Another session, another record falls at the St Kilda Ale Stars 2nd birthday!

A record of 82 people turned out.

Barry Cranston, Co-Australian Home Brewer of the Year (with Ross Mitchell), pours the first ever glass of their collaboration beer with Mountain Goat - the Two Champs Kolsch.
Another session, another Ale Star annual member.. (there were four inducted in fact).
Dave and Jayne from Mountain Goat (along with Barry) were the special guests. And then there's Shandy - a thorn between two roses ;-)

Head Chef Richard Smith whipped up this excellent pint-shaped birthday cake.
Two weeks after the Darlo Ale Stars set a record for the highest attendance at a session, the record tumbled again when 82 people (members, regulars and newbies) helped us celebrate the St Kilda Ale Stars second birthday.

From humble beginnings when eight or so people huddled around the high table downstairs talking beer, to now requiring a microphone to try and keep an unruly mob under control two years later, our little Ale Stars beer appreciation sessions have certainly come a long way. We're almost family now!

A huge thanks to everyone who was here to help us celebrate last night. Also thanks to all of our special guests over the 2 years who have taken the time to come and visit and share their knowledge and stories. Thanks also to our annual members, all 49 of them, the guys behind the bar pouring the beers each month, Benno, James and Beccy for keeping things under control behind the scenes, James for sourcing the beers, Rich and the guys in the kitchen for pumping out the food, and of course all of the breweries from around Australia and the world that have, once a month, been kind enough to have us waking up on a Wednesday morning with a smile on our face (and sometimes a fuzzy head).

Thanks also to our 'volunteer' members who have chipped in over the 2 years and helped with photos and blog posts etc - Steve Roberts and the Prof - we have never had to ask but you guys have always been willing to help us out.

And last but not least, the Scotsman who, after all this time, we are still trying to understand. He writes the trivia questions, helps us dream up the themes and line ups, and provides us with his inimitable and passionate take on the world of beer. He is our Ale Star 'Tsar', the ironically named - Shandy. Thanks mate for all your hard, voluntary work.

The next Ale Star session is on Tuesday August 18 and will be all about Dark & Mysterious Stouts. You can book here. The lineup will announced in due course..

Below is the slideshow of the night so far (more to come). Thanks again to Prof, Steve and James for taking the photos.