Mikkeller Tap Takeover date set for August 23rd

Not only do we have the Mountain Goat Tap Makeover happening this Sat (St Kilda only) from noon, we can now confirm the Mikkeller Tap Takeover of all 100 taps in both venues will take place from noon on Tuesday August 23rd.

We have only 30 litres of some of the bigger beers so the full Takeover of 20 beers may only last a night before we start draining the kegs. Needless to say you'd want to drop in on the Tuesday if you want to try them all.

Tasting paddles will be available although you won't be allowed to more than one of the same beer on the same paddle.

Mikkeller next brewery to "takeover' all Taphouse taps

We are unbelievably excited to confirm that coming up in August is our second ever Taphouse Tap Takeover. The first one in May featured WA's Feral Brewery taking over all 100 available taps with twenty of their beers. The Takeover was a smash hit and has spurred us on to do more Takeovers and Makeovers (part Takeovers). Mikkeller is next and others are in the pipeline..

Mikkeller is a so-called "phantom" microbrewery founded in 2006 and based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company brews at a variety of breweries in several different countries including Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the UK and the US.

It was founded in 2006 by home brewers Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller with the intention of "challenging the Danes’ taste buds with intense taste adventures." Mikkeller found some inspiration for their widely-varied, edgy brewing approach "on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean where the American breweries aren’t afraid to play and break all the rules.

Ratebeer.com rates Mikkeller as being in the top 40 breweries in the world..

Here's the full lineup which we expect to hit the taps around mid August. The final date will be announced soon. In the meantime beerfans, get a load of this list!

• Drinkín the Sun 11
• Vesterbro Wit
• American Dream
• Exotic Punch
• Mikkeller 1000 IBU Light
• Thorsth Bonanza
• Vesterbro Pilsner
• A Pale Ale
• Jackie Brown
• Texas Ranger
• Koppi IPA
• Green Gold
• VB Kaffe Coffee
• Draft Bear
• It's Alive
• Monk's Elixer
• Simcoe
• Freiser
• Big Worse
• Black

The Local Taphouse pubs have been bought by Danish brewery Mikkeller

Is that so?!

It is according to the Sydney Morning Herald who published this article in their newspaper.

For the record, we haven't been bought by anyone. The mistake has probably been made by a confused editor after our recent Mikkeller Tap Takeover in both venues. The last time we had a Tap Takeover (the Feral Tap Takeover in May), it was reported we had been bought out by Feral Brewery.

Maybe we need to come up with a new name for this beer promotions?!

Mikkeller Tap Takeover @ Darlo

Straight up I did not enjoy the Mikkeller Tap Takeover at all. There, I said it! While everyone got to come in and enjoy all 20 of our taps from Mikkeller, I unfortunately was sick all week and unable to enjoy trying any of the beers on offer. I am a selfish man and if I don't get to enjoy something then no one else should.

Uncle Les rocked up to the Taphouse in the wee hours of the morning to start setting up for the massive job ahead of him. Now while this power horse of a man had everything set and ready before 10am we had a slight issue with one of the couplers. From now on, Les shall be known as MacGyver as he improvised with a penny, paddle pop stick and a copy of Womans Weekly to make sure the coupler was good to go (said items may or may not have been used but it makes for a good story).

Now while most people were working at their jobs dreaming of the beers to be had later in the night, we had a dedicated crew of about 20-30 people rock up early in the afternoon to enjoy the beers on offer. I went around to talk to a few people about their favourites and it was great to hear that we had 2 crews come all the way from Newcastle and around Wollongong just to try the beers. Hats off to you guys for making the trip to Sydney.

Roll on next Takeover..

MOA a 'goer' for Ale Stars in Darlo!

Last month Darlo hosted a Moa Tap Takeover which showcased a big chunk of the New Zealand brewery's repertoire. To coincide with this we were proud to theme our monthly Ale Stars meet up in true NZ fashion and we're finally getting around to posting this report!

Josh, the Marlborough born Kiwi from Moa took a flight up to Sydney from Melbourne to be our special guest in Darlo and it turned out to be a memorable night with a lot of new faces and a great Q & Ale session.

One of the favourite beers from the night was the self-proclaimed world's first breakfast beer, aptly named "Breakfast Beer" which a lot of people described as having the flavour and aroma of an alcoholic Creamy Soda which was a fitting description for this gorgeous fruity lambic.

Doc and Josh provided great banter about all of the beers tapped for the Takeover and once everyone sampled five, they continued to work their way through the rest of them! The stark similarities between the Moa range and wine production became clear with a lot of them being aged in wine barrels. Josh even mentioned that cellaring beer, although foreign, is what Moa hope to encourage to bring out the complexities and characteristics of their beers.

With a great range including an Imperial Stout, a Ginger Beer (with a name usually reserved for spotty, pale children) and a few other new tricks, it was clear that Moa are definitely one to follow with their sharp marketing and even sharper brews.

Reminder about next Tuesday's HUGE Feral Tap Takeover

Don't forget that from noon next Tuesday May 3rd, we will be tapping TWENTY different Feral Brewing beers for our first Taphouse Tap Takeover.

Some of these beers we only have a single keg of so we expect to start running out of some beers possibly as early as Tuesday night. Don't hesitate.

A tremendous thanks to Brendan, Will and everyone at Feral for accepting the difficult challenge and pulling this together for us. Expect more Takeovers and Makeovers (a huge chunk of the taps but not all of them) in the future..

So here's the list:

1. Feral White (Belgian Witbier, 4.6%)

2. Hop Hog (US IPA, 5.8%)

3. Golden Ace (5.5%)

4. Bohemian Pilsener (5%)

5. Smoked Porter (4.5%)

6. Rust (Belgian abbey ale, 6%)

7. Farmhouse Ale (Saison, 4.3%)

8. The Runt (American Pale Ale, 4.6%)

9. Funky Junky (Wild Ale, 4.3%)

10. Razorback (Barleywine, 9.8%)

11. Karma Citra (5.9%)

12. Boris (Russian Imperial Stout, 10.2%)

13. BFH (oak fermented IPA, 5.8%)

14. Fantapants (Double Red Ale, 7.4%)

15. 983 (Pale Ale with Sorachi hops, 4.5%)

16. IWit2.0 (Imperial Belgian Witbier, 7.5%)

17. Nice Guy Dud Root Brown Ale (4.9%)

18. Sail & Anchor IPA (British IPA, 5.2%)

19. Brass Monkey Stout (Oatmeal Stout, 5%)

20. Jose the Gose (Gose)

Mikkel & Moa = St Kilda Ale Star March Madness

March has been a busy month for our St Kilda Ale Stars with TWO sessions this month to take advantage of two fantastic brewers being in town.

The first session with the brilliant Mikkel, of Mikkeller in Denmark, was an extra session held on Thursday 8th March and a fantastic addition to the normal session. Mikkel was extremely informative, charismatic and funny and proved to be just as lovely and delightful as his beers.

The Mikkeller beers sampled on the night started off with the Cream Ale which is brewed in collaboration with Revelation Cat Craft Brewing. This beer is also the house beer at famous beer bar Brasserie 4:20 in Rome. As its name implies, the Cream Ale is a cream ale (!) fermented at a much lower temperature than usual, resulting in the body of an ale but the lightness of a pilsner and truly delicious.

Next to be tasted was the Bravo Single Hop IPA, one of the Mikkeller Single Hop IPA series using Bravo and a big hit amongst the Ale Stars.

'It's Alive' followed, a delicious American wild ale being Mikkeller's tribute to the Trappist beer Orval, with the potent Brettanomyces making it, well, alive!

To finish the tasting was the delightful 'Boogoop', a Buckwheat Wine brewed by Three Floyds and Mikkeller at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium. Big and delicious at 10.4%, it sent everyone on their merry way!

It was a true pleasure having Mikkel here with us at the Taphouse to hear in person of his brewing journey.

Later this month also saw our regular Ale Star session on the 3rd Tuesday of each month feature Josh Scott of Moa Brewing Co, NZ as the special guest. This proved to be another great session with Josh proving to be a delight. It was wonderful to hear of his brewing journey also, starting out in his Dad's back shed at 13 years old.

This Moa Ale Stars coincided with our Moa Tap Takeover, our third Tap Takeover where all twenty taps in each bar are "taken over" by one outstanding brewery.

To kick off the Moa tasting was the Moa 'Blanc Evolution', a scrumptious Belgian Wit brewed with a small amount of coriander added during it's extended maturation time giving it its unique spiciness. Next in line was Moa's 'St Josephs', a Belgian Tripel with strong clove and spice flavours and big at 9.5%.

The 'Five Hop' ESB was the third to be tasted and is a beautiful winter ale that utilises Pilsner, Vienna, Munich and Crystal malts to produce a distinctive mouthfeel and flavour. The last beer was the big Imperial Stout which is aged in Pinot Noir barrels giving it a tannin like finish and an oak induced mellow bitterness. A serious stout, especially at 10.2%! A great beer to end the night on.

A massive thank you to Mikkel and Josh for being part of our Ale Stars and being such wonderful guests sharing their passion, knowledge and of course their beer with us all.

To see a few more pics click here.

Another Tap Takeover down and a Goat Makeover around the corner!

With all the excitement of the Mikkeller Tap Takeover just dying down, along comes our first Darlo Tap Makeover, and a Mountain Goat Makeover at that!

The famed microbrewery from Richmond in Melbourne will showcase their entire available range from noon next Tuesday Sept 13 - all at the same time. Here are the exciting beers we've lined up: Steam, Hightail, IPA, Surefoot Stout, Bigfoot Imp Stout, Seedy Goat Coffee IPA and Oak aged Rapunzel.

We hope to see you there!

Feral Tap Takeover starts May 3rd

As some people are planning their holidays around this event (I kid you not!), we can now confirm that the Feral Taphouse Tap Takeover will start on Tuesday May 3rd in both venues from midday.

All 20 of each venue's taps will feature 20 different Feral beers at the same time - until the beers run out. Depending on the beer, there will be 1-3 kegs of each beer so if you want to not miss out on any, don't dawdle in getting down to your nearest Taphouse.

For the full incredible lineup, click here.

Reminder - Mikkeller Tap Takeover next Tue (23rd) from noon

Less then 1 week to go till the Mikkeller Tap Takeover at both venues on Tuesday 23rd August from noon. Make sure you get in early as we have limited supplies at both venues.

Mikkeller Takeover - tasting paddle madness!!

Not much remains from the Mikkeller Tap Takeover from August 23rd.

Those lucky enough to have got in early and ordered themselves a tasting paddle of some of Denmark's finest were excited about tasting such a varied range of beers. And plenty more punters rolled in after work for what became a quite large Tuesday.

From a craft light beer through the brown ale and a couple of big IPA's and all the way to the biggest of them all - 18 Black, a delicately balanced 17 and a half percenter. Wow. Yum.

Stay tuned for the next in our series of Showcases, Makeovers and Takeovers... rumour has it the next one is a makeover from a tiny little brewery in a land not too far away...

Don't say you haven't been warned about 1000 IBU Light though!

Another take on the Feral Tap Takeover

Here's another independent wrap of the recent Feral Tap Takeover by the boys from From Beer To Eternity..

Next Tap Takeover - Moa from New Zealand

Coming up in March is just out third ever Tap Takeover in both venues (Mikkeller and Feral being the other two), this time featuring 19 beers and a cider from Moa Brewery in NZ. Some of the beers are being brewed just for the occasion so we're pumped!

Here's the list of beers. When we have an exact date, we'll post something on the blog..

• Original
• Methode
• Blanc
• Noir
• Rangitane Special
• Pale Ale
• Blanc Evolution
• Marzen
• 5 Hop
• Breakfast
• St Josephs
• Imperial Stout
• Weka Apple Cider
• EPA
• Blonde
• McMoa
• Mussel stout
• MOA wha ( quad)
• Imperial Methode
• Ginger Beer

Mountain Goat Brewery to be first Tap 'Makeover' and Mornington Brewery Showcase coming in December

Mountain Goat in downtown Richmond, Victoria, will be the first brewery to have a Taphouse Tap Makeover. As opposed to a Tap Takeover where all 20 taps are dedicated to one brave brewery, a Makeover features a large range of beers from the one brewery - all on tap at the same time. Starting on Sat July 23rd from midday in St Kilda (Darlo to follow date TBC), here are the exciting beers we've lined up with the boys:

1. Steam
2. Hightail
3. Surefoot Stout
4. Bigfoot Imp Stout
5. Speciality Coffee beer
6. IPA
7. Oak aged Rapunzel

And while it's a few months off, it's worth putting the Mornington Brewery Showcase in your diary from December 1st. It'll be kinda like Christmas coming early!

World Famous Mikkel at the St Kilda Taphouse tomorrow!

You lucky people!

The additional Ale Stars for the month of March is tomorrow! featuring the very special guest Mikkel of Mikkeller Brewing from Denmark! Don't miss this one to hear from the man himself about all his delicious beers!

We could not pass up the opportunity to have an intimate evening with Mikkel and nor can you! Book now!


This is an additional Ale Stars to the already very exciting evening happening on the regular 3rd Tuesday of the month, the 20th of March, featuring another very special guest Josh Scott of Moa Brewing Co from New Zealand! This coincides with our next Tap Takeover with, you guessed it, all 20 taps Moa beers. Learn from the man himself while sampling up to, or all 20 beers! Book now and share another exciting evening with us.

Now don't tell us that we don't spoil you...

The first Taphouse Tap Takeover - what a Feral occasion

In what I think is a first in this country, both Taphouses will dedicate all 20 of their taps at the same time to one brewery - until the beers run out. That brewery would be Feral Brewing in WA's Swan Valley and here's what to expect:

1. Feral White (Belgian Witbier, 4.6%)
2. Hop Hog (US IPA, 5.8%)
3. Golden Ace (5.5%)
4. Bohemian Pilsener (5%)
5. Smoked Porter (4.5%)
6. Rust (Belgian abbey ale, 6%)
7. Farmhouse Ale (Saison, 4.3%)
8. The Runt (American Pale Ale, 4.6%)
9. Funky Junky (Wild Ale, 4.3%)
10. Razorback (Barleywine, 9.8%)
11. Karma Citra (5.9%)
12. Boris (Russian Imperial Stout, 10.2%)
13. BFH (oak fermented IPA, 5.8%)
14. Fantapants (Double Red Ale, 7.4%)
15. 983 (Pale Ale with Sorachi hops, 4.5%)
16. IWit2.0 (Imperial Belgian Witbier, 7.5%)
17. Coconut Brown Ale (4.9%)
18. Sail & Anchor IPA (British IPA, 5.2%)
19. Brass Monkey Stout (Oatmeal Stout, 5%)
20. and a surprise!

Coming up in May.. and hopefully in the future with other breweries.

The Mighty Moa stars of Ale - Darlinghurst

Good afternoon Ale Stars,

With only 8 days to go, make sure you have cleared your diary for the 21st March.

Josh Scott, head brewer for MOA, will be giving us all the low down on tap takeover specials. This is definitely not one to miss!

As per usual we'll have Chef David Thakray's food to nibble on and Dominic Borels colourful trivia also on the night.

If you haven't already, you can book here. Remember, bookings are necessary as walks ins are no longer allowed. All welcome, hope to see you all here!

A tap list for sore eyes... and a Feral wrapup by Beer O'clock

The Twittersphere and other dark corners of the interweb lit up this week with glowing reports of our first ever Tap Takeover.

Feral made Taphouse history with our Tap List (below) dominated by one brewery's beers for the first time. What a menu board huh?!


The Beer O'Clock blog sampled every beer and posted this run down.

In Sydney, Jason was first in the door at midday followed shortly by recently inducted Hall of Famer, Michael (below) in his self-made Taphouse merchandise!

Today's the Day to get Feral

As Crafty Pint declared on it's front page this morning (above), today is indeed the day for our first Tap Takeover. Featuring 20 different beers from Feral Brewing in WA on all of our 20 taps, this shouldn't be missed.

Some people have rearranged their holidays for this! Tapping happens at midday and there is limited supply of kegs so if you leave it until tomorrow, you may not have all 20 to choose from.

To see the full lineup, click here.

Nice Guy Dud Root? Only Feral could call a beer that!

The final list for the Feral Taphouse Tap Takeover (coming May 3 - both venues) is now locked in. The surprise beer is Jose the Gose and the coconut brown ale is now a brown ale (it tastes too good without the coconut) called Nice Guy Dud Root!

So here's the list

1. Feral White (Belgian Witbier, 4.6%)
2. Hop Hog (US IPA, 5.8%)
3. Golden Ace (5.5%)
4. Bohemian Pilsener (5%)
5. Smoked Porter (4.5%)
6. Rust (Belgian abbey ale, 6%)
7. Farmhouse Ale (Saison, 4.3%)
8. The Runt (American Pale Ale, 4.6%)
9. Funky Junky (Wild Ale, 4.3%)
10. Razorback (Barleywine, 9.8%)
11. Karma Citra (5.9%)
12. Boris (Russian Imperial Stout, 10.2%)
13. BFH (oak fermented IPA, 5.8%)
14. Fantapants (Double Red Ale, 7.4%)
15. 983 (Pale Ale with Sorachi hops, 4.5%)
16. IWit2.0 (Imperial Belgian Witbier, 7.5%)
17. Nice Guy Dud Root Brown Ale (4.9%)
18. Sail & Anchor IPA (British IPA, 5.2%)
19. Brass Monkey Stout (Oatmeal Stout, 5%)
20. Jose the Gose (Gose)