St Kilda Weekly food specials...

Chicken and chorizo stew with True South Wee Jimmy Scotch Ale and Tomato.

True South Wee Jimmy Scotch Ale works very well to create a rich sauce with the oils from the traditional Spanish chorizos. To complete the sauce, we sweetened it with fresh ripe tomatoes that make a thick chunky sauce that is perfect to wipe clean with a bit of ciabatta.

Braised lamb shoulder rillettes with anchovies, herbs and Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale white beans.

By rolling the lamb shoulder with aromatic herbs and spices then braising it for 6 hours we get flavor through the entirety of the meat and make it soft enough to melt in your mouth. We then roll and set it overnight to hold the shape. With the anchovies and herbs this otherwise overpowering dish becomes earthier and fresher. Accompanied with white haricot beans cooked in Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale, this balanced dish is perfect for the current weather.

Potato gnocchi with confit duck, mushroom, pine nuts & Trumer Pils ragout

Homemade potato gnocchi is the perfect vessel for a ragout. Confit duck, mushrooms, pine nuts & truffle oil are a match made in heaven. The fatty duck adds richness to the dish, whilst the mushrooms add the cool freshness found in the juices within. Pine nuts bring texture and toasty flavor & truffle oil delivers longevity through the dish. to bring all these flavors together we emulsify with Trumer Pils!

Welsh rarebit on Stone & Wood Stone Beer bread with pickled onion, baby beet, horseradish and frisee

With our homemade Stone & Wood Stone Beer bread we bring to you a traditional Welsh dish with a modern take. Made with matured cheddar cheese sauce and the thick bread, we then lighten the whole thing up and cut it

with the pickled onions and horseradish, whilst adding a bit of bitter sweetness with the baby beets and frisee.

St Kilda's food specials this week...Yum Yum

Coopers Best Extra Stout braised Ox-cheek with red wine glazed shallots and smoked pancetta lardons. A classic rich dish, perfect for winter. Using a secondary cut of meat, we’re able to afford to spend the hours that it takes to make it. Braised in Coopers Best Extra Stout, the ox cheek takes on the richness of flavours from the beer over extended time to melt in your mouth.

Grass fed beef eye fillet with Brew Boys Maiden Ale infused celeriac puree and baby vegetables. This lean piece of Eye fillet with the celeriac puree is freshened up with Brew Boys Maiden Ale to create a light and lean dish, which is complete with an assortment of crunchy baby vegetables.

Grilled yellow fin tuna with boulongere potatoes and Murrays Sassy Blonder béarnaise sauce. The fresh grilled tuna goes beautifully with this rich style of potatoes au gratin and finished off perfectly with creamy béarnaise made with Murrays Sassy Blonder with its citrus notes and light tones.

Butternut pumpkin, stuffed with pine nuts, ricotta salatta and Stone & Wood Stone Beer pumpkin puree. These sweet pumpkins are brought alive with the Stone & Wood Stone Beer & pumpkin puree then filled out with savoury ricotta salatta and for a bit of texture, some pinenuts.

Ale Stars March - What the Bock?

Our March lineup for Ale Stars in Darlo and St Kilda is locked in:

This month we taste the delicious style that is Bock.

Rogue Ales Dead Guy
Hunter Bock
Weihenstephaner Vitus
Aventinus Eisbock

Leave the car at home - these beers are hardcore.

We hope to see you there - 7pm March 2nd (Darlo) and 7pm March 16th (St Kilda).

Cheers,

The Local Crew

St Kilda Ales Stars - American Pale Ales

Tueday saw the first Ale Star session in St Kilda for 2010 and we were treated to some great beers and some of our most peopluar guests yet.

A huge thanks to Travis, Mick and Fenton from Kooinda for sharing their tales of success and plans for the future.

I think all agreed we would love to see Kooinda continue to grow whilst maintaining the fantastic quality in their brews.

I'll hand over to the Prof's version of the nights events now but stay tuned for some pics from the night.

Cheers and Beers,

The Local Crew

Line up for St Kilda Ale Stars

To kick off the new decade in a truly Ale Stars way, we will be sampling one of the styles that started the craft beer revolution - American Pale Ales.
Ale Stars Tsar Shandy has compiled a line up that will take us from historic beginnings right up until present day 2010.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (USA)
Little Creatures Pale Ale (WA)
Matilda Bay Alpha Pale Ale (Vic.)
Kooinda Pale Ale (Vic.)

Special Guest Travis Pain of Kooinda Boutique Brewery will be in with tales of pale ales.

19th of January, 7pm sharp @ The Local Taphouse (St Kilda)

$30 includes 4 samples of beer and pizza, book using button on the left hand side of the blog.

St Kilda Ale Stars, July - Belgian Blondes with the Prof

Well the much anticipated debut of our stand in Ale Star Czar was a cracker of a night with great beer, interesting trivia, and a fantastic special guest in Dave Bonighton, brewer and founding goat from Moutain Goat Brewery.

Shandy's shoes are big ones to fill and Professor Pilsner did not let us down. In his first attempt to pay homage to Shandy, the prof pulled up his sleeve to reveal his version of a meaningful tattoo. Whilst's Shandy's is an historic reference to his heritage, so was the Prof's, albeit a little less ancient. It was a not to scale illustration of the Glen Waverly train line, complete with 'premium' and regular stations alike.

And then it was onto the beers. Murrays Sassy Blond, Red Hill Belgian Blond , Duvel and Mountain Goat Rapunzel. The wrap on these is as always, best left to the Prof - you can read his wrap here.

The trivia was allegedly simplified by the Prof providing all the answers along with the questions. Thats how he sold it to us anyway. There were three rounds comprising, true or false, multiple choice, odd one out. Its fair to say that no team really dominated, but the 'High Table' did enough to get the job done. Probably the most controversial answer of the night was the odd one out that was the odd one out because it wasn't as oddly out as the other three answers. Confused? Yep, so was everyone.

A great night was had by all. A huge thanks to Professor Pilsner for ably standing in for Shandy and ensuring the night was a great success. Also, thanks to Dave from Goat who gave us a great insight into the making of Rapunzel and all other things Goat.

Cheers,

Justin

St Kilda Ale Stars - Winter Ales

Another month, another cracking Ale stars session last night. Winter Ales were the tipple of choice and a record breakingly huge crowd rocked in.

We tried Holgate's Nut Brown Ale, Lobethal Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Meantime Winter Time and Young's Christmas Pudding. The most popular drop was the Nut Brown Ale - Shandy's favourite from the Holgate range but this was closely followed by the Youngs Christmas Pudding despite the fact that it was described by Tom from Goat as 'the most interesting beer I've tasted in ages...but I don't like it'.

After being lambasted for his high brow (nigh on impossible) trivia in May, Shandy came to the party with some more accessible questions and the competition was hot. Team 'High Table' came through with the goods despite a mid season slump in the form of a 1 out of 5 second round. They came home with a wet sail, scoring a perfect 5 from 5 in round three to displace the Prof from his throne of trivia whiz for the second consecutive month.

Speaking of the Prof, it was revealed last night that Shandy will take a month of paternity leave and his ample shoes will be filled by one Professor Pilsener for July's Ale Stars. Its sure to be a great night, with Shandy's instructions to the Prof to be 'not shit' and 'not better than me'. It will also be the third month in a row the Prof won't win the trivia which means we are all in with a good chance of victory.

You can check out pics from the night here...

The next Ale Stars, hosted by the Professor, will be held on July 21. See you there.

Final line up: Melbourne Ale Stars - Tuesday, 19th May

Ale Stars in Melbourne this month looks at vintage, old and strong ales.

And check this out for a line up:

1. Feral Razorback
2. Emersons Old 95
3. Greene King Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale
4. Rogue Imperial Red Ale

There are some pretty serious beers among this lot so leave the car at home and enjoy. See you there.

May Brewery Showcase - Feral Brewing

Our May brewery showcase - Feral Brewing - has hit the taps in both Darlinghurst and St Kilda.

For those not familiar, Feral Brewing has been quietly making a name for itself over in Swan Valley, WA, (just outside of Perth), as a brewery of great Australian beers.

Well they were quietly making a name for themselves until the AIBA earlier this year where they were well and truly recognised for being right at the top of the pile when it comes to Australian craft breweries.

They took out 5 major gongs including Champion Small Brewery. All this at the second biggest beer competition in the world means things have got a little hectic around the brewery trying to keep up with demand.

Over the course of the month we will be pouring the Hop Hog IPA (2009 AIBA Champion Ale), Feral White which is a Belgian Witbier (2009 AIBA Champion Hybrid Beer), Feral Pils and Boris Imperial Stout - possiby the biggest beer I have tasted this year at 11.5%.

And in St Kilda only - Feral Razorback (2009 AIBA Champion Scotch Ale/Barley Wine) - the second biggest beer I have tasted this year at 11%! This would have been on in Darlinghurst this month but we kind of accidentally tapped it the week we opened up there so it has been and gone. Sorry to those who missed it. I suggest you jump in the car and pop down the Hume Highway and try it in St Kilda as it is something special.

Enjoy...

New "Beeraholix" website

The guys from Aussiehomebrewer.com have launched a new website called Beeraholix. Their idea is to create a site that grabs info, news and stories from all the existing beer websites out there in one easy to follow and keep-an-eye-on place.

It's got an Aussie focus and isn't limited to any one area of beer (such as commercial brewing, homebrewing, retailing etc.) it's more of an all-things-beer kind of site. I just visited the site, and it's pretty damn good!

What a bloody great idea! No longer will we need to trall the web for all the current news and stories, but we'll be able to check it all out with one simple visit to Beeraholix! Love ya work!!

Hargreaves Hill beers available again

After the horror episode of the bushfires, it's great to see Hargreaves Hill ESB (and other beers) are available again. The current batch has been brewed at Red Hill Brewery so plaudits to David and Karen there for helping out.

HH's ESB is already on tap again in St Kilda and will be shortly on tap in Darlo..

Oh, and a donation of $7000 from the Benefit Gig was made to HH just the other day. There may be a little more but we are waiting for final commitments to trickle in.

Bushfire and Hargreaves Hill Brewery Appeal

On Ttursday night we held the bushfire and Hargreaves Hill Brewery appeal at The Local Taphouse. I have to say that we were absolutely thrilled with the support we received from everyone for this great cause.

The punters, brewers, staff, entertainment and venue managed to raise a whopping ......

$13,764!!! (...and there’s still some more to come)!

Here's where it all came from:

$6,325 – From Auctions, Raffles, Staff Tips, Bar top buckets & Door Charge

$225 – Donations via paypal on our website

$2,500 – pledged by Accenture

$1,000 – raised by Hotel Lincoln

$1,500 – The Local Taphouse

$2,214 – This is the cost price of the kegs donated that we're paying to the appeal

There are also more kegs that have been pledeged and are still on their way, so this figure will no doubt rise!

Everyone involved should be really proud of this fantastic result. While there are so many people to thank, I’d like to make a couple of special mentions....

Thanks to Janet for being such a great MC and for her  super auctioneering and raffle drawing skills! Thanks to Justin Hamilton and Jeff Green for their generous donation of their time and hilarious acts and to The Band Who Knew Too Much for punching out some fantastic tunes.

Thank you also to all our amazing suppliers and friends who contributed the prizes including sensational beers, bed and breakfast retreats, dinners for two and personal training sessions (the single biggest auction item for the night – thanks to Stef Hanson) to name but a few.  You guys really rock!!

Specifically, thank you to: Matilda Bay, Mountain Goat, 2 Brothers, Otway Estate, Red Hill Brewery, 5 Islands Brewery, NSW Brewer's Guild, Little Brewing Co., Trumer, Beer Masons, Temple Brewing, microbrewer.com, Holgate Brewery, Lincoln Hotel, Stef Hanson, Greg Hack & Accenture!

Our awesome staff also grouped together to donate all their tips and collectively raised around $2,500. Finally, a special thanks to all the punters for coming down and supporting the cause and giving up their hard earned when all agree we’re coming up to some tougher times.

All in all a HUGE success. THANK YOU!!!

Rebuilding - One Beer at a Time (by the Prof)

I'm busy trying to open in Sydney so I hope the Prof doesn't mind me including this post from his own terrific beer blog. I think Guy will also post his own report!

The Victorian Bushfires which devastated several entire communities on Black Saturday, February 7 could not burn the spirit of the greater community. The generosity shown by so many people in so many ways is as inspirational as it is helpful. From sausage sizzles to street collections, from garage sales to farmers markets, it seems everyone has found a way to raise much needed funds to those who have lost so much.

The crew at The Local Taphouse know the mystical community strengthening powers of beer and it was only logical that a fundraiser should be held to allow the followers of the Amber Nectar to show their support for those affected by and those assisting after the bushfire tragedy. The loss of the brewery at Hargreaves Hill gave the event a local focus and it was decided that half the proceeds would be directed to Simon and Beth to get them back and brewing as soon as possible.

Owners and operators of The Local Taphouse, Steve and Guy got the keg rolling with a first up donation upon announcing the benefit night, along with the proceeds of the door and assorted raffles, auctions and beery prize packs. Before long there was a list as long as a draught horse dray of brewers donating kegs, t-shirts, six-packs and pallets of beery cheer to ensure that the night would be a large one.

Stand-up comedy and plenty of good beer on tap kicked the night off after which the zany Janet (host of Sunday Night Trivia) conducted auctions and raffle draws. A full list of sponsors, supporters and suppliers is printed below. Look after them when you can. Fast and furious bidding saw the Beermasons' supplied beer gift packs go for a tidy sum and some of the Taphouse staff might be handy people to know in the next few weeks! Seriously, with all the six-packs, gift packs, t-shirts and stuff flying around you’d be forgiven for thinking you had stepped into a beer merchandise convention. Or maybe the set of the Price Is Right if it was run by Les Patterson rather than Reg Grundy.

The night stepped up a gear with The Band Who Knew Too Much – some seriously good noise – who had the crowd dancing and working up a thirst. Two very worthy pursuits. As the night wound down and the last of the punters sauntered off into the warm Melbourne evening, there was time to reflect on the success of the night both socially and fundraising-ly - a feeling of satisfaction for the result, tinged with sadness for the reason.

The Local Taphouse managed to raise around $13,000 on the night from a tenner for entry, management donations, a hefty dollar match between Greg Hack and Accenture, raffles, auctions and, of course, beer sales. I helped out a bit in this department. Plus I ended up going in on my own and I gave Stephan a twenty at the door and just pretended I was there with a mate.

A special mention must go to the bar staff of The Local Taphouse who made the decision to donate all their tips from time of the bushfires to the benefit night two weeks later in a gesture that was as inspirational as it was generous. $2500 was no small contribution to the cause.

Congratulations to all involved and all those who drank so generously – but let’s hope we don’t have to do it ever again.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

... and a huge, pallet-o-slabs sized thank you to:
Matilda Bay Brewing (Fosters), Malt Shovel Brewery, Mountain Goat Brewery, 2 Brothers, Little Brewing Company, Otway Estate Brewery, NSW Brewers Guild, Little Creatures Brewery, Red Hill Brewery, Trumer, Temple Brewing, Jamieson Brewery, St Arnou Brewing Company, Holgate Brewhouse, Beermasons, Stef Hanson Personal Training, Greg Hack – Accenture, Dave Andrews – Innspire, The Hotel Lincoln, Jeff Green, Justin Hamilton, and The Band Who Knew Too Much.

And finally, to Steve, Guy, Justin and the crew at The Local Taphouse, thanks for all your generosity at a time when I know you must all be as flat out as Oprah at a sticky bun eating competition.

Ale Stars - The Professor's Report

As per normal, it's over to the Prof. for the wrap up of this week's Ale Stars session. You can (and should!) read his brilliantly written blog.

The seventh instalment of Ale Stars at The Local Taphouse could easily have slid into a scene of organised chaos had it not been for the quick thinking of the affable host and the beer skills and ingenuity of the assembled drinkers.

Blame the Global Financial Crisis, John Howard, Kevin Rudd or Global Warming - whatever – you’d think that it would be a straightforward task to get enough of four different beers to slake the thirst of thirty odd Ale Stars. Apparently not. Before the night kicked off the line up had changed more times than a Bride’s mind.

Some of the original choices were held up in port or on a ship or was drunk on the way over by the Drunken Sailor – I don’t know – and another proved a bit too popular in the lead up and the keg could not guarantee that it could keep up with demand. Another was out of stock. But Ale Stars being what it is – a bunch of like-minded beer drinkers who like to drink beer and have a bit of a chat about beer (usually while drinking beer) - the show would certainly go on. Some swift commercial shenanigans and Shandy and Ben had managed to cobble together a fine selection of beers to suit the category.

Summer pale ales is a loosely categorised collection of beers which are linked by a few common factors. These beers are not restricted to a specific style, rather they are easy drinking, lively and refreshing. Some are seasonal and some are quite sessional but they are all fine summer beers.

Sunner Kolsch is a bright, clear pale straw coloured ale from the German city of Cologne. Goes down very neatly and a great first up thirst quencher. Well balanced malt and mild bitterness each sip prepares the mouth for the next.

Our second beer came not with Shandy’s usually informative and colourful tasting notes but with a message informing us that we were to refer to ‘our panel’ for details. Our questions were answered when five unsuspecting Ale Stars were seconded from the crowd to give a live action, made-upon-the-spot review and dissection of the very handy James Squire Golden Ale. The ‘panel’ dealt with the elements of appearance, flavour, aroma, body and mouthfeel without anybody being ‘gonged’ by the Tech-Foul Bell used to alert the speaker to the fact that they are being ‘too’nerdy’. Shandy will often preface his own remarks by ringing the bell himself.

Cooper’s Original Pale Ale was our next offering and much discussion of the various ways of serving this beer highlighted just how many variations are acceptable, from rolling or inverting the unopened bottle to swirling and shaking it to pouring the beer off the top of the settled yeast.

The Beer Trivia quiz was back and a good mix of tricky and reasonably easy questions kept the assembled teams guessing. Wait, that’s the point of a trivia quiz, isn’t it? Anyway, again, I can’t recall the winning team or the impressive winning margin or even the fact that the final score was just two points off a perfect score – it’s all about the fun and the friendships and the drinking of good beer, really. Hands up if you have never been on a losing team at Ale Stars Beer Trivia?

And a very good beer was exactly what we needed. Good and special. Hargreaves Hill ESB is a beautifully crafted APA style ESB with character, balance and all the things that make a good refreshing ale. The kegs from which we drank were also two of the few remaining since the Hargreaves Hill Brewery was lost in the Victorian bushfires of Saturday February 7. A cracking beer to finish with and to savour until Simon and Beth can get the brewery up and running again. Simon has been down at Red Hill with David and Karen Golding this week getting some product out through Red Hill’s equipment and hopefully it won’t be long before we can tap some fresh kegs. More on the Local’s Bushfire benefit later.

Special thanks to Sean and Ben who ran around all night like one-armed Beirut bricklayers to keep up with the thirst of the crowd and the clearing of the empties and the feeding of the hungry as the ‘brains trust’ of the Local were all away in Sydney preparing for the opening – which may (or may not) be somewhere around next Tuesday for all you Harbour Habitants waiting for the perfect beer bar.

And, if you are stopped in the street by a confused salty sea Captain who says he has a ship-load of English Pale Ales for some bloke called Shandy, point him in the right direction, would you?

Cheers, Prof. Pilsner

Transport Hotel - launch of Beer & Brewer's latest edition and online beer club

If you're at a loose end tonight, head down to Transport as Beer & Brewer magazine are launching their latest edition as well as their association with a new online beer club (i'm sorry I forgot the name!). They have decided to also rattle the can for Hargreaves Hill and the Red Cross and have asked if they can pool it with what we raise tomorrow night at the Benefit Gig. Thanks to B&B Publishe, David Lipman, Transport and all involved for their generosity.

B&B are also donating a year's subscription to their mag plus a beer pack to tomorrow nights raffle/auction. It promises to be a cracker of a night at this rate but unfortunately I'll have to stay in Sydney as we count down the hours there. Guy will be representing us, along with JJ of course!

Baron's new beers on tap in Feb - in Sydney and Melbourne

Barons' Master Brewer, Richard has developed three sensational small batch brews and we're bringing them to you first. Events listed below may be the only chance you get to enjoy these fabulous creations. Thirsty yet?

Barons Honey Bock (7%) - This full flavoured Maibock style lager is moderately hopped with richness in colour and flavour from generous amounts of Munich malt combining with spicy honey notes. Dangerously drinkable!

Barons Hop Mother (5.8%) -Bitterness, tropical fruit, lychee and pine flavour and aroma explode from this ale. This is a beer for hop heads and not for the faint hearted.

Barons Summer Ale (4.2%) - Easy drinking does not have to mean lack of flavour as this English style session beer shows. A perfectly balanced beer.

All three will be launched officially at a Barons function in Sydney on March 12 at the new Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst. Scott and Richard and the Barons Squadron will be there..

All 3 beers will be on tap in St Kilda in early March as part our new monthly Brewery Showcases.

I think there are only 16 kegs of each beer produced so it's a v limited run...