create their delicious rum. This gave us a small window of opportunity to get together and try something that we ourselves had not tried before.

AWOL brewer Toshi, brewed a base beer on the same day that the team at Husk was pressing their sugar cane and then delivered the juice directly to the brewery to add to the base. The wild yeast in the juice was bountiful which started the fermentation process, in a stainless steel tank.

After a week, the beer was moved into some freshly used barrels from Husk, that were dripping with sweet delicious rum. 6 months later we fruited it with fresh pineapple and lime to give it mojito-like flavours and finished with bottle conditioning for perfect carbonation.

Tasting notes from sensory:
VISUAL: Dark yellow colour with a light haze & a small amount of white foam.
AROMA: Citrus, lemon, lime, pineapple along with some berry, sweet aromatic, honey followed by some molasses, rum, licorice/anise and other spicy notes & grassy aromas.
TASTE: Subtle sweetness, lightly sour and slightly mineral.
MOUTHFEEL: Medium body, slightly spicy, moderate carbonation, some warming and slightly mouthwatering.

First up we have Pomello Berliner Weisse, at 5.5% this beer was brewed last year for a Black Hops Oktoberfest event. We decided to split the batch and put some in wine barrels for an AWOL release this year.

Enter Murray Hughes, one of our Alpha team member who; along with his family, picked and peeled home grown pomelos from the family farm and gifted them to us. The Pomelo was added after 7 months in the barrel to create this light bodied, subtly sour, fruited Berliner Weisse. With a grapefruit lemon aroma and a gentle sweetness on the palate, this beer has exceeded our expectations.

Tasting notes from sensory:

VISUAL: Light straw color with a bit of haze, white foam & a moderate amount of lacing.
AROMA: Grapefruit with lemon, florals, oak and then some to***co, white wine & earthy notes.
TASTE: Subtly sour, gently sweet with a light mineral.
MOUTHFEEL: Light body, a soft carbonation, not astringent, slightly spicy, slightly warming and slightly mouthwatering.

We are releasing 3 new beers tomorrow to celebrate our first birthday!

If you haven't heard, we are having a party on Saturday 12-6pm to celebrate our 1st birthday!
And to add to the celebration, we are giving you a channce to win some great prizes in the lead up.

Tag your friends in this post for your chance to win the 1st 750ml bottle of a brand new AWOL beer releasing this Saturday. The winner will be announced at 10 am tomorrow morning.

Toshi has been down in the barrel room today, tasting direct from the barrels in preparation for some limited releases coming next month for our 1st birthday!

Great news! Our taproom will be open tomorrow from 12-6pm, we have 8 beers on tap including some of the limited release gose’s and a variety of takeaway options.

If you missed our open day on Saturday, there is still an opportunity to taste the new beers. We still have a few places available on our next tour which starts at 11am on April 9th.

Link in bio to secure your spot.

Awesome to have the doors open again today. Open 12-6. 5 new beer releases. Cheers.

Today’s the day. See you soon.

Beer 5 of 5 releasing at tomorrow's open day, a 6% Yuzu Gose. The final piece to our Gose series and like the first 4, it is very limited.

An exceptional aroma of citrus and spice, this tart and acidic Yuzu Gose was aged in gin barrels and has an almost gin cocktail finish.

Join us tomorrow from 12-6pm at our taproom to experience all 5 new beers on tap or take home in 750mL bottles.

Link in bio for event details.

Beer 4 of 5 launching this Saturday at our taproom open day, a 6% Feijoa Gose.

This quenching Gose presents with sweet anise aromas, pineapple and strawberry notes, a tart flavour profile and dry yet surprisingly creamy finish.

As part of our very limited Gose Series, there are less than 180 bottles available of this barrel aged sour available.

Beer 3 of 5 launching this Saturday at our open day, a 6% Guava Gose.

With soft tropical fruit and spice aromatics, Guava Gose displays a balance of spicy mouthfeel and a firm acidity. As part of our Gose Series, this release is limited to under 180 bottles.

Open Saturday March 19 from 12-6pm. Hourly mini tours of the barrel room available from 12:15pm

Beer 2 of 5 launching this Saturday at our taproom open day, a 6% Blueberry Gose.

Rich sweet berry notes on the nose, light spice tempered in the mouth and firm acidity offers a balanced experience for your senses.

As part of our very limited Gose Series, there are less than 180 bottles available of this delightful barrel aged sour available.

Beer 1 of 5 launching this Saturday during our open day from 12-6pm, La Ferme Brett Saison.

Our 2021 Farmhouse Saison is fermented with a blend of French Saison and Wild Brettanomyces yeasts, then aged in ex-wine Oak barrels to allow the complexity to grow over time. Light-bodied with refreshing notes of sweet tropical fruits, citrus blossom and peppery spice, La Ferme finishes with a crisp, refined tartness that gives this beer a modern yet classic character.

AWOL open day and launch of the anticipated Gose Series Saturday March 19th from 12-6pm.

If you have been missing the taproom as much as we have missed you, join us next Saturday to celebrate the launch of our barrel aged Gose Series in 750mL bottles and on tap.

We will also be running free hourly mini tours from 12:15pm, so keep the date available.

The AWOL taproom will be closing as of Monday 24th January. We want to thank everyone that has visited, enjoyed the space and the unique beer that we have created and will continue to make there. We will be serving AWOL beers throughout our Black Hops taprooms and in other venues across the Gold Coast so stay tuned to our page.

Tours will continue to run on a monthly basis with the next available tickets being Saturday March 12th and available via our website. We will also open up the taproom for beer launches and other exclusive events.

Thank you again for your support.

It was a year today that we ventured out to Tallebudgera Valley to try our hand at our first truly wild ferment beer. That beer; Talle Wild, also became our first AWOL beer that we bottled and is the start of something that we will continue which is bottle condition barrel aged beers.

We have just restocked both Talle Wild and Maison De Plage in our online store and there is a very limited amount in the taproom. Have you tried either them yet?

Launching tomorrow exclusively at and in the online store in bottles only is Maison De Plage.

Based Black Hops’ AIBA Champion Saison Beach House, the recipe has been revived and tweaked under the AWOL brand. Fermented with a blend of French Saison and wild Brettanomyces yeasts, this refined Saison is interesting and complex. Light-bodied with refreshing notes of tropical fruits, citrus blossom and peppery spice, Maison De Plage finishes with a crisp dryness and exuberant carbonation that only comes from bottle conditioning.

The plan was pretty simple – head out into the Gold Coast hinterland to a property on the banks of a feeder inlet to Tallebudgera Creek in Talle Valley, set up the original Black Hops brew kit and let whatever wild yeast and bacteria that was in the air do its thing.
Our idea was a success and we are happy to be releasing our first truly wild fermented beer and our first AWOL beer in bottles.

Fermented with wild yeast from Tallebudgera Valley, delivering a funk-fuelled flavour profile of earthy, barnyard and tart pear notes. The Francois Freres artisan-coopered barrel adds depth and roundness to the sumptuous palate, brimming with notes of ripe cantaloupe and honeysuckle for a graceful finish.

Launching tomorrow in the taproom and via our online store.

Vote for Pink Mist in the Hottest 100 beers of 2021. It’s been 5 years since a barrel aged beer has made the list, let’s change that! Link in bio.

Following our AIBA gold medal earlier in the year, we were stoked that Pink Mist followed it up with gold at the Indies last night.

Don't forget to secure your spot at our very first paint and sip event, happening on Thursday the 18th of November.

https://blackhops.com.au/product/awol-paint-and-sip-530pm-730pm/

AWOL Paint and Sip - Thursday November 18th (5:30pm-7:30pm) - Black Hops Brewing Paint & Sip at AWOL! We're excited for you to join us for our first Paint & Sip at the AWOL taproom. Hosted by A Painter's Dream, you will be guided step-by-step through a painting class with all supplies included. What's included: - Your choice of one AWOL tap beer on arrival - Learn the process of...