BrewShare - poll now open & other stuff

As per feedback at the Darlo BrewShare, I have posted an online poll for BrewSharers to vote on which style they want to brew for next BrewShare in both venues. You will find it in the top right corner of this blog. The poll closes next Sunday.

We got so much other great feedback last time. Here are some changes:

Next time we will split the night into two beer classes - Style of the Day AND Open Class. This means you can submit a brew in EITHER class (not both). There will be a points winner in both classes but there can only be one People's Choice best beer and this can come from either class. Best newbie brewer will also get a slap on the back!!

Non-homebrewers can come along and taste and learn although we will look at having a limit on how many.

Also, quite a few people have asked about food so we're looking at a nominal charge of $10 for future BrewShares which would get you some great pizza to soak up the booze. Anyone have a major problem with this?

Next BrewShare will be confirmed soon but will most probably be late February.

Scottish brewer claims world's strongest beer (and attracts controversy)

A small Scottish brewery with a taste for controversy has produced what it claims to be the world's strongest beer, one so alcoholic it is designed to be drunk in whisky-sized nips and comes with its own resealable stopper.

The beer, which goes by the name Tactical Nuclear Penguin, has been made by a company called BrewDog in Fraserburgh, north-east Scotland. It has an alcohol content of 32%, roughly eight times the strength of normal beers and lagers, and will be sold at £30 a bottle, or £250 for an additional share in the company. BrewDog says its beer, an "imperial stout", is intended for connoisseurs. Only 500 330ml bottles have been produced, and it will only be sold online and at two off-licences in Edinburgh and London. "This is completely pushing the boundaries," said James Watt, the firm's co-founder.

Read full article here.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.

New Little Creatures seasonal on the way

Hot off the press is this correspondence from Alex Troncoso (Head Brewer at Little Creatures). The beer (I think it's called Special Bitter) will be on tap at the Taphouses as soon as we get our paws on it..

The Special Bitter (sometimes the style is referred to as a "Best Bitter") has fermented out, is chilled and it is mellowing out day by day. After some early concerns I think it will be a cracking little beer. I think some of our beer-orientated fanatics will enjoy it.

The specs:
Alcohol = 4.2% ABV
AE = 3.2 Plato
BU = 34.0 IBU
Colour = 22 EBC (so a shade darker than Pale Ale)

Malts:
Little Creatures Pale Ale
Australian Crystal Malt
Belgian Aromatic Malt

Hops:
This is a single-hop beer with 100% East Kent Goldings (UK) used in several additions - early and late kettle, along with whirlpool. We wanted to see what the beer would be like with only the traditional EKG hop coming through......

Result:
It's not filtered yet, but so far the beer has a "classic" hop aroma - not fruity like pale, more earthy with a bit of orange marmalade coming through (note: those are Bretts words - are we winemakers now? oh dear....), combined with a firm bitterness. Subtle malt combined with the lower alchol will make this one a nice early summer session beer.

My visit to Wig & Pen

En route from Sydney to Melbourne yesterday, I visited Lachie (owner) and Richard (brewer) at the famed Wig & Pen pub in Canberra. The guys brew some brilliant beers for sale at their brewpub which has been operating since 1994.

We've been fortunate to have some of their beers at various SpecTAPular beerfests but my plan in Canberra was to sample All their tap beers including the 4 cask beers they handpump. After the lunch rush, a chat and a guided tour of the place, Richard proceeded to place sample after sample in front of me while regaling me of the story behind each beer. On top of their regular beers, the W&P produces 16 seasonals a year including 5 real ales and, in my view, all of them were tasty. It's no wonder that Richard is one of Australia's most revered brewers.

If you are ever ACT-way (in fact why not make a special trip?), certainly check this place out as it's absolutely worth it.

Hopefully we can get Lachie and/or Richard to Melbourne and/or Sydney for an Ale Star session some time??! Watch this space..

Thanks Lachie and Richard for showing me exemplary hospitality..

Richard (in Movember mode) behind the Angram handpumps.

Have we created a monster?! Darlo BrewShare gets off the mark

Last night a large bunch of like-minded homebrew-loving folk gathered around a table in Wilfred's Room in Darlo for the inaugural Darlo BrewShare. From newbie home brewers to the more experienced (and even a handful of ladies - thankfully!), everyone seemed keen to learn, share and sample other people's homebrews.

There were 16 or 17 homebrews brought along so we created 2 equal groups of beers and punters who set about tasting, discussing and scoring the 8 or so beers. After 90 minutes, each group was required to present its top two beers (so we were now down to the top four). After that, each group sampled the other's top two and then did a secret individual vote for their public choice beer. After tallying up the votes, it was so close between 1st and 2nd that we needed to go to three decimal points! Anyway, Mike won with his tasty Artisanal Belgian Blonde followed very closely by Jason's ESB and Jack and Dugal McIntyre's English IPA.

Long after the formalities had ended, people were still gathered shooting the breeze and talking up the beers and future BrewShares. It was bloody awesome to see so many people turn up for the first Darlo BrewShare and I reckon most (all?) will be back again and this night has already outgrown Wilfred's. Thanks to everyone who attended and for your great feedback. We were hoping a night for homebrewers would find an audience but we never expected this.

Thanks to Dave from Dave's Home Brew for his fantastic prize of a $100 voucher. Shop nowhere else in Sydney!

Keep an eye on this blog for more BrewShare news (you can subscribe top right corner) and subscribe to our main database at www.thelocal.com.au.

See the full slideshow here.

St Kilda Beer Diva Christmas menu

We are very excited to announce the Beer Diva is returning to St Kilda for a Christmas beer and food dinner on December 2nd. The menu for the evening will be:

1st Course - Prawn, chilli, lemon and coriander risotto with snow pea tendrils
2nd Course - Tempura zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and honey on ajo blanco gazpacho
3rd Course - Braised ox cheek with red wine jus frisée and glazed shallots
4th Course - Samuel Smiths chocolate and hazelnut tort served with crème Chantilly
5th Course - A selection of 3 cheeses from different parts of the world with different tastes and textures

These dishes will be expertly matched with 8 of our delicious beers.

Date: December 2nd 2009
Time: 7pm
Cost: $60 pp

We hope to see you there. Please book via the button on the right hand side of this blog.

Cheers and beers,

The Local Crew

Beer Diva Xmas dinner in St K - reminder to join

Guy and I are bringing along the missuses (!) to the Xmas Beer Diva dinner in St Kilda on Dec 2. Are you coming to join us for the fun????

See here for all the details!

Phenomenal Farmhouse Ales lineup for next Tueday's Darlo Ale Stars. Book now!

Here's the likely lineup for next Tuesday's Darlo Ale Star session on Farmhouse Ales:

1. Meantime High Saison
2. Trois Monts Biere de Garde
3. Saison de Silly
4. Saison Du Pont

Book now via the button on the top right corner of this blog - $30 includes beer samples and pizza (and a lesson from AG!). Starts at 7pm. Be there!

First ever St Kilda BrewShare

A small but keen group of home brewers gathered in St Kilda last night for the inaugural Local Taphouse BrewShare evening. 6 beers were tasted one at a time with a brief rundown from the brewers about their setup, ingredients and a few stories of successes and, of course, the failures.

The beers were assessed as we went and ultimately adjudged reverse-Brownlow-style 3-2-1, with 1 being the best.

Everyone received votes which was a credit to the brewers for their great beers.

The placings were as follows:

1st Peter Hope (see photo above - not the guy with the devious moustache) - 'Yeast Beast' Mongrel Ale (with his own home-culture strain of Chimay yeast no less!!)

2nd Peter Lowndes - 'Premium Chocolate Stout'.

3rd Brendan Harney - 'Belgian/New Zealand IPA'

Congratulations to Peter Hope for a truly great beer complete with a great label and his own cheer squad!!

A huge thanks to all the brewers for attending and for their feedback. This looks like being the start of something big! Thanks also to Grain & Grape for their terrific prize of a $100 voucher for Peter.

Stay tuned for dates on the next BrewShare.

See all the photos from the night here.

Ale Star sessions for the next few months (featuring some special guests)

In a remarkable turn of events, we have actually organised the Ale Star session themes a few months in advance! ;-)

This is what's coming up:

Darlo – Farmhouse Ales (Dec), American Pale Ales (Jan), Lambic/sour beers (Feb)

St Kilda – Seasonal/Festive Ales (Dec), American Pale Ales (Jan) featuring Kooinda APA and brewer Travis Pain, Lambic/sour beers (Feb)

Everyone is welcome.

Bookings for each session will open a day or so after the previous one is finished.

The Local Taphouse (Darlo) wins Best New Bar at Timeout Sydney Bar Awards

Last night I went along to the Piano Room in Kings Cross for the Timeout Sydney Bar Awards for a few free beers (Fat Yak so better than the usual muck) and guess what? I was caught unawares when we were named Best New Bar (in Sydney) and picked up a nice trophy for the pool room.

Thanks to Paul, Les, Jo, all the great staff and (most importantly) the Darlo Locals who frequent our joint.

We also got a Highly Commended mention for Best Design (Neil Perry won for Rockpool) so it was great to see Gardener Marks recognised for their inspired efforts.

Thanks to Timeout for a great night and picking the right winner ;-)

Me (with trophy) and Jeff celebrate at Sydney's 'Best New Bar' after the Timeout Awards! (Apologies for the poor camera phone shot)

Lineup for Darlo BrewShare so far

While there are a few home brewers yet to fill in the online form (deadline is Wed night or your beer can't be included), here is the awesome (sounding at least!) lineup for Thursday's Darlo BrewShare so far:

1-Jack McIntyre-Batch 17-English IPA
2-Dugal McIntyre-Batch 18-ESB
3-Jason Scala-n/a-ESB
4-Peter Hope-Yeast Beast-Mongrel Ale
5-Doc-Doc's Rhubarb Breakfast Ale-Specialty - Vegetable Beer
6-Mike Meissner-Artisinal Belgian Blonde-Belgian Blonde
7-Kris Rogers-Centennialorama-American IPA
8-Jon Seltin-n/a-Munich Dunkel
9-Ivan Bate-n/a-Pale Ale
10-Daniel Patomaki-n/a-US Hopped Summer Ale
11-Trey Shugart & Sam Clayman-Redneck Porter-Porter
12-Ben Landsberry-n/a-Bitter/Brown Porter
13-Andrew Gaul-n/a-Amber Ale
14-Graham Eyres - Peyton's Golden Ale-Golden Ale
15-Kelly Eyres-Not sure Oaty Porter-Robust Porter

More info here.

Meantime IPA to be pouring in St Kilda from midday Sat

For those who have waited (as we have) with bated breath for the first ever Meantime IPA keg (all the way from Greenwich, UK), it will be pouring from tomorrow (Sat) at noon.. Come one, come all..

The Local Arts Initiative launched to provide grants for aspiring young artists

The Local Arts Initiative is a small grants program designed to support aspiring young artists who face disadvantage to achieve their creative dreams. It was established by The Local Taphouse (St Kilda) together with SKYS.

We intend running fundraising events to raise at least $7500 a year for the Initiative. Furthermore, people or companies can make donations.

We are currently calling for young aspiring artists across creative mediums to apply for first round grants.

The Local Arts Initiative aims to:
- To provide accessible grants to disadvantaged young artists across artistic mediums;
- To establish a local fund for the local community to contribute to;
- To demonstrate the capacity of arts as positive and powerful social development tool for young people;
- To create links between artist, industry folk, young people and the local community;
- To assist young artists to display/perform their work in the public forum.
- To encourage innovation and to develop experimental concepts

Who can apply?
- Young artists across creative mediums (photographers, dancers, visual artists, film makers, musicians etc) between 15 -25 years of age.
- Have their application supported by a third party referee (support worker, professional within the creative industry, teacher) who can detail the need for support.
- Be prepared to work with a professional creative mentor to develop a body of work/performance for a public exhibition.
- Applicants must provide evidence of their work such as: CD-ROMs; DVDs; video; slides; drawings; colour laser copies; letters of support, etc.
- Be committed to their art form and realizing their creative potential.

Successful applicants will have access to brokerage to purchase ‘tools of the trade’ and matched with qualified creative mentoring support to work towards the annual public exhibition/performance at The Local Taphouse (the first to be held in July 2010).

Contact Sharni at St.Kilda Youth Services (9534 3685) for an application form or further information.

If you'd like to make a donation, you can send it to us at stkilda@thelocal.com.au via Paypal using your credit card (reference LAI).

The Prof's report is in for Epic Ale Star session

Here's the Prof's report on the Epic Ale Star session (as posted on his most excellent blog).

The 2009 'Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers' poll now open

After the success of last year's poll, The Local Taphouses in Sydney and Melbourne are again running the '2009 Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Brews' poll open to lovers of craft beer across the country.

We're not necessarily looking for the #1 SELLING craft beer nationwide. Rather, what are the BEST craft beers people have tasted this year? For the purposes of this fun poll, the beer must have been brewed in 2009 in Australia by anyone other than Fosters or Tooheys main operations (so Matilda Bay and James Squire are eligible). The beer must have been commercially for sale (even if it's just at the cellar door) in kegs or bottles.

The 'Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Brews' online poll will run from November 1st 2009 until midnight Sunday January 17th 2010. The final 100 beers (listed from #100 to #1) will be announced on our website on Australia Day.

A randomly selected voter (from anywhere in Australia) will win a case of each of the top FIVE beers (if not available, we'll keep going down the list until we have 5 cases!)

To enter the poll, click here.

To learn more about last year's poll, read here.

Is this our first look-a-like?!

St Kilda Ale Star Briony (#28) emailed me a photo of a Neighbours actor who she says looks exactly like Epic brewer Luke Nicholas. What do you think?!

Any other look-a-likes you want to send in are welcome..

The Sluggers improve on Week 1 effort.

Despite losing again (albeit this time against last year's premiers), The Taphouse Sluggers improved out of sight on the previous (and first week's) effort. At times, we almost looked like we knew what we were doing!

My play-of-the-day goes to Ted for his home run (sadly, one of only a few runs for the night). Next week is a bye so maybe some will gather for a bit more batting practice?!

We still need an extra full time girl or two players. If you can play a little and want to join The Sluggers, post a comment here. Also, if you can't commit to the season but wouldn't mind being a fill-in occasionally, also comment.

Go Sluggers!

Epic Ale Star photos

Click here for the full slideshow of Tuesday night's Epic Ale Star session.

An Epic Ale Stars

It's 1.45am and I'm posting this now only to beat Luke (Nicholas, Epic Head Brewer) posting on his blog although I think he sent several 'tweets' throughout this evening. Still - one blog post in the middle of the night surely beats several tweets (albeit one or two which included Luke's iPhone photos)..

Anyway, last night's Ale Star session with Luke's Epic Beers showcased was brilliant. Plenty of Epic beer flowed (including Armageddon on tap for the first time in Australia), we had a consumate guest in Luke and a jam packed crowd of Ale Star members and newbies.

Thanks to John Cope-Williams for helping facilitating the night. Please continue to bring Epic beers (in kegs too) into Oz..

You can see more photos soon and Prof Pilsner's full report won't be far away.

The next Ale Stars on Tues Dec 15th will be on festive ale seasonal ales..

Taphouse BrewShare - Information for Attendees

Here's some more information for BrewShare attendees next week..

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How much beer do I need to bring? At least 1.5 – 2 litres in bottles, kegs etc. You need to be able to refrigerate and dispense the beer yourself.

All home brewers must fill in this online form at least two days prior to the BrewShare. These Fact Sheets will be printed and handed out to all attendees.

The running order for the night:

7pm
Greeting & Introduction. All attendees will be provided with a running sheet of all beers (max 24 beers)

7.15pm – 9pm
Tasting: 3 beers at a time at 10 minute intervals.

90-100mls of each beer is to be dispensed by the home brewer into an official tasting glass (one per person for the night). The Fact Sheets to be handed out with beers.

If they wish, home brewers will have 60 seconds to explain their beer!

9pm – 9.15pm
General discussion and Q&A about all beers.

Secret Ballot for Public Choice Beer of the Night using 3-2-1 system (1 being your favourite). Home brewers cannot vote for their own beer. All votes from attendees make up 70% of the final score. 30% of Taphouse staff (and any other special guests) will make up the final portion.

9.15pm
Formalities end – social chat and drinks

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Taphouse BrewShare is about homebrewers bringing their own home brew to barter and socialise with their peers!

There is a $100 Grain & Grape/Dave’s Home Brew voucher for People’s Choice Beer.

For this first event, home brewers can brew whatever they like.

ST KILDA: Tuesday Nov 24th from 7pm & free
DARLO: Thursday Nov 26th from 7pm & free - BOOKED OUT

Despite being free, you MUST book by emailing stkilda@thelocal.com.au.

St Kilda Ale Stars tonight sold out!!

Our very special Ale Star session with Luke Nicholas from Epic Beers in New Zealand has sold out!

Apologies to anyone who missed out.

Stay tuned for info on our next Ale Star session.

Cheers and Beers,

The Local Crew

Video of Brad Rogers making his stone beer..

When I caught up with Brad Rogers at last week's Darlo Ale Stars, he showed me this fascinating and fun video about how his Stone Beer was made..

Meantime IPA kegs arriving any day

We've been waiting a long time but I reckon it will be worth the wait - the Meantime IPA kegs (all the way from the UK) will be with us any day! We have an allocation of 3 kegs per venue so if you want to try some of this beauty, don't wait around..

Here's how the late Michael Jackson described it:

“Very few British brewers accord proper respect to the initials IPA. This elegant bottle calls for a celebration, a toast to friendship - or, if you prefer, a special relationship. If your favourite meal might be described as masala, honour it with your best appetite. Release the cork with a sight and a pop; enjoy the orangey colour; the herbal aroma of Worcestershire hops; and their flavours of sweet grass, orange zest and a hint of aniseed. This beer will make you feel very hungry indeed. Thank heavens the second blossoming of hops, from Kent this time, are a different variety: soothingly oily Goldings. A hint of clove, from the yeast? For heaven’s sake, where’s dinner?”

Brad Rogers (Stone & Wood) shines at Darlo Ale Stars

While numbers were a little down on normal, the upside was a more intimate conversation-style Ale Star session in Wilfred's Room with the inimitable Brad Rogers, Head Brewer at Stone & Wood Brewing Co in Byron Bay.

The theme of the night was dark lagers so we sampled Kostritzer, Dogbolter, S&W Stone Beer and Aventinus Eisbock. The People's Choice beer was Brad's Stone Beer and he had fascinating stories to tell about its creation.

Thanks to Brad for attending the night and sharing his knowledge and tales with the Ale Stars. It's always a pleasure hosting him..

Footnote: S&W is being showcased this month as part of our MovemBEER fundraising drive. It's shaping up to be the most popular showcase we've ever had AND we will be raising plenty of dough for Movember's charities (for prostate cancer and Beyond Blue)..

Taphouse Sluggers Season Fixture

For all the Taphouse Sluggers, here is our fixture for the season..

Batter up!

Reminder - Luke from Epic is Very Special Guest at next St Kilda Ale Stars. Book now!

As per the previous Epic post, multi-award winning NZ Brewer, Luke Nicholas, from Epic Brewing will be the special guest at the Ale Stars session in St Kilda.

Don't miss this! Book now via the link at the top right of this blog. 7pm. $30 for beer and pizza...

Melbourne Cup a huge hit in Sydney!

Darlo hosted its first Mebourne Cup in style with a sit down lunch in the restaurant followed by a rousing watching of "the race that stops the nation" in the downstairs bar.

50 guests enjoyed a tasty three course feast prepared by Robbie and the crew - all washed down with a Sundowner Lager from James Squire (free plug!). Big winners on the day revelled under the Winners Lane sign while Nicki ran the fashions on the field, which was more hotly contested than the race itself.

See slideshow here.

Beer Diva menu for Darlo on 25th Nov

Here is the Beer Diva menu for Darlinghurst on 25th November. Can't wait!

To prebook, click on the link at the top right of the blog..

Meatballs w Schlenkerla Rauchbier & oregano
braised in tomato, chilli jam & basil, served w warm bread

Taphouse chicken pate
served with a Kriek cherry compote, gherkin and crostini

Smoked cod and salmon fishcake
with wilted spinach and a hefeweizen hollandaise

Cloudberry pannacotta
with Kriek Frambois marinated raspberries

Cheese board
Chefs selection of 3 cheeses, quince paste, poached pear, dried fruit and lavosh

Stone & Wood's Brad Roger is Special Guest at Darlo Ale Stars Nov 10

We're thrilled to confirm that Stone & Wood Brewery's Head Brewer Brad Roger will be the Special Guest at next Tuesday's (Nov 10th) Ale Star session in Darlo. Brad will be talking about his new Stone Beer and other dark lagers.

If this session is anything like Brad's time at the St Kilda Ale Star session, it will be awesome..

As usual, you must prebook via the button on the top right of this blog ($30 inc beer and pizza)..

Stone & Wood are the Showcase Brewery for MovemBEER.

Darlo Taphouse a finalist in Best New Bar at Timeout Sydney Awards

The Darlo Taphouse is a finalist for Best New Bar at the Timeout Sydney Awards later this month.

Congrats to all the staff and patrons for playing their part..

Stone & Wood MovemBEER Brewery Showcase Now On

You read it right - MovemBEER. Stone & Wood of Byron Bay are the brewery showcase for the month of November....Movember. So that means MovemBEER.

Stone & Wood Brewing Company was founded by three blokes who shared a love of beer, taking a fresh approach to brewing handcrafted beer in Byron Bay, one of the greatest places on earth. Their brewing philosophy is based on brewing beer that makes the most of the ingredients available today.

Here at The Taphouse(s), we are lucky enough to have all three of their beers on tap this month. They include:

Stone Beer - A tribute to the brewers of the middle ages, this dark lager is brewed by adding wood fired stones to the kettle to rouse the boil.

Pale Lager - All about quality grain, balanced with Noble hops.

Draught Ale - Unfiltered,unpasteurized. Designed to be served on tap only to get that brewery fresh taste.

Still wondering what MovemBEER means? Well, The Local Taphouse, Stone & Wood and you the customer will each be donating 30c per regular glass sold of any Stone and Wood beer for a total of $0.90 per regular and $1.80 per large - to be donated to Movember!

1 week to go! Taphouse Sluggers - Squad so far..

With only one week until our first game, here is the squad (so far) for the Taphouse Sluggers softball team. While some of the bar staff will step up to play irregularly, we are still looking for two or three more regular girls..

Girls
Kellie Jeffares
Louise Ayres
Tobi Tibballs

Guys
Steve Jeffares
Ted Felton
Brendan
Ben Ayres
Cam Fisher
Brian Golat

It looks like Epic Brewery will provide some t-shirts...

Joint Winners at the Australian Amateur Brewing Championship 2009

The Australian Champion Homebrewer this year was a joint affair with last year's winner Ross Mitchell (ACT) and Barry Cranston (NSW) sharing the spoils, the best of which is that they get to brew a beer with Mountain Goat for The Local Taphouses next year!

For all the results, click here.