Category Archives: craft beer goodness

man up with some pale ales

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It was that time of the month again – the Local Taphouse in St Kilda was having their monthly beer tasting night they call ‘Ale Stars’. I loved the first one I attended last year on festive ales, so bought my ticket nice and early and met up with a few friends for a good tipple. To start off my evening, I ordered a wheat beer. I’ve really come around to them in the last few months, probably as a result of visiting the Red Hill Brewery, and also because of attending the Victorian microbrewers’ showcase last year in October.

They finally let us in downstairs and proceedings began. First up, the esteemed Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. My personal tasting notes from the night tell me that this is the ‘manliest’ beer I’ve ever had, and ever enjoyed. Generally, when I say ‘manly’ what I really mean is the hops are very evident – on my palate this means bitterness. However, I am gradually coming to find this very bitterness extremely refreshing. It also creates a very floral, fragrant bouquet.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Next up, the Little Creatures Pale Ale. I was lucky enough to speak to both of the guest brewers, one of whom recommended the LC PA as an excellent starting point for beer newbies. I myself personally prefer their Bright Ale but that was probably because of my ex-housemate who brewed a superior clone of it. One of my favourite summer beers. No picture of the bottle this time, as all Ale Stars had it on tap. Hoppy, but definitely a subtler beer to the SNPA (it’s not hard!). Then we were treated to the lads at Kooinda Brewery. Much to my shock and amazement, this humble little microbrewery operation is just a few suburbs away from where I currently live (they are located in Rosanna)! A few of us in my group got quite excited about that.

We then got to taste their award-winning Pale Ale, which earned the brewery a bronze medal in the American Pale Ale international category. My notes tell me that it is the crystal Vienna malts that give it its caramelly quality, and I remember only once we were directed to pay careful attention to the bouquet that yummy apricot was present, mmm. They also use local hops. You can find Kooinda online and on Twitter at @kooindabrewery.

Kooinda Pale Ale

Last up, the first craft beer in Australia – the Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale. No picture as this was on tap at the Local. This was actually my least favourite of the ones we tested that evening…its flavour seemed somewhat thinner, less intense? Perhaps it was just palate fatigue. I’m not quite sure, to be honest. I do know that I need some help with describing beer taste better and intend to do some research and reading. The lads at Kooinda made sure we all got more of their Pale Ale after proceedings proper, and there were no complaints there. It was lovely to chat to so many friendly and passionate people – not just in the industry, but the fellow Ale Stars too. Newly arrived Tim from the UK was working the crowd a treat and seemed to feel right at home. I’m looking forward to next one on sour beers but expect my palate to be further challenged. As promised, I’ve picked up my photo game, and tried to get some better shots of the event, which you can view below.

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you don’t win girls with cheap stout…?

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I recently finished reading an excellent Australian literary journal called Heat and it had a piece on a fellow called William Stanley Jevons. Jevons is remarkable for many reasons, but what amused me about the essay was that on Christmas Day, he went to a pub and paid an appropriate fare for a traditional Christmas dinner. You know how the English love their traditions: while English-born myself, I have never quite understood why on Earth the traditional festive roast remains so popular. This country, as I like to point out like the whingeing Pom I am, is bloody hot. I could definitely get into the whole seafood platter as an Aussie Christmas thing instead of turning the kitchen into a furnace.

Back to Jevons. He is at the table and seated with a pretty lady. Too shy to talk, he downs a pint of stout to attract her attention, and invariably impress her. Silly fellow. Stout is not a beer for downing quickly, and not in the heat. Also, he didn’t impress her.

Interestingly enough, I was a girl once impressed by stout: and a rough one at that – the Abbotsford Invalid Stout.

Abbotsford Invalid Stout

It was a second date of sorts. I had invited my date to my place for a Joy Division listening session. It had come up in conversation that I’d never tried the AIS. My date showed up, with a bottle in tow, and had sweetly tied a piece of old-fashioned twine around it in a bow. It seemed pretty evident that both of us were as nervous as hell. Less so, once conversation moved to the beer. The AIS is what I lovingly refer to as a ‘rough worker’s stout’ and not at all to belittle it. Yes, it’s cheap, and perhaps beer snobs may say plain nasty.

I have a soft spot for it. I expect to be shunned from now on by true beer gourmets.

The other day, Control was on telly (the biopic on Ian Curtis, Joy Division’s front man) and I asked that same fellow if he wouldn’t mind buying me some AIS – pure coincidence! He made me a ‘Black and Tan’ – am informed that this is largely ¾ lager, ¼ stout. Feel free to edit to your taste, of course. It was only fitting that seeing we were using AIS, we used an equally ‘rough Tan’ – so we pinched a remaining Carlton Cold from my father’s stash. I must say, I rather liked the ‘Black and Tan’. It’s like shandy, but for the manly! Alas, couldn’t get my father to try it – he looked very suspiciously at it.

I rather wish I made some for Australia Day just passed. Not to worry, I sunk down ‘tinnies’ of Toohey’s New instead, giggle. I wasn’t about to refuse free beer.

just another beer tasting night

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I don’t know about you, but beer tastings are not as common as wine tastings and the like!

However, Melbourne does seem blessed in that there are places you can go to learn more about beer and sample the wares of microbreweries, which are, admittedly, quite fashionable at the moment. I most definitely don’t have any problem with microbreweries and their products being fashionable of late as their produce is often fantastic and just as delicious as a good wine.

This was what led me to The Local Taphouse in St Kilda, on Carlisle St. I’d heard a fair bit about how they serve awesome beers on tap, and they tend to rotate what they have on tap fairly regularly too.

They also have a monthly event called Ale Stars. You pay $30 and are treated to generous tastes of four or so beers, with pizza for the evening. Usually the nights have a theme. Tonight’s theme was, rightly, festive ales.

The night is really informal, though you do get treated to someone guiding you through the beers on offer. Because our table was the made up of newbies, we got a bell to ring, in case we wanted further info on something, or if the room was getting too rowdy. As I remarked to one friend on my table, the crowd was like the beer version of the Stonecutters (obligatory Simpsons ref).

First up for tasting, the Meantime London (as in Greenwich, London) High Saison. This is what the peasants used to drink after working the fields, probably more applicable to Europe. It was also their payment. Aside from the unfairness of feudalism, what lucky bastards.

 

 

Meantime High Saison

This was quite a subtle ale, and reminded me a bit of a wheat beer. I’ve previously tried the Meantime IPA (India Pale Ale) and found the High Saison more to my liking. It’s very refreshing and clean on the palate.

Next up, the Red Oak Christmas ale.

 

Red Oak Christmas ale

(sorry it’s so blurry, I was taking photos as quickly as I possibly could). For me, this was like a savoury version of Christmas pudding – so you have all the associated spices of that pudding, except that it wasn’t all that sweet. This was probably my least favourite.

Thirdly, we had the Red Hill Christmas ale. Apparently, this is a difficult beer to make and we had the benefit of one of the brewers and part-owners of the Red Hill Brewery come and talk us through the beer. Extremely informative and tantalising. All Ale Stars participants got to take home a bottle of this gratis which was pretty bloody ace. Cheers guys!

 

Red Hill Christmas ale

I’d had this beer before: in late October, I had the pleasure of going to the Red Hill Brewery and tried the Christmas ale 2008 vintage which I found to be sweeter than this year’s version. I preferred this year’s incarnation because it’s less sweet and still very nommy. Not sure what I’ll drink my takeaway bottle of it with food-wise just yet, but intend to save it for something a bit special.

The brewer even passed around a sample of some of the hops that went to making this beer. They smell just like marijuana which isn’t really all that unusual, given that hops and the ganja are actually in the same family.

Last of all, the ‘manliest’ of the lot, the Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve.

 

Rogue Santa's Private Reserve

Why ‘manly’? To my tongue (and in case you’re wondering, I am female), beers that are very hop-heavy are always extremely bitter. I’m embracing them a bit more of late, but even a year ago, it tasted utterly vile to me. Once you get past the bitterness, hoppy beers are actually really refreshing – seriously, on a cruelly hot day, try something like…a pilsener. Just thinking about it now is making me crave it for the the sense of refreshment it brings.

Two of the more beer savvy lads on my table loved this – one, L, a homebrewer, and T. I must confess that the bitterness did get in the way for me. I couldn’t enjoy it on the same level as they did. Alas, I do belong to the weaker sex after all.

I absolutely loved my first Ale Stars night and am considering becoming a member – for $300 a year, you get your own shirt, an engraved tankard, and a gorgeous old-fashioned wooden locker to keep it in. Oh, yeah, and you get to try and learn about ace beer and spend an evening with some pretty friendly folk. Two of the lesser beer-nuts in our party seemed to enjoy themselves, which I think is testament to the fact that you don’t need to know anything about beer to come (though trivia will well and truly humiliate you!), just some enthusiasm.

Look forward to the next Ale Stars session! See more bad photos…

Edit: my only reader, most likely, has pointed out to me that I didn’t actually describe what the darker Christmas ales were like. My bad. The Red Oak and Red Hill Christmas ales are dark ales (reader has pointed out that one might even be a dark lager). So not as hearty and burnt-coffee like, like porters (I love porters!) which is a pretty flavoursome beer style. To me these ales were really dark, spicy (and sometimes herby) dark-coloured ales.

(Gem)

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