Beer Stuff Around Town
Lots of good beer stuff going on at the moment. New stuff from local breweries and interesting beers arriving at local pubs.
At the Wheaty there is plenty of good stuff coming up. This week has many exciting new beers coming up. Already announced in the regular Wheaty mail is lots of tasty treats. This Friday, the 10th of February, is the start of a run of what promises to be excellent single hop IPAs from Mikkeller. First up on tap this Friday is Citra. I love this hop so can’t wait to see what Mikkeller has done with it. Also coming up, hopefully this week, are some excellent new arrivals from Green Flash and Bear Republic. I had the very good luck of having some of the Bear Republic beers fresh from the taps when I was in the USA and Racer 5 is one of the best IPAs I have had. I personally can’t wait to get a chance to try it again. Also in stock right now are a bunch of new wheat beers from German brewer Schneider. Things are looking good over the next few weeks. Get There!
Shanker’s on Prospect Rd is updating it’s list again. They keep turning it over and adding more good beer. Recently some beers from Bridge Road Brewers have found their way into the fridge and I hear there may be some India Saison on the way soon. I also managed to get to Shanker’s for my Birthday which happened to coincide with the Prospect Road Street Party for the Tour Downunder. On the night they had a special beer brewed by Beard and Brau on tap. It was a very tasty pale ale which went down a treat in the hot weather and with the great food. To top all this off there is a rumour some very tasty locally made beers may be turning up on tap on a permanent basis at Shanker’s in the near future.
Across town at the Earl of Leicester there are some great beers hitting the taps and in the fridge. I’m not sure if I mentioned it previously but they are, as far as I’m aware, the only venue pouring the Double Red from Beard and Brau. It’s a great beer and my favourite from Beard and Brau so far. They currently have the Poleeko Gold from Anderson Valley on tap too. I’m yet to see it anywhere else in the country on tap and haven’t seen a mention of it in bottles either. There is a bunch of other great beers in bottle too and the food is always great. Get down and check them out.
The Highway have been putting some god beers on tap too. On my last visit they had both The Runt and Barrel Fermented Hop Hog from Feral. They have had great stuff in bottles for some time now and it’s great to see some great Australian craft beer hitting the taps. In bottle there is a great selection from across the ditch in NZ and from the USA. I enjoyed some tasty drops from Epic, 8Wired and Yeastie Boys on my last visit. The beer list is improving with every visit and the food coming out of the kitchen is excellent too.
At The Lion in North Adelaide they have been turning up the craft beers in recent times too. Recently there have even been beers from American favourite Rogue. However they seem to always have at least a couple of Australian crafts on tap. On my most recent visit there were beers from Lobethal and Moutain Goat on tap. In the fridge was the Pike’s Stout which I hadn’t had before. They are brewing their beers at Hargreaves Hill now and this is a pretty good drop. There is normally beer from the likes of Yeastie Boys, Brooklyn Brewery, Sierra Nevada and Hitachino. There really is a good range of beers now and you should get down there and check it out.
On the brewery scene Brewboys have updated the Charger lager now called Charger E55. It’s a great drop and I don’t know how long it will be available for so get down there and try some. In addition there are always new single batch and or single keg beers going on tap. If you don’t get down regularly you won’t get the chance to try them ever. The regular lineup is great too so just go and talk to the brewers and have a few beers.
Over at Beard and Brau there is the aforementioned Double Red that they have out at The Earl. You really should get there to try it. I don’t think it’s available any more but if you can find it the Tourrific Pale Ale was a great drop. It’s a great and really drinkable American Style Pale Ale. To try the range get to the Earl of Leicester as they usually have a large number of Beard and Brau beers. Shanker’s generally have a couple available too. You can drop into Shanker’s just for a beer too.
Lobethal have been releasing some new beers too. The latest verion of the Devil’c Choice is out and a tasty drop it is. If you like high ABV Belgian style ales then this should be right up your alley. They have recently started brewing a new beer just for the Good Life Pizza shops. I haven’t even had a chance to try it myself yet. I’m told it’s quite a tasty drop. This is unconfirmed but I believe it’s an American Pale Ale with a good hit of Citra hops. The Pilsener has recently undergone a change in recipe too. I’m not sure if this is just for The Wheaty or it’s a availble generally. Either way they have dried it out and made it a little more bitter. It has worked a treat and made what was a good beer even better. It’s currently on tap at the Wheaty and tasting great.
Down at Steam Exchange they also have a new release. It’s a Belgian Trappist style called Flurieu Family Reserve. I have to admit it is a little sweet for my tastes but it does have some really interesting flavours and should be given a try. My tastes are more on the bitter side anyway. I haven’t been down to Goolwa for a while to visit the brewery so plan to do that in the next few weeks. Always good to hang out at the brewery and have super fresh beers.
Well that is the wrap up for now. This has turned out much longer than I expected. Apologies if I have missed anything it’s just that there is so much going on. Just get out there and drink some great beer. Support your local breweries and your local venues. See you at the bar.
The Legend is at The Wheaty / Wheatsheaf Hotel
Photo Edwin Bautista
It has been a long time in coming but you can now get legitimately imported Sierra Nevada beer in Australia and from the Wheaty. For a long time it has been coming into the country as a grey import. Whilst some of the beer came in was in good condition it wasn’t supported by the producer and wasn’t necessarily transported in an approved way. Now the beer is transported in a way the brewer approves of to get the beer here in good condition.
It has been available for about a week and I have had the chance to try a couple of them. I have recently had these beers in the USA and can confirm that the product we are getting here is tasting as good as it does fresh in California. At the time of writing I have had the stout and porter. Both were great. Plan on trying the pale and IPA at the pub tomorrow and will report back if they aren’t up to scratch.
These beers aren’t going to blow away the taste buds like many American beers do but they are classics and will likely be some of the best beer you have. For me the pale ale in 2001 was a revelation. Back before I had even heard of a IPA and the most “craft” beer I had tried was Cooper’s this beer blew away my pallet. I couldn’t even understand what was happening to my taste buds. There was so much flavour and bitterness I didn’t know what to think at first. I liked it so much I came home and started brewing myself and started making lots of American style pale ale. This is a beer that helped to start the craft beer revolution and everyone should try it. You may find it a little subtle compared to some of the beers available now days but this beer has been around for about 21 years now. Think about what you were drinking in 1980 then think about the flavour impact this beer has. It’s a history lesson in a bottle. Get some from the Wheaty today!
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Crown & Sceptre
The Bar at the Scepter courtesy of http://www.sceptre.com.au/
Adelaide now has a new option for good craft beer. The Crown and Sceptre has hooked up with some of Australia’s best breweries and has a range of great beers available. They have pulled out a lot of stops and really jumped into it too. They have a great range of beer from the likes of Murray’s, Bridge Road Brewers, Stone & Wood and 8Wired from NZ. They aren’t dipping their toe when it comes to breweries or styles. On a recent visit I had an Icon 2IPA from Murray’s, a Chestnut Pilsener from Bridge Road Brewers and an Organic Ale from Mike’s. That is an amazing line up for a bar just getting into good beer. Have a look at the beer list on their web site for the full line up. I’m certain you will be impressed.
You really should go for the beer but there are other reasons to visit too. I visited for lunch recently and the food was great. They have specials going all week so if you are working in the city it’s a great spot for lunch and maybe a beer or two at lunchtime. Then you can head back down for after work drinks and it will still take you many visits to work through that beer list. On top of the food there is regular live music and DJs, check the gigs page for details. The Sceptre is just a cool venue. For those of you that live and or work in the city it’s a great spot and they are making a real commitment to good beer which is a rare thing within the cbd and the whole of Adelaide for that matter. Get down there and have a beer.
If they do get the support from beer drinkers we may even get them to add a tap or two of good beer. When you go in pick up a good beer and ask when the taps are coming. They are doing a great job but more people will give great beer a try if they know it is there. Get There!
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Drinking Real Ale in the UK
I’m now just over a week into my trip to the UK. Unfortunately the majority of my time has been spent on my day job. I have managed to find some time to try some real ales though. With the day job stuff out of the way I am on my from Oxford to London by bus. It’s a pretty good set up with decent free wifi on the bus. If they only had a couple of taps so we could sample along the way.
I have been working and staying around the Cheltenham Glouscter area and have been trying to try beers from the local breweries while I have the chance. I did make a day trip on a day off to Stone Henge, Bath and Cardiff so got to try some of their local drops too. However, I did manage to find the holy grail of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord on cask at a pub not five minute walk from my hotel. I got as much of it as I could. I can tell you from my experience it is every bit as good as you imagine it to be. If you ever get the chance to try it from the cask you simply have to do it.
Now I have London and all it has to offer to look forward to. I’m particularly keen on a visit to the pub, The Greenwich Union, owned and run by the Meantime brewery. I have been a big fan of some of their beers and can’t wait to try them from the source. Will also be good to taste the difference and see how well it travels compared to what we get at home. Will add some more posts soon and have some article coming for Brews News too so make sure you keep an eye out over there.
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On The Road in the UK
Photo Andrew Macdonald
After taking me all around Australia over the last twelve months my day job now has me off to the UK. Unfortunately I am going to have to work while I am there but I am certainly going to find the time for a pint or two and be able to taunt you all when I have a Landlord fresh from the cask. I can’t wait to try the real cask ales sitting in a real English pub.
I will be spending a total of two weeks over there with a week and a half in Cheltenham and a couple of days in London. If you know of any great must see pubs or breweries in those areas please let me know. I have been hitting up the CAMRA web site but a personal recommendation is always great. I am going to be in London for the Tottenham V Arsenal match at Whitehart Lane so if anyone knows how to scam tickets that advice would be greatly appreciated.
Watch my twitter for the latest on what I am up to over there.
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A Visit to Brisbane’s Platform Bar
My day job took me to Brisbane for a night and as luck would have it I was staying just around the corner from The Platform Bar. From all reports this is the best beer bar in town so that was where I headed as soon as I got done with the day job.
It looks very small at first but there is a pretty good area with tables and couches around behind the bar. It’s a fairly small bar but they have about eight beers on tap and a pretty decent bottle selection. Because of the small size, I assume, there is no seating at the bar. I’m a fan of sitting at the bar in a beer place and striking up conversations with other beer geeks and talking to people who don’t know their beer so well. Beer people tend to be a talkative crowd and having a bar to sit around certainly helps conversation.
The night I was there was pretty quiet and I was with some work colleagues so I didn’t get the chance to really chat with the staff or any locals. The staff were friendly but I didn’t get a chance to test their beer knowledge. I got stuck into some Rogue and Bridge Road beers and even got my colleagues to try the Rogue Juniper Pale Ale which was quite a big deal for someone used to drinking Carlton Draught. We were going to head to Scales and Ales for dinner but time wore an and we decided to eat at Platform too. The prices are great and the bar style meals we had were pretty good. I didn’t have the steak but am told it was pretty good for only $18 in the middle of a capital city.
In summary they have great beer, good food and a really great place. Sitting out the back reclined in the leather sofas drinking good beer is something I probably could have done all night. Unfortunately they closed and I had to leave. If you are going to Brisbane or if you are in Brisbane you really should check out Platform Bar. Get There!
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