Amsterdam's remarkable beer bikes

I just found this article about a bike (pictured above) in Amsterdam which is a mobile bar!! You can read about it here.

The Locals softball team? Express your interest here.

Sometimes, you just need to find a new reason to drink beer.

This summer, we're looking at starting up a mixed slow-pitch softball team - The Locals - for customers and staff . I've played in this comp before and it's a lot of fun and a great excuse to get together for a beer afterwards..

If you're interested in playing at Faulkner Park, South Yarra, from Wednesday November 12 for 13 weeks (games start at 6.45pm and last about 1 hr 15 min), post a comment here.

We will organise t-shirts and the registration costs $700 for the team (about $45 if we get 15 players)..

We'll have to stop at 15 guys & gals so don't hesitate..

Batter up!

Slideshow from the Ale Star 1st BD party

Here is the slideshow of Prof's photos from the St Kilda Ale Stars first BD party..

Paul Mercurio's Beer & Chilli Feast postponed

Due to puzzlingly slow ticket sales (where are you Ale Stars and others??!), we have decided to postpone the Paul Mercurio's Beer & Chilli Feast in both St Kilda and Darlo. We will announce new dates as soon as possible.

We're committed to running these beer dinner events so to help us better promote them, please give us your feedback as to why this one didn't tickle your fancy!

If anyone has booked, we'll contact you ASAP to arrange a refund..

St Kilda Ale Stars - what is the best beer of the last year?

The Prof has invited St Kilda Ale Stars to vote for their favourite beers of the past 12 sessions. Sounds like fun! You can comment and name your faves on his Beer Blokes blog here.

Willie's new beer book a cracker

When in Hobart the other night, I bought a copy of Willie Simpson's new coffee table book, The Australian Beer Companion.

Separated into state sections, the book covers more than 100 of Willie's favourite Australian breweries and traces each brewery’s history and their range of beers, and showcases their beer label through a feature called ‘Behind the Label’.

It is a cracker and I highly recommend it. You can buy it here or at good bookshops.

St Kilda Ale Stars Celebrate first Birthday

Steve, Shandy and Guy.

Last Tuesday saw the St Kilda Ale Stars celebrate their first birthday.. When we launched the Ale Stars we had about 8 people around a table yet last week we had 52 regulars turn up to help us celebrate.

Thanks to everyone who attends the sessions, JJ and the staff and especially to Shandy who has done a brilliant job in hosting the nights. I really feel that we've succeeded in our aim of fostering a real community feel to the Ale Stars. Long may it continue!!

As is now the custom, Prof Pilsner has filed this stellar report on the night at his Beer Blokes Blog..

A Brew(m) with a View - Our Visit to Moo Brew Brewery, Hobart

The morning after the night before and we headed a little out of town to visit the Moo Brew Brewery at Moorilla Estate. Having had their beers on tap occasionally (including this month's Brewery Showcase in both St Kilda and Darlo), it was nice to finally put a face to the name of Head Brewer, Owen Johnston (OJ).

OJ gave us a guided tour of the impressive MB buildings and brewery, all of which have stunning views over Hobart's Derwent River. In addition to the brewery, there's a winery, function centre, cellar door, fine dining restaurant, outdoor stage for concerts and a new multi-million dollar museum is being built. They soon expect it to be Tasmania's second most popular tourist destination after Port Arthur!

Head Brewer since the brewery opened, OJ clearly loves his job (and who wouldn't!), is enormously proud of MB beers (justifiably so) and told us about some the exciting plans for the future. We also sampled the Pale Ale, Pilsner and Hefe from the tanks.. For the record, the beer he's most proud of is the 08 Imperial Stout!

With the tour over, we sat down for an exquisite lunch and a few MB beers. Then finally off to Hobart 'International' Airport and home to a colder-than-Hobart Melbourne!

Thanks OJ for the hospitality and comp beers. Keep up the great work!

Owen pours us a young hefe from the tank.

The view from the brewery out over the Derwent River.

A Trip to Hobart for the HOPSters beer night

Well, after much talk for many months, I finally attended the HOPS beer night in Hobart to have a sociable beer with Willie and see how their night compares to our own Ale Star sessions. Along for the ride came JJ and fellow Ale Stars Mark and Stephen from Cats Art.

HOPS (or Hobart Organoleptic PractitionerS) is a regular gathering of beer fans in Hobart that recently celebrated its SIXTH year.. The main man who runs the show is beer author, beer journalist and brewery Willie Simpson (or Baron Wilhem von Biermeister as he calls himself!).

It's not unusual for them to have 90+ punters turn up (the last meeting they turned 20 people away) so having braved a Tiger budget flight from Tullamarine, we got to the New Sydney Hotel (publican: Big Al) good and early. The New Sydney is regarded as THE place with the greatest beer selection in town and it had a great 'locals' atmosphere.

The HOPS gathering was, by their standards, a smaller turnout of 65 or so people but the people I spoke to thought his number was better and allowed for more mingling (and beer for them I imagine)..

The showcased beers on tap were Hazards Ale (an old HOPS favourite and Tassie’s oldest craft brew), White Rabbit, Seven Sheds Elephants Trunk (strong Belgian style ale) and Van Dieman Pale Ale from Tassie’s newest craft brewery. For the record, the blow-ins unanimous favourite was Willie's own Elephant Trunk (and that's not currying favour)..

The main difference between an Ale Star and HOPS session was the focus more on drinking and less on appreciation/learning at the latter. They literally only move on to the next beer when the 50 litre keg is emptied! That means a considerable amount of beer is drunk during the night - and the HOPSters love it..

It was a very sociable and fun night that continued downstairs in the public bar after the formalities were over.. Thanks to Willie and the HOPSters for having us. We hope we can return the hospitality some time soon..

Apparently with only 65 attending it was a quieter Hopsters.

Stephen, Mark, Willie Simpson, JJ and moi.

Baron Wilhem von Biermeister on his pulpit!

Darlo Ale Stars - style and line up announced!

Great news everyone! I've just got off the phone to Shawn Sherlock, Head Brewer at Murray's Brewing. He's coming down to join us on Tuesday 1st September for this month's Ale Stars...

...and he's bringing some of the sensational Murray's Grand Cru with him!

So you won't be surprised when I tell you that this month's style is Belgian Pale Ales.

And here's the line up:

Duvel

Murray's Grand Cru

La Chouffe

Leffe Blonde

Last Tuesday was also St Kilda Ale Stars' first birthday and it was an absolute cracker! Happy birthday St Kilda Ale Stars!!! If any of you get a chance, ask Steve how his head felt yesterday... I'm sure he'd love to share it with you ;-)

We'll also be announcing the details of the much anticipated annual membership. Looking forward to seeing you all there! I think this is going to be a pretty special one so make sure you book early...

Beer Diva - Beer & Food Tasting - Darlinghurst - Wed 26th Aug

Despite the gorgeous weather Sydney has been experiencing and that we all may be thinking that Spring has sprung, we are holding on to Winter for just a tad longer! To see Winter out in style for 2009, our beer line up includes a number of fabulous winter warming ales, matched perfectly to winter fare. The Local's showcase brewery, Moo Brew, will also feature in our line up... because they are incredible beers!

We will be tasting 8 beers, matched to 5 delicious courses of food, all for only $60.00 per head!! A great night, with great beers, great people and a lot of laughs!

There are a few places left, so book now on the right habd side of this blog (bookings are essential so that we can cater appropriately).


Our beer line up for next Wednesday is:

• Moo Brew Hefeweizen
• Bridge Road Chevalier Saison
• Stone & Wood Draught Ale
• Kostritzer Schwarzbier
• Two Brothers Growler Brown Ale
• Moo Brew US Pale Ale
• Five Islands Shark Oil IPA
• Brewboys Ace of Spades Stout

We kick things off at 7pm.

Ale Star Membership packages launched

At last Tuesday's Ale Star session in St Kilda, we finally launched the annual members package and had an amazing 32 Ale Stars sign up!!

The introductory deal (to be intro-ed in Darlo soon) includes an Ale Star shirt with your own AS number and name embroidered on it, your own engraved mug, your own glass locker (with key), entry to all Ale Star sessions for the next 12 months plus discounts on other other Ale Star events (such as Road Trips etc). All this for an introductory offer of $250 per year!!

We hope to inaugurate the first Ale Star annual members at the next session..

For those who want to join, we will soon have a form you can download on our website.

Bright Brewery Bright Lager Lands At The Local

Something special has been happening up in the Victorian Alps.......

And I'm not talking about this years great ski season. Bright Brewery, after many requests have finally released The Bright Lager!

"This refreshing lager is made from all natural ingredients, with none of the artificial junk that leaves you feeling seedy. Bright Lager is as fresh and natural as the mountain town where it’s brewed: Bright. It features grain grown on a farm just down the road from the brewery, and hops from the local Alpine Valleys.
Bright Lager is delicately hopped and light on the palate. The flavour is reminiscent of new season apples and a subtle honey aroma is also present alongside the grainy characters you expect from a lager. While the lengthy fermentation and maturation time may frustrate the brewer, it rewards us with a beer that is so drinkable it should probably come with a caution. To preserve the fresh taste it is unfiltered and no clarifying agents are used. And the brewers wore only natural fibres and played acoustic music through the brewery sound system while brewing it."

Still not convinced? Well get on down to you nearest Local Taphouse and try it for yourself. And if good wordplay isn't enough, heres the sex appeal, A Bright Brewer in the Buff -

Darlo beer fans - Do you support our roof terrace proposal?

The City of Sydney is currently reviewing our appeal to develop the roof terrace of the Darlo Taphouse. As a committed and responsible neighbour, we are sensitive to the impact on our local
community and believe we have addressed all known concerns in our application.

Rendered images showing how the proposed roof terrace would appear.

If you are supportive of the development, we’d greatly appreciate it if you could send a personalised email to the Council Planner expressing your support before August 19th. If you have any concerns, please email us so we can discuss them.

The planner's name is Meagan Kanaley and her email address is mkanaley@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. You must refer to our case file number 2008/1415A and any response to email should refer to the issues in the application - namely noise, heritage, amenity, opening hours etc. Here's a link about the process if you're interested!

If you want to know more about what we're proposing, here are some relevant links:

1. Planning Appeal Letter (City Plan)
2. Acoustic Report (Marshall & Day Acoustic Engineers)
3. Heritage Response (Rod Howard & Associates,
4. Site Plan (Archmedia)
5. Plan of Management
   

Paul Mercurio's Beer & Chili Feast tix on sale!

Thanks to Matilda Bay, everything's locked in for Paul Mercurio's Beer & Chili Feast in both St Kilda and Darlo. Dates are Wed Sept 2 in St Kilda and Wed Sept 9 in Darlo (both from 7pm).

Paul be presenting 6 different chili dishes cooked with (and matched with) 6 craft beers.

Tix are just $80 and you need to prepay with your credit card (see top right corner of this blog). Spaces are limited and this will be great fun so be quick!

http://thelocaltaphouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/paul-mercurios-beer-chilli-feast.html

Beer & Cheese Experience for the beer lover - a few spots left!

Hi All!

Just a quick one to let you know that we have a few spots left for the McIntosh & Bowman Cheesemongers Beer & Cheese experience.

I was lucky enough to be at the last one where Claudia McIntosh took us through 12 amazing cheeses. I'm a cheese lover and I can honestly say I've never before tasted such amazing cheeses! Fresh cheeses, aged cheeses, blue, goat, sheep, you name it, the flavours were exceptional.

Matching them with 6 of Australia's best craft beers took the experience to a whole new level!

For example, the combination of the fresh Jannei Bouche Noir (an Australian goat's cheese rolled in ash) with a Hefeweizen was completely different to combining it with a crisp German Pilsner. The same was true with almost every combination that Claudia took us through.

Claudia sources the best of both local and international cheeses many of which the average person will never have the opportunity to try (with a price tag of up to $140 per kg!).

If you're keen, you can book via the right hand side of this blog. The details of the evening are:

When: 7pm-9pm, Wed 12th Aug 2009 (& every 2nd Wed of the month after)
Where: The Local Taphouse, 122 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst
Cost: $90 Inclusive of GST

Hope to see you there!

August Brewery Showcase - Moo Brew of Moorilla

Moo Brew on tap! Excited? So am I. Straight from the Island State to your palates.

The talk of Tasmania, Moo Brew (not Ben Hilfenhaus), is on tap at both venues.

Brewed in the most picturesque of locations at Moorilla on the Derwent river, Moo Brew's finely crafted brews are brewed in accordance with the Reinheitsgebot.

Four of their excellent brews will be on tap at both venues, including:

Moo Brew Pale Ale, a fruity American Pale Ale.

Moo Brew Hefeweizen, a traditonal Bavarian wheat beer.

Moo Brew Dark Ale, a homage to the great American Brown ales.

Moo Brew Imperial Stout '09, this years batch fresh from the brewery.

So come on down and enjoy one (or three..) of these great brews while they're still on the mainland.

St Kilda Ale Stars - 1st Anniversary Extravaganza lineup

We're planning on celebrating the first birthday of the St Kilda Ale Stars with a cracker session featuring seven (that's right - SEVEN!) of some of the favourite beers of the past year!

Here's what is confirmed:

Weihnstephaner Hefeweissbier
Timothy Taylor Landlord Strong Pale Ale
Samuel Smiths Famous Taddy Porter
Schlenkerla - smoked marzen
Saison Dupont
Red Hill Imperial Stout

and probably Pilsner Urquell - But maybe Budvar!

There'll be a great quiz, awesome prizes, delicious pizzas and the usual hullabaloo. Oh, and Ale Star Tsar (and new dad), Shandy, will be back in the hot seat!

This month's special session is $35 which includes everything. Book at the top right hand section of this blog ASAP!

Congrats to Ale Star Tsar Shandy

St Kilda Ale Star Tsar Shandy, and his lovely wife Tracey, became parents for the second time to a baby boy (name TBC) on the weekend. From the Taphouse and all the Ale Stars, a huge congrats! We look forward to wetting the babies head v soon

Coopers Local Laughs - Great first night

Brad Oakes

Rather than tell you about the first night of Coopers Local Laughs in Darlinghurst myself, I'll let Gaggingforit.com.au explain!

Review: Cooper’s Local Laughs Aug 2nd ‘09

This was the opening night for a new comedy room in Sydney – Cooper’s Local Laughs at The Local Taphouse on the corner of South Dowling and Flinders Streets, Darlinghurst. Always keen to look at a new room, I went along.

First: the pub. It used to have another name, but now it’s The Local Taphouse and it offers an extensive range of boutique beers (including a tasting paddle for the dedicated) and a funky menu of snacks and full meals. (There is another The Local Taphouse pub in St Kilda which hosts Melbourne’s longest-running independent comedy room under the name Cooper’s Local Laughs, and this Local Laughs comedy room is a spin-off from that.) The ticket price for the show includes two half-price Coopers beers – happy days.

The performance takes place in the front bar which has some couches and sofa-chairs near the front, along with some high tables and stools along the sides and some more normal seating in rows in the middle. The room is a wedge-shape leading to the stage right in the street-corner of the building. This means great sightlines, although the sound tends to splash around a bit towards the back of the room near the bar, which makes some words a little unclear there even when the front rows can hear them perfectly. So, get there early and get a seat up front if you want to get every punchline.

The planned opening night line-up was a corker, and despite a hitch with the booked MC being a no-show due to flight delay problems it was still a great night. It’s just as well that room organiser Jacques Barrett has plenty of MC experience, as he had to step in at the last minute. The audience made him work hard at the start, but he had them starting to warm by the end of his set. Englishwoman abroad Julia Clark was the next to take them on with her rapidfire wryness on her new country and the foibles we share. She and Raw Comedy finalist Rodney Todd’s more relaxed free-form style had the audience smiling and chuckling happily but not really letting the guffaws run free. Melburnian veteran Brad Oakes closed the first half with a set that finally broke through the audience’s reserve with his sheer gag per minute rate and his challenge to them to step up and think even though it was a Sunday night – they couldn’t hold out any more and willingly followed him for the ride.

After the break a younger Melburnian comic, Geraldine Hickey took the stage with her dark cynicism contrasted with delightful recountings of romantic bogan dalliances – so nice to see a comedian having fun with sexual stories instead of being insecure about it. The audience were really enjoying themselves by now. Then birthday boy David Smiedt alternated his slyly charming anecdotes with riffing off audience answers to his questions, followed by Nick Sun’s anarchic and always surprising comic musings, to finish the night off with the relentlessly taking-logic-to-absurdist-extremes one-liners of Bruce Griffiths. It may take the audience a few beats to fully follow Griffiths’ train of thought, but the response is all the bigger for it.

The audience left the pub happy, appreciative and vowing to return another week. Which is very much what this room needs – some regulars who help get everybody else in the room ready to have a fine old time with the comedians. Once the word gets around about the highly appealing beer-food-comedy combination, I don’t think regulars will be any problem, especially since the early start at 7-ish means that it’s all over before 10pm so that everybody can manage to start back to work on the next day. Good planning, that. Highly recommended.

Obama's 'beer summit' solves problems over a beer

Not sure if any of you read this article but I thought I'd share it just in case.

I love the fact that Obama, arguably the most influential man on the planet right now, sees beer as a great common denominator and something that can help solve some pretty complicated problems.

Here's the article from the SMH:

US President Barack Obama has sat down for beers and snacks with a white police officer and an eminent black scholar at the White House in a bid to quell a national furore over racial profiling.

Mr Obama welcomed Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates and police sergeant James Crowley for 6pm beers around a white patio table in the White House Rose Garden, hoping to turn the page on a race row that erupted during a July 16 incident at the scholar's home.

Shortly after one of the most highly anticipated White House happy hours in recent memory, the President described it as a "friendly, thoughtful conversation" and said in a statement he hoped "that all of us are able to draw [a] positive lesson from this episode".

Earlier Mr Obama downplayed the significance of the meeting, dubbed a "beer summit" by the press, saying he was "fascinated with the fascination about this evening".

"I noticed this has been called the 'beer summit'. It's a clever term, but this is not a summit, guys. This is three folks having a drink at the end of the day and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other. And that's really all it is," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

The comments did little, however, to quench the thirst about the trio's beer bash, which grew to a foursome with the surprise addition of Vice-President Joe Biden.

But the White House media pool was kept at bay, shuttled to the far side of the Rose Garden for a 30-second photo opportunity that yielded no chance to ask questions or listen to the conversation.

Sergeant Crowley addressed reporters after the meeting at an office building. When asked if anyone apologised over the incident in which he ended up arresting Professor Gates at the scholar's home, he said "no", but noted: "We had a cordial and productive discussion today.

"This was a positive step in moving forward as opposed to reliving the events of the past couple of weeks, and an effort to move not just the city of Cambridge or two individuals past this event, but the whole country, to move beyond this and use this as a basis of maybe some meaningful discussions in the future," he added.

The contretemps two weeks ago occurred when Professor Gates - arguably the foremost US scholar on African-American affairs - was arrested after police received a call that two men might be attempting a break-in at a house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to Harvard.

As it turned out, Professor Gates was merely attempting to enter his own home after the door had jammed.

Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley exchanged heated words, and the professor was ultimately arrested for disorderly conduct.

Mr Obama, the nation's first African-American president, added to the controversy when he said police had "acted stupidly" by arresting his friend after establishing that Professor Gates had been in his own home.

The incident sparked an intense national discussion as to whether police rushed to stereotype a black man as a potential criminal - even a bookish and middle-aged one such as Professor Gates - based solely on his race.

But public outrage also swelled over Mr Obama's choice of words, and his hasty characterisation of what had happened.

It provided an opening for right-wing commentators to criticise the President as well, including one who accused Mr Obama of being racist against whites.

Some critics say the President maligned Sergeant Crowley, a well-regarded officer in Cambridge who trained others in his department on the perils of racial profiling.

Last week, Mr Obama called Sergeant Crowley to express regret over his statement, and to invite the police officer and Professor Gates to the White House for a reconciliatory beer.

Mr Obama later said that blame in the stand-off was most likely shared, suggesting that Professor Gates "probably overreacted" - as did police, by booking the professor for being hot-headed.

The controversy ends the first six months of Mr Obama's presidency in which he managed not to be defined by his race, but Mr Obama said he hoped the chat would offer a chance for reconciliation.

In the Rose Garden, Sergeant Crowley and Professor Gates, dressed in dark suit jackets, sat next to each other, while Mr Obama, in white shirtsleeves, sat next to the sergeant and Mr Biden alongside the professor.

According to the White House, Mr Obama drank Bud Light, Sergeant Gates was served Boston local brew Sam Adams Light, and Professor Crowley drank Blue Moon. Mr Biden drank a low-alcohol Buckler.

Sergeant Crowley said he and Professor Gates agreed to meet again in the near future. He declined to provide a location, but hinted strongly that alcohol would not be involved.

"I think meeting at a bar for a beer on a second occasion will send out the wrong message," he said. "Maybe a Kool-Aid or ice tea or something like that," he said.

A beer in a tiny Madrid bar with the Guinness world record for the biggest beer selection in the smallest place!

Perusing the menu.

1st drink (of several) - Schneider Weiss.

Now that I'm back at work and it seems like I was never away (!), thankfully I have some photos to remind that I really WAS away.

Here's a few from a place I visited in Madrid, Spain. Cerveceria Oldenburg is a tiny place whose main claim to fame is that it holds a Guinness World Record as having the biggest beer selection in the smallest place! Needless to say, it was full of people - all 25 of us..

It had 11 draft taps (poured into proper glassware) and, from what I could tell, about 100 plus bottles. Most of the beers listed were great but they did have some dodgy choices, seemingly just to say they had a beer from that country (Fosters from Australia is one example!).. Only a few from Spain due their regrettable lack of great breweries.