Darlo Ale Stars - beer lineup for next Tues

Here's the lineup for next Tuesday's first ever Ale Star session in Darlo on English Pale Ales:

1. Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale
2. Timothy Taylor Landlord
3. Fullers London Pride
4. Meantime London Pale

See ya then!

Brad Rogers (of Stone & Wood brewing fame) locked in for next St Kilda Ale Star session

Brad Rogers, formerly Head Brewer of Matilda Bay Brewery and now brewing at his own Stone & Wood Brewery in regional NSW has been confirmed as Special Guest at the next Ale Star session in St Kilda. Needless to say we'll be sampling some of their new Draught Ale and learning all about the passion behind the man, the brewery and his beers.

Brad will also be around for the Anzac Day SpecTAPular beerfest on Saturday 25th (where Stone & Wood will be on tap for the first time in Melbourne). More to come on this very soon..

Ale Stars (and others interested) note, however, that to accomodate Brad coming down from Byron Bay, we have moved the session to Tues April 28th (not the normal 3rd Tuesday of the month)

A few more photos from last week's St Kilda Ale Star session

More photos.. or you can see the slideshow.

Ale Star Tsar Shandy holding fort.

Steve's trip to New Zealand's South Island

A couple of weeks ago, after we finally opened Darlinghurst, I headed to New Zealand's South Island for a bit of R&R. I'd visited once before but was again reminded of how stunningly beautiful the country is. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that, in some parts, every corner of the road brings a staggering view. And the roads are largely empty! I HAVE to go back there and do a motorcycle tour one day...

Ostensibly I was there for a family reunion and a quick break but I did get the opportunity to sample some of NZ's better microbrews. Pound for pound (and per capita), NZ certainly appears to be fighting above it's weight when compared to Australia. We already had looked into getting some of the better beers on tap at the Taphouse and this just encouraged me even more.

Lake Wanaka

I picked up interesting (and some exceptional) beers in better bottle shops along the way and imbibed in the most picturesque spots. Lake Wanaka is one that springs to mind. I had done all the requisite wandering around this little town (including finding another Local!). My wife and mother, however, were keen to do more shopping but, having spotted what looked like an above average bottle shop (Wanaka Fine Wines), I arranged to meet up with them later on. I bought bottles of Epic Ale, Renaissance Porter and several others I can't remember. I also bought a wine glass and a bottle opener (fashioned as a Kiwi and found in a tourist shop) and found a spot right on the lake. It was a beautiful day and for 1 hour I completely blissed out.

Another Local - this time in Wanaka!

I also visited a couple of beer focussed venues the day before I flew home. I'd been to the Dux last time I was in Christchurch so was keen to check out The Twisted Hop which turned out to be a great spot. Well designed venue with a nice outdoor space (helped on the day I was there by glorious sunshine) and a few interesting beers, some of which are pumped from an engine.

The Twisted Hop (Christchurch)

Self sampling the Twisted Hop Sampling Paddle.

Hours before I flew home, I also dropped in to the Thirsty Weta. While it was closed I got to meet one of the owners (I think his name was John) and I loved his passion for showcasing NZ beers. They had a pretty impressive range both in bottle and on tap. He also gave me a business card which hopefully will come in handy (watch this space).

Finally, I picked up the following beers at The Thirsty Bloke Bottle to take home with me: Three Boys wild plum ale, Wigram Dakota Dark, Renaissance Porter, Green Man Whisky Bock, Epic Mayhem, Pink Elephant Imperious Rushin Stowt, Green Man Strong. Next week I'll sit down and start sampling!

All in all, a bloody fun trip. With flights so cheap at the moment, get yourself over there. Maybe next year we could arrange an Ale Stars Road Trip to New Zealand????????

Almost half of Road Trip tix sold in first 4 days

In just four days, we have sold almost half of the available seats/tix for the St Kilda Ale Stars Road Trip. We know of quite a number who want to come but haven't booked yet so hurry up as we start promoting it in the venue next week!

A couple of good reviews for Darlo and a fun night - we like that!

What an awesome night we had in Darlo last night. Big crowd and big vibes. It's so cool to see so many Sydneysiders trying better beer! We're getting more organised every week but we certainly didn't expect to have such busy nights so quickly. Thanks for your support and feedback, including the constructive which we is helpful.

Here are a couple of reviews/profiles on Darlo which have been put online this week.

Australian Bartender Magazine and Best Restaurants of Australia

St Kilda Ale Stars Session - Prof Report!

Here is Prof's report from his OUTSTANDING beer blog (Beerblokes - go on visit it!) on Tuesday's St Kilda Ale Star Session. Sounds like he's a sore loser to me :-)

People often ask me about beer. It’s not as if they stop me in the street and say; “Hey, aren’t you Prof. Pilsner? Tell me all about beer!” or anything like that, it’s just that if you stand around in the same place for long enough, holding a beer the whole time, people get an impression. I’m fine with that. Passion and beer, hand-in-hand.

So, just because you happen to do OK in a beer trivia quiz, and then you follow that up with another reasonable effort – in a team situation, mind you – and then you just happen to make passing mention of this fact on a little-read beer blog, well, that’s no reason to be singled out and publicly ‘outed’ as a beer-smartarse, is it? No, I didn’t think so either.

Shandy and Steve kicked off the latest instalment of Ale Stars by welcoming the newcomers and telling the assembled crowd that I was too clever and whichever team I happened to be on would be punished by beginning the quiz with a two point handicap. Luckily beer people don’t take themselves too seriously! (Plus, you’ll need more than two points to take me out!! Bastards!!)

Now, I know I usually devote the bulk of this review to describing the beers we tried, the opinions forwarded along with reporting the usually fair and un-tampered-with results of the beer trivia quiz (including any outstanding efforts like if someone has never been on a losing team and has, say for example, only got three questions wrong ever) but this time the review is different. Because Ale Stars is different. Something has changed. The beers themselves are important, but not THAT important. We are no longer a group of strangers who happen to turn up in the same place on the same Tuesday every month and sample beers – friendships have formed and some now meet up beforehand for SUBS and catch up with others and others again stay back afterwards and have a couple of sneaky afters and shit is talked and fun is had and groups have joined up to form larger groups. And isn’t that what beer is all about? Isn’t beer great!?!

For those unable to make the night, here are the details. The very well organised Shandy had arranged the perfect evening to suit the English Pale Ale style. A perfect Melbourne Autumn evening – grey, drizzly and a little gloomy – just like a balmy English summer day, really. In a recent post we looked at Desert Island Beers and the first picked by Shandy was Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. This was our first up beer and I can see why he could have this for the rest of his life. By the way, it's not the Tim Taylor from 'Home Improvement'. There you go.

Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Pale was next up and with this one feelings were a bit mixed, particularly for those fortunate enough to have had any of these beers on tap or, better still, hand pulled from the cask. A lively debate on Northern vs Southern preferences, sparklers and hand pumps and all things Ale-y followed as we moved to a Fuller’s London Pride and finished with a Worthington’s White Shield. You can find out more about all the nice beers we had by contacting Shandy or visiting your local beer shop!

Veteran Ale Star Ben then led us on a merry Show-And-Tell about his recent international sporting tournament win in Perth recently. It’s not often that you get to share beers with an actual international sporting title holder – and this was no exception. More on Ben’s efforts in more detail in a separate post.

As the beer flowed and the groups chatted the news was announced that the next Ale Stars would be the long awaited ‘Road Trip’ – The Ale Stars take on the Yarra Valley in a bus Tour 09. Coldsteam Brewery for samples, Hargreaves Hill Restaurant & Bar at Yarra Glen for lunch (and beer) and finishing with the new (so new it ain’t even open yet!) White Rabbit Brewery out Healesville way. Nice! I can hear the laughter already.

As is now the case, Ale Stars finished off with a mingling of Ale Stars around the bar and beyond with beer chat a-plenty and plans being made for the road trip. A special mention to the new faces on Tuesday night (about 8 or so) who all seemed keen to return and to the recent-new faces who ween’t scared off too much and came back. And an extra special mention to Chris and Shandy’s new mates (names I’ve forgotten) who are hearing impaired – having to translate Shandy’s Scottish/Aussie into understandable English, then translate that into non-tech laymans language, then translate that into Auslan while drinking at the same time... top effort, boys. Sorry, TOP EFFORT, BOYS!! Just kidding.

A quick final mention and congratulations to the team known as Ready, Set, Drink who won the trivia quiz when the ‘winners’ (Taphouse staff) disqualified themselves for only having two members on their team when Shandy specifically asked everyone to form teams of FOUR OR FIVE!!! Tsk, Tsk. Nevermind, as I’ve stated here before, the results are not important, it’s all about fun. And only missing two answers and then with two more points deducted STILL came second to a team who cheated. Hmmm? Good effort, that.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

Autumn SpecTAPular on Anzac Day - Big News Coming!

Watch this space but our next seasonal beerfest (autumn) is on Saturday April 25th so will thus be known as the ANZAC DAY SPECTAPULAR. The lineup of beers will be impressive including some sweet exclusives. More very soon!

St Kilda Ale Stars - annual Road Trip locked in for Sat April 18!!!

Calling all St Kilda Ale Stars (and anyone else interested)!

The first annual Road Trip has been locked in for Saturday April 18th. It's going to be blast as we coach it down to the Yarra Valley and visit Coldstream Brewery, Hargreaves Hill restaurant/bar and the yet-to-be-opened and innovative White Rabbit Brewery.

The day costs only $70 which includes the coach trip, lunch and samples of beers at all three stops. The only other costs will be any additional beers you want to purchase. We may look at making a t-shirt for the occasion which you can order on the day at extra cost.

To book, you MUST prepay via our website blog (top right corner) via Paypal or credit card and remember that numbers are limited to just 45 so don't wait around!

Invite your friends, family, lovers, husbands, wives!

Here's the itinerary:

10am (sharp: Depart The Local Taphouse for Coldstream (75 mins)

11.15am – 12.30pm: Coldstream Brewery – sample their lager, bitter, porter and cider (4 x 120ml samples). Optional tour brewery and chat with brewer Rod. Purchase any more drinks if desired.

12.30pm – 1pm: Travel from Coldstream to Yarra Glen

1pm – 2.30pm: Lunch @ Hargreaves Hill restaurant in Yarra Glen (brewery burnt down in Victorian bushfires). Also sample their ESB, Pilsner, Hefeweizen and new Dunkelweizen (6 samples in total). Meet brewer Simon Walkenhorst

2.30pm: Travel from Yarra Glen to Healesville

2.45pm: White Rabbit Brewery in Healesville. Sample their beer and have tour of brewery (and open fermenters!) by brewer Dean McLeod

4.30pm: Depart White Rabbit Brewery for St Kilda

6pm: Arrive at The Local Taphouse

Menu for lunch @ HH (you choose 1!):

• Burger with a herbed beef patty, housemade caramelized onion jam, bacon, tomato and baby cos
• Pale Ale battered fish with chips, rocket salad and lemon aioli
• Salad of char grilled asparagus, avocado, pine nut, with oregano and ash goats cheese
• Spring Bay mussels pan tossed with pomodoro tomato sauce, garlic and chilli.

First ever Darlo Ale Stars Session on Tuesday April 7

Join the Darlo Ale Stars on the 1st Tues of every month and learn about better beer in a fun, social setting. Our first ever session is all about English Pale Ales. All welcome and it starts at 7pm!

$25 includes 4 beer samples & pizza. You must prebook via our blog (top right hand side - make sure you're not paying for a St Kilda Ale Star session by mistake!)

Hop Harvest at Red Hill Brewery this Friday

HOP PICKIN’S ON!

Harvest at Red Hill Brewery is this Friday 27th March, 9am sharp start. They will be providing morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea and of course cold beer!

Please wear old clothes as hops are oily and will stain your clothes. Please also wear long sleeves as hops are scratchy, we will be providing gloves. Bring along a camping chair and don’t forget your hat and sunscreen, it looks like a nice day, 21deg.

RSVP essential, info@redhillbrewery.com.au or call Emma on 5989 2959

Darlo Profile in SMH this morning

Click here to read our first newspaper profile for Darlo which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning. We're obviously pretty happy with it, especially given we're only 17 days old and are still tweaking many things!

Bridge Road and Mountain Goat lined up for Brewery Showcase April & May

Bridge Road Brewery (VIC) followed by Mountain Goat Brewery (VIC) are lined up to be showcased in April and May respectively.  Expect to see their best beers (and perhaps a one-off batch) on 3 taps at the one time in both Darlo and St Kilda..

That will mean that we'll have had Murrays (NSW), Colonial (WA), Barons (NSW) and these two Vic breweries for the first five months of '09..  

We have ideas for other brewery showcases and even regions/countries to focus on but any suggestions/recommendations are always welcome!

More photos of Darlo

There are apparently a few articles about the Darlo Taphouse coming out (hopefully none savaging us!) and here are some photos taken which have been sent to us..

The Louvre Room upstairs

One of the lounge rooms upstairs

Wilfred's Dining Room

Louvre Room

Downstairs Bar

Louvre Room upstairs

Taphouse Tippers (AFL) - payment now working

We've been told that the Taphouse Tippers (AFL) payment site wasn't working so I've just fixed it. You can find out all the info you need here.

Remember, the season is about to start and you've got to have signed up before the START of Round 4..

St Kilda Ale Stars - lineup for next Tuesday (not tomorrow)!

Just a reminder that the St Kilda Ale Stars session is not happening tomorrow but NEXT Tuesday. It will be all about English Pale Ales and more than likely feature the following four beers:

Timothy Taylor Landlord
Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale Ale
Fullers London Pride
Worthingtons White Shield IPA

As per normal, it's $25 which includes beer samplers, pizza, beer trivia etc etc!! You must prebook via the top right hand side of this blog..

New "Beeraholix" website

The guys from Aussiehomebrewer.com have launched a new website called Beeraholix. Their idea is to create a site that grabs info, news and stories from all the existing beer websites out there in one easy to follow and keep-an-eye-on place.

It's got an Aussie focus and isn't limited to any one area of beer (such as commercial brewing, homebrewing, retailing etc.) it's more of an all-things-beer kind of site. I just visited the site, and it's pretty damn good!

What a bloody great idea! No longer will we need to trall the web for all the current news and stories, but we'll be able to check it all out with one simple visit to Beeraholix! Love ya work!!

Barons Showcase

Jeff, Richard & Simon at the Barons Showcase

We kicked off our first brewery showcase at The Local in Sydney tonight with 3 first-released beers making their way to the showcase taps.

It was great to see so many of the local brewing folk making their way to the bar to sample the range. Sam and Drew from Swartz Brewery, Scotty from 5 Islands and of course Richard from Barons were all there. There were also lots of locals enjoying the variety and just in for a drink and a chat.

Some locals enjoying a beer and a chat...

But what about the beers?..

The three new brews on offer were the Honey Bock, Summer Ale and Hop Mother.

We all decidedthat the Honey Bock was "dangerously drinkable" at 7.3% with surprising dryness and Richard confessed it had fermented longer than initially intended. Too many of these and you could be in all sorts!

The Summer Ale was very accessible and I can see it having a more mass-appeal. Some woody finishes and rather light bodied from the use of both malted and unmalted wheat.

The Hop Mother was my favourite for sure. I'm somewhat of a hop-head at times and this had a fair bit to it at 47.5 IBUs (International Bitterness Units for the non-beer geeks among us, Andy where's that bell?) tipping it into the more bitter end of the American Pale Ale spectrum. The generous use of Nelson Hops gave it one of my favourite flavour profiles...I'm a big fan of those piney and summer/tropical fruit flavours...it was definitely a hit with me.

More locals...

Electra and the crew all seemed to be enjoying the night too and it's great to see everyone settling in a bit now that we've officially been open 2 weeks....to me it feels like a year already!

The Barons showcase taps will all be flowing until the kegs run out so get in and grab a pint while you can!

Mardi Gras 2009!

Well we managed to survive the madness that was Mardi Gras!

With the parade coming right past our front door we braced ourselves for a huge one. It was all on deck for our staff - some of whom had only worked 2 or 3 shifts with us. There was also Jeff, Guy and myself looking after things and Clauds up from Melbourne to give us a hand. And then there were the 'ring ins' some of whom come to help us out at less than 24hrs notice.

We spent what was a quiet afternoon getting ready and watching people arrive to get a good spot parade side. And then at about 7 the crowds started flowing in. They kept flowing in and we were almost full for five or six hours, with queues up the street for a while. The cheesy tunes were pumping and the dancefloor went off. Some of the outfits were eye openers to those of us who hadn't experienced mardi gras before, as were the dance moves.

It was a great effort by everyone and a fun night had by all. Here's few pics and more will be on flickr soon. Cheers.

Belgian Beer Cafe (Eureka) having beer tasting

St Kilda Ale Star Chris Fletcher (and from Belgian Beer Café Eureka) emailed to let me know about a little beer tasting they're having on the 14th and 15th of March. They will have around EIGHTY different Belgian beers available to taste including the Leffe 9 and an aged Kriek Lambic. Get down there if you can!The Belgian Beer Cafe Eureka is holding its 5th Belgian Beer Experience on the 14th and 15th of March.

Here's more:

The Belgian Beer Experience is held twice every year, once during the Good Food and Wine Show and again later in the year on Belgian National Day. The Belgian Beer Experience is your $40 passport to get to know some of Belgium's finest beers withan opportunity to sample 10 different beers from the 80 on offer with food samples to compliment each style.

You will also have the opportunity to pour yourself a draught beer using the Belgian 9 step pouring ritual before enjoing a traditional Belgian waffle.

The number of tickets are limited to make for a more comfortable tasting session.

More information and session times can be found at www.belgianbeercafemelbourne.com

Baron's calls all Squadron members to Darlo next Thursday

This appeared in the Barons Brewing missive out this morning

The Local Taphouse- Barons available this month
Thursday 12th March
From 6pm
The Local Taphouse
Cr Flinders and South Dowling Sts Darlinghurst www.thelocal.com.au Check website for St Kilda Taphouse details

Put this date in your diary. Named ‘The best beer bar in the land’ by Willie Simpson, Author of The Beer Bible, Steve, Guy and the gang have decided to replicate the success of their St Kilda bar and set up another Taphouse in Sydney.

Barons is honoured to be the showcase brewery in both venues this month; pouring Barons Honey Bock, Barons Summer Ale and Barons Hop Mother. These beers may never be repeated so get along and try them all. Come on Thursday, March 12th for a special evening at Sydney's best new beer offering. Enjoy the three specialty beers on tap in what is sure to become a staple hang-out for Squadron and Barons alike! Barons' Head Brewer, Richard Adamson will be there to run you through the beers. All welcome!

The inaugural Darlo Ale Stars session set for April 7th

With Andrew 'AG' Gow now at the helm as 'Ale Star Tsar' in Darlinghurst, the first Darlo Ale Star session has been locked in for Tuesday 7th April from 7pm!

These sessions are all about getting to know more about beer in a fun and informal way. All are welcome. Cost will prob be the usual $25 which will include 4 beer tasters and pizza. The session may incorporate old St Kilda faves such as Special Guests, Beer Trivia etc..

Keep an eye on the blog for more information as it's finalised and/or text your name and 'Darlo Ale Stars' to 0447-LOCALS.

Hargreaves Hill beers available again

After the horror episode of the bushfires, it's great to see Hargreaves Hill ESB (and other beers) are available again. The current batch has been brewed at Red Hill Brewery so plaudits to David and Karen there for helping out.

HH's ESB is already on tap again in St Kilda and will be shortly on tap in Darlo..

Oh, and a donation of $7000 from the Benefit Gig was made to HH just the other day. There may be a little more but we are waiting for final commitments to trickle in.

Beers coming up in Darlo

Another pallet of beers has just left St Kilda destined for Darlo.. Here's a list of the beers next off the bench in Darlo then:

Barons Summer Ale (NSW)
Barons Honey Bock (NSW)
Barons Hop Mother APA (NSW)

The above are part of the Barons Brewery Showcase which is launched on Thursday March 12. Read more here and come along if you're in Sydney as it should be a good night.

2 Brothers 'Growler' Brown Ale (VIC)
Holgate Temptress Choc Porter (VIC)
Holgate Hopinator (VIC)
Hargreaves Hill ESB (VIC)
3 Ravens Blond altbier (VIC)
Mountain Goat Fancy Pants
Hunter Kolsch (NSW)
Murrays Sassy Belgian Blonde (NSW)

Thats pretty F@#$ing impressive!

Its great to see punters wander in to our new venue and get as excited as we are about it... We had a visit from Jason - a home brewer from Brisbane - last night who was in town on business and made a beeline for the Taphouse as soon as he could. He approached the bar, looked up at the beer list and, amazed, asked if all 20 listed beers were on tap. The answer was of course yes and he simply turned to the bar tender and said "thats pretty f#&%ing impressive".

Jason then went on to call mates from Brisbane to Melbourne (one of which wants a Local Taphouse in Brisbane right now) to read them the list of beers he had at his disposal and embarked on a tasting paddle of the biggest beers we had to offer including the Feral Razorback which went down a treat at 11.5%.

Guy and I gave him the royal tour and his other descriptions of the bar included F#%&ing phenomenal, bloody awesome, and you've got to be joking!

Nice one Jase - we look forward to seeing you again. Cheers, Justin & Guy

First weekend in Sydney

Downstairs bar.

Upstairs louvre room.
Upstairs bar.
Steph & Nik.
Wilfred's Dining Room.
The first guys to drink samplers of all 20 tap beers in one session!
Well, we finally opened the doors about 7pm last Thursday night in Darlinghurst and we were almost too exhausted to celebrate! Here are a few photos (happy snaps taken with my cam).. We'd been pulling in monster hours trying to open the doors so it was a relief more than anything when the time came. Justin (Venue Manager in St Kilda) has come up for the first two weeks of trading to help out. Electra, our new Sydney Manager, only starts today so JJ will work with her for the next week before heading South.

As per the St Kilda opening, there are many things on our list of things we still need to do before we're entirely happy. We didn't have a Grand Opening for this reason and hopefully we can introduce these changes quickly. The overwhelming response has been really positive and encouraging.

The good news re the beer that about 8 of the beers on tap had never been seen on tap in Sydney before so that was kinda cool.. Thanks to all those who turned up and gave us their feedback. Thanks also to all the staff for their efforts..

Next weekend is Mardi Gras so that'll be interesting!