SUMMER used to be the time when new, seasonal beers were rolled out. Now, it's just as popular to launch a winter brew. The practice is especially true of craft beer producers such as Moo Brew, Stone & Wood and the McLaren Vale Beer Company. Each has released a new brand in recent weeks.

The McLaren Vale Beer Company's IPA is a suitably hopped-up beast, while the other newcomers are noticeably conservative and a marked retreat from the more extreme end of the craft flavour spectrum.



''There are endless big craft beers on the market, using high alcohol and high bitterness to create a point of difference,'' Moo Brew head brewer Owen Johnston says.

Moo Brew's head brewer, Owen Johnston.

''[Some] drinkers love these beers but there are only so many you can drink.



''I call these big beers 'superheroes' or 'palate-smashers'.''

Enter Moo Brew Belgo - pronounced bel-jo - which Johnston describes as ''an easy-drinking beer, complex but approachable''. It has become Moo's fifth regular brand alongside its pilsner, pale ale, dark ale and wheat beer.