Tag Archives: The Local Taphouse

nuts about brown ales

April’s Ale Stars at the Local Taphouse in St Kilda was devoted to nut brown ales. Not exactly one of the most exotic styles of beer, but for some reason it always conjures up images of colder weather. Probably because I think of conkers…the colour of them, and the weather. It’s actually a fond childhood memory.

Apparently, it’s not a particularly popular style. The Northern English style is lighter and hoppy, whereas the Southern English variation is rich and sweet. On this particular evening, we were only going to be having examples that adhered to the Northern English tradition.

As is usual pre-session, I tried some beer I’d never had. First up, the Bridge Road Bling IPA.

Nice and bitter and hoppy. I liked a lot of the Bridge Road tipples tried when I last went to the microbrewery showcase. This was no different. Was a bit surprised that it got such a poor review in the beer zine Stubby Buddy vol. 1 because those folks are more knowledgeable about beer than me, and I really liked it – it’s rich, bitter and very characteristic of the IPA style. Though my photos of beer are generally taken with my mobile phone, this captured it well – rich, creamy, aromatic head, while the liquid itself was cloudy. I don’t think I can call hoppy beers ‘manly’ anymore, because I now love hoppy beer. One less gimmick up my sleeve, damn!

Afterwards, I had a glass of the Feral Smoked Porter. This is autumn in a glass. Beautiful and dark with a medium body and a less creamy head than the Bling above. The smokiness – wonderfully fragrant and savoury. I want to drink this and slug down smoked oysters. You can see by the lacing on my glass that I perhaps imbibe a little too quickly…

The first brown ale for the evening was the Newcastle Brown Ale. I was quite surprised to see that it’s in a clear bottle – it having virtually no hops means this is okay? I found it quite watery, having a hint of bitterness and smelling of Horlicks! Not surprising, given brown ales are malty. Post-2001, this beer now has caramel colouring added to it. I didn’t particularly dig this beer, it was too…well, I think I’ve had better homebrew than this, honestly. I’ve been challenged by a lot of beers I’ve tried at Ale Stars, but up until now, this is the first one that has really failed to impress me.

The second beer on the list was the Samuel Smith nut brown ale. I’ve actually tried this before. It has seaweed as a coagulent! Is that why it smelt like socks to my nose? Thankfully, it doesn’t taste anything like socks – it’s heavier in body than the Newcastle Brown Ale and but was more bitter to taste.

The third beer is where things began to get and feel special. I think this was the special to the line-up? It’s from Colorado. I didn’t make many comments about the taste in my notes, except that I loved it, and it’s very roasty, with a little bit of bitterness. Also, who is the Surgeon General?

The last one was from the American Rogue Ale Brewery – a hazelnut brown nectar. Doesn’t that sound mouthwatering? It was indeed delicious. I found it very caramel-laden and roasty in taste. I wouldn’t be able to choose a favourite between the Avery and this one.

This Ale Star session was very much a good deal more…sober than last month’s affair. When in doubt, blame the this bock at 12% ABV. Good to see that they’re also serving us more pizza too!

Hot off the press! The Local Taphouse, both St Kilda and Darlinghurst, can now be found on ze twitterz! St Kilda is @localtaphouseSK and Darlinghurst is @localtaphouseDL. About blooming time lads, welcome! Teach them how to use hashtags and stuff, hehe.

I fought the bock, and the bock won

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I shall no longer have to fork over any dosh for Ale Stars, or at least for the next twelve months – for my birthday, I was bought membership! Bring on the monogrammed shirt and engraved tankard, squee!

The Beer Blokes have already written and published their report on Ale Stars and it prompted me to tell you all why I write about these sessions, if you’ll briefly indulge me.

I don’t know much about beer. However, I like learning. Documenting my Ale Stars impressions is a convenient way for me to retain the knowledge I learn. Beer is not something I ever thought I would develop such a liking for. Come to think of it, food wasn’t something I thought I would ever be so passionate about, but you can read about that here, if you like.

Generally speaking, the nature of blogging for me is a glorified diary but up in the public domain. Those who are interested may choose to read it, and I do genuinely hope you find it informative.

Anyway, onto the beer.

The bock is a German-style lager that originates from northern Germany but the southerners would love to have you believe they came up with it themselves. Fair enough, I say. Rather amusingly, the Bavarians pretend the word ‘bock’ is slang for ‘billy-goat’. More seriously, there are German laws that dictate how strong a bock has to be in order to be considered a bock. Again amusingly, the alcohol content of this beer (specifically the eisbock which is last on the tasting schedule for the night) was brought up by the fact that the beer would freeze in transit as it was transported from one colder region to another. Later on, the brewers decided they rather liked this, so adopted it as a method of bringing up the alcoholic content of the beer. Absolutely amazing what happens as a result of an accident.

First up, on tap, the Hunter Brewery with their bock (the Local Taphouse is showcasing this NSW-based brewery at present). I found it subtle with a hint of roastiness. I thought it would have more body than it did, and it was the colour of a dark ale. Moreish. On tap, so no pic.

The second bocky example is from Rogue Ales, based in Oregon, USA. It’s an example of what is called a maibock – a seasonal bock. This brewery uses authentic German hops. Gold, and malty, I’ve marked this one as ‘loved’ on my Ale Stars score card.

The bocks are getting progressively stronger as the session moves along.

This is from one of the oldest operating breweries in the world, circa 1040 AD (holy shit!). It’s a Weizenbock and you can detect some banana and clove in there. It’s a very palate-clean beer. I’ve definitely come round to the whole wheat beer thingy, but this would have been my least favourite.

Last of all, an eisbock – Aventinus Weizen Eisbock by G. Schneider & Sohn. I was absolutely not kidding when I said to @shandyaleczar (beloved Ale Stars host) that this beer made me have flashbacks. It may have ruined a fair few of us at a whopping 12% ABV. It feels very thin in body and reminds me of brandy in aroma. It’s very sweet as far as beer goes. Drinking this is an unforgettable experience. It’s a bit like barleywine too.

Those monks were lucky bastards to have this sort of stuff sustaining them.

Quick, not-beer-related aside – much grats to Guy and his partner on the birth of their daughter Frankie.

not quite my Local

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After a rustic, fortifying meal at Betty’s Soup Kitchen and an immense trek, four of us made it to the Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst. The first Local Taphouse opened in Melbourne, in St Kilda, and since December last year, I’ve been attending beer sessions and even beer-matched dinners that they run. For this reason, I was keen to see what the Darlinghurst Taphouse was like, even though I know they have the same menu and I think largely the same alcohol in bottles. How they differ is what they serve on tap, and any beer aficionado will tell you that nothing beats having (most) beer on tap!

Another important thing to note is that the Taphouse is highly supportive of the Australian craft and microbrewery scene. Simply put, the brewers that don’t make commercial slop (and no, I am not going to name any names. If you have even a modicum on interest in good beer, you’ll already know).

I judged appallingly, but for some insane reason, I thought my girlfriend L who is vehemently opposed to beer would like the Young’s Chocolate Stout. It has a head that smells of Cadbury milk chocolate, and for the first few gulps, tastes as such, mingled with a smooth characteristic stouty flavour. She hated it. C was determined to have the famous Meantime coffee porter. Porter to me does have a lot of burnt coffee notes, so this seemed more apt. I got one gulp and it was delish. The Young’s choc stout I’ll always like, but boy it is well filling.

L left us because I probably scared the poop out of her with my beer choice, but not before being persuaded to have some barleywine. C then kindly bought a bottle of Maudite red ale for us remaining three to share

Didn’t it go down a treat. Apparently this small Canadian brewery is closing down. A great shame.

Anyone that makes it to the Local is in the winners’ lane. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, never condescend and are always happy to help out beer neophytes – and yes, this is at both branches. Thanks to my chums for making sure I got to visit!

eat, drink, stagger

a very tame lone wolf (formerly in cahoots with riff-raff) who loves to do the above

Tag Archives: The Local Taphouse

nuts about brown ales

I fought the bock, and the bock won

not quite my Local