The Brewgies

Now that the Hoo-Hah has subsided over the Numpty Family Nuptials it’s time to turn our attention homewards. Tonight sees Australia’s premier event on the social calendar, The Logies, enter its 53^rd year.

Every year we see the same old stuff. The ‘Ruby Carpet’ could just as easily be re-named “Tits Out For The Boys Parade” and the ‘celebrities’ are ‘famous for being well known’ rather than for any perceivable talent they may possess. But, like any decent car crash, you can’t help but stop to stare.

The controversy is the same every year as well. And not the ‘who’s up who’ dissection of every soap opera cast or the ‘how many warm Crownies til someone does something news-worthy’ kind of debate - but the nominations that cause the most froth and bubble. Each year the Greatest Side Show on Earth revolves around who got the nods and who should’ve been shot.

Personally I have tried to care less about The Logies but I just can’t. With three girls in the house I only get to watch a lot of Sponge Bob Square Pants and ABC3 so I’m probably a bit out of step with current televisual trends and couldn’t pick most celebs out of a Police line up stacked with Oompah-Loompahs. But I do know beer.

So here’s the thing. What if celebs were beers – who would be who? If there were Logies style awards for beer, who would take the top gongs. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Beer Worlds night of nights – The Brewgies!”

Most Outstanding New Talent – Bridge Road Brewers B2 Bomber

Most Outstanding Drama – 2010 Crown Ambassador Reserve

Most Popular – Stone & Wood Pacific Ale

Most Popular Light Entertainment – Murray’s Punch & Judy Ale

Special Hall of Fame Award for services to the Industry – Brad Rogers

And to the prestigious Gold Brewgie Nominations;

Rebecca Gibney –Consistently solid performer without ever reaching any dizzying heights. Always on screen and thereabouts but you’re likely to reach for something more ... ‘now’. Cooper’s Sparkling Ale.

Jessica Marais – Came onto the scene with a glamorous burst of publicity and soon captured a huge following before disappearing without a trace. VB Raw. (Except for that bit about the ‘huge following’.)

Karl Stefanovic – Like salt and pepper he seems to be in everything from morning and weekend telly to covering major events and disasters. He may be innocuous enough to be inoffensive but that doesn’t make him worth seeking out. Thin and flavourless while making people think he has journalistic integrity. Proving that quantity and availability don’t necessarily mean quality. Pure Blonde.

Asher Keddie – Quality actor with skill and poise but never really achieving the widespread acclaim her talents probably deserve. Warmly accepted by her fans, though. James Squire Porter.

Adam Hills – Top bloke, family friendly, take-him-anywhere, show him off in front of the kids or Grandma. Always around without wearing out his welcome and always delivers what he promises. Also able to provide those little quality highlights that make him a ‘must-watch’. Little Creatures Pale Ale.

Chrissie Swan – Has a very small band of loyal followers who managed somehow to engineer a nomination. Everyone else is still nudging the bloke next to him and asking; “Never heard of her? What does she do?” Vale Ale.

Enjoy the awards if that’s what you’re into. I’ll be there, waiting for the car crash and drinking a nice award winning beer. Or two.

Cheers

Prof Pilsner

2010 Crown Ambassador Reserve

I suppose that if you manage a restaurant that offers around a hundred different beers it stands to reason that you will frequently come into contact with people who will show an interest in beer. Some of these will become more than just guests or regulars, they will become friends.

One of these rang me (from his holiday in Queensland, no less) and asked if I’d like to come as his guest to a Beer Masterclass at the RACV Club hosted by Fosters Head Brewer John Cozens and featuring tastings of, among others, the Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager – 2010. After a nano-second’s thought, I replied that I would.


The 2010 Crown Ambassador has been in the news of late and sadly not just because of its $90 price tag or because of the niche it is carving for itself in the beer market. Based on the malt/hop platform of its premium lager’s namesake, Crown Ambassador is big (10%ABV), bold (fresh wet Galaxy hop flowers) and brassy (presentation box, hand-capped, limited to 7,000 champagne style bottles.

Unfortunately it also has one unintended added extra. Brettanomyces. Brett, to you and me and any brewer who knows his stuff. Actively sought out by those wanting to brew a sour Lambic style beer but assiduously avoided by those trying to brew, say, a layered, super-premium, limited release specialty brew. As an example.

Brett is a sneaky little wild yeast which imparts a firm sourness and some high-end funky aromas - all of which make a good Lambic but are not necessarily welcome in a beer that doesn’t set out to be Lambic. It’s not the end of a beer, in particular one which has such complexity and depth – if anything, if you’re going to get stung with Brett, this is the kind of beer that just might carry it.

Enough of the back story - for those wanting a comprehensive insight into this issue, I refer you straight to The Crafty Pint – it has pictures and quotes and EVERYTHING!!

This piece is my experience of the 2010 Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager as shared with John Cozens and a Wine Bar full of ‘Everyman’. To set the scene; the RACV Club hosts various events for its members and the Beer Masterclass is a small group (30 at most I think) sat in the upstairs Wine Bar. Six beers are served along with ‘light delicacies’ to match and the evening is hosted by an industry expert/ identity.

We began with a standard Crown Lager (not that any present expected to use this as a reference point for the Ambassador!) followed by a Cascade Green (for the Galaxy hop addition – I know it’s in there somewhere) and then onto a side-by-side tasting of the 2010 and the 2009 Crown Ambassador Reserves. A Duvel and a Hoegaarden were set to finish.

John introduced the night and spoke with a genuine warmth of the purpose and method behind producing a beer like the Ambassador. It is always fascinating for me to hear the reasons behind the beers and John conveyed beautifully the way in which this beer set out to be just a beer, not one that would be confined to a particular style guideline. A ‘layered’ beer based on the core Crown ingredients but built up with levels of malt, hops, yeast flavours and high alcohol to give the drinker a series of little experiences on the way down.





After tasting the 2010 Ambassador John called for comments and the hands shot up. Remembering that most present were not beer industry experts or even craft beer advocates – to be fair, most were rank novices - the response puts into context the problem, as I see it, that Foster’s has created for itself.

The overwhelming reaction was that the beer ‘smelled bad’. “Is it just that it’s a bit young?” asked one “Is that smell supposed to be there?” queried another while others asked if the smell was the hops or the yeast. It was at this point when I felt for john Cozens as he is a brewer but also an employee.

Knowing what I already knew (I had consulted two reliable sources to ensure that the Brett issue had in fact been admitted by Foster’s) I was interested to hear the reply. And it’s not that he tried to say that the Brett WASN’T there but that the ‘youth’ of the beer and the unexpected wetness of the hops WERE suggested as factors in the funky nature of the new flagship brew. I guess I wanted to hear that the beer had in fact contracted an unexpected infection (even if the source is still a mystery) but that this only added to the unique nature of the beer. Perhaps this audience wasn’t the right one for that concept?




And so to the Prof’s conclusions. [Remember, I’m a pretend Prof, no real scientific qualifications. It’s just a name I made up]

From chatting with John Cozens I can appreciate that Foster’s has a marketing dilemma rather than a brewing dilemma on their hands. Yes, the beer has an unexpected and, indeed, unwelcome addition to the flavour profile. Yes, they would prefer that it wasn’t there because even in a ‘Beer with no Style’ you still don’t want to list “infection” on the ingredients panel. But does that warrant a recall or discount or a public flogging in the town square? Probably not. But an admission that sometimes even under the strictest controls and the tightest testing something can go amiss would have been nice.

I reckon the Ambassador will come good in two or three years and that’s probably as much a hope as it is a considered opinion but I’m happy to wait and see. I still think the concept of the Ambassador is a good one because next year’s Vintage will still sell because there are those who need it to ‘complete the set’ and there are those who will want one as a gift or to display in the boardroom. Who knows, they might even have forgotten all about the stink by then.

“Brett? Wasn’t he the bloke from the second series of “The Farmer wants a Root?”

Cheers,
Prof Pilsner
(Proudly NOT a real Professor)

Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager 2010

I was lucky enough to receive a Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager last week. A personalised gift in appreciation for my support of better beer appreciation. That’s what I reckon, anyway.

Part of me really wants to crack it right here, right now, let’s see what the fuss is all about. That’s the Beer Bloke in me. The Beer Lover, however, is sitting on my other shoulder whispering; “You know, this will improve with age, it will mellow and grow and mature. Put it aside and open it in three years, just like John Cozens told you!”

I’m torn.

I tell you what; I’ll tell you about this beer so as to promote it and get a bit of discussion going in the Blogosphere, as is my want, and I’ll share with you my thoughts on its charms and that way you still have the chance to go out and get one of the few remaining units for commercial sale if you think it’s for you.

Those who have watched this blog grow from some waffle I was writing for the amusement of myself and two others into the same thing but with two hundred hits on a good day will know that I don’t do beer reviews. For me, beer is as much about the occasion as it is about flavour profiles, IBUs and Grain Bills – not to say these things aren’t relevant – it’s just that the same beer can have many different personalities depending on my mood, the moment and the motivation for drinking it.

And anyway, what I smell, feel and taste might not be the same for you and my perception of bitterness or sweetness or beeriness might be totally different to yours. In other words, make up your own mind – it’s never wrong.





I love that we have a Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager. At the end of the day we need a strong beer industry in a country with a ‘rich’ beer culture and tradition and a relatively small population. The fact that we are moving away slowly from a swilling mentality, drinking less beer but drinking better beer means that we need the ‘Big Boys’ to play their part as well as the small artisan brewers. In this respect, The Ambassador has an important place in the beer landscape.

In a more visual way, it is doing for the beer scene what VB Original Ale did some years ago. What Willie Simpson described as the ‘premiumisation’ of VB was a move from “all beer is pale gold and fizzy swill” to “here’s a bit of a nod to the beer traditions of our past” with a beer that was based on what VB may have tasted like when it was an ale of the people. It also gave the opportunity to regular VB drinkers to ‘upscale’ without seeming a beer wanker; “What the F@#k ya drinkin’ there, Shags, some sorta poofter beer?!?” “Naaah!! Just old fashioned VB ya dickhead!”

I welcome Crown Ambassador Reserve Lager because it puts more ‘premium’ into a product than a fancy bottle and two cents worth of foil label ever could and it at least says that The Big House is prepared to brew something that is NOT for everyone but might just be much appreciated by those for whom it is.

After wasting all that wordspace on tangent-thinking, I’ll now prepare two more posts for your viewing pleasure on the actual product itself.

Not that I’ll review the beer, though.

Cheers,
Prof Pilsner

P.S. If you can’t wait a few days to see what I think, here’s a piece by Willie Simpson and one by Matt Kirkegaard.