Beer - Vertical Saisons

Personal vertical tastings at home...I love them. Drinking comparable beers side-by-side with no other influences around you other than your senses is a fantastic way to train your palate and educate yourself on the characteristics of beer styles. Alternatively, through a verticle tasting of vintages you will discover how a beer evolves as it is aged.

I've posted about a couple of personal verticals here already. Last year, in the former Beer Bar Band backyard, I attempted to understand the abundant presence of Dry Lagers with a vertical tasting. Also, on Christmas Day we sampled 3 different vintages of the Red Hill Christmas Ale. The insight provided by a vertical tasting can really help you decipher quality and individuality. (One day I'll finally get around to doing that VB/Melbourne Bitter/Carlton Draught/Crown Lager vertical tasting...)

Recently we lined up some Saisons over dinner on a fine summer's evening, out on our deck at home. Dinner added to the theme of the night. Jenn cooked a Saison fish pie via Paul Mercurio's Cooking With Beer book. I'll leave her to fill you in on the delicious beery food...so watch out for the blog post on Soaked in Beer!

Saison is a beer style that I've become quite fond of over the last year, as I’ve experienced more and more versions. This may actually be perfect timing too. Indications from the local craft brewing industry point to a number of new saisons hitting the beer taps this year. 2011’s trend was clearly Black IPAs. Now, 2012 may just be the year of the Saison for Australian craft beer!

There's already a small but stellar local range of the style - Moo Brew's MONA Saison deMoo, Beard and Brau Bon Chiens Farmhouse ale, the retired Feral Saison and the recently returned Temple Brewing Saison (which should back in bottles soon). Joining the farmhouse fold this year will be Mornington Peninsula Brewery, Mountain Goat and the possible limited return of Matilda Bay Brewey's Barking Duck saison.

These fruity, full bodied (usually) pale ales are a fine juxtaposition of a complex yet simple drinking beer. The style’s origins lie in the refreshing summer ales, often with low-alcohol content, brewed for the French farm labours. These days saisons tend to be much bigger and bolder, with full bodies and an alcohol content of between 6-8% abv, yet they still retain their easy drinking and seasonable character.

For our first little Saison vertical test we selected:

• an international benchmark - Saison Dupont (Belgium, 6.5% abv)
• a highly regarding Australian version from Bridge Road Brewers, Chevalier Saison (Victoria, 6% abv)
• and a new kid on the block – La Sirène Saison (Victoria, 6.5% abv)

These three saisons all proved to be quite different yet still provided the similar drinking experience of a classic Saison.

None were exactly alike in appearance. La Sirène was light and cloudy with a relatively small head. Its head did have the best retention of the three, but left little lacing. The Bridge Road was clear and bright with a decent head and good lacing. The Saison Dupot was a deep cloudy orange with the biggest head of the three and left much pretty lacing.

The aroma proved to be the most similar characteristic across these three beers - full and dense orangey fruity nose, sweet and spicy notes with the familiar saison yeast element.

Mouthfeel varied across the three from full bodied (Saison Dupont) to medium (Bridge Road) to a little light-on for a saison (La Sirène). Carbonation was highest in the local beers, possible because the Dupont was older from traveling further since it was brewed. Hence, Bridge Road and La Sirène were also the more vibrant beers. The overall balance was best in the Bridge Road and Dupont versions. La Sirène was just a little too thin for me. The complexity and depth of Dupont highlights its internationally renowned status.

La Sirène performed best with its refreshing clean and dry finish that had the nicest little hit of tartness out of the three. Although, it was the Bridge Road and Dupont saisons that I found moreish.

All truly excellent and enjoyable beers in their own right. For me, the Bridge Road Brewers Chevalier Saison hit the spot just right on this occasion and "won" this vertical session.

Ben Kraus of Bridge Road Brewers has a solid history producing excellent saisons with a twist. In the last few years he has produced the Saison le Printemps, brewed with blueberries and elderflower, and the awesome Saison Noir (black saison) that celebrated the brewery's 6th anniversary in 2011. However, his regular Saison from the Bridge Road Chevalier range remains a consistent standout as an Australian interpretation of the style.

A week or so later we went vertical with the latest Ben Kraus Saison-with-a-twist. It was also our first side-by-side test of the same beer that has been brewed in two different locations – the excellent NøgneØ and Bridge Road Brewers collaboration ale, India Saison, a hybrid style mash resulting in a hoppy Saison.

In August last year Ben Kraus travelled to Norway, along with some of his favourite local hop varieties. In collaboration he brewed this beer with Kjetil Jikiun at the NøgneØ brewery, which was then packaged in the standard 500ml NøgneØ bottles and eventually imported into Australia through Phoenix Beers. Back in Australia, Ben also brewed India Saison at his brewery in Beechworth using exactly the same recipe, providing two versions for the market.

News of this collaboration was very exciting for me, as a big fan of both breweries. Many of Ben's Bridge Road Brewers beers have provided much "wow" factor in recent times, through his innovative brewing - B2 Bomber, 500 Smokey Breakfast Lager, Galaxy Single Hop IPA, Stellar Single Hop IPA and more! NøgneØ is also a sensation, filling many spots of my all-time list of favourite beers: Imperial Stout, God Jul plus the incredible trilogy of Dark Horizon, Red Horizon and Sweet Horizon.

India Saison is a brilliant beer. Packed with the robust Australian Galaxy and Stella hop varieties, it is a well balanced blend of two interesting beer styles - Saison and IPA. There are many "crazy" inventive craft beers around these days. Whilst innovative, this beer is far from crazy. India Saison is a bold and characterful beer, yet also elegant and easy to drink. The complexity isn't as evident at first as in some other hybrid craft beer styles, but a few mouthfuls in you will discover much to explore in this beer's taste and character.

Clearly the same beer, there were also some strikingly significant differences between the Australian and Norway brewed versions. Firstly, the aroma of both was upfront resiny hoppy yet underneath was a classic spicy Saison nose. However, the hoppy aroma was much bigger and beautiful on the Bridge Road edition. Although, having traveled from the other side of the world, the hops in the NøgneØ bottle may have just died off a little. Understandable.

The biggest difference was in appearance. The NøgneØ brewed addition had a much deeper orange colour with a thicker head, whilst the local Bridge Road brew was a brighter orange with a less dense head.

Both versions were practically identical in mouthfeel, finish and overall drinkability. 

So, why are the two beers so different when both have been brewed with exactly the same recipe?  The simple and short answer, to the best of my basic knowledge, is water and brewhouse plus freshness. Sure, there are a number of other tiny intricacies that will alter the final result in very small ways, but the significant differences will most likely come from:

• two very different water sources, with large variations in the mineral content and ph levels between the Aussie and Norway water supplies,
• the larger size and environment of the relatively new NøgneØ brewhouse compared to the smaller Beechworth brewhouse build in an old Coach House,
• the NøgneØ version has travelled from across the other side of the world, compared to the relatively fresh recently brewed Bridge Road version from only a few hundred kms away. Therefore it is older and has been exposed to more variations in light and temperature.

Again the Bridge Road Brewers beer won this side-by-side taste test, but it had the clear advantage of freshness and therefore offered more vibrancy. Either way, this beer as a whole is a magnificent innovation and a testimony to the art and science of craft brewing plus collaborative spirit of both NøgneØ and Bridge Road Brewers. Yum.
 

Anyways, despite all my clumbsy words here...every beer mentioned is a delicious drinking experience and highly recommended! Track them down and discover the diversity. Cheers!

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 - Good Beer Week is GO

The first Good Beer Week starts today (like, now!) in Melbourne and across Victoria. *excite*

What's it all about?

Over the next 7 days, Melbourne's breweries, bars, venues and beer retail outlets are showcasing the wonderful world of good beer with events, special deals, fun incentives and good beer friendly environments.

The week also coincides with the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), which are announced at a gala dinner on Friday night. This also means that many luminaries from the Australian-wide and global beer industry are either in Melbourne or have their eye on Melbourne...as they wait to hear which beers (including 550 international entries) have been awarded gold in 2011.


What When Where How Why?

Everything you need to know about Good Beer Week can be found on the GBW website: www.goodbeerweek.com

Even more GBW information, insights and news can discovered at The Crafty Pint: www.craftypint.com

You can also follow the live action via the twitter hashtag #GBW


But beer is beer?

No...GOOD BEER is not "just beer". Beer is diverse and interesting!

Good beer has flavour (LOADS of flavour), character, depth, complexity, length. Good beer is very interesting...and much fun.

If anything...the ultimate aim of the week is to really open up good beer to everyone. Therefore, if there is only one thing you get out of this week...please make it the decision to try a beer that you have never tasted before.


James loves Good Beer...

I'll be around here and there...at as many Good Beer Week event's and bars that I can get too...and maybe even a few sneaky extras...so say hi if you spot me...

So Melbourne, I commend you to go somewhere with beer that you have never been before...and have a very Good Beer Week!

...CHEERS!

Beers and Bars - Footy Pub Crawl FAIL

After a five day weekend over Easter, it is a rather sad experience to return to the standard two day weekend. Therefore, I planned to make the most of my May Day Sunday.

First I had to complete my healthy-life obligation of a 10km run (...in preparation for next Sunday's Mothers Day Classic 8km run) followed by domestic duties of ironing, cleaning, lunch & dishes. Yes...hardly blog worthy, but such is my life.

Mmm...beer time!

May Day...celebration of the Harvest with a Red Hill Hop Harvest Ale!

Over lunch, complimented by the brilliant autumnal Red Hill Brewery Hop Harvest Ale, I followed online the AFL team I barrack for - Essendon Bombers - as they kicked the HELL out of newcomers, the Gold Coast Suns. Ok, no mean feat here. In only their sixth game ever The Suns do not have the build or experience to provide quality competition yet (unless they are playing the worst team in the 2011 AFL competition - Port Adelaide Power). So I should not be overly excited...but a decade suffering Essendon supporter will take anything they can get right now!

I watched the online scorecard tick over and over, goal after goal after goal, as my Bombers finished the 1st Quarter with 15 goals and 4 behinds (94 points!!) to 1 behind (1 point!). Unheard of in AFL history!

So, with this Aussie Rules footy slaughter providing a rare high for my team, I fast-tracked my plan to watch the 2nd Half telecast and quickly headed down to my local - The Skinny Dog Hotel - to watch the rest of the game live via the Pay TV feed (I don't have Foxtel at home...it's an expense that I can not reasonably justify).

FAIL #1 - Arriving at The 'Flog (The Skinny Dog), I found a bunch of fit 20something Corona drinking guys & gals crowded around the plasmas watching silly UFC. I'm sorry...but UFC is baseless and entertainmentless for me. To see all 7 TVs in the pub tuned into the UFC was...disappointing.

I quickly left that scene and jumped down to Local Option Number 2 - The Hotel Kew. Thankfully, Hotel Kew (a Sports betting pub...very much not my scene) was showing the footy (with audio!) and it was relatively quiet and free of knobs that are commonly attracted to such a pub. Unfortunately, the ONLY beer available in this pub that is not a macro adjunct lager was James Squire Golden Ale. It was enough to suffice for a quarter...but I wanted to enjoy this fun footy watching experience with good beer...craft beer! The Hotel Kew is a good beer wasteland.

At half time I jumped on a tram and headed down to Richmond, making tracks for my favourite Melbourne pub of all...The Royston Hotel.

FAIL #2 - Unfortunately, when I arrived at The Royston I discovered that the pub does not open until 3pm on a Sunday. Boo!

So, I jogged back to Bridge Road, home of many pubs. After quickly noting that The Bridge Hotel was also closed, very closed, I trammed up another two stops and headed into The Spread Eagle...as classic pub with a big central rectangle bar, which needs better beers on tap. Thankfully, they at least have Little Creatures Pale Ale on tap...HOWEVER...it was Sunday afternoon trivia. So, whilst the footy way playing on 2 big screen TVs, there was no audio...replaced by the Trivia host's voice... FAIL #3. I do like the Spread Eagle...but I was saddened even further when I heard that one of the trivia teams was named "The Cider Men". Ug...boys...drink good craft beer! It will impress you like no cider can!

At 3pm I made my way back to The Royston...only to discover that my favourite pub does not have Foxtel and therefore were unable to show the footy. FAIL #4

This failure was made up for by a pint of draught Bridge Road Brewers The Harvest Ale (2011 release). A beautiful beer, easy drinking with a long lingering taste that is hoppy fresh and balanced with excellence. This is the type of beer I hope will one day be regularly be on tap at the majority of Australian pubs. One day...!

(A full blog post of three Australian hop harvest ales in pending...so I will go into the full tasting notes then.)

My beloved Bombers were picking up the pace again in the 3rd Quarter of the game...and I was still keen to witness the live vision. Hence, I ditched my esteemed Royston and slow trammed back to...*sigh*...Hotel Kew to catch the final minutes of the game. Over another pot of James Squire Golden Ale, a fair but uninspiringly thick English Pale/Golden Ale, I celebrated a massive win by the lowly Bombers over the uber lowly Suns...which I mostly missed, because I do not have a subscription to Foxtel.

To complete the symmetry of my day's fail pub crawl, I went back to the start...returning to the Skinny Dog Hotel. I would have been happy to spend my Sunday afternoon at the Skinny Dog watching the footy, which I have done many times in the past, thanks to the supply of Colonial and Little Creatures beers. However, UFC cancelled that option for me...and through my failed hunt for beer and footy, I discovered how little good beer and/or craft beer mixes with sport in my local area. Despite living so close to Melbourne city...the craft beer capital of Australia...we are still a long way from penetrating the mainstream beer market.

Anyway...with the pub now relatively empty, I watched the post game wrap-up over a pot of White Rabbit Dark Ale, a welcome tasty relief in Melbourne pub-land. (side note: on Friday night I went through the "in-house" crafty Colonial beers on tap at The Skinny Dog - Kolsch, Witbier, Pale Ale and Porter - and enjoyed their balance...but more on that to come...)

Excellent lacing.

In the current local landscape of craft beer, the White Rabbit Dark is definitely a quality beer (as shown by its #7 ranking in the recent book - The Critic's Choice: Australia's Best Beers). However, on this occasion it did not satisfy me. FAIL #4.3 (yeah...not really a full fail...just a third...). I was in need of something with a fuller body and fruitier flavour.

Therefore, to end this fail day with some extra win...I enjoyed a dessert of the Trappistes Rochefort 8. Recently, I've had a craving for something full-bodied, dark and fruity...so I picked up this popular Belgian at Slowbeer. In the past I have muchly enjoyed the highly regarded Trappistes Rochefort 10 but had yet to taste the 8 on my beer journal. Now I have...and it is good...damn good...

Essentially a lower gravity and ABV version of the Trappistes Rochefort 10 (which is still my favourite from the Rochefort range), Trappistes Rochefort 8 provides a wonderfully deep and fruity aroma that is a pleasure to just sit and inhale. In the mouth I tasted plenty of dark cherry, chocolate, yeast and something a little nutty. With a warming finish from the 9.2% ABV, it is suprisingly easy to drink and hence did not last long between the wife and I as we ended our Sunday.

Win.

Beer - A fun night of Victorian beer, brought to you by women.

In honour of the 100th International Women's Day today, it is my pleasure to applaud the local women who are enriching and influencing this thing I call my "beer journey".

Personally, in my own Gen-Y-small-corner of the world, I do not see the desperate need for any gender-based qualification or separation. It is only a distinction that I make today, because there is a global call for it.

I look around me and see females doing everything I do, in the same way that I do it or in a different way...but usually, just in their own way. Women who choose to be stay-at-home mothers tirelessly raising a loving family are inspiring, just as are the women who choose to embrace another path in life, such as a workforce career or pursing their own business/creative venture. Women who are duly respected in their endeavours to take hold of life in whichever way they desire is all it needs to be about...and that is no different to the male existence. It is the beauty of Australian freedom and hence my deterrence from the need to specify a gender qualification. However, I do understand that it is not a worldwide practice and the statistics authenticate ongoing inequality for women, so International Women's Day is a noteworthy cause that I support. Connecting the issue to my blog topic, the majority of Australians still seem to regrettably and wrongly associate consuming beer with males, primarily due to stereotypes.

But enough of the sociopolitical discussion here, this blog is written for anyone and everyone, beyond gender, race or creed. I would much prefer to engage in that debate over the table at a pub whilst enjoying a flavoursome Australian craft beer. So, on with the show...

As preempted in my previous post, last Friday night my wife and I excitedly attended the Beer Diva's Victorian Women of Beer show at The Thornbury Theatre, which was part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.

We knew little of what to expect from the show, other than it revolved around six of the most fun, friendly, interesting and switched-on people in the Australian small and craft beer industry...and they just happen to all be women.

Due to our dinner & show ticket purchase, we found ourselves at a table front and center of the stage. The make-up of our table provided a great insight to the general appeal of the show, with the table of 8 consisting of a balanced 4 males and 4 females...who were all there for different reasons.

There was a fair bit of Twitter action in the lead-up to the show, revealing the nerves of the Women of Beer as they prepared backstage. My own tweeting, about a steel bucket curiously sitting on stage, also beckoned a response from the host, Kirrily Waldhorn, as she first graced the stage to commence the show.

Kirrily's Beer Diva show provides an educational and humerous journey through the history of beer, as well as addressing common myths about drinking beer whilst seeking to break down those stereotypes that lead Aussies to associate beer with men. Whilst formally structured and stylish, the event was very much a relaxed and casual affair.

The aspect of this particular show that separated it from previous Beer Diva events was the inclusion of the Victorian Women of Beer (in the place of musical support from a singer and pianist). These women provided the highlight of the night as Kirrily quizzed them on their brewing history and then allowed them to share their beers with the audience.

To briefly return to my opening remarks, the theme for International Women's Day 2011 is - Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women - which is indeed a theme for political leaders to address. However, the Women of Beer are an excellent example of Australian women taking hold of their own career paths to excel in any field they choose...

Sam Fuss and Jayne Lewis decided brewing was the life for hem when they fell in love with the Little Creatures Brewery in Western Australia. Their skill and commitment to the brewing craft has now installed them as Head Brewers at impressive microbreweries.

Nardia McGrath surprised her parents when she chose to fly away to Scotland to study brewing. Further, last year her boss at Bridge Road Brewers gave Nardia an open licence to craft and brew her own beer, which resulted in the amazing Megachile Pluto Braggot.

Finally, I dare say that Victoria would be without two of our best microbreweries without the passion and business sense of Karen Golding and Beth Williams, who have provided the pathways and vital support required for their brewer husbands to build and operated successful breweries.

The beers shared with the audience, via these women, were tasted and discussed through 5 Acts that looked at different beer styles and histories. They were:

• Saison - Bridge Road Brewers Chevalier Saison (Nardia)
• Wheat Beers - Hargreaves Hill Hefeweizen (Beth)
• Pilsners - Red Hill Brewery Bohemian Pilsner (Karen)
• India Pale Ales - Mountain Goat Rare Breed IPA (Jayne)
• Porters - True South Cherry Bomb (Sam)

Beer Diva, Kirrily Waldhorn is a fantastic communicator. I was most impressed by her skill in presenting a script that could be understood and appreciated by both newbies to the world of beer but also to beer nerds. I learned a great deal from the show and aspire to one day be capable of communicating beer knowledge and evaluation with the expertise and finesse that Kirrily possess.

Ultimately, the theme of the night demonstrated this message: Beer can be sophisticated, beer can be brash. Beer can be serious, beer can be fun. Beer can be girly, beer can be blokey. Beer is a sensory experience for all. Enjoy!

Overall it was a fun night, full of substance and sustenance in a great venue for such an occasion. Thank you Women of Beer!

And now to further showcase the skill of my favourite woman, my wife, who captured these photos during the Beer Diva's Women of Beer show...

• For a more detailed show review, please visit my Australian Brews News article at: http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2011/03/review-the-victorian-women-of-beer/
• And for another perspective, check out Prof Pilsner's blog post at: http://beerblokes.blogspot.com/2011/03/diva-darlings-of-victorian-beer.html

In further support of International Women's Day (March 8), here are some local media articles for your consideration:

• Australian's Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, had advocated the introduction of quotas to ensure more women are appointed as directors on the boards of Australian companies: "G-G calls for female quotas" from The AGE
• 100 years of accomplishments, equality and respect for women still has a long way to go according to Australia's Minister for the Status of Women, Kate Ellis: "Still a long way to go: Kate Ellis on International Women's Day" from ABC News Online