Rocks Brewing's Pale Ale and Byrne's Irish Red tapped tomorrow at Darlo

The Local Taphouse's own Mark Fethers is also the Managing Director (Scotty Morgan brews the stuff @ Five Islands) at Sydney's Rocks Brewing Co. As a show of support, we're tapping his Byrne's Irish Red and Pale Ale tomorrow night. Come down and help us give the kegs some punishment!

Here's a fact you may not have known (which Mark emailed me):

During the early 1800’s the Sydney Rocks area was inhabited by more than 200 legal and mostly illegal brewing facilities, usually in the home of the brewer. The early brewing product was a cross of rum and beer and highly alcoholic. As the brewing process sophisticated, “sly grog” gave rise to the more modern ale. The type of ale brewed back then depended largely on the origin of its brewer and the ingredients available to them.

Sydney's first SpecTAPular

Well we've just about recovered from a massive SpecTAPular up here in Darlo.

In bright sunshine we opened the doors to waiting beer fans and everyone was quick to grab a booklet and plot their afternoon's wander through the 20 amazing brews. About 200 people had arrived in the first couple of hours so we knew early it was going to be a massive one.

Shortly after opening the Two Up kicked off and all and sundry got stuck in with a huge roar going up after each toss of the coins. This kept the masses entertained until the sun went down.

For hours the place was packed to the rafters and by about 4pm the kegs started emptying with Emerson's Pilsner, Three Boys Golden and Stone & Wood among the first to go.

All in all a massive effort put in by all staff ended in a fantastic day and a great first SpecTAPular for Sydney.

Looking forward to the next one already.

Cheers,
Justin

Sydney clocks up its first 60 beers on tap

We're only 8 (maybe 9?) weeks old and Darlo has already clocked up about 60 different beers on tap. What was your fave so far??

Autumn SpecTAPular on Anzac Day

What a weekend! For the first time, we had a SpecTAPular beerfest in both Sydney and Melbourne Taphouses on the same day. This involved major logistics and planning, especially as we had imported 16 kegs (of 8 craft beers) from New Zealand and another 36 kegs from 12 breweries dotted across Australia. Thank to all managers and staff who were involved in making it all happen.

In both cities, I reckon at least 18 beers were on tap for the first ever in their city..

The events were a great day, especially in Sydney. Melbourne had crappy weather all day unfortunately but Sydney had a perfect autumn day... and what a crowd turned out for their first ever SpecTAPular.

Hopefully, Justin or Guy will post a slide show and post of what transpired in Sydney(as I wasn't there)..

Thanks to Doug Donellan and NZ Hops for their support of the Beerfest!

"I Am A Craft Brewer" - spine tingling video (for a beer fan!)

I just received this clip sent to me by Brad Rogers (Stone & Wood Head Brewer) which I just love. See for yourself.

"I Am A Craft Brewer" is a collaborative video representing the camaraderie, character and integrity of the American Craft Brewing movement. Created by Greg Koch, CEO of the Stone Brewing Co. and Chris & Jared of Redtail Media...and more than 35 amazing craft brewers from all over the country. The video was shown to a packed audience of 1700 craft brewers and industry members at the 2009 Craft Brewers Conference as an introduction to Greg's Keynote Speech entitled "Be Remarkable: Collaboration Ethics Camaraderie Passion." As is tradition for the CBC Keynote, a toast to the audience was offered.


I Am A Craft Brewer from I Am A Craft Brewer on Vimeo.

Last call for St Kilda Ale Stars for next Tues Session with Brad Rogers as Special Guest!

This is a FINAL call for those wanting to hear Brad Rogers talk about his new Stone & Wood beers at next Tuesday's Ale Star session in St Kilda (featuring other great Aussie ales). Tix must be pre booked as usual via the button at the top right of this blog. $25 inc beer samples and pizza.

Prof Pilsner - blog post on Road Trip

Another installment from Prof Pilsner's beer blog of some repute. This time it's about last weekend's St Kilda Ale Star Road Trip;

A picture perfect Melbourne Autumn day, one large coach (and driver), three beer-filled destinations ahead and 47 Ale Stars – is there a better way to spend a Saturday?

The Local Taphouse in St Kilda was the launching point for the first Ale Stars Road Trip and the Yarra Valley was the beneficiary of our company, our cash and our special brand of beery comedy. That is to say that the cash and the company came first, the comedy would emerge relative to the volume of beer we would consume.

Our first port of call was Coldstream Brewery for a guided tour and late morning samples of their fine small batch brews, but not before a rambling tour of Melbourne’s leafy inner Eastern suburbs before hitting the Eastern Freeway and allowing Steve to deliver the itinerary and the ‘Muck around and I’ll turn this bus right around and there’ll be no beer for anyone-don’t make me come down the back of the bus!’ talk.

As the closest thing to a ‘local’ it was up to me to point out to those around the various places of historical and cultural interest as we moved further out from the city. Loud gasps and hushed awe alike were heard as I directed attention to landmarks such as Eastland Shopping Centre, the Lilydale quarry and Car City. The majestic National Trust listed home of Dame Nellie Melba just outside Healesville was universally ignored.

Coldstream Brewery sits at the doorway to the Yarra Valley and, while from outside it looks as though it could have been a corner store in a previous life - and Shandy was surprised to find it ‘nestled amongst the servos and the sand n’ soil joint, rather than in some idyllic locale’ – it was certainly a warm and beery welcome that awaited.

Brewer Rod Williams led the halved group through the brewhouse while the other half parked themselves in the very homely bar and sampled the fruits of the brewer’s labour. Coldstream Lager and Bitter were followed by the seasonal Autumn Porter which was then transmogrified into the local version of a Black &Tan. Anybody who felt that the trip was in any way becoming like a school field trip with educational information and guided tours was soon relieved of this misgiving.

As we were about to re-board (re-embark?) the coach our little beery haven was filled to the brim with Morris Dancers – you know, hanky dancin’, noisy bells on their balls, silly boaters and antiquated English traditions? The Coldstream Cider was obviously of a very fine quality and the jolly folksters arrived en masse at the sound of the tapping of the coi-dair keg. They gave us a quick exhibition of their jaunty craft in the car park as our coach pulled out and some were heard to declare that the road trip was now really underway.

The short drive into Yarra Glen was made to feel even quicker as the now primed Ale Stars spent the time laughing, piss-taking, and providing rather well orchestrated choruses of the word ‘photo’ – or ‘phooor-tooor’ as Shandy would have it.

Hargreaves Hill Restaurant & Bar is housed in the old Colonial Bank building in Yarra Glen and despite losing the actual brewery in the Black Saturday bushfires at Steel’s Creek, Simon and his staff were able to keep us well refreshed with both his own stellar craft brews as well as craft brews from Red Hill and Temple breweries with a real treat – Chimay on draught.

The Ale Stars were then treated to a lunch fit for a King – or 47 reasonably well lubricated jokesters making fun of Shandy’s accent – and a procession of tasting glasses featuring all six tap beers. While opinion was divided on some brews (particularly those of us sipping what we were TOLD was a pilsner, but was confusingly a saison! D’OH!) The main interest lay in the noticeable difference in taste between a small sampler and a full size glass. The ratio of liquid dispersal to oxygenation regimes with a friction co-efficient factored in and the physical ratio of depth to width was commented on by nearly everybody. (Ding-Ding, tech foul)

We were fortunate to have a good hour and a half at Hargreaves Hill as this was roughly the amount of time our coach driver, Bubbly Bob, required to un-jam the bus from between the fence and the pedestrian bollard. Having 47 now very well lubricated Ale Stars offering advice and pissed giggles probably didn’t help, as it turned out. A few of us looked after him by shifting some temporary fencing. Well, it was temporary after we shifted it.

Our last stop before heading back to civilisation was the yet-to-be-opened White Rabbit Brewery in Healesville. This is a project by the Little Creatures people in WA and intends to produce just a single, ‘styleless’ beer as well as providing a nice place to stop and watch the brewing process while enjoying some fine beer. The point of difference here is the use of an open fermentation tank which is locked away in a sterile room and visible via a CCTV set up. You wouldn’t think that watching a TV showing a vat of vigorously overflowing foaming yeast would hold much interest but there were plenty of our number glued to the screen. Certainly more value in this show than in ten seasons of Big Brother.

Arguably the highlight of the road trip came next as we were fortunate enough to sample the test brew straight from the maturation tank – the first to try it after only the brewer. Can’t say you have that kind of opportunity too often.

As we loaded back onto the coach, happier but slower, plans were already being hatched for the next Ale Stars Road Trip. Steve at The Local Taphouse did a fantastic job of organising the itinerary and the details as well as managing the rather hefty tab left over due to the extra numbers attending and for all of this we are very grateful. 2009 – Re-building the Bush, One Beer at a Time – was a massive success and all agreed that a very fine and beery time was had by all.

...and we have the “phooor-tooors” to prove it.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

Great Photo Montage of Road Trip by the boys from Catsart

Thanks to Steve & Mark @ Catsart (our graphic designers), here is a great montage of last weekend's Ale Star road trip to the Yarra Valley. Cick on it to see it larger..

3 sleeps until Anzac Day SpecTAPular!

The NZ kegs are off the boat and after a sizeable logistical challenge, 60 beer kegs of 22 beers have travelled from all over the place to both Taphouses for this Saturday's Anzac Day SpecTAPular (starting @ noon).

Preparations are well underway and we now we have only 3 sleeps to go until we tap them all!

Massive weekend in Darlo

While Guy and I were galavanting around the Yarra Valley on Sat (in the name of all things Ale Star-ish), Darlo was having a massive day and night, largely due to two games taking place at the nearby SFS and SCG. While we were definitely a little overwhelmed and a tad under-prepared at times (please forgive us!) due it being the biggest day trading we'd had so far, Electra and all the staff did a fantastic job of not falling apart. Bravo..

So, next time you're at the Darlo TH on a match day, we'll be REALLY ready for youse all!

1st report on St Kilda Ale Stars road trip to Yarra Valley

I hope to post more later but here's a quick link to some photos from Saturday's Ale Star road trip to the Yarra Valley. It was great to get out of town and people to have such a fun day visiting the 3 breweries - Coldstream, Hargreaves Hill and then White Rabbit.

Thanks to all who came and Rod, Simon and Dean respectively from the breweries.

Here is Reeksy's photo slideshow..

Our (and Shandy's) photo slideshow here.

And Briony Cullin's Photos on Facebook (I think you need to be signed up to Facebook)

Beer Diva's Beer & Food dinners coming to Taphouses

I've been chatting with Kirrily (aka Beer Diva) about holding monthly beer and food matching evenings at The Local Taphouse in Darlo and eventually in St Kilda as well.

Kirrily and I used to work together in beer years ago so it was great when we crossed paths again and found that we're both still as passionate about the magical stuff as ever. Great minds drink alike!

Beer Diva holds all sorts of fantastic beer tasting events including masterclasses, cocktail parties, beer dinners, beer and cheese tasting etc. for any occassion you can think of.

So watch this space for more info on what's coming up at The Local Taphouse with "the girl who really knows beer"

3 Nerds and a Beerby

Tonight, we had two lager drinkers and a converted ale drinker in from Bartender Mag and I caught them scoring all the taps (literally) one at a time.. and on the back of this photographed coaster.

For the record, here are their winners.

=1. Trumer and 3 Ravens Dark (Rauchbier)
=3. Fat Yak APA and Bridge Rd Bier de Garde
=4. Little Creatures Pale Ale
Mountain Goat Hightail
Leffe Blonde
Coopers Sparkling

Simon & Simon (the other person wasn't called Simon so wasn't allowed in the photo)

For the clevererer ones, their least favourite beer (if I can put it like that) was BLMWB!

(PS. I've been told to say that sessionability was an important factor when casting votes)

Little Creatures Stimulus IPA coming to Taphouses

V soon (not quite sure when), Little Creatures' Stimulus IPA is coming to the Taphouses. Here's what Head Brewer Alex told me about it:

I am pretty pleased with the results. About 50BU, all cascade, real hop-sack sort of aroma. Actually so much cascade it doesn't actually smell like cascade, if that is possible? But great silky mouthfeel, good malt, and a bitterness that is a real creeper. The brewing team is stoked - given a bit of time to warm up slightly it tastes bloody great. Hope you guys enjoy it.

And here's what the marketing types said:

To make sure they keep themselves ultra busy, our crazy team of Brewers have
come out with a special one off beer.... and what have they done this time I hear you say???

Well, we can tell you it has been christened "The Stimulus IPA".

We're not to sure if this is what Kevin had in mind with his stimulus ideas, but we think this is just what we need at a time like this!

This little beauty is a combo of pale, munich and dark crystal malts to give it a touch of colour and backbone.

The new arrival of hops for the USA spurred on this latest project and are used the
whole way through the brewing of this batch. 100% US cascades... hops in the kettle, hops in the whirlpool, hops in the hopback and even some dry-hopping in the fermenter for good measure.

The brewers vote that it beats that other stimulus package going round, but we'll let you decide....all in all though we think it's a Ruddy Good Deal!

Final lineup for next Darlo Ale Stars in May

The lineup for the next Darlo Ale Stars on wheat beers is as follows:

1. Schofferhofer kristal
2. Weihenstephaner hefe
3. Weihenstephaner dunkel
4. Schneider Weisse hefe

If we get the kind of numbers as last time (or bigger), we'll probably move downstairs..

As normal, you need to book via the button on the top right of the blog. $25 include 3 beer samples and heaps of great pizza.

We get started at 7pm and it's on Tues May 5. Spread the word!

Champion Small Brewer Feral to be showcased in May

At the recent Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA), Feral Bewery was awarded the trophy for Champion Exhibitor for the highest scoring exhibitor after winning three trophies at the awards. To help them celebrate(!), we're showcasing their beers during the month of May!

The beers coming our way are Feral White, Hop Hog IPA, Pilsner and Imperial Stout (coming in at a whopping 12%!)..

The Premiers Trophy for the best Victorian beer at the AIBA was awarded to Mountain Goat Pty Ltd for their Rapunzel beer. So..... in June we'll be showcasing the Goat's finest including their Gold-medal winning Rapunzel, a strong Belgian blonde..

Gold coin entry proceeds from Anzac Day Beerfests to be donated to Raise A Glass Appeal

Thanks to the Prof (for the tip), our Gold Coin door entry for the Anzac Day Beerfests will be donated to the Raise A Glass Appeal, a new national initiative to raise vital funds for the practical and emotional welfare programs of the RSL and Legacy. The appeal aims to contribute more than $1 million to support serving and ex-service men and women, fallen veterans and their families.

The RSL provides advice and support to serving and ex-service men and women of the Australian Defence Force through comradeship, welfare assistance and commemorative activities as well as operating war veterans homes, hostels and nursing homes. The RSL also conducts widespread education programs for schools and youth.

Legacy is a voluntary organisation providing services to Australian families suffering financially and socially after the death of a spouse or parent during or after their defence force service. Currently caring for 120,000 widows and 1,900 children, Legacy assists families through practical and emotional support.

Timeout Sydney says (mostly) nice things

We were only opened less than a week before Time Out (Sydney) came a-visiting the Darlo Taphouse. Their review in this month's edition was great (5 stars) except for the reference to food which, I reckon, was a tad unfair given we were still testing dishes and very much finding our feet. Anyway, all publicity is good publicity right?!

Read the review here..

Budvar coming on tap

We're awaiting more details but it seems that Budvar is coming to the Taphouse taps v soon.. I've been told to expect it within a few weeks. I understand this is the first time in Australia. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how it travels..

Ian Watson leaving MT Brewery (QLD)

Just heard today that Ian Watson is leaving the position as Head Brewer at MT Brewery in Queensland. Not sure yet where he's off to but watch this space! In the meantime, we'll have some of Ian's Moderation APA on tap at the Anzac Day SpecTAPular..

Website upgrades - your comments welcome!

We're in the process of building our Sydney website and will also be making some improvements to the St Kilda website. We'd love to hear your feedback if you have any! Here are some of the things we're working on:

• More obvious navigation
• Better calendar
• Easier to pay for events
• What's on Tap List
• Food section
• Corporate functions
• Special Events - Beer & Food, Beer & Cheese, Beer & Chocolate
• Staff members
• Improve Ale Stars section

Add your comments here..

Final call for this Saturday's Road Trip to the Yarra Valley (VIC)

This Saturday, we're going on a Road Trip to the Yarra Valley to check out 3 of their finest breweries! It should be a heap of fun and the $70 cost includes beer samples, lunch and the coach trip. You can read about the whole itinerary etc here. We still have some seats on the coach left so get in quick. Do not delay!

Great night at Darlo Ale Stars

What a fantastic night the inaugural Darlo Ale Stars proved to be. The full house sign was up as nearly 50(!) Sydney beer lovers spilled out of the Louvre Room, but that only added to the vibe of the night.

The cornerstone of a great Ale Stars night is killer beers, and our selection of English Pale Ales did not disappoint. From the pantheon of great English Pale Ales l present to you -
Timothy Taylor Landlord, Fullers London Pride and Samuel Smith Old Brewery Pale Ale. All wonderful beers, each displaying a particular nuance of the style. And just to mix things up we tried the Meantime London Pale, which proved the misnomer of the evening. From the fresh burst of citrus hops on the nose, the Meantime announced itself as an American Pale Ale. A lovely beer on its own, it also served to illustrate the clear differences between the two styles.

So l trust (and hope) a great night was had by all - l certainly enjoyed it. Great to meet new beer lovers and, as a proud Melbournian, great to see the incredible turnout of Sydney punters. See you next month and book your ticket early

Cheers AG

First Darlo Ale Stars Session a blast

Last Tuesday was the first ever Darlo Ale Star session (on English Pale Ales) and what a night! We will post a longer report shortly but it was so much fun. We had almost FIFTY punters squeezed in to the Louvre Room upstairs (we were expecting perhaps a dozen or so in Wilfred's Room!) with a great mix of people.

Thanks to everyone for showing up in such numbers and especially AG for his hosting prowess. It's very exciting to see so many Sydney beer lovers joining us on the Great Beer Adventure!

Here are some photos and you can see the full slideshow here...

Ale Star Tsar AG

Karen, the inaugural (tech)bell ringer!

The boys with the night's beer 'podium' (aka lineup)

Shameful behaviour from DB in New Zealand

I just came across a post on BeerAdvocate.com which links to an article in the Waikato Times.

NZ Brewing Giant DB Breweries have threatened legal action against Dunedin microbrewer, Green Man, for using the term Radler in selling one of his beers. Trouble is, as many of would know, Radler is a beer style for a low alcohol beer/lemonade blend originating from Germany!

Basically, the term 'Radler' should never have been allowed to be trademarked (it's against the Intellectual Property Office's own rules of customary use) but it appears DB sneakily took advantage of the Office's lack of beer knowledge. They should have done their research, of course, but DB would have known exactly what they were doing.

And then there is this humdinger:

"Ironically, while Green Man Radler is true to style, Monteith's Radler is not. At 5 per cent alcohol by volume, it is twice the strength of a genuine radler."

Naturally, DB have now rolled out the spin doctors..

April Brewery Showcase - Bridge Road Brewers

We are very excited to announce the Bridge Road Showcase has begun in Melbourne (and now Sydney). First cabs off the rank are Chevalier Saison, Chevalier Biere de Garde and Celtic Red Ale. Still to come are Aussie Ale, Bling IPA and Bavarian Wheat.

For those of you who haven't tried one of these gems from Beechworth - here's some info on the brewery.

Once famous for its beer and hotels, Beechworth is again alive with the smell of malted barley, hops and fermenting yeast.

Established in 2005, Bridge Road Brewers is a unique Australian Boutique Brewery, located in historic Beechworth in North- East Victoria. A region renowned for its produce, natural beauty and heritage.

Small Batch Brewing with premium quality ingredients ensures this brewery produces hand- crafted ales of the highest standard.

Enjoy...

Anzac Day SpecTAPular - Lineup announced!

After much effort, and thanks to New Zealand Hops, we're able to announce that our Autumn SpecTAPular will be held this coming Anzac Day in Melbourne and, for the first time, in Sydney.

In the spirit of NZ and Australian co-operation, the Anzac SpecTAPular will feature 8 of New Zealand's finest craft beers on tap for the first time ever in Australia as well as 10-12 great Aussie beers, some on tap in both cities for the first time (such as Stone & Wood's Draught Ale and Wig & Pen's Venom Double IPA)!

We are now planning the food and entertainment (the latter in St Kilda only) but it should be a great day running from midday (from the opening bell) until 1am. A gold coin donation is all that is required to get you in the door.

As is usual practice, we will only have one keg of each beer on the day so get in early..

The lineup so far is as follows:

NEW ZEALAND
1. Pitch Black Stout (Invercargill)
2. Organic Pilsner (Emersons)
3. Golden Ale (Three Boys)
4. Dakota Dark Schwarzbier (Wigram)
5. IPA (Tuatara)
6. Wobbly Boot Porter (Harringtons)
7. Golden Tusk ESB (Pink Elephant)
8. Stonecutter Scotch Ale (Renaissance)

AUSTRALIA
9. Draught Ale (Stone & Wood, NSW)
10. Venom Double IPA (Wig & Pen, ACT)
11. Hop Hog IPA (Feral, WA)
12. Sunshine Coast Dunkelweizen (QLD)
13. Barking Flamingo Framboise (Matilda Bay, VIC)
14. Dirty Angel Porter (Flying Horse, VIC)
15. Vale Ale (McLaren Vale, SA)
16. Moderation Pale Ale (MT Brewery, QLD)
17. 5IBC Barbeerian Wit (5IBC, NSW)
18. Lobethal Red Truck Porter (Lobethal Bierhaus, SA) - TBC
19. Temple Special Bitter (Temple Brewing, VIC)
20. Mountain Goat Surefoot Stout (VIC)