AFL Grand Final Weekend Catchup

Last Friday night the wife and I found ourselves in the rare (for us) position of being on the west side of the city, so we took advantage of the situation and finally made our first visit to Melbourne's newest specialty beer bar, Biero Bar.

We wandered in a little before 9pm to a jam packed and bustling bar, taking a moment to get our Biero bearings and decide on our first drinks for the evening.

The interior of bar is beautiful. Lit by candles, with exposed brick walls and the now famous beer vaults commanding your attention. Overall, the design and decoration of Biero Bar is cosy and commendable.

Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment for me at Biero Bar was the unavailability of listed tap beers. Biero uses their massive mirrored wall to display the beers currently available on tap. The list included the 2Bothers "James Brown" Belgian Strong Ale and the Murray's Brewing "Angry Man" Brown Ale. Since part of the reason we were actually there was to try the James Brown, our mood was somewhat soured when we discovered the neither of these beers were actually available. Bummer!

Nonetheless, I was still able to enjoy an untried beer in the Murray's Brewing "Dark Knight" Porter, whilst my wife savoured the Red Hill Brewery Weizenbock on tap.

Just like in the bottle, the Red Hill Brewery Weizenbock is a sweet joy on tap!

I think we were simply in Biero Bar at the wrong time for our "quiet style".  We shouldn't have been surprised, given it was a Friday night leading into a big weekend...when you would expect such a drunken crowd to dominate. But the squash and noise in the bar, as well as the lack of a quiet corner to retreat to, made it difficult to sip and enjoy some good beers. Further, with limited beers actually available on tap and the beer menu throwing up few surprises from me, I felt somewhat underwhelmed, possibly lacking the understanding of how to actually navigate the bar and order something genuinely exciting. Therefore, we decided to move on after just one beer to continue our hunt for the 2Bothers "James Brown" Belgian Strong Ale.

But I'll be back there at some stage - preferably earlier in the day before the crowd hits - to learn more about Biero....because it certainly has plenty of potential.

Our next move was to wander to the other end of the city to visit Beer Deluxe in hope of finding the James Brown on tap. No luck again, however the Murray's Brewing "Angry Man" Brown Ale was in plentiful supply, so we enjoyed a glass each of this malty Brown with plenty of flavour.

The final step in our now-official-mission of the night to drink some 2Brothers James Brown was to poke our head in the door of The Royston Hotel. However, a quick glance as the tap beer list (which did not include James Brown) led us to quickly jump across the road to catch the Mountain Goat Brewery's Goat Bar offerings before closing time...and we were rewarded with their Surefoot Stout randied through coffee beers (our second experience of this sexy coffee'd stout). Gorgeous!

The Mountain Goat Surefoot Stout with added coffee thanks to Randy, their Randall infuser!

No shortage of brilliant beers and free bar space at The Goat Bar after 11pm on a Friday night!

The joy of this brew called for a PINT!

On Saturday, AFL Grand Final game day, we made our way into the city for lunch and festivities at Mrs Parma's.

Mrs Parma's was a simply sensational choice for watching the Grand Final, helped by the majority of the day's patronage very much supporting St Kilda (or at least, barracking against Collingwood). The main bar area was arranged well with tables to allow those who had booked a place for the event to enjoy an excellent view of their quality big screen. There was a minor glitch with the sound at first (in case you didn't know - digital tv and radio has a 7 second processing delay, so you can not watch live digital tv whilst listening to an analogue radio commentary broadcast and vice-versa), but that was eventually rectified and the ample supply of excellent Victorian craft beer counteracted the distraction.

As mentioned in previous posts, the Grand Ridge Brewery beers were being showcased on tap for this Mrs Parma's Grand Final Day event, and we drank several, including the Draught Lager, "Gippsland Gold" Pale Ale and "Hat Lifter" Stout. However, it was the Tooborac Hotel's "Woodcutter" Amber Ale that proved the top pick for us.

The Grand Ridge beers where still a bit so-so, as always for me. However, I quite enjoyed the Hat Lifter Stout on tap, as I had not tried the draught version before. Still very similar to the bottled version, I think on tap the Hat Lifter has a slightly richer dark chocolate taste.

After the game ended - finishing with a remarkable draw that left everyone somewhat dumbfounded - we sort solace in a super hop hit by wandering down to Federation Square to drink the new Murray's Brewing "Spartacus" Imperial IPA, on tap at Beer DeLuxe.

The mood at Beer DeLuxe was somber, as Melbourne came to grips with the Grand Final draw confusion. However, everyone was making very good use of the fine beer selection to find an answer to the question of "what next?".

My notepad came out for some tasting notes of the Spartacus

Served into a plastic cup (not the norm at Beer DeLuxe, but required by liquor licencing law on this day because of the potential for very large crowds and celebrations...which would not eventuate on this occasion), the Spartacus shone with a cloudy golden-amber and a decent bubbly white head (common to many of Murray's beers). The aroma was all wonderful floral hops, provided by the Riwaka and Motueka hops which were jam packed into the brew. The taste was massively hoppy with plenty of sweetness too, providing a clear passionfruit flavour. In the mouth it is light and has high carbonation, yet possesses a very solid body. Excellent! The 10% alc/vol is remarkably well hidden.

Murray's Brewing Spartacus Imperial IPA

A very drinkable Imperial IPA, especially as I was easily able to put away two, even after a day of enjoying numerous various beers. The Spartacus is a brilliant beer. I highly recommend given it a try!

On Sunday the weekend was wrapped up with a quiet evening drinking a couple of Aussie craft beers, which was dominated by a couple of bottles (bought at Duncans Church St Cellars in Richmond) the latest Rare Breed release from Mountain Goat - the magnificent Double Hightail.

There was also the Arctic Fox American Pale Ale (thanks to a sample back from The Beer Boys), which is very similar in style to the Little Creatures Pale Ale and provided a very nice appearance with a decent hoppy aroma. However, the taste lacked any real depth and the beer is completely let down by the ZERO finish! The taste is pretty much gone as soon as your taste it. Strange.

Finally, I also consumed a 4 pack of Feral Brewing Hop Hog IPA (bought from Slowbeer), which has just made its way to Victoria in bottles for the first time. I have heard much praise for this beer so I was very keen to try it...and the Hop Hog did not disappoint. However, I suspect it would perform better on tap. Therefore, at some stage I'll make my way to The Great Northern Hotel in Carlton, which lays claim to being the only venue in Victoria offering a constant supply of the Hop Hog on tap.

The Arctic Fox APA has an excellent appearance and aroma, but simply lacks any depth or length.

The Feral Hop Hog IPA is very drinkable and has a refreshing bitterness.

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 - Grand Ridge Brewery Mirboo Midnight

This weekend I found myself in possession of a yet-to-be-released (hence the labelless bottle) Grand Ridge Brewery Mirboo Midnight barrel-aged Dark Ale (thanks Slowbeer!).

Following on from the Mirboo Madness American Red Ale released earlier this year, I am excited to see more innovation coming out of the grandfather of Victorian microbreweries. The long established range of beers from Grand Ridge Brewery has stood relatively unchanged for some time now...and hence possibly suffered a little from the recent influx of amazing local craft beers, providing new and unique styles and redefining the standard for local brewing quality and taste.

Therefore, I had begun to feel that Grand Ridge Brewery was unfortunately being left behind in the Australian beer renaissance, finding their beers somewhat underwhelming and even a little rough (with the exception of the very rich and enjoyable Supershine barleywine).  Even the initially awesome Moonshine scotch ale has worn off on me recently.

I believe the Mirboo Midnight may mark a return to form...

Pouring the Mirboo Midnight from a 330ml bottle into a tulip glass, this beer possesses an impressive appearance - deeply dark black with a beautiful big, frothy, tan coloured head. The head held quite well and left plenty of thick lacing as it slowly reduced.

The aroma was wonderfully strong, lead by a bitter chocolate hit, followed by malt and wooded characters, toffee, dark fruit and coffee. A great Winter ale mix.

The flavour is rich, driven by the bitter chocolate and classic malty Grand Ridge taste (similar to Little Creatures, I find that the Grand Ridge beers all share a very distinct "Grand Ridge character" across their range). I am not inclined to describe it as a "complex" taste, but there is enough going on in this beer to keep a craft-beer lover happy, thanks to the barreling of the brew.

With a full body and medium carbonation, the Mirboo Midnight provides a lovely long palate and a good clean finish. It is well balanced and the 6.5% alc/vol contributes nicely to warming Winter Ale style.

Still probably not a sessional beer, but definitely the most enjoyable beer I've had from Grand Ridge Brewery since the Supershine. The barrel-aging is clearly the key to this beer.


Yes, this is an excellent beer from Grand Ridge, maybe still a little of the top of range big and bold local craft beers of recent months, but it has restored my faith in this brewery. Hopefully we will continue to see more seasonals from them, such as this.

I understand the Mirboo Midnight may be available this Saturday during the AFL Grand Final and Grand Ridge Brewery Showcase at Mrs Parmas (event info HERE via The Crafty Pint website), which my wife and I have booked a spot for through the afternoon. Would love to try this out on tap, but I suspect it will just be the bottled version available as a prize during the event. If anyone finds it on tap...please let me know!

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)

Beer - Grand Ridge Brewery Black & Tan

Grand Ridge Brewing has a reputation in Victoria for being the premier microbrewery of the State, largly due to their highly awarded beers and long running operations, which began in 1989. Regarded as one of the originals in the now flourishing local craft beer industry, many of Australia's top brewers been given a start or "done their time" in the Grand Ridge Brewery. All credit is definitely deserved.

However, the Grand Ridge beers have never really hit me as brilliant, super tasty or complex (other than the delicously beautiful heavy Moonshine Scotch Ale, which I love). Hence, they are not on my regular drinking shopping list. Although, I must say that I have only ever drunk the bottled products from Grand Ridge...so I do really need to educate myself further by popping along to a pub (or the Brewery itself) to try them on tap.

With most of the Grand Ridge range readily available through many liquour stores these days, my desire to try the Black & Tan became strong as this particular beer continued to elude me for months. I could not find it in stock anywhere! However, on a recent trip through Daylesford to visit friends, I popped into a very happy hunting ground for craft beers - Foxxy's Liquor (Cellarbrations) on Vincent St - and there I finally found a bottle of the Black & Tan (...and also stocked up on some Red Duck – taking advantage of the awesome deal of 20% off for any 6 of Grand Ridge, Red Duck and Holgate beers! Awesome.)

The Grand Ridge Black & Tan is the first combination beer that I am aware of trialling since starting my beer journey. It combines the Grand Ridge Gippsland Gold Pale Ale and the Hat Lifter Stout, both evidently quality beers from the first sip, but not exactly beers that have impressed or delighted me.

The Gippsland Gold tends to be an "occasion & situation" beer for me. Despite all its praise and awards, I often find it hit and miss, needing the right time/place/situation to really enjoy it. The Hat Lifter stout is a good stout, but not quite as good as many of the other excellent local stouts.

Pouring a dark but lightly transparent brown colour into a pot glass, the Black & Tan provided minimal head and it only retained the thinnest layer.

The smell was of a classic fruity dark ale, with a touch of the pale ale coming through as I inhaled more deeply the second time. It was actually very pleasant on the nose, I really enjoyed the aroma.

The deep roasted barley and malt of the stout were the dominating flavours to me, with slight hints of coffee and chocolate discovered the more I drank. The taste was somewhat strange at first, probably because it was my first encounter with a combination ale. However, it kept me drinking.

Fairly low in carbonation, the beer was very light in the mouth, which I think was just the Pale Ale side coming through. I wonder if it would benefit from a slightly higher alcohol volume, which stands at 4.90%.

The Black & Tan is certainly another quality Grand Ridge beer, but maybe not the sum of its two parts. Whilst the blend is interesting, I'm not sure about the balance and my enjoyment preference is leading towards the straight beers, in the individual Gippsland Gold and Hat Lifter.

Ultimately, the best thing about this beer is that it exists. Grand Ridge has produced something quite different to what the majority of other local microbreweries are doing on a regular basis, providing a unique taste experience. And that...is excellent.

I'm keen to get down to Mirboo North someday not too far away to visit the Grand Ridge Brewery and hopefully try this beer on tap.

My next Grand Ridge mission is hunt down and taste the Supershine! Although, my more immediate future once again holds a date with the Mountain Goat Brewery to try their coveted Rapunzel...!