Stone & Wood serve it's first beers

Ross, Brad and Jamie at Stone & Wood Brewery poured their first beer (a Draught Ale) last week according to their blog. I'm looking forward to sampling it myself at some stage although this first stage is just for Byron locals as they tweak the beer recipe..

Hi Everyone

Grab a mate and head to any of the great watering holes in Byron Bay for a fresh Stone & Wood off the tap. After two and half years we are pouring our first beers tonight at the Great Northern and The Rails in Byron. So if you are in the area and keen for a beer......."two schooners of Stone & Wood thanks".

Another video from Murrays Brewing Co

After the last video from Murray's, they've told me about this other video featuring new Head Brewer, Shawn Sherlock, sampling their new Wild Thing Imperial Stout which is causing a lot of excitement on beer forums (you might need to register to read).

It's been a while

I've been run off my feet, what with the Sydney Taphouse coming along, Guy coming aboard full time, busy trading in St Kilda and moving into our new office mezzanine in St Kilda. The latter hasn't had the A/C installed yet so it's like a bloody sauna. The staircase doesn't go in until next Friday so at the moment we're using a ladder!

Anyway, I'll try and post a few updates over the coming days.. We've got a some great beer news. We are showcasing Murrays Brewery beers in January (most for the first time on tap in Vic), Glenn Cooper will be attending the Coopers Club night on Dec 11 instead of Dr Tim Cooper, Red Hill's Christmas Ale will be on tap v soon and we have sourced some kegs of the outrageously delicious Weihenstephaner Hefe..

Would you trust this man to serve you a beer?

Last night was a cracker. The weather was mild, the joint was packed, the beer was flowing (especially Fat Yak) and Sim's Holiday Adventure were rocking downstairs. Bring on summer...

Oh, and makes sure you pledge a donation to Justin for his Movember efforts (above). It's for a very good cause. You can donate by going to http://au.movember.com/donate/donate-search.php and enter my reg no. (1877611)

See the full set of photos and video here.

Rogue Ale tasting session photos

Thanks to Ale Star Ronan, here's a photo from the Rogue Ale tasting session on Nov 6. You can see a slideshow of them all here very soon.

What's in a name?

Having discretely watched (and listened) to many punters at the bar last night choosing a beer to order from the 20 taps on offer, it completely confirmed my view that a name that stands out in a good way will always aid the sale of that beer (after that the beer itself will need to impress). MB's new Fat Yak was killing it last night for instance.

I know it should all be about the beer, and some people may prefer breweries to just name it a pale ale, or whatever, but from someone who sells the stuff, an interesting and punchy name makes a world of difference (along with a sexy glass).

What are the great names of Australian beers in recent times (regardless of their quality)? For starters, I'd include The Beast, Growler, Icon and Wicked Elf on my list..

Microbrewers plead for tax breaks

MICROBREWERIES could get generous tax concessions under a plan being considered by the Federal Government to help the industry compete with beer giants Foster's and Lion Nathan.

Small breweries are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with their much larger rivals as consumers cut back on discretionary spending and opt for cheaper, mass produced beer.

While lobbying by the microbreweries about this important issue has been going on for some time, the most encouraging aspect of this article which appeared in today's Melbourne Age newspaper is the Federal government's noted response.

Video tour of the Chimay brewery

This is a fairly dry but interesting enough video tour of the Chimay brewery hosted by Father Thomas, Director of the Brewery.

Taphouse Sydney update

Well, here are a few photos from The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst which I took yesterday. It's a very busy time organising everything but, as you can see, things are coming along nicely albeit not as quickly as we would like (as we wait for various council approvals). I'd love to think we'll be open in time for Christmas but it's more likely that the ground and first floor will be open in Jan sometime.

Guy left The Leasing Centre yesterday and will now work full time across both Taphouses (yay).

Fat Yak finally on tap

The fattest Yak I could find on the web.

After months of anticipation, Matilda Bay's new Fat Fak (US-style) Pale Ale was launched last Wed and was tapped @ The Taphouse yesterday. I was in Sydney so couldn't make the Melbourne launch but I hear a long and fun day was had by all. I haven't yet tasted this final version (I was lucky enough to try two earlier brews) so I'm looking forward to checking it out. Any other reviews are welcome. MB kinda have two APAs now with the original Alpha Pale Ale and this new, less robust, version of the Alpha which is designed to compete with Little Creatures Pale Ale..

PS. 15/11. Fat Yak is FLYING out the door.. definitely our fastest selling showcase beer out of the 120 we've had since we opened.

Local in Barcelona

One of our long term Locals, Eli P, has been travelling the world for the past couple of years. In Barcelona last week, she emailed me these pics taken at a Local there. Apparently it also has a great vibe but, unfortunately, not the beer range!

New posters and event calendars launched

Thanks to the Ale Stars @ Catsart Design in St Kilda, we now have professionally designed posters around the bar and a monthly calendar of events available for download! You can download November's here!

Rogue Ales Tasting Session

Last Thursday I rushed back from Sydney for the Rogue Ales tasting session. It was the first time the renowned Rogue Ales had been available for a tasting session before they go on sale around the country. To help us profile the beers was BJCP accredited judge, Lachlan Strong, and Shandy. We sampled 10 of the many styles Rogue brew - only one was less than 50 IBUs (Bitterness Units)! My faves were the Brutal Bitter, Shakespeare Stout, Double Dead Guy Ale and Old Crustacean Barley Wine (11.2%!).. Photos to follow.

Thanks to David @ Innspire for working so hard to get the stock off the boat and down to us from Brisbane as quickly as possible.

We will be selling a select range of Rogue bottles from now on.

Video: The making of an Icon (Murray's Icon Imperial IPA)

I hope to post more video clips of our own as well as others in future. Here's a short one I've found showing the process of brewing Murray's Icon Imperial IPA.. Interesting and fun. (Icon will be on tap at The Local Taphouse Darlinghurst when we open)

If you've come across any video clips you think might be interesting, please let me know.

'Hottest 100' Aussie Brews online poll begins!

Diligent beer lovers consider their voting choices.

In conjunction with our 2009 ‘Summer SpecTAPular’ beerfest on Australia Day Eve, The Local Taphouses in Melbourne and Sydney (if open in time) will be running the inaugural 'Hottest 100’ Aussie Brews poll in honour of Triple J's 'Hottest 100' annual tradition and open to lovers of better beer across the country.

The 'Hottest 100 Aussie Brews' online poll will open November 1st 2008 and close at midnight Sunday January 18th 2009. The final 100 beers (listed from #100 to #1) will be announced at the SpecTAPular with a case of each of the top 5 beers given away as door prizes.

A randomly selected voter (from anywhere in Australia, you don’t have to be @ the Fest) will win a case of each of the top FIVE beers. If you’re at the SpecTAPular on January 25th when the announcement is made, you’ll win a case of each of the top TEN beers. That's a LOT of great beer to enjoy!

In the poll, you simply list your top TEN hottest Australian beers of 2008 (with #1 being your favourite Australian beer). We will collate all votes to come up with the 'Hottest 100 Aussie Brews'.

International beers brewed under licence here are excluded. You can only vote once and anyone caught trying to influence the vote will be burnt at the stake - it's a bit of fun so don't spoil it for the rest of us!

To enter the poll, click here.

Tweaking the taps

Now we're coming in to the warmer months, we've tweaked the taps a little. We'll now have 6 rotating SHOWCASE taps where we get one or two kegs of something to try. If any of these go nuts, we'll probably find a way to slot them in as a regular tap for a while..

Coopers Stout and Bright Staircase Porter will take a hiatus for the summer but hopefully we'll see them back in 2009.