Band - The Drones (Coopers 'Sounds After Dark')

Why hello there! Long time no see. Yes, I've been missing-in-action for a little while thanks to the wonderful distraction of getting married and having an all-too-brief honeymoon. But now we can resume standard programming...because there is a great deal of catching up to do!

First, here is a post that I prepared earlier, but never quite finished and therefore did not post...until now...

Gig: The Drones - Coopers' Sounds After Dark (presented by Inpress and PBS-FM radio)
Supports: Batrider, The Dacios
Venue: Inpress Warehouse, Abbotsford – Free gig
Date: Saturday 17th July 2010

Over the last few months, South Australian macro-brewery, Coopers, had been running a promotion for their Dark Ale, providing a competition to win tickets to their "Sounds After Dark" secret shows, headlined by one of my favourite local bands, The Drones.

The requirement to enter this competition was that you must first buy a Coopers Dark Ale (at one of a handful of Melbourne pubs), receive a scratchie with your purchase, then SMS code on the scratchie to enter the competition for the gig tickets.

As a relatively new yet passionate Drones fan, I was all over the competition right away, which lead me to making a detour on the way home from the city one night to buy a Coopers Dark at Wild Oscar's in Richmond.

In a bit of a farce, the bar staff were without the scratchies and a bit unsure how it all worked, despite the bar being covered in paraphernalia for the Sounds After Dark promotion. Nonetheless, I drank my Dark Ale then headed home...thinking I would just try one of the other nominated pubs (over in Fitzroy) the following weekend. However, in the meantime, I emailed Coopers to let them know my experience with their little promotion (careful when you disappoint a Drones fan!)...and woah...I was surprised with a prompt, cheery and apologetic response...notifying me that my name (+1) had been added to the winners list...and hence I was in to the Sounds After Dark gig! Rock on, Coopers!

The "secret show" was held on a Saturday night at the Headquarters of streetpress magazine, Inpress, which is an Abbotsford warehouse, a short tram ride from home (...awesome...I love a close-by event!). The wife and I had been to the Inpress building before (to pick up prizes from competitions entered with Inpress)...and it is also very close to one of our favourite coffee cafes/suppliers - First Pour (Veneziano)...however, this was our first peak inside the warehouse.

It was the first official gig to be held in the Inpress Warehouse and I thought the space made an awesome little venue. Very rock, very Melbourne.

Support acts Batrider and The Dacios opened the night with big sounds to warm the crowd.

Watching Batrider made me feel like they would have been the type of band you would have found in the 1980s Melbourne underground post-punk-rock scene (à la Dogs in Space).

The Dacios were very robust. Upbeat and more than a hint of heavy-alt-country. Two good young and raw support acts, appropriately setting the dirty rock scene for the headliners.

Batrider

The Drones hit the stage around 10:30pm and played a non-stop hour of faithful Drones repertoire, pleasuring and deafening all present.

Opening big with the awesome "Jezabel", it was clear that the crowd was full of Drones lovers and general appreciators of such awesome alternative rock.

Shark Fins Blues was as beautifully brilliant as ever, and everyone knew the words to "Minotaur".

Fan favourites "I Don't Ever Want To Change" and "The Freedom in the Loot" certainly had the crowd singing along in full voice and shaking along like a beer soaked crowd will do.

Strangely (maybe), The Drones are not easy to like...yet they are so easy to love!

Sonically, the band is terribly raw, rough, dark and often super loud in a fucked up way...which all works so beautifully!  As noted on the Wikipedia article about them..."Their sound has been described as The Birthday Party kick the shit out of Neil Young in Hendrix' garage."

Lead vocalist, Gareth Liddiard, isn't a singer (that is...he does not have an "Australian Idol" signing voice) but no-one else could so perfectly front this band. Gareth vaguely reminds me of Stevie Plunder from the original lineup of The Whitlams.

Maybe it's just because they are everything I like about local rock music - they are musicians, they are storytellers, they are dark and raw, they are very Melbourne Rock.

Two guitars, bass, drums. Pure rock. The Drones totally rock me.

Alternatively...it may be that they are just so far from the boring excessive commercial shite that the world doesn't need any more of.

Anyways...if you want to get into The Drones...I highly recommend buying their 2005 album Wait Long By The River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By as well as their most recent album - Havilah - it's special!

The Drones seem to play out a set effortlessly, yet always with energy and passion, proving how in-tune they are with each other. They rock fluidly from song to song, despite every live performance always providing a slightly (or sometimes significantly) different twist on every song they play. Tonight was no different. Another great gig all round...and I'll even forgive the bands for the hearing damage (again)...because it was a top night out in Melbourne.

Of course, I can not conclude without mentioning the drinks.

A little makeshift bar was serving Coopers beers (naturally) throughout the gig.  On tap there was the Dark Ale and the Pale Ale (Coopers Green). A a small selection of basic wine and pre

I don't mind Coopers. They are generally the best choice for a macro-brewed & commercially driven beer in Australia, due to their family owned-and-run Australian business. The Cooper's primary beers - Red (Sparking Ale) and Green (Pale Ale) - have a fairly good standing in Australia and they are quite unique in the marco-beer landscape in that they have plenty of taste, unlike the majority of bland big-name beers.

The Coopers beers also do go down alright, but I don't find them overly sessional. The main issues I have with Coopers beers is that they always tend to leave me with a very rough sore-head hangover the next day, as again happened after this night out (which is why I'll stick with chemical&preservative free craft beers).

Coopers Dark is fair (certainly better than anything produced by the LionNathan crowd) but essentially just tastes like a malty macro lager. My favourite Coopers beer is the easily the Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale, which I am currently cellaring one bottle from this year's Extra Strong Vintage batch to see how it performs a year later.

Rock on...

Beer - Slowbeer Growlers and Mikkeller Y Pale Ale

Last weekend saw the long-awaited introduction of growlers at my favourite local beer shop, Slowbeer. This is a very welcome development for the craft beer lovers of Melbourne, Australia.

I believe a number of microbreweries around the country have been offering growler services via their brewery "cellar doors" for sometime. However, the slowbeer2go growler concept seems to be a first for beer retailers in Australia...certainly the first I have come across...and what an exciting concept it is!

The key purpose of the growler is to allow the shop purchase of beers that are primarily "keg only" brews, where the brewer has created a beer for pubs and bars only and/or as a limited small-batch and therefore not bottled it for retail sale. This can mean that a number of exciting and worth-trying beers and being produced around the world but are out-of-reach to those who are not local to the brewer or unable to travel for whatever reason. A growler service, where the beer is provided to the retailer in a keg, certainly changes that scenario...opening a whole new door in accessibility to awesome beer.

Further benefits of the concept, which I greatly value, are the environmental and economic savings provided by growlers. With no packaging costs or waste, all you are paying for is the beer (after the initial fee to buy the physical growler) and no extra glass and labeling is being produced and discarded.

To learn more about slowbeer2go, check out the Slowbeer blog post at: http://slowbeer.blogspot.com/2010/07/slowbeer2go-is-go-growlers-filling-as.html

The best part about Slowbeer providing growlers is their determination to do it right. Not satisfied by simply filling up the growlers via the tapped keg, Chris has been careful to establish and test a process for providing the freshest and most true-to-form draught experience possible (especially in terms of sustaining carbonation) for us, the passionate beer drinking customers. As noted in the Slowbeer blog, they have acquired a "beer gun" to allow the empty growler to be first purged of oxygen via a burst of carbon dioxide before and after filling.

The beer gun also ensures a smooth and steady filling of the growler, avoiding any overflow and allowing it to be filled the appropriate capacity, rather quickly.

Unopened, the growler should keep acceptably in your fridge for 3-5 days. Once opened, the growler will give your beer a life of about 24-48 hours storage, which is surely more than enough time to succumb to the temptation of drinking and sharing excellent beer. When ready to refill the growler, all you need to do is return to the Slowbeer shop, where they will swap you with a clean and cold growler, filled on the spot with the latest supply. Too easy!


The first offering of slowbeer2go was the Mikkeller Y Pale Ale - a 5.9% abv American Pale Ale, produced by the Danish brewer as they work their way through a series of Pale Ale varieties.

Poured into a stein glass, the Mikkeller Y looked very appealing, cloudy red-brown in appearance, with a small but thick and creamy off-white head.

The aroma was very strong, providing a robust fruity floral hit with some sweetness, maybe hints of pine too.

The Mikeller Y has a very big taste, lead by a lovely big hoppy flavour, which balances nicely into a well-rounded palate of hops, malt and various fruit tones after a few mouthfuls. Quality drinking.

Whilst I agree with the Slowbeer notes - that this beer is tending more towards an IPA (certainly in appearance and taste) - it still possesses the light-to-medium body and carbonation of a Pale Ale and was also wonderfully smooth and balanced in the mouth.

To me, this is a very sessional beer. Even with such a big flavour...it is easy drinking, consistent and full of flavour. I really enjoyed it!

A brilliant start to my growler experience, which left me in a very happy and satisfied place. I'm very thankful to Slowbeer for bringing this new beer adventure to us.

Now, I wait in anticipation to hear what will be pouring next at Slowbeer!

One shiny new and full Slowbeer growler.

A stein of Mikkeller Y Pale Ale ready to drink whilst watching the footy.

How not to drink your growler!

Beer - Three Boys Oyster Stout

As a big fan of the local Mussel Stout produced by the Bellarine Brewing Company, I was very keen to try out the Oyster Stout from New Zealand's Three Boys Brewery as soon as I learned of its existence a few weeks ago.

The recent online chatter surrounding this beer has been very complimentary, in particular due to the use of genuine Bluff oysters (Tiostrea chilensis) in the brew. Therefore, my expectations were quite high and hence the temptation drove me to purchase a bottle asap, which I picked up from Slowbeer on Saturday afternoon.

Pouring from the 500ml bottle into a pint stein glass, the beer was near black in colour and provided a delightful big thick tan coloured head that settles over time, with a small amount of quality lacing. Full marks for appearance.

The strong aroma provided an enticing stout presence of roasted malts and some coffee. My nose did not find any clear oyster scent. However, there was certainly something of an unknown element that my nose is not educated enough to interpret. Later I figured it to be something of a "sea" type smell, maybe a salty element.

The taste was complex and quite sharp in an enjoyable way. Full of lovely malts and roasted flavours, with a rounded edge to the stout's classic bitterness.

The more I drank of the Oyster Stout the better and richer it became, as the taste clearly grew in excellence towards the bottom of the bottle. I also started to discover a more apparent oyster character towards the end.

Despite such sharply rich and complex taste, it is actually beautifully smooth in the month, with a medium body and carbonation, making it very drinkable.

The only detractors for me were that the alcohol did not quite seem balanced enough, even though the alc/vol percentage is only 6.2 and also, I was hoping for a stronger, more warming oyster flavour.

All in all, it's an impressive stout (just not quite exceptional in my mind) that provides another quality drinking experience. However, I could have easily drunk two of three of these because as soon as I finished the 500ml bottle, I was ready for more!

Indeed, another brew to drink slowly and savour, allowing your mouth and mind to enjoy the full impact of its complexity. Most of all, I congratulate Three Boys Brewery for making an excellent beer using real & expensive oysters in the brew! That is indeed true "craft" beer, made to please (not just to make money).

In closing, I must note that I drank this Three Boys Oyster Stout after drinking a pint of the Mountain Goat Rare Breed Surefoot Stout, which I found incredibly enjoyable (will review fully soon). The Rare Breed Surefoot Stout trumped the Oyster Stout for me, primarily because of how well rounded and balanced I found it. Nonetheless, both are fantastic stouts that I would recommend to all, especially during these cold Melbourne Winter days.

Bar and Beer - Holgate Brewhouse / Keatings Hotel, Woodend

Over the recent Queen's Birthday long weekend, whilst staying with our friends from Daylesford, we headed back to my sentimental favourite Victorian microbrewery, Holgate Brewhouse in Woodend, for dinner and good great beer.

In recent times I have found that many craft beer drinkers have mixed feelings about the Holgate range. But, everyone to their own, Holgate's malt driven and creative range has always worked wonders for me (...except for the White Ale, which I've never been a fan of...but that's more a style-specific thing). Maybe I am a little biased, due to my sentimental connection with Holgate Brewhouse, which comes from the fact that their pub was my first real experience with microbrewed craft beers when I was starting my craft beer journey a couple of years back. Nonetheless, I believe my local craft beer experiences have provided me with a clear enough perspective on quality beers to not allow favouritism or hype significantly impact me.

In contrast to the current craft beer market that seems to be strongly favouring hoppy beers, the Holgate brews are definitely malt-centric and therefore often posses smooth caramel flavours and biscuit textures. However, you cannot deny the excellent craftsmanship and product quality of the initiative Holgate beers. Further, I think their Double India Pale Ale - Hopinator - is often under rated by the beer market.

I love the Holgate story, the passion and brewing philosophy of the brewers and their work to support the local industry and their regional town. Despite personally being very familiar with (and a regular drinker of) their regular range of beer for some time now...I'm still always very happy to return to the Keatings Hotel pub at any possible opportunity. However, there was extra incentive on this occasion with two new beers available on tap - the UXB and Brick Kiln Road Wheat Beer - plus the promise of a Randall hooked up to one of the taps.

We arrived at 6:30pm to a bustling pub and full restaurant. Clearly, the patrons were enjoying a lazy Sunday evening of excellent food and beer. Thankfully, we had pre-booked a table for four, which was ready for us on arrival, hence we were seated immediately and straight into ordering drinks.

First up for me was a pot of the new small batch from Holgate, the UXB, in a 285ml tall pot glass. The UXB (as in "unexploded bomb") is an Extra Strong English Bitter, using Holgate's AIBA Gold Medal winning ESB with 20% extra malt and hops and a 6% abv. The result is a wonderfully malty and complex ESB, full of flavour and very easy to drink.

Pouring a dark golden-brown with a beautiful creamy caramel head, which left plenty of lacing. As the appearance suggests, the UXB gave a rich malty and caramel aroma. In the mouth the UXB is silky smooth, medium bodied and very nicely balanced. The taste provides plenty of sweetness with good citrus hops notes.

An added bonus of the UXB was its perfect match with the goat curry, with green beans and potato, that I ordered for my main. The generous and flavoursome goat curry worked extremely well as restaurant beer food.

After drinking 2 pots of the UXB, I could have easily continued and put away several more, but I was keen to also try the randied Hopinator. Recent tweets by Holgate had alerted me to the presence their Randall, so I was very happy to find it in action during my visit (...although sad to have missed out on the randied Road Trip IPA!).

The Hopinator tap was being fed through a modest little Randall infuser, filled with Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin hops, providing an extra fresh and powerful hop hit for the already hoppy 7% abv Hopinator. Delicious!

Also poured into a tall 285ml pot glass, dark amber in colour, with an excellent frothy cream-coloured head, the randied Hopinator was surprisingly soft and easy to drink and well rounded in the mouth for such a strongly hoppy brew. It was a wonderful step up from the UXB, with quality pine notes and a long bitter finish. As with the UXB, as soon as I finished the first randied Hopinator I was immediately ready to enjoy another...and therefore I was quick to order and down a second.

My other-half drank a pot of the Brick Kiln Road Wheat Beer with her dinner. The tasting notes describe this new Holgate offering as an "unfiltered winter wheat beer", it provided the classic clove and banana aroma and taste of a Hefeweizen. From the small taste I had, it was very tasty and enjoyable, quite comparable in quality to the excellent Red Hill Wheat Beer.

To finish, we enjoyed a pot each of the luscious and award winning Temptress chocolate porter, which I have raved about many times before...and it never fails to please.

Overall, it was another top night at Holgate. The meal was simply delightful, with everyone very satisfied by their food and drinks.  The service was great and the atmosphere was perfect for a relaxed Sunday evening.

After bustling with activity when we arrived that evening, the pub and restaurant were surprisingly quiet when we headed off a little before 9pm.

Of course, on our way out I picked up some takeaway beers from the bar - a 6 pack of my favourite, Big Reg, and a mixed-6 of 2x Double Trouble, 2x Hopinator and 2x ESB.


Here are a few more snaps from our evening...

We dined in the main restaurant room out the back.

The front bar of Keatings Hotel...aka the Holgate Brewhouse.

Three mouth-watering taps - Hopinator (through a Randall), UXB and the Brick Kiln Road Wheat Beer.

The humble Holgate Brewhouse Randall (not as pretty as Mountain Goat's Randy).

Holgate's most widely distributed brews - Mt Macedon Ale and Pilsner - plus the brewery-only The Mild One (3.5% abv English ale)

Hand-pump taps for the Temptress and ESB - Gold Medal winners at the 2010 AIBA Awards.

Since we have a great time on each occasion that we visit Holgate, my fiance and I have made the mental note to stay there for our first wedding anniversary next year, utilising one of the Accommodation Packages on offer, so we can experience the full joy of a longer stay.  Although, hopefully I won't be waiting that long to revisit Holgate for another round of drinks! Cheers!

Finishing off with the always irresistible Temptress chocolate porter for dessert.