Beer Bar Band: purvis cellars

Friday, December 10, 2010

Beer - December Tasting Events

Summer is here and it is a magnificent time to be a craft beer lover in Melbourne, with a bunch of tasting events over the next couple of weeks providing the opportunity to experience some amazing beers.

I am locked in to attend two such events, both are after-hours tastings in speciality beer shops (Purvis Beer and Slowbeer) and both providing equally exiting line ups and excellent value:

PURVIS BEER - STRANGE AND UNUSUAL BEER TASTING
When: Wednesday 15th December 2010
Where: Purvis Beer Richmond, 292 Bridge Rd, Richmond
Time: 7pm - 8pm
Cost: $30 per head

Mikkeller Drink Your Sorrows Away
Mikkeller Oatgoop
Nogne Sweet Horizon
Nogne Red Horizon
Nogne Dark Horizon
Red Duck Ugly Duckling Braggot
Nogne Imperial Dunkel Wit
Sunshine Coast Chilli Beer
Brewdog Abstrakt AB:02
De Molen Revelation Cat Triple Hop Bock
Heather Ale Grozet Gooseberry & Wheat Ale
Heather Ale Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale
Mikkeller Nelson Sauvignon
Brewdog/Mikkeller Divine Rebel 2009 & 2010 Editions

More info on the Purvis Cellars website at: http://www.purviscellars.com.au/Tasting.aspx

SLOWBEER - JOLLY CHRISTMAS TASTING
When: Sunday 19th December 2010 (also on Wednesday 15th December)
Where: Slowbeer, 63 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn
Time: 7pm – 8:30pm
Cost: $30 per head

Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper
Delirium Noel
St Feuillien Noel
St Bernardus Kert
Chouffe N’ice
Baladin Noel
Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus
Red Hill Christmas Ale
Hunter Christmas Beer

More info on the Slowbeer blog: http://slowbeer.blogspot.com/

I believe that these tasting events may already be mostly booked out…so if you are keen to go along, check the above links for the details then get in contact with these shops asap to secure a spot.

Sticking with Slowbeer's Christmas theme...another super exciting event is Biero Bar's "A Nightmare Before Christmas" party. After their successful "Fright Night" event for Halloween, which debuted the first publicly available brew from the soon-to-open Moon Dog Brewery (an Imperial Pumpkin Stout), this next event will feature a very Christmasy brew from the Moon Dog team...an Imperial Gingerbread Brown Ale!

BIERO BAR - A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS PARTY
When: Thursday 23rd December 2010
Where: Biero Bar, 525 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
Time: from 6:00pm til late
Cost: FREE!

"Celebrate with live bands, mental tap beers and a crazy horror Christmas theme not to mention another one off beer from those boys at Moon Dog!"
Tap line-up still to be finalised, but will include some crazy extreme beers with a Christmas horror theme, such as the Moon Dog Brewery Gingerbread Brown Ale! There has also been whisper of a Plum Pudding Rum Stout(!!)...but you'll have to get along on the night to see if that happens...

More info on the Biero Bar Facebook event page...and keep an eye on their recently-super-improved-and-now-awesome website.

Also happening and recommended...

RED HILL BREWERY - "HOT SUMMER NIGHTS" BEER APPRECIATION SESSIONS
When: Saturday 11th and Saturday 18th December 2010
Where: Red Hill Brewery, 88 Shoreham Rd, Red Hill South
Time: 6:30pm
Cost: $35 per person for tasting session (dinner and drinks extra)
Bookings essential: call 03 5989 2959 or email info@redhillbrewery.com.au

"Guided sessions, hosted by brewer, vertical tastings of previous vintages from the Brewers Secret Stash, matched to special dishes. Followed by dinner...Red Hill Brewery style."

More info in the Red Hill Brewery newsletter at: http://www.redhillbrewery.com.au/newsletter/dec_10.html

And for the taste of something new, Victoria's most recently opened microbrewery - Mornington Peninsula Brewery - are bring their beers up to Melbourne for a free Friday afternoon tasting at Purvis Beer on Friday 17th December, from 4:30pm. A little more info about this tasting can be found on The Crafty Pint website.

I tasted the Mornington Peninsula Porter for the first time at Biero Bar on Wednesday night ($5 pint night!) and very much enjoyed it. It is quite a straight forward porter, true to style, rich and robust without being overwhelming or too malty. It has decent hints of dark chocolate and a little something else, a spice maybe, that I found hard to place (probably due to earlier enjoying a pint of BrewDog Hardcore IPA!).

Monday, April 12, 2010

Beer and Bars - Weekend Catchup

I am quickly learning that being a craft beer enthusiast (especially being relatively new to the scene and therefore having so much to explore) is a very expensive adventure. With a constant flow of new stock hitting the local beer retailer, along with a number of bars currently showcasing spectacular rare brews on tap, it is time for me to step back and reclaim my credit card for a few weeks, after a relatively indulgent month or two.

Having said that, whilst I may be drinking some cheap (hopefully not macro!) beer for a while into the foreseeable future, I certainly have plenty of blogging to do during that time, with a backlog of delicious beers that I have enjoyed and reviewed (on paper) recently.

The weekend just past began with a Friday Beer-O’clock dash to Purvis Cellars, where I punished my credit card with:

2 x568ml “pint” bottles of the new Little Creatures single batch IPA - another excellent local IPA, very smooth and easy drinking, definitely sessional, but not as good as the recent Mountain Goat Rare Breed IPA.
Flying Horse Bar & Brewery Whale Ale and Savage Seagull - very happy to see the Flying Horse beers now in bottles and on the retail shelfs. Have heard much about this well awarded Brewery down Warrnambool way, but had so far only been able to taste their Dirty Angel, which has been a tap regular at Mrs Parmas for a while now. Both the Whale Ale and Savage Seagull were very enjoyable.
Hawthorn Brewing Amber Ale - missed this at the recent Microbreweries Showcase because they were all out by the time I reached their table, so I was keen to try one out. It was good but maybe a little unbalanced. To me, the Hawthorn Amber does not quite stand up against the many other excellent local Ambers that are currently available (especially after I had enjoyed a pint of the Red Duck Amber Ale eariler in the day)
Bridge Road Brewers Hans Klopek's Hefe Weizen – I suspect this new Hefeweizen is replacing the Bridge Road Bavarian Wheat, which I wasn’t a fan off. However, the Hans Klopek is certainly a nice Hefeweizen, which I think could make for a excellent “breakfast beer” and can't wait to try it on tap somewhere.

Friday night we returned to the Mountain Goat Brewery (honestly, can’t get enough of the place) for drinks with friends. We also finally took the time to have dinner there, courtesy of the Goat Bar’s scrumptious pizzas, including the “Broc’n’Roll” and “Vege Patch”. I drank:

Rapunzel - regular “Blonde” version (still loving every mouthful of this small batch Belgian golden ale)
Randy Hightail - infused with Galaxy hops through the Randall (hoppy delicious! such a taste is a great example of why Galaxy hops are so popular among Aussie brewers at the moment.)

I must say (sorry)...I was somewhat concerned about the growing number of high-heels and short-skirts (it was a cold night!!) present at the Goat Bar. Were they just being dragged there by their boyfriends for a quality pre-clubbing drink? I hope so! The Mounain Goat Brewery clearly welcomes all for a top evening of excellent beer and relaxed conversation in a family friendly atmosphere...however...I would prefer the “fashionable young things”, who may be looking to make a loud mess somewhere, stick to the place that everyone knows is already a “problem” (…the CDB).

Sorry about that…back to it...

Mrs Parmas is another place I that I can not get enough of, thanks to their relaxed space, super food and...most of all....their superb Victorian-microbrewery-only beer taps lineup. It was our dinner destination on Saturday night.

Whilst waiting for our friends to join us, I enjoyed a pot of the Bridge Road Brewers Beechworth Pale Ale (always good as a “first drink of the day”). Next it was a pint of the Red Duck Amber Ale, which I have drank from a bottle before but never on tap. My previous (bottle) experience with this beer was good, but nothing overly special. Therefore, I was delighted at how much better the tap version seemed to me! The Red Duck Amber provided lovely caramel/toffee aroma and a full and deep taste. Great pub drinking!

Over dinner I drank a pint of Flying Horse Bar & Brewery Dirty Angel, which was perfectly matched to my Kalamata olive chicken parma.

All in all, another sensational weekend (helped along by my footy team, Essendon, actually winning a game) which finished all too quickly. Not a bad beer was had, so I encourage all to check out and enjoy: