At ANHC
I’m at ANHC. So far we have judged the nationals, had a few meetings and a lot of beers. The conference proper kicks off today with the first sessions. If the last conference is anything to go by it’s going to be a great time.
So far I have managed to fit in sessions at Beer Deluxe, Mrs Parmas, Biero and The Local Taphouse. I’m already feeling it. Tonight we have Club Night where homebrewers put on their best for everyone to try. Had some amazing beers at the last conference and can’t wait to try what is on offer tonight. Before club night we have the food matching dinner. I have been trying to do my own dinners recently so will be great to see someone elses ideas and try some amazing beers matched with good food. It all looks to be a great time. More later. It’s time for beer.
Review – Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale
I have just received a new order of great beers from Bier Shop and it’s time to get some reviews up. Lots of interesting beers to come from this delivery and first up is a real surprise packet in Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale from Kiuchi Brewery.
The beer pours and light copper colour with a good size creamy head that sticks around. With a typical bottle pour it produces around 4cm of head. The beer is hazy as it is a naturally conditioned ale.
The aroma is wonderful. A great mix of light malt that is just detectable and wonderful citrus hop character. The citrus is more of a English mandarin peel citrus than the over powering grapefruit like citrus from American hops. However, there is another secret here. This beer spends some time in cedar barrels and that is the aroma you are detecting but can’t quite pick. The combination of aromatic hops and smokey cedar character give an almost sandalwood type aroma to the beer. This is also backed up by some good deep malt character from the Munich, Crystal and Marris Otter malts.
The flavour carries on as you would expect from the aroma. However, the malt does play a larger part in the flavour. Using malts like Munich and Marris Otter give you the strong chewy flavours that back up the bitterness and hop character. These malts also provide a great chewiness that balances perfectly with the hops. The hops and cedar characters are really where it is at with this beer. The mandarin peel citrus character from the aroma carries over into the flavour. It mixes well with the cedar character again to produce wonderful flavours. These flavours again combine the smokiness of the cedar and citrus of the hops to give sandalwood and lemongrass like characters. The medium body and balance of the beer makes it incredibly drinkable, you need to get more than one. This is very sessionable for a beer that weighs in at 7%ABV. The carbonation is just high enough to aid the drinkability and is well conditioned.
This is an all round fantastic beer. I would team this with a Thai curry or a really nice piece of pan fried salmon. Do yourself a favour and give this beer a go. Get Some!
AABC and ANHC
Coming up this week are the Australian Homebrewing Nationals Competition judging and running in conjunction is the Australian National Homebrewing Conference. I’m off to Melbourne for both events so it looks to be a big week. Lots of events over the course of a few days all of which involve beer in some way shape or form. If you don’t already have a ticket you should think about getting one. Even if you are not a homebrewer there is plenty to see and do.
Besides the actual conference sessions which are mostly for real brewing geeks there are a number of events for those that are not brewers. On Wednesday night there is a dinner and judges calibration session at Biero, a new bar/restaurant in Melbourne. After judging on Thursday there is a dinner and drinks at The Local Taphouse in St Kilda. On Friday the conference gets into full swing with a bunch of sessions including a session on advanced flavour training. Friday night is the beer and food matching dinner which will be amazing if last time is anything to go by. After the dinner it’s time for club night where homebrew clubs from around the country put their best on show for everyone to try. This is a big night going on past performances so don’t go too hard too early.
On Saturday it’s back to the conference sessions. On Saturday there are a few more sessions for the lest technically inclined including talks on cooking and pairing food with beer and on calibrating your pallet. Later in the day there is even a cheese making presentation. One I think I will be attending. After the conference formalities wrap up for the day it’s time for the gala dinner where the National Brewing Competition awards will be handed out. Once again we get some great beers paired with fantastic food.
As you can see there is something for everyone. If you make it along you won’t be disappointed. Get There!
Degustation at Lobethal Bierhaus
Coming up on the 24th of November at the Lobethal Bierhaus, a degustation dinner matching food and beer. Along for the ride is Chuck Hahn. It’s great that brewers from competing breweries can get together to put on a event like this.
Lobethal are producing some of the best beers coming out of South Australia and they have a great restaurant so this just makes sense. My only question is why has it taken so long? The food at the restaurant is always excellent so when paired with their beers I can’t imagine this being anything other than sensational. If you add a talk by Chuck it’s a mix that really shouldn’t be missed. I have had plenty of Lobethal beer, ate in their restaurant and number of times and have heard Chuck talk before and there is no way I’m missing a combination of the three. I hope they find a way to get the double hopped IPA into the menu. I just have to convince them to up the malt and turn it into a true double IPA.
It should be a great night. I predict you will want to book tickets early as I can’t see any way this doesn’t sell out quickly. Get There
New Goats on tap at The Wheaty
A little late notice but there are some new Mountain Goat beers going on tap and it starts today. There will be a combination of seasonals we have seen before and new experimental beers not yet seen in Adelaide. The list includes IPA, Double Hightail, Fancypants and A dopplebock.
It all kicks off this afternoon, Friday October 8, with the IPA tapped at 1700. There will still be double hopped IPA from Lobethal on tap so if you are after some hops it woul be a good time to stop in at The Wheaty, Get There!
Double Barrelled Locals at The Wheaty
It’s the start of the month and this coming Wednesday is the first so it’s time for double barrelled locals again. This month we have one of my favourite local beers going on tap. As usual the brewers will be in attendance so it should be a good night at the pub.
First up from Barossa Brewing Company we have their Miller’s Lager. A pale Lager in the Bavarian style with a nice level of bitternes and nice touch of hops in the flavour too. This is a well balanced and very drinkable beer that goes down well on a warm day. They say it gets a full four weeks lagering which is a real commitment to quality from a small brewer. I haven’t had one for a while so look forward to trying it again.
The beer I have to admit I’m really looking forward to is the double hopped IPA from Lobethal Birehaus. Their regular IPA is good but when you double up on the hops you are going to suck me in every time. This is one of the best beers being produced bu the local micros and I get hod of some whenever I can. I would like to see them up the malt a little as well and turn it into a real double IPA but it’s very good as it is. Whenever I am up at Lobethal this is what comes home in the growler with me.
Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to make it down on Wednesday this week but look forward to trying these asap. Should be a good night so have one for me.