St Kilda Bonza vs Darlo Black & Tannin - - Fight!

Last Wednesday, the Darlinghurst Ale Stars descended upon the Local Taphouse for the highly anticipated launch of the Ale Stars brews.
This was the first time that anyone in Sydney got a chance to taste the beer that the Sydney Ale Stars went up to Hunter Beer Co to brew (Black & Tannin), as well as the St Kilda offering (brewed at Mornington Peninsula Brewery), the BONZA IPA.

To start off the night, we invited Hunter Beer Head Brewer Keith Grice up to talk about one of his favourite beers; his own Hunter Bock. A beautiful bock, with rich caramel and toffee notes, this one was the perfect start to a very boozy evening. Keith talked us through the recipe, and how he's changed it recently, tweaking it to deliver the flavours that you'd expect from a bock.

We then moved onto a delicious Black Imperial Pilsner brewed by our very own 'Ale Stars Czar' Doc from Doctor's Orders Brewing. A beautifully balanced, yet very extreme beer, this found a really nice middle ground between getting dark flavours without being too thick or roasty, and being very hoppy without being aggressive.

We then sampled the competition, the BONZA IPA that the St Kilda Ale Stars brewed at Mornington. Named BONZA for its mix of Belgian yeast and Aussie, New Zealand and American hops, this one was very fruity and spicy, coming from both the Belgian yeast and the pacific hops.

Finally, we got to the moment we were all waiting for. The tension in the room was palpable as the final beer was brought out. The Black & Tannin, a huge, rich Baltic Porter aged in Hunter Valley Shiraz Barrels. Needless to say, the crowd loved this beer, enjoying its layers and complexities. The Ale Stars had wanted to make a big, bold, ambitious beer, and in that, they succeeded.

The interstate fight continues... say tuned.

Ale Stars launch their first ever brew! St Kilda wrap up...

Last Tuesday saw the highly anticipated launch of the Ale Stars' Brews from both Darlo and St. Kilda Taphouses.  Black & Tannin & BONZA (from Darlo and St. Kilda respectively) went head to head in a battle of the brews.

We warmed up our palates with the delicious black imperial pilsner, Iron Lung, from  Doctor's Orders Brewing and then moved on Darlo's Ale Star effort, Black & Tannin.

Black & Tannin was brewed by Doc from Doctor's Orders Brewing, the Darlo Ale Stars team and head brewer Keith Grice of the Hunter Brewing Co. The result was a delicious Baltic Porter aged in an old Shiraz barrel - rich with notes of chocolate, tobacco, ash, pepper & spice.

Next up was the St. Kilda Ale Stars' effort, BONZA, a Belgian IPA.

BONZA, which stands for Belgian, Oz, New Zealand and America, was brewed at Mornington Peninsula Brewery with help of MPB brewer AG. We decided late to add a soft "J" at the end for the Japanese Sorachi Ace hops that were also added to the brew (i.e. BONZAJ).  Members of the St. Kilda Ale Star committee behind the recipe for the Belgian IPA were also on deck to speak about the brew and what how their idea of a Belgian IPA unfolded.

The brew had excellent phenolic aromas and character as expected from a good Belgian and the significant hop additions yielded tropical stone fruit flavours ensuring it was true to the IPA component of its name.

Our final brew for the night was a fresh keg of MPB's Imperial IPA, a perfect way to round out a great night.

Thanks to AG for creating this fantastic commemorative poster for us - there were rumours the Ale Stars will brew another beer with AG and the MPB crew next year. Fingers crossed!

Ale Stars Brew Launch in St. Kilda & Darlo in March

The wait is nearly over!

Tues. March 19th in St. Kilda and Wed. March 20th in Darlinghurst, Ale Stars will be launching the very first ever Ale Stars' brew.  St. Kilda has redefined the IPA - making it Belgian in genre and Darlo is all over the underrated style of Baltic Porter. We can't wait to sample the beers and speak to the brewers themselves.  Check out the post here about the St. Kilda brew day.

AG from Mornington and Doc from Doctor's Orders will be at St. Kilda and Darlo Taphouses respectively and we'll be sampling two of their great beers as well.

Details:

Ale Stars Brew Launch - St. Kilda
Tuesday, March 19th, 7pm
$40 includes beer & food
Book here

Ale Stars Brew Launch - Darlinghurst
Wednesday, March 20th, 7pm
$40 includes beer & food
Book here

This is a very special Ale Stars not to be missed!

St Kilda Ale Stars Brew their own beer!

After months of planning and a carefully constructed recipe it was time to make the magic happen...

Last Saturday an enthusiastic group of Ale Stars headed down to Mornington Peninsula Brewery for the first ever Ale Stars brew day.

Arriving early due to the new peninsula link, we ducked around the corner for a coffee and returned to kick off proceedings at 10am. Within seconds, head brewer, former Darlo Ale Star Tzar, and general friend of the Taphouse, Andrew 'AG' Gow, had us drinking his new single hop Mosaic IPA straight from the tank which was set the tone for a day that would be more tasting than brewing for most of us! The Mosaic IPA was delicious and fortunately we have a couple of kegs of it Taphouse bound very shortly.

Leading the brew charge for the Ale Stars was Derek a who moonlights at MPB as a part time brewer. Fosters may have misleadingly suggested that Crown Lager's 5th ingredient is time due to its long, careful brewing process (whatever), but we can say with confidence that Derek's sweat is the 5th ingredient in this little Belgian IPA.

We took turns in picking up a shovel or staring pensively at the brew, we ate pizzas, but mainly we sampled the delights of the brewery. AG took us through a tasting of his beers and told us the MPB story so far and the grand plans for expansion that is due to happen anytime now. After that we sampled some more. Then we took some samples for the bus ride home.

Thanks to all Ale Stars who took part in the day - we look forward to tasting the beer at our March Ale Star session.

Also, a massive thanks to AG and Matt for having us all down at the brewery. A big thanks to everyone else at the brewery for their hospitality on the day as well - we were all extremely well looked after. And thanks to Lauren (Cam's mum) for driving us down there and putting up with the noisy ride home.

UPDATE: Having just spoken to AG almost a week after the brew, he reckons this is "going to be a really good little beer". After a few days with the hops dominating it has mellowed a touch and the Belgian yeast character is starting to come through.

Ale Stars brew their own beer at MPB this Saturday, Feb 9th

This Saturday, the St. Kilda Local Taphouse Ale Stars are brewing their first beer - a Belgian IPA - at Mornington Peninsula Brewery and we're organising a great road trip to take part!

This great day is open to everyone who loves beer! Join us for a relaxed Brew Day down the Peninsula - brewing, lunch, samples of beers and all that MPB can offer us.

Ticket price includes return transport from the Taphouse, lunch and beer samples. The bus will leave 8:30am and return at approximately 6:30pm.

For all those interested, the beer will be featured at our March edition of Ale Stars.

For more information email here or book your tickets here.