Happy 29th Stass!!!

So yesterday we got together at Stass' place, to keg the ginger beer the boys brewed last week while I was away. So I got to start learning the art of kegging beer before using the keg fridge for my first time. I have to say, our dark ale with chocolate malt was pretty easy drinking but with the extra malt giving it much more roasted flavours. Unfortunately the ginger beer didn't go so well and so was pretty flat and watery, but with a big ginger spiciness to it.

Team Bass (Beef and Stass) competed against Team Harrod (Harriet and Jarrod) in round 2 of our brewing competiton, and I have to say I was pretty confident in our honey wheat beer. Funnily enough we both went the dark route to work well with the autumn season, and I have to say if they hadn't explained all the ingredients they had used I would have thought it a good Dunkelwiess (like an Erdinger), just a bit overdone on the dark malt to hide the honey. Still, once the coriander, the 3/4 types of malt, and other ingredients were explained it then became a case of how did the beer become so well rounded with so much stuff in it.

As for ours, the decent caramel (choc malt with belgian dark candied sugar), with the floral honey (a little too much, and starting to sour a little bit) and wheat banana back palate, I couldn't help but gloat a bit (hey, it was our first time with this style, and happy that everything we added could just be found in the taste) and be happy at how lucky we had been with it. The only thing I could think to make it better was if we used slightly less honey. Still, I assumed Stass and I won, and no one would argue with me.

Then it was time for a beer journey of chocolate beers, starting with the bitter Arctic Fox, then the super sweet Magnus Chocolate, and what I expected to taste similar with the Mildura Choc Hops (it didn't in the bottle though). Next was the classic Rogue's Choc Stout that I brought back from Adelaide and then the Holgate Temptress, before finishing up on it's big brother, the Holgate Empress. I was happy to see there was a good diversity in which each of us liked most. For me though, the Rogue's has nostalgia and the Empress is just has massive flavour.

With that all over, it was then a matter of keeping on the keg and finishing off the dark ale right as the night ended. Am happy to say the backup coopers pales were not touched, but that some people brought some cheap dodgy german lager (yes, I did have a chat to them about it).

Well, happy birthday Stass. Hope you don't have much of a clean up in your new place today. Looking forward to talking about our next beer challenge set by Harrod with an IPA. This will be another unknown for us to try...

Cheers mate.

Beef

Adelaide Easter Wrap Up

Alright,

Well I made it back to Melbourne and found out last night that a bar here had a keg of Rogue's Chocolate Stout. Still, after the adventure I have had I am quite happy to have been over at (R)adelaide.

After the choc-filled easter, I went back on the Monday to try out some other beers at the Wheaty, including the new Little Creatures Marzen (good caramel malt with classic 'Creature' hopping, and to try the LC Pale through the hop infuser (can't remember the NZ hop they used, but gave it a good citrus flavour that reminded me of the Bright Ale). Had a dip with the local Southwark Old Stout which with it's higher alcohol led well into the De Molen Hemel & Aarde (very peaty Russian Imperial Stout) and the Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout (Really is very chocolately when drunk against the De Molen, and I found a favourite of Jade's!). With my taste buds basically fried after all that I decided I should try the Epic Armageddon IPA, which killed off the last of them.

On Tuesday I tried to visit Brew Boys but found they were closed, so found a bottlo (Melbourne Street Cellars) that had a pretty good selection of beers. I encouraged my sis to try and Lindemanns Faro and Holgate Temptress before getting sick after eating lunch in the city. Therefore, I did not head into the Wheaty that day, but made up for it Wednesday with a couple more beers and a take away Rogue's Choc Stout that I have brought back with me to Melbourne.

I am just getting geared up for Stass's 29th birthday party and will be taking some special beers along for the occassion of course. I will also be trying our kegging our first brews from our new keg fridge set up (went with a ginger beer and a dark ale with added chocolate malt for our first two kegged beers) which has me pretty exciting and hoping this opens up a new world of brewing (ok, consuming) beer. With a faster turn around, we can start experimenting even more and learning even faster from each brew to take into the next.

Last night I hit Purvis for free beer tasting Friday with the Kooinda range, found the Fancy Pants Amber from Mountain Goat is back on tap (and I have work at the Goat lined up for next week. Yay!) and before ending on a Temptress at the Royston, also tried the new Hop Harvest from Bridge Road, which has a pretty zesty sort of hop I don't recognise, but don't mind as it is not so acid-like, and fizzes more than burns the tongue with hops.

As Beer Week approaches I am looking forward to the Slowbeer tasting and Crafty Pint taking over the Royston, and have to thank Slowbeer for holding back their last growler of Holgate Empress for me while I was away in Adelaide.

Well, here is to beer. Cheers,

Beef

Solid and Liquid Chocolate Easter Taste Off!

Ok,

So even though the Rogue's Choc stout was now no longer available for Easter day, my sis and I still decided we needed to do some tasting off off choc beers and eggs, so after purchasing a few different types of easter eggs, we hit the Wheaty and collected all the chocolate beers we could get.

So, in the pint glass we have Loberthal Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, and of course from the bottle we have Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Rogue's Chocolate Stout. In terms of finding a god combination of egg with beer, here are our results.

The Young's has for me quite a bitter/dark chocolate flavour (but not really to good sort) and so we found that we needed quite a sweet chocolate to help balance it out. Therefore we both agreed the highly sugared white choc eggs were the best companion.

As for the Loberthal, there is not a great deal of flavour coming off the handpump, so it sort of come down to what flavoured egg you like to go with the. The crunchie and caramello eggs somehow didn't work, but best I could find was the standard milk choc egg that mixed well with the texture off the beer to help coat the tongue with it. Really though, there was no real standout.

With the Rogue's I had so wanted to caramello to win, but again it just didn't work as well. Mind you, my sis did like it in combination with the crunchie egg, whereas I found a nice nutty flavour to come from the standard milk choc egg. The beer just seems that good it is capable of incorporating other flavours into it. Seeing out of the bottle it is a bit more bitter than out of the keg, having the milk choc added to it brought it closer to the keg version with the sweet choc in combo with the bitter to give it better balance and fuller flavour.

By the end of that tasting, our table was getting pretty messy, but then Jade came along and advised we try The Rogue's Double Moccha Porter with a dark chocolate egg, which actually went pretty well. It also seemed to do ok in the Rogue's Choc Stout. The other disappointment (yes, apart from not have the Rogue's Choc Stout on tap and the caramello did not go with any of the beers) is that the creme eggs did not go well with anything as well.

So with our sugar levels high after 4 hours of all this, I hit the Wii to try and burn some off and found it hard getting to sleep last night. Still, at least it meant I was not too bad this morning heading into the city for the dawn service and playing more Wii this morning. Still, another visit to the Wheaty is about to happen, so I better get off here and start seeing what other beers I can try while I am over here.

Hope you all have a lovely easter, and have made an effort today to remember the diggers. They made not have had great beer to drink back in the days their legend was born, but they have given us the opportunity to live fuller lives overall, and for me that includes beer (damn, that sounds sad right?), so I'll enjoy a good beer they probably never got to (unless maybe those that made it to Belgium. My appologies if what I just said offends anyone).

Cheers,

Beef

The Keg Blows...and other Radelaide Adventures

AHHHH NOOOOOO,

I must have jinxed it in my last post as the keg of Rogue's Choc Stout did not even make it to Saturday. It blew on Thursday night, just 24 hours after it got tapped. So needness to say I was quite disappointed when we went in of Saturday to find it had gone. Even the Rogue's Brutal IPA that replaced the Choc Stout blew while we were there on Saturday. It was sad that even a Moo Brew Dark Ale on tap could not lift my spirits. Still, 3 pints and 2 fancies wasn't too bad I guess...

Before the Wheaty opened on Saturday, my sis and I headed out to Loberthal to visit the Bierhaus for lunch, where I had a tasting paddle of their range. The pilsner was quite good by itself with a bit of texture and a decent hop flavour (ok, inoffesive for me) on a light but full body. However, after tasting the others and coming back to it, of course it did not stand up well, but a good aussie thirst quencher. The hef had good banana flavour but not overbearing to still make it easy drinking. The pale ale was fine, but the hops they used did not seem to match great with the malt. At least they are trying for a bit of flavour in a pale anyway. Surprisingly, the IPA came out best for me. a good solid malt body with a nice honeyed hop flavour that I have been getting into recently. It even held up well as it warmed, unlike the other lighter styled beers. The porter was my sis's fav with some big roasted flavours coming of a lighter-than-expected textured beer. Was just a bit too toasted for me and gave it a big dry back to it. Having had the Choc Oatmeal stout at the Wheaty it was good to compared the handpump cask vs the keg. The roasted flavour of the porter was also present in the kegged oatmeal stout, something that is very much diminished on the handpump. The texture was not quite there as well, showing that the Wheaty was serving it better than the brewery it comes from.

I went with the pork for lunch while my sis had the duck. To be honest the sides of sesame risotto and my mushroom and potato bake were the best parts of our dishes, as the meat was a little dry. I also tried their Devil's Choice Belgium Strong Ale, which at 10.2% does hit pretty hard and has a good traditional flavour with spice nicely mixed in with the malt and yeast of this style.

Apart from dealing with my disappointment back at the Wheaty, we also purchased a couple of local ciders to try out. The Lobo Royale apple cider is very pear like in flavour, even though we also got a perry (yet to have it so far though). had a good texture and nice aftertaste, especially when many ciders to me have a tart backpalate and aftertaste I do not enjoy. Supposely nobles apples have been used and it has been aged to help mellow it out, which is quite nice, but for me could not get over the pear-like flavour. I will be interested to see what the Perry tastes like. There also seems to be quite a bit of sediment in them, which I think actually helps it.

Ok, that is enough for one post. It now means we don't have the Rogue's Choc Stout on tap for easter, but am sure we will find a way around it...

Cheers,

Beef

Rogue Day 2: Choc Beer Brekkie and The Ultimate Taste-Off

After the first night getting my taste buds back ater 2 years of wilderness, I made sure to get to the Wheaty at 11am for it's opening to get back on the Rogue's Choc Stout for brekkie. Ok, it was still the morning, but was 11:30am Melbourne time, and from there it is close enough, and only kept it to 33oml, so it wasn't like I was having a full beer...

After lunch (lamb shank pie w/ James Squire Amber Ale) with my sis, a walk around Adelaide CBD and parks, and consuming my first chocolate egg for the season, I went back to the Wheaty as the tradies started to hit the pub and decided that seeing they had both the keg and bottled versions of the Rogue's Choc Stout, it would be wrong of me not to taste them off together. I think all the staff know me now so they didn't think it was too weird I was buying both versions together...they are an understanding lot to beer nerds.

Right from the start I could pick differences. While it was cold I could not get much difference in smell or taste, but the difference in carbonation was quite noticeable. The bottled version zinged across my tongue alot more making it harder to get any flavour from. As it warmed up there was definitely a richer smell from the kegged version, with something like vanilla coming through, and this came through in taste as well. The liqourice meld from choc to alcohol in the kegged version is not in the bottle, and while there is a choc bitter/sweet aftertaste from the keg, the bottled version tends to have just a bitter backpalate and aftertaste. Of course it is a simple case of freshness that is capable from the keg over the bottle that allows it to keep the heightened flavours over the bottle, and gives it a fuller taste. The head seemed to hold on slightly better from the keg again helping in smell and with the mouthfeel of the beer.

While getting through about 6 standard drinks in this taste off, my sis arrived from finishing work and so we got to share another moment with this beer together, and left the pub before the office workers would be coming in.

So, with it being Good Friday, the Wheaty is closed, so they have a day off from me being in there. Still, come tomorrow I will be back in there to make to most of whatever is left of the keg. I hope the keg did not blow last night as would like to have at least one more to sit an just enjoy drinking it, and not be comparing or judging. If the keg could actually last til Easter Sunday that would be great, to have chocolate beer and chocolate eggs together, but I am not expecting it.

Cheers,

Beef

Yep, It STILL is that good...

So yesterday I made it to Adelaide and hit the Wheatsheaf just in time for Jade to tap the keg of Rogues Chocolate Stout and give the first two pints to me and my sis. Letting the beer warm up I was able to have a chat with Jade about the beer and how they managed to geta a keg of it. I was interested to find it isn't the first time they have had a keg of it on (arrrgh, missed out last time!) and got talking about the isolation they have as a beer venue in Adelaide. I still find it unfathomable that they are able to get the range of beers they do in this little pocket of the world where every pub has Coopers Pale. I was able to recognise this flaw coming from melbourne where Carlton Draught still dominates the pub scene, even the pubs I like to frequent.

So, after 20 mins to let it warm I sat down with my sis, Jac, Pete and Phil to finally taste this beer again. What can I say...Mick, it was just like being back at Portland mate. The bittersweet choc flavour just completely takes over the tasebuds (the whole mouth really) and has got me thinking long and hard about its comparision to the Holgate Empress. The one similarity is that there is a nice liquorice flavour that comes from the meld of alcohol and chocolate towards the back of the palate, which for me is a great sign of quality in this style of beer.

The Wheaty also tapped a keg of Loberthal (a local brewer) Oatmeal Chocolate Stout, and talking to a few other local at the bar, they bought that pint for me too. They said they had read the post that the Wheatsheaf linked to their newsletter and so if they are also reading this, thanks for the beer and showing me that a place like Adelaide has people in it that can allow a pub like the Wheaty to survive.

The Oatmeal Choc Stout, as expected, had a good texture to it, and Pete was right to note that is had Guinness qualities to it. The head stuck to the sides of the glass all the way down which showed that it likes being poured from the handpump, and so this was the best this beer would ever taste. The oatmeal did seem to strip the chocolate flavour but did get some slight choc bitterness in aftertaste. If you are looking to take a step away from Guinness to more adventurous beers, this would be a good one to go for.

However, compared the the Rogue's, it unfortunately pails in comparison. It has good texture, but does not come near in terms of flavour, and the texture of the Rogue's is good enough the carry the beer and coat it over your whole mouth. The Rogue's was even tastier when drinking it in tandem with the Loberthal.

So, after 2 years and many beers inbetween, I am happy to say the Rogue's still does it for me. I ended up only having the two beers the whole time we were there, and left feeling very content, and with all the money I had walked in there with.

My next experiment will be to taste it off against the bottled version, which the Wheaty also have behind the bar. As I am yet to even find it in bottled form in Melbourne, I may even have to bring back a bottle of it to Melbourne just to share it with friends over there.

So Easter starts early, and will keep going til this keg blows. Thanks to the staff and patrons of the Wheaty, you definitely have a special place here, and am taken aback by the hospitality that has been shown to me everytime I come into this place.

Here is to more chocolate beer!!!!

Cheers,

Beef

Gearing up with Rogue

So with this week being filled with Rogues Choc Stout I thought I would get in the mood with a couple of their beers I have in my collection.

Having recently tried the Dead Guy Ale I am finding a new found appreciation for this brewery. I remember apart from the Chocolate Stout, I hadn't really enjoyed their others beers when I was in their brewery, but to be honest, I was comparing them to the level of the Choc, so it is no wonder I was a bit disappointed. Still, with time I am finding it easier now to look at these beers without that expectation, and allow me to enjoy them for what they are, not what I would like them to be.

The American Amber Ale has a bit of hop nose on it and was surprised on first taste to get a big hit of a honeyed hop flavour which I quite liked. The texture of the beer was just enough to allow this honey flavour to coat the tongue but not leave a syrupy aftertaste. After having tasted something similar in the Moo Brew Pilsner, this hop style is interesting me more. There was still the background of hop to help cleanse the tongue, but seemed combined with that the honey, but seems part of the hop profile. a bit strange, but interesting. Not sure if the hop actually creates the honey flavour, but would be interested to find how they come with the flavour. Could actually be a hop I would like to use in my own brewing.

The Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout had almost an imperial stout aspect to it, which what seemed like higher alcohol with the malt, and the oatmeal really helps thicken up the beer. However, it seems like it also strips the beer of a bit of flavour, and they have tried to combat this in the brewing process by trying to give it an imperial nature. I remember specifically not really liking this beer when I had it on tap in a pub in Portland, but maybe I have just gotten better at tasting beer in the last couple of years, and so I am better able to appreciate it.

Hmm, am definitely ready to get on some choc stouts when in Adelaide in a couple of days. However, I just found out Slowbeer will have the Holgate Empress on growlers this week. Arrrgh, what a conundrum! why does all the chocolate beer come around at the same time...hmm, Easter maybe!!!???? Methinks a choc beer tasting will be one soon with a collection starting to grow in my bedroom...

Cheers,

Beef

Moo Brew Masterclass @ Beer Delux

On Wednesday I had a great night at Beer Delux, doing some Moo Brew beer and food combos. Was good to chat to Owen and Jon from the brewery, and seeing I went by myself, good to chat to some new people about beer.

First things first, the consumption of beer with food happened in this order.

1) Hefewiezen w/ fresh figs done two ways a) caramelized with fennel and b) chili poached with blur cheese mousse - I found the caramel-ized fig was complimented well with the Hef, to the point it diminished the flavour of the beer greatly. However it did seem to work well in texture. The poached seemed to contrast with the beer, I think especially the blue cheese, and so was able to get more flavour from the beer. The hef also seemed to refresh the mouth from the hint of chili.

2) Pale Ale w/ whole king prawn wrapped in pancetta with ashed goats cheese filling - My least favourite beer of the night with my most favourite food from the night. The beer was quite dry I found, and in combo with the food, helped bring a smokey quality from the pancetta which lingers. However, the beer helped to cleanse the mouth of the cheese, allowing me to enjoy every mouthful of the prawn.

3) Dark Ale w/ slow roasted pork belly on candied sweet potato with spiced banana jus - Probably the one I was looking forward to the most, and the meat was definitely sweet. There was a good texture in the beer with slight sweetness to go with the meat, but the beer does contrast enough to cleanse the tongue. To be honest though, I would have liked it if the two had complimented more.

4) Pilsner w/ cherry rice cake and barbecued duck breast - At this point I was getting into some good conversation with the couple sitting near me, so the notes start to diminish a bit, but finding the pilsner seemed to have a more honeyed hop flavour (they don't use Saaz in it), it went really well with the duck, and the tingling hop sensation really cuts through the subtle meat flavour.

5) Stout '09 and '10 w/ a) roasted malt ma'maoul and b) stout and pistachio ricotta cake - Ok first the beers by themselves showed the '09 had aged to bring out a nice chocolate smell with alcohol, but was very dry on the tongue. In contrast, the '10 had more alcohol smell and was a bit spirity in combo with the malt. There is more of that imperial stout flavour in this with a good balance and could see this come along nicely with some aging. I found the cake went well with the '09, but the beer was still too dry for dessert and the ma'maoul went better with the '10. I also really like there was some pieces of caramelised roasted malt on the plate, which I enjoyed putting together with each dessert.

Big thanks to Owen and Jon for coming over and going through the journey with some nice informative notes to share (and for Jon mentioning me in his talk) and willingness to take any questions/comments from the crowd. Myself and the couple were the last to leave the dining area talking beer and such and would like to wish Alistair a happy 21st for this Wednesday. I'll be in Adelaide enjoying a Rogues Chocolate Stout, but can tell you that you have chosen well in following Moo Brew.

Of course a big thanks to Beer Delux for putting on the event, and the previous nights Pilsner tasting.

Cheers,

Beef

PS: I can tell you that from the free tasting I had last night at Purvis, that out of the bottle, the pils, hef, pale and dark all come out of the bottle with a very soft texture. All seem to be less flavourful from the bottle, especially the pale, but still enjoyed the banana from the hef quite a bit, and was my favourite from the bottle. I really look forward to trying out the new Saison from Moo Brew, hopefully while I am down there at the end of next month.

Moo Brew Pilsner Tasting, and tasting, and tasting...

Sorry to rain on your parade Stass, and put a post on so soon after you posted one, but was at Beer Delux last night trying out the Moo Brew Pilsner on tap. I was actually on my second beer when Stass called me to let me know the keg fridge had been purchased, so had a few things to toast to, and so needed to have 7 beers to get all my toasting in...I felt a bit toasted by the end.

It has been a while since I tried this beer, but have to say I could notice that it tasted a lot crisper and brighter from the tap. I don't know if it is carbonation or if it is just that well brewed, but the hops seemed to have that nice tingle on the tongue rather than overpower in flavour. Still, the beer is robust enough that you can keep tasting it pretty well, even after having a few, and even as the cold weather has got me heading towards darker beers. Seeing it was also free helped me to keep going back to it to.

Was lucky enough to meet up with Owen and remind him of my visit last August (I'm that 'Bogan' guy), and who should he be talking to but Dave from Mountain Goat, so was able to catch up with him as well. It is becoming a good feeling knowing I am getting out there and meeting a lot of the people I want to be hanging out with more to get me further with beer, and can't help feel a bit of momentum starting to happen through all this. It also seems to be making a bit of difference on here, with there being a lot more visitors than normal visiting this blog.

So 7 beers, along with a Moo Brew hat, a slice of pizza, and a chat to some brewers all for free. And I get to go back to Beer Delux tonight for the Moo Brew Masterclass dinner, this time hopefully I'll get some pics to share the beer and food combos I will be having.

Ah, 'tis good.

Beefy

Welcome to an old friend, and soon to a brand new 'friend'

Well, it's been a while since I (Stass) have posted anything on Beerdakari. Things have been a little too hectic, and lets face it, Beefy has things pretty under control.
I just thought that I would make a special note to say that Beef and I are happy to have Brad back in Melbourne. Hopefully Brad will be involved in our future brews. Brad is worthy of a mention not only cos he's a great guy, but he is the one who introduced Beef and I to the world of home brew!! Hopefully you will start to see him in some pics/videos.

In other news, I have recently bought a house out in the burbs! Good thing it has 2 sheds cos it looks like we will have a new place to have the brew set up without the need to pack it away. To celebrate, we decided to purchase a keg fridge too! So now we really are living the life!

I look forward to posting pictures of our new setup once things arrive (fingers crossed it'll be this weekend.

Anyway, gotta run.

Until next time,

Stass