Beers - Beery Cheesemas to All (Christmas 2011)

Christmas is a time commonly used to indulge in the delicious, sweet excesses of food and drink...and it's no different at the Beer Bar Band home.

Last year we had fun with A Very Beery Christmas, in which each food element of our Christmas lunch was made with beer, around the centre-piece of a barbecue beer-can chicken. This year we indulged our new found love for fine cheese matched with excellent beer.

We gathered 12 awesome craft beers (12 beers of Christmas style) as well as 6 fine cheese from around Melbourne.

Celebrating our first Christmas in our first home, which we bought a few months back, the wife and I had a quiet little fun day with just the two of us. We made the most of our spacious deck with views across the green canopy of the Dandenong hills. It was a warm and sunny morning, then the afternoon turned into a stormy affair. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning flooded and damaged parts of Melbourne, but from our vantage point it simply resulted in a pleasant light and sound show.

During the calm before the storm, we set up a big Christmas lunch spread centred around the beers and cheeses.

 The Christmas menu on our kitchen pantry door.

Merely part 1 of our Christmas table spread.

With the beers naturally ordered from light-to-dark-to-heavy, we tried countless combinations of beer plus cheese plus various morsels of delicacy.

The wonderful cheeses were:

• Quickes Traditional Oak Smoked Cheddar
• Mauri Taleggio Cow's Washed Rind
• Jindi Old Telegraph Road Fire Engine Red Washed Rind
• Rouzaire Coulommier Double-Cream Brie
• Cropwell Bishop Stilton
• Tarago River Cheese Company Strzelecki Goat Blue

Our midday palates were first wet with the 2011 Posse Summer Ale for members of the Bridge Road Brewers Posse club. It has been an excellent beer for this mild summer and it's a fine starter for any beery session. An easy drinking, nicely spiced and well balanced witbier that matched very well with the soft cheeses.

Then we went sour and popped the cork on a benchmark lambic that is guaranteed to find favour with many forms of good cheese - the Guezue 100% Lambic Bio from Cantillon. This sessionable wild ale has just the right amout of sour tartness following the big aroma of a classic lambic.

Next we poured two red ales...always appropriate on any Christmas Day. First we had the Rogue Ales Santa's Private Reserve, a big malty American Amber Ale with a solid bitter hop hit. This beer had been sitting in my not-quite-a-cellar beer cellar for a year following a trip home from Queensland...so it may have suffered from a lack of freshness. Thankfully, it still stood up and worked well on a stormy yet warm Australian Christmas day.

Pouring the Rogue Santa's Private Reserve.

The second red ale was one of my top 3 beer highlights from this Christmas feast...the new Red Rackham by the adventurous Yeastie Boys. This accidental beer started out as a batch of the Yeastie's Hud-a-wa' Strong but they pitched the wrong yeast, a Belgian ale one. The result is a very tasty Belgian Red Ale with a full mouthfeel and excellent balance between malt, spice and bitterness. This complex brew ultimately tastes like a silky red ale, but has much more going on in it. Beautiful beer.

The hops came out in full force with the very Mikkeller in taste, Mikkeller Happy Lovin' Christmas Double IPA. Another quality and very easy drinking big beer from Mikkeller.

And then an extra special moment of Christmas Ale drinking was lined up next.

We had three vintages of the Red Hill Brewery Christmas Ale for a vertical tasting, plus a 3 year old Holgate Brewhouse Christmas Ale (which is sadly no longer brewed by Holgate).

The Red Hill Christmas Ales featured:

• 2011: bottle - this year's release from a 6 pack that we bought whilst at the brewery a few weeks back
• 2010: draught - last year's vintage in a growler, filled from the keg at Blackhearts & Sparrows in North Fitzroy
• 2008: bottle - a special little Christmas gift from Red Hill Brewery owners, Dave & Karen Golding.

I love this Australian intrepretation of a Belgian Christmas ale. The current release was especially good when we drank it fresh at the Red Hill brewery on the first weekend of December. In this vertical, the 2008 vintage was by far the stand-out. The carbonation was still excellent and the rich, deep fruity flavour surrounded by spices had developed beautifully into a well-rounded semi-dark Belgian.

The vertical tasting definitely showcased the way this beer develops with age. The same beer was really quite different across the three vintages. My recommendation: sit on this beer for 3 years for maximum effect!

The three Red Hill Christmas Ales were enjoyed slowly with blue cheese and a game of Trivial Pursuit.

As the storms rolled over the hills past us, we lazed on our deck, watching the rain and lightning. We excitedly cracked the bottle of Holgate Christmas Ale, it was the most anticipated beer of the day. It had been gifted to us by the Holgate brewery crew when we stayed at their Keatings Hotel for our first wedding anniversary back in August.

In contrast to the 2008 Red Hill Christmas Ale, the carbonation was very minimal in the Holgate Christmas Ale but that did not detract from the spectacular flavour of a dark fruity Christmas cake. One could quite easily mistake it for a fortified wine! The warming alcohol was fairly evident, making it an excellent sipper, enjoyed with more blue cheese and dark chocolate, plus splashes of storm. Brilliant. I didn't want to finish it because it was so good...and then it would be completely all gone, with no return.

My #1 beer of Christmas 2011...the 2008 Holgate Brewhouse Christmas Ale!

Whilst this beer has been replaced in the Holgate brewing schedule by my favourite Holgate beer, Beelzebub's Jewels (Paul Holgate has noted that their Christmas Ale was essentially a trial brew as they worked up to producing this barrel aged belgian quadrupel), I truly wish this Christmas Ale was still around every December because it is a damn fine beer to follow Christmas dessert.

Later in the day, when we somehow found some space in our super full stomachs for "dinner", we brought out the Quickes Smoked Cheddar, some smoked almonds, smoked turkey and opened the God Jul from Nøgne Ø. The uber smokey God Jul islay edition is one of my all-time favourite beers and until recently I had never tried this regular God Jul. That changed two weeks back when Josie Bones tweeted that they had the beer on tap (I have never come across this beer in draught form in Australia before!). By some awesome freak chance the wife and I were planning on being in the area that night for dinner, so we first stopped into Josie Bones for a glass each of the divine God Jul in draught form. The regular version of this strong dark Winter ale still displays a hint of the peaty smoke and provided a great start to our late light dinner on Christmas Day.

I love barely wines and I love smokey beers, so a barrel aged barely wine brewed with Islay peated malts was always going to be a winner in my mouth. It came in the form of the 11.5% BrewDog Three Floyds collaboration brew Bitch Please...

And yes, I enjoyed this beer immensely (...some things were a little hazy by this time of the day though). A very well crafted smokey barely wine with the right level of carbonation and mouthfeel that I expect from such a beer. I do indeed recall that it was a perfect match for the smoked cheddar

The final beer was the semi-palate cleansing sour of the delightful and slightly twisted Moon Dog Brewing Perverse Sexual Amalgam...need I say anymore, other than...more smoked cheddar!!

And so ends another excellent Christmas of beer (plus cheese!).

Every beer we drank across Christmas was simply excellent. The stand-outs for me, those WOW beers, were the Yeastie Boys Red Rackham, the 2008 Holgate Christmas Ale and the 2008 Red Hill Christmas Ale. How special...since 2008 was when I effectively started this craft beer journey of mine!

Maybe if I was a little sober to properly recall the 11th beer of the day, I'd probably be trying to find a way to make 3 out of 4 to include the BrewDog Three Floyds Bitch Please.

Nevertheless, each beer worked well in their own way, including as a Christmas brew and an accompaniment to fine cheese, smoked (cold) meats and various nibbles. All the beers offered a unique experience of craft beer and I am keen to drink more of them all again whenever I can.

We now excitedly look towards the new year as this journey continues through the incredible science and art of taste and texture...

...2011 was massive, but 2012 is already shaping up to be even beery bigger!

LOOK OUT mass-produced bland lagers...the people-driven train of good beer at the dining table and in our hands gathering steam and powering towards you to take beer drinkers in a new direction in 2012!

Find these. Drink them. Experience them. Cheers!

Wishing a merry Christmas and a safe, happy, deliciously experiential New Year to all!  CHEERS!

Beer - Birthday Brews - Revisiting Favourites

On Thursday I completed 31 years of life...and began my 32nd. That must mean it's a good time to enjoy some extra special beers!

So yes, for my 31st birthday I opened my mini beer cellar, which I began a year ago, and revisited some of my favourite beers.

Bringing in the next year of life on Wednesday night, the wife and I drank my saved bottle of Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber Belgian black IPA (which I blogged my love for last year).

Not surprisingly, the beer poured with a massive frothy head. It was no gusher, but the yeast must have still been working away for sometime, continuing the production of carbon dioxide. All that did, however, was slow down the process of pouring the beer. It still possessed a beautiful solid dark black appearance with a generous tan head.

With just under a year of age behind it, the B2 Bomber still tastes fantastic and drinks beautifully. Naturally, the hop character has mellowed and softened a bunch, but the rich and complex flavour was still in good form. A flavoursome combination of dark roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and dark fruits in a well balanced, warming package. I really love this beer!

Towards the bottom of the bottle, there was a small edge of a sour funk, indicating that the yeast may soon turn this beer a bit. So if you are sitting on a bottle of B2 Bomber, I recommend drinking it soon, unless you have a decent and controlled cellar set up.

In good news for lovers of this one-off anniversary ale from Bridge Road Brewers, Ben Kraus plans to brew and release a "revamped" version of B2 Bomber later this year! Awesome.

For my birthday present, the wife surprised me with a very special bounty of international craft beers that I have never tasted before...

Mikkeller Black Hole Barrel Aged (Peat), Mikkeller George! Barrel Aged (Bourbon Edition) and BrewDog Abstrakt AB:05 (bottle 3437 of 3600)!

These are extremely exciting beers for me. I have tried other versions of each - Mikkeller Black Hole Barrel Aged (Red Wine - Pinot) on one awesome night of big stouts at Biero Bar; had my first taste of Mikkeller George! in January this year and was blown away by the coffee kick; and BrewDog Abstrakt AB:04, which was enjoyed with the ABWG over dinner at Josie Bones. Each other those beers have been serious "WOW" beers for me and sit comfortably in my list of top 20 beers I have ever tasted. Hence, Jenn's above birthday present to me is something very special ...she's an awesome wife!

Birthday night, Thursday, we had a quite little birthday dinner at The Courthouse Hotel in North Melbourne. Dining from the bar menu and drinking excellent craft beers from tap, it was exactly my type of preferred dining experience. I wish I could visit The Courthouse more often...it is just so satifying to see many people drinking, discussing and enjoying a diverse range of beers.

Over dinner we enjoyed:

• the new McLaren Vale Beer Co Vale IPA - good easy drinking, but I'm not sure about the hop profile. The hop aroma was a little musty dirty, with a very flat bitterness and soft taste. I want more punch from an IPA. Although, I must say that this IPA worked wonderfully as a match for the beautifully soft Gorgonzola croquettes entree that we started the night with!
• Mountain Goat Oaky Porter - a bubble & squeak brew using left over incredients that hint at the inclusion of elements from the Thorny Goat Black IPA and Surefoot Stout. We had previously enjoyed this beer in draught growler form from Slowbeer, but enjoyed more on tap, possibly due to the better dispensing system as well as some improvement from an extra 2 weeks age behind it
• Hargreaves Hill ESB - Jenn drank this with her baked ricotta gnocchi, confit duck, spinach, olives
• Bridge Road Beer Chevalier Biere de Garde - I had with my Porterhouse steak, mash, rocket & red wine sauce. I love Biere de Garde so I always go for it when on tap, but it was a bit of a match-fail for my steak. There was much yeasty banana coming through the Biere de Gard and less of the usual lovely dark fruits. In hindsight, the Mountain Goat Oaky Porter or Hargreaves Hill Stout would have been a more appropriate match for my steak. Nonetheless, the meal was thoroughly enjoyable.

After dinner we trammed back into the city and headed up to Biero Bar for more good beer action, which included the Prickly Moses Black Panther IPA and the Morning Peninsula Brewery Brown Ale, which was shining a beatufiul hue of red in the candle light...

Prickly Moses Black Panther

Mornington Peninsula Brown Ale

Sometime after 10pm the music was turned up too loud in the fairly empty Biero Bar, which kinda killed our chilled out mood as we lazed on the couches and enjoyed good beer. We took it as a cue to waddled down the road to Penny Blue bar. A little birdy had told me that the Holgate Brewhouse Temptress was pouring from the bar's handpump. So, even though Temptress was available at Biero Bar for $5/$10 for a pot/pint, the handpump enough incentive to make the short journey down to Elizabeth St (and only $8 for a goblet is pretty good!).

This was my first visit to Penny Blue...and I loved it! I feel sad that it has taken me so long to discover this characterful little bar, beautifully located in the heart of Melbourne. Whilst I have known about it for some time, I have just never made it there...and I've been missing out! Penny Blue only has one beer tap, but it is an old English handpump beer engine. If that does not take your fancy, the craft beer selection in the fridge behind the bar is excellent. The bar is cosy and relaxed. The staff are good, with one guy behind the bar impressing me with his explanations of three local craft beers when a customer asked if they had any good American Pale Ales to try.

There was some glassphemy when my 2nd order of Temptress was poured into a tall Trumer Pilsner glass. Totally the wrong glass for a chocolate porter! But oh well, such a minor thing...by that time of night I was just happy to still be drinking good beer in any form...

And so ended my birthday day, with the joys of handpumped Temptress. However, the birthday beering did not end there...!

Friday started with a hair-of-the-dog breakfast. Home-made bacon, egg & cheese muffins (so much better than McDonalds will ever make!) alongside a glass of the spectacular Nøgne Ø God July Islay Edition, thanks to the generous & hardworking crew of Innspire. Whilst visiting the Innspire warehouse back in January I mentioned that God July Islay was one of my favourite beer discoveries in 2010 and was used to mark my 30th birthday. In return the Innspire guys gifted me with this bottle to celebrate my next birthday with, and I did, over breakfast the morning after. Win!

This Porter-like American Strong Ale has been matured in Oak casks previously containing Islay malt whisky. Many drinkers struggle with the strong Islay character, but I love the rich woody smokey baconness. And we're all about big peat and Islay kick at the moment, especially after the crazy beautiful explosion of Yeastie Boys' Rex Attitude!

Finally, last night (Friday), Jenn and I returned to our "local" (microbrewery) the Mountain Goat Brewery...aka goatbeer. There we had pizza for dinner and drank Three Golden Goats, more Oaky Porter and 2011 Oaky Rapunzel!

Mountain Goat's Rapunzel is another beer that I have blogged undying love for in the past. This 2011 release is the best yet!

The massive and potent 2010 version of the Rapunzel Belgian Strong Blond Ale has been soften substantially, because it has been blended with a touch of Steam Ale after 15 months of ageing in Chardonnay barrels. It is now so much more drinkable and dangerously sessionable, even though two is enough to knock you out.

The appearance is still the same, cloudy golden-orange with a decent white head that leaves loads of sexy lacing. The huge Chardonnay aroma remains, along with notes of grapefruit, apple and some vinegar at the back.

Rapunzel's complex taste is also still big but now better balanced, full of citrus fruits like orange, green apple, vanilla and a slight sweetness.

The oak aging is very evident in the astringency and short dry finish. This version was also extra oaky because it had been run through the Randy filled with French Oak chips, adding some extra oaky funk to the taste. It hinted at elements of a good Lambic Gueuze. Really good stuff.

All it needed was some crusty bread and brie to match!

Beer - BrewDog Tokyo* ...on TAP!

BrewDog Tokyo* is an amazing beer. This 18.2% abv Imperial Stout is finely crafted yet completely irreverent...true to form for Scotland's cheeky but accomplished craft brewery.

The brewery's description of Tokyo* is as follows - "A beer inspired by a 1980's space invaders arcade game played in Japan's capital. This imperial stout is brewed with copious amounts of speciality malts, jasmine and cranberries. After fermentation we then dry-hop this killer stout with a bucketload of our favourite hops before carefully ageing the beer on French toasted oak chips."

In a wonderful first for Australia, kegs of Tokyo* have been brought to our shores by BrewDog's Aussie importer, Hop & Spirit. These pricey kegs (I hear they cost something in the vicinity of $1000) are now being tapped at beer bars across Australia.

As Melbourne's weather cools down and clouds over significantly this weekend, the time is just right to slowly enjoy a big-ass warming beer like Tokyo*.

I first tried Tokyo* from the bottle last year. Whilst the flavour was incredible and I clearly recognised the amazing complexity and art of the beer, I found it rather harsh with the high alcohol burning my palate. It was enjoyable, but too much.

When revisiting Tokyo* in draught form, it was a much better experience. During a recent evening at The Local Taphouse, fellow beer blogger Aaron of I'm Here For The Hops shared his glass with me.

On tap, the jasmine and cranberries shine through in the brandy-like aroma. In the mouth, the alcohol is still in your face, but less harsh, much more balanced. The taste and mouthfeel imparts much depth and character of sweet dark fruits and roasted malts, plus something a little smokey. Oaky notes from the ageing are also more prominent in draught than the bottle.

If you enjoy stouts of any form, this is a beer worth experiencing...if only for the sheer provocation of it. James Watt and Martin Dickie of BrewDog have styled themselves as brewing punks. This beer certainly helps to confirm their claim.

I may be a little untimely with this post, as the very limited supplies of draught Tokyo* have been on tap around Melbourne beer bars for a week now...and are mostly likely almost empty, or close to it. Nonetheless, if you can find a bar still pouring, don't be afraid to take a chance on something that will set up back more than you've probably ever paid for a tap beer before (unless you were lucky enough to have some of the Moo Brew Aged Imperial Stout at Beer DeLuxe last year)!

The following Melbourne bars have received Tokyo*

• The Local Taphouse, St Kilda ($20 for 310ml glass, tapped 10 days ago)
• Biero Bar, Melbourne city ($15 for pot, tapped on Wednesday night)
• Beer DeLuxe, Melbourne city (tapped last wednesday) 
• The Court House Hotel, North Melbourne ($11 for 110ml...which is all you need!)
• The Great Northern Hotel, Carlton North (yet to be tapped, I think)

If you are keen to try this beer and need to travel is get to any of these bars, I would try calling ahead to see if they still have it pouring. Then, scrape together all your pennies or grab some mates to share a glass with, because this huge beer is the perfect beer for sharing around. Enjoy!

Learn more about BrewDog Tokyo* at:

• BrewDog profile: http://www.brewdog.com/tokyo
• BrewDog blog - "Portman Group bans Tokyo*, but who complained?": http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/197

Note: the * refers to the 18.2% abv version of BrewDog Tokyo, after this beer was originally brewed as a 12% Imperial Stout, which has now been retired.

AFL Grand Final Weekend Beers and Bars

Today, the last Saturday in September, marks the pinnacle of sporting fever in Melbourne with the AFL Grand Final being played this afternoon.

Many will try and ignore it or be "so-not-into it", but it is nearly impossible to avoid the hype and discussion flowing across this football loving city. Back-yards and parks across the State will be buzzing with the sounds of families and friends gathering and bbqs sizzling, as well as beer stubbies and cans being cracked left-right-and-centre!

This year the two teams playing off in the Grand Final are the Collingwood Magpies (the most populously supported team in Victoria, as well as the most loathed team by anyone who does not follow the 'Pies, such as my self) and the long-suffering St Kilda Saints (who have not won a Premiership since 1966).

As a life long supporter of the Essendon Football Club (who enjoyed success a decade ago, but have been lingering around the bottom of the pack for too long now), this year's game will not quite evoke the full wrath of passion from me. However, my bride is a keen St Kilda Football Club supporter (a surprising but welcome discovery when I first met her...considering she was born and bred in rugby-centric Queensland and had been following the Saints since her school years...not just jumping into AFL when trying to win the favour of a strapping Melbourne boy who she was crushing on). Therefore, by proxy, I am ALL ABOUT THE SAINTS! (At least St Kilda's Red, Black and White colours and close enough to the Red and Black colours of my Essendon Bombers!)

Of course, around here...when there is sport, there is beer. Unfortunately, that normally means a slab of Carlton Draught or, even worse, Tooheys Extra Dry (the industrial macro-brewery lagers which offer little more than a harsh amber liquid, which smells like "beer" and tastes like chemicals, then hurts your head). On the flip, thankfully in Melbourne the passion craft beer is starting to show signs of one day being as big as the footy (...we can only hope!). Therefore, there are plenty of quality craft beer options now readily available all around town, to improve your Grand Final watching experience.

To cheer on this event, here is my suggestion of Victorian craft beers for St Kilda fans to beer-theme their weekend with their team colours of...

Red - Holgate Big Reg

Black - 3Ravens Stout

White - Bright Razor Witbier

Alternatively, here's a few more awesome locals that nicely fit the colour theme and are worth tracking down...

And finally...although not an Aussie craft beer...the one I recommend most to Saints fans this weekend is the fantastic 5am Saint Amber Ale from Scottish (mad)brewers, BrewDog. No only is the Red, White and Black label perfect for your team...this beer is beautifully balanced, sessional, and...drinks like victory!

Go Saints!

Our Grand Final Day will involve watching the game from inside Mrs Parmas, so we can enjoy the match on a big screen, with a footy-loving crowd in the heart of Melbourne, along with a brilliant range of Victorian craft beers on tap - including a showcase from Grand Ridge Brewery - which will help us celebrate or commiserate...whichever way the game goes.

And then...if victory comes our way...we'll be heading down to Federation Square for the winning team player presentations...which may also include a quick stop into Beer DeLuxe, where the new Murray's Brewing Imperial IPA "Spartacus" will be on tap (which I may have had a very special sneak peak of last night...and YES...I believe it DOES kick ass!). Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised if we end the day at The Royston.

If you are looking to do the same, a list of Melbourne beer-bars showing the footy on big screens can be found on The Crafty Pint Events page at: http://craftypint.com/events

As well as today's article, which wraps it all together at: http://craftypint.com/news/post/grand-final-great-beer/

Beer - Big Bold Barrel Aged Tasting @ Slowbeer

Wednesday night saw Slowbeer hold their inaugural paid beer tasting event. Due to the limited space available (it's a small shop!) and a number of rare and expensive brews available to sample, this was quite an exclusive opportunity, which I am very thankful to have been able to attend.

With a combined total value of over $210, purchasing one of each of the beers on offer out of your own pocket would be unobtainable for the majority. Hence, I thought the $25 fee was excellent value in order to discover whether forking out that $210 for the full enjoyment of these exclusive beers was worth it.

And what a way to start, with the theme of "Big Bold Barrel-aged Beers", Slowbeer went straight to the top with some amazingly powerful selections from all over the world, all of which have been aged for a period in various barrels to add an extra complexity and richness to the mix.

I had already recently purchased and tried two of the beers showcased on the night (Holgate Beelzebub's Jewels and Brewdog Tokyo*) and I have also sampled the Bridge Road Oak Aged Imperial Porter at a couple of other various tastings. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to encounter all of these beers again.

I was primarily there to enjoy the experience, rather than review the beers. However, I was still able to make a few brief notes:

Mikkeller Weinbrand BA Red Ale – Imperial red ale aged in German Brandy barrels (RRP $25) - I'm not a brandy drinker (whisky is more my spirit) and this Mikkeller provides a serious brandy hit on both the nose and in the mouth. The taste of such a powerful Red Ale is new to me, so I found it rather unusual and a bit harsh, probably most dissatisfied by its lightness in the mouth yet super strong taste.

Southern Tier Cuvee 2 – American strong ale aged in American Oak barrels (RRP $19.50) - Pouring a lovely cloudy brown with a good head, the aroma of this ale was of sweet caramel, which followed into the taste. However, after several mouthfuls I found it became fairly rough.

Holgate Brewhouse Beelzebub's Jewels – Belgian style Quadruple aged in Macedon Pinot Noir barrels (RRP $53) - Already having drunk a bottle of this Holgate delight a month or so ago, I was keen to be reminded of its beautiful smooth taste...but also eager to see how well it stood up against the other beers sampled tonight. And I believe it certainly held its own very well against all the others we tried. Delicious, beautifully balanced, an excellently crafted beer! (Also good to see that the professionals also struggled to break through the hand-waxed lid, as we did when drinking Beelzebub's Jewels at home!)

Murray's Brewing Murray's Anniversary Ale 4 – English style barley wine aged in Hunter Valley Shiraz barrels (RRP $40) - Have heard many good things about the Anniversary Ale #4 and with its very limited availability, I was very happy to be able to finally try it out. Pouring from the champagne bottle, this beer gave a super huge frothy head, almost like a glass of champagne! Fruity, luscious hops, yet wonderfully smooth and soft, this beer is much easier to drink than other barleywines, I think due to its slightly lower alcohol of only 10%. The hint of Shiraz is a nice touch too, but I was left wanting a bit more in the overall taste and mouthful. I also found it a little too highly carbonated, so I didn't absolutely love it, but certainly enjoyed it.

Bridge Road Brewing 4th Anniversary Oak Aged Imperial Porter – Imperial Porter aged in Giaconda Wine barrels (RRP $30)- Another finely crafted ale from Bridge Road, with plenty of vanilla, coffee, roasted malts and chocolate favour, but it seemed to leave a bit of a sour finish. Smooth and unique, but probably my least favourite of the excellent Bridge Road Chevalier range.

Brewdog Paradox Springbank – Imperial stout aged in Springbank whisky barrels (RRP $11.50) - Definitely bold in character, providing a fairly clear and enjoyable whisky taste with some smokey notes, I wasn't overly taken by this beer but I found that it improved the more I drank of it.

Brewdog Tokyo* – 18% Imperial stout aged in french oak barrels and brewed with jasmine and cranberry (RRP $15) - Another one that was a second-taste for me, after drinking a 330ml bottle of the Tokyo* last weekend, which really knocked me out! I find the Tokyo* to be is a little too harsh for my palate, without redeeming itself enough in taste. Whilst I do very much respect how well the Brewdog guys have done to produce a very drinkable beer at 18% abv, it is just too much for me. Nonetheless, I'd be happy to drink it again.

Nøgne Ø God Jul Islay Edition – American strong ale aged in Islay whisky barrels (RRP $22) - Easily my favourite beer of the night (out of the beers I had never tried before). I loved the strong smokey flavour of the Islay whisky. Rich in aroma and taste, it is a surprisingly drinkable beer despite the dominating islay. Plenty of "wow" factor in this beer making it a truly unique drinking experience to savour. I bought a bottle of this to enjoy at home...one freezing winter night.

As per my usual rude addiction, I snapped a couple of photos with my old digital camera...for a further insight...

Slowbeer's Chris leads the tasting, spruiking Holgate's Beelzebub’s Jewels

Happy beer lovers experiencing some very big and bold beers @ Slowbeer.

Murray’s Anniversary Ale 4, from one of Chris' favourite Aussie brewers.

Up close with Murray's Anniversary Ale 4 and its brilliant large frothy head.

The unique and smooth Bridge Road Anniversary Oak Aged Imperial Porter.

All done...leaving some very impressive empty bottles.

Oh...and I went home extra happy after purchasing some delights to savour at a later date...

Looking forward to the next one (...possibly in August, keep an eye on http://slowbeer.blogspot.com)!

Beers, Bars, Band - Weekend Catchup

After laying low for a while, it was back to enjoying plenty of Melbourne's best BBBs on the weekend. Therefore, here is a not-so-brief (but-I-tried-my-best) recap...

The weekend began with the Big Scary gig at the Northcote Social Club on Friday night. Supports Bean and Cameras provided a decent warm up, but were clearly outshone by the talent and genuine rock-out ability of Big Scary, who seemed to have so much fun on stage! Tom (guitar/keys/percussion) and Jo (drums/guitar) smiled and laughed throughout their powerful and diverse set, which launched their Autumn EP.

Setlist highlights included "Lullabies, Lies and Goodbyes", "Polly" and "Tuesday is Rent Day". With all three acts combined...it was a quality gig for only $10! Bargain.

I recommend Big Scary to any music lover, particularly for their excellent live performance. At the end of the gig I bought their At The Mercy Of The Elements EP and have worn out the CD with repeat listens over the weekend.

On a beer note...during the gig I enjoyed a couple of Mountain Goat Hightail Ale (the Northcote Social Club has been a long time supporter and stockist of the bottled Mountain Goat range)...but I was particularly pleased to see the local 3 Ravens Blond now available in bottles at the NSC bar as well. Not only that, but plenty of the 3 Ravens was being drunk, as I noticed a bunch of empty bottles of the Blond sitting on the bar as everyone shuffled out of the bandroom after the gig. Rock on, NSC!

Saturday morning I was out the airport way to send off the fiancé for the weekend, when I noticed a new Dan Murphys at Essendon Airport (next to the DFO/Homemaker Centre). I popped in for curiosity's sake and found it to be identical to the now standard format/layout/stock of a Dan Murphys store...of course...but at least they were fully stocked. I picked up 2 bottles of the new James Squire seasonal, the Malt Runner (Winter Ale). (Also spied boxes of the 2010 Cascade First Harvest, but no bottles on the shelf.)

Saturday afternoon involved a visit to the beer haven that is The Local Taphouse, St Kilda, where I thoroughly enjoyed the following beers on tap:

• Bridge Road Bling India Pale Ale (first time I've had the Bling on tap)
• Feral Brewing iWit 2.0 (7.5% abv Belgian Imperial Wit, a "beefed up" version of the Feral White)
  
• Hargreaves Hill ESB (as good as always...and this batch seemed to have an added smokiness to it)
  
• Feral Brewing Raging Flem (an excellent Belgian IPA produced especially for last month’s Local Taphouse Ale Stars)

Packs a punch...Feral iWit 2.0

The incredibly smooth Feral Raging Flem.

The time passed too quickly as I enjoyed each beer whilst poring over over streetpress, the newspaper, twitter and the latest issue of Beer&Brewer magazine (great articles on barrel-aged beers and Stone&Wood's stone brewing).

(It's just a shame that some of the bar staff had to have a bit of a blow-up over their working conditions/treatment, which was far too loud and public. For professionalism sake, that is something that should happen away from your customers, because it can really impact on the mood of the venue. I felt embarrassed to be standing at the bar waiting to be served whilst it was occurring.)

I also ate for the first time at the Local Taphouse (just from the bar menu though). I ordered the steak sandwich, which arrived quicker than I was anticipating. Whilst the steak sandwich didn't look overly impressive on arrival, it certainly tasted terrific! The steak was beautifully cooked, with a lovely smoky flavour and lots of spice. Perfect beer food that was truly complimented by the Feral Brewing Raging Flem.

On the way home, later Saturday night, I stopped in at the Skinny Dog Hotel to catch some live footy on tv and drank a Colonial Brewing Porter for "dessert". On first taste it was a fairly good porter, rich and initially drinkable, but didn't quite stand up through the whole glass, becoming too wheaty (or maybe I had just had too much already).

Colonial Porter.

On Sunday afternoon I was in the city so I popped into Young&Jackson to try the new Mirboo Madness from Grand Ridge Brewery, a 6% abv American Red Ale. I'm not really a fan of the Young&Jackson as a venue/pub, but they do have some excellent local brewery showcases. The Mirboo Madness is beautifully red, aggressive in character and really very hoppy. It's a little too light in the mouth and bitter on the finished, but a good beer. (Y&J claim exclusivity over this beer, but it is/has been also available on tap at several other Melbourne bars, such as Mrs Parmas.)

I also stopped in at Beer DeLuxe for a schooner of the Moo Brew Imperial Stout, which was simply superb! Beautifully smooth and full of delightfully balanced soft flavours giving you everything you want in an Imperial Stout, rounded off by seriously good chocolate notes. Yum! I wish I could have drunk three more...

Delectable...the Moo Brew Imperial Stout.

Continuing the Imperial Stout theme, I ended the weekend on a huge note with a couple of super delicious stouts that I had purchased at Slowbeer:

• Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout (wow...best stout I have ever tasted, so robust, rich and smooth…a wonderful drinking experience!)
• BrewDog Tokyo* (another incredible drinking experience full of flavour, the 18% abv is quite harsh on the palate though!)

This week I'll be attending the inaugural (and sold out) Slowbeer Tasting night, for the "Big, Bold Barrel-Aged Tasting", which will feature:

• Mikkeller Weinbrand BA Red Ale (Imperial red ale aged in German Brandy barrels)
• Southern Tier Cuvee 2 (American strong ale aged in American Oak barrels)
• Holgate Beelzebub’s Jewels (Belgian style Quadruple aged in Macedon Pinot Noir barrels)
• Murray’s Anniversary Ale 4 (English style barley wine aged in Hunter Valley Shiraz barrels)
• Bridge Rd Anniversary Oak Aged Imperial Porter – (Imperial Porter aged in Giaconda Wine barrels)
• Brewdog Paradox Springbank (Imperial Stout aged in Springbank whisky barrels)
• Nogne O God Jul Islay Edition (American Strong Ale aged in Islay whisky barrels)