MovemBEER update

G'Day Beer Lovers, I hope your attempts to raise awareness and funds for Men's Health initiatives is going as well as your no-Mo Growing is.

For those who don't know, MovemBEER is Beer Blokes very own fun and fuzz-friendly way to raise money for a good cause without having to subject your face to moustache-based attrocities that leave you looking like you've just joined (or recently escaped from) a religious cult. You know exactly what I mean.

Drink good beer instead. Make sure the beer has 'MO' soemwhere within in and pledge to donate the value of those beers to a Men's Health charity like Beyond Blue or Prostate Cancer Foundation or directly to a mate who is doing the real Movember.

Here are some of the beers that I have managed to squeeze into the frame;

MOntieth's Single Source MOuntain Goat Steam Ale MOrnington Pale Ale

all pretty obvious so far, huh?

What about these;

Victoria Pale Lager (this is not so much a beer I would be drawn to but it is certainly a Marketing Oddity)

McLaren Vale Vale Ale (a nicely balanced easy drinking ale with a nice hop character. They have been criticised for contract brewing despite promising to soon Make their Own)

and finally, and most obscurely ....

Kooinda Valhalla Golden Ale. You ready? Here goes. The Kooinda boys named their brewery Kooinda to sum up the origins of the company where four mates got together on weekends to brew beer in the backyard. Kooinda is an Aboriginal word meaning 'Happy Place'. The Aborigines presumably gave us this word because they had no further use for it. Same with the word for 'Let's Get Together and Have Fun' - MOomba!

I never said you had to be politically correct, did I?!

So you see, you can drink just about any beer and make it fit the criteria for MovemBEER. Send your best efforts to me and the best one, as judged by me, will win a signed copy of The Critics Choice - Australia's Best Beers.

Get drinkin'!

Cheers,
Prof Pilsner

Beer Blokes Gold Medal Dinner at the Terminus Hotel

Well, Good Beer Week is almost upon us and there are now only a handful of tickets left to the Opening Night Gala (well, the first event of GBW, but, you know, I like to talk it up...)

Friend and top beer bloke Dave Bonighton will be in my very special guest, the beers are all lined up and the menu ready to roll.

Get your tickets by calling the Terminus on 9481 3182. Menu is attached here somewhere ...

Trumer Pilsner

Crumbed pigs head, parmesan mayo

Salt & vinegar tripe

Salt & Pepper Calamari

Crab Cakes

Bridge Rd Chevalier Saison

Black Angus carpaccio, goats cheese mousse, caramelised vinegar, rocket

Feral Brewing Hop Hog IPA

Semolina gnocchi, freshwater crayfish, pine mushrooms, sauce Americaine

Holgate ESB

Slow roasted suckling lamb, pomme puree, mushy peas, watercress & snow pea salad

Surefoot Stout

Chocolate marquise, chocolate beignet, honeycomb

There's a bit going on ...

Before Good Beer Week hits the ground running (or should that be ‘pouring’?) there is still plenty of beery cheer to enjoy in Melbourne. How lucky are we, really?*

With Wednesdays and Fridays at Mountain Goat, $5 Pint Night at Biero and any number of venues from The Local Taphouse south of the city to The Terminus in the north, Y & J’s in between, a dozen open-to-the-public breweries heading south, north, west and into the Yarra Valley in the east and so much more besides it’s a pretty lame bloke who can’t find a good night out with good beer.

In the past month or Beer Blokes has been out-and-about attending, organising or hosting Beer Dinners from one end of the metro area to the other as well as into the sticks spreading the word on good beer and its remarkable ability to adapt to so many food dishes. From dining rooms with 30 eager souls to restaurants with 100 beer novices, pubs and hotels and other venues are embracing the concept of food and beer matching.

And what’s more, the concept of just getting together as a group to enjoy good beer and fine food is gaining traction. Pubs are once more becoming community hubs in something of a cultural backlash against the soulless pokies-serenading beer barns. They are a meeting house where locals and friends can gather and share and converse over an ale. At every dinner hosted or attended recently strangers have turned to introduce themselves, opinions have been shared and experiences compared. New friendships have been made and contacts swapped. Beer is bringing them together.

But we need look no further than our nearest state borders to see that this climate of beery cheeriness is not universal. With venues struggling to get planning approval and others closing down or winding back due to a variety of factors, it’s a good opportunity to ask what you can do to ensure that good beer and its purveyors are protected and nurtured. Hopefully the more we build the beer scene here the more positive the impetus to do the same in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

So as we prepare to spend a week of running around giggling like giddy little schoolgirls at a Justin Beiber concert taking in all of the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of Good Beer Week let’s also take time out to ponder this; what am I going to do after Good Beer Week to support good beer in Melbourne? Which venues on my ever-growing ‘To Do List’ will I actually get out to visit? Which venues and retailers will I make the trip to so I can see for myself what all the fuss is about? Which new beer friends that I intend to make during Good Beer Week will I promise to catch up with at a ‘local’ in the next month?

Remember – good beer and its venues and suppliers are only as strong as the market allows. Don’t take them for granted and assume that they will always be there .... next week. Or maybe the week after .... bit busy this week ....

Cheers,

Prof Pilsner

Good Beer Week kicks off on Monday May 15 and consists of events to suit every beer taste and budget. From tastings at Slowbeer and Purvis Beer to Beer Dinners at The Terminus Hotel and The Local Taphouse to The BeermenTV Hair of the Dog Breakfast and the Great Beer Debate at Ormond Hall and week-long special offers and surprises around town – there’s something to tempt all. Check it all out at www.goodbeerweek.com

*Seriously though, we cannot sit back and take for granted the wealth of venues and events available all year round in Melbourne. Writing for The Critics’ Choice has highlighted to me the lack of popular and retail support for good beer in some of our sister states. We need to get out and support our venues where we can and spread the word at every opportunity.

Some ‘Good Goat’ action

A big beer week for Beer Blokes last week and the highlight was the Mountain Goat Beer Dinner at Beer Deluxe.

Beer Deluxe has already established its credentials as a proper beer venue for many years with the focus on its tap list and an uncanny knack of attracting special, rare and other limited release beers through strong and loyal relationships with Australia’s favourite craft brewers.

Its bottle list has also developed a keen following in recent times and the outdoor area and cider garden have been a ‘go-to’ destination for casual catch ups while the downstairs space has been the podium for beer launches and other special events. But the restaurant/grill upstairs has always been something of an undiscovered gem.

On Thursday that changed when Melbourne’s favourite craft brewery, Mountain Goat, teamed up with the very talented kitchen crew and Prof Pilsner to unofficially ‘cut the ribbon’ on the Beer Deluxe Grill by treating an appreciative crowd to the first of what will be many regular food and beer events.

Mountain Goat co-founder and Executive (I don’t have to clean out the Mash Tun no more) Brewer Dave Bonighton and popular Road Goat, Tom Delmont were on hand to share the Goat Story as well as a representative selection of the fruits of the brewer’s craft. The beers were matched brilliantly with a series of dishes, each attempting to – and succeeding in – outdoing the last.

From smoked trout and fig with the Steam Ale, Skipping Girl Summer ale and Waldorf Salad, through two main courses of spicy Brazilian Chicken and Lebanese marinated Kangaroo with Rare Breed Goats IPA and Double Hightail Ale, every match hit its mark.

Dessert was a tasting plate of three different delights from fresh, tart berries to chilli-laced mousse which was paired with some carefully cellared Surefoot Stout. This alone would have been a finish befitting the tone of the night. But, in a taste of things to come, the expectant guests soon discovered that when you commit to a Beer Dinner at Beer Deluxe hosted by Prof Pilsner, well, expect the unexpected!

As the room hushed and the lights dimmed, Dave produced a carefully sealed carton from the vault and, in an unveiling ceremony of which Steve Jobs or Bill Gates would be proud, withdrew freshly filled bottles of Mountain Goat’s collaborative brew, The Thorny Goat Black IPA. Brewed with Aussie ex-pat and Production Manager at Thornbridge (UK) Caolan Vaughan, The Thorny Goat is not just Australia’s first international collaborative brew – it’s an absolute cracker.

By Dave’s own admission the beer is “only just old enough to be out at night on its own” and the decision to bottle and present it on Thursday night was made at about four o’clock on the same day and so some more time will see it present at its very best. Punters can expect to see it in bottles in about two weeks but the lucky ones at Beer Deluxe were treated to something very special as it really ‘sang’ with the dessert tasting plate.

The chilli-choc mousse provided the perfect foil for the hoppy charms of the Thorny Goat while the hints of roasty bitterness in the end palate gave the mousse some nice complimentary melody. Even the plate garnish of candied acidulated malt grains provided a taste of what might be to come for future beer dinners in the Beer Deluxe Grill.

It’s not for me to say here, but apparently the guests all spoke very highly of the evening as a whole and felt that the night was something just a little bit special. With some witty banter, Q & A with the brewers a little beer trivia and perhaps a couple of well-timed ‘Dad Gags’, it seems that a ripping night is guaranteed for those who book for future events.

The crew at Beer Deluxe, ably led by Barney Matthews and managed adeptly by Siobhan and Sam out front and Quentin in the kitchen have the dedication to their jobs to ensure that these nights are run smoothly and with an effortless efficiency. The food and beer matches are more than mere good luck and with details like Evan’s Goat Art in Hops and Malt (see picture) it would seem that early bookings for coming Beer Dinners would be advisable.

And, with brewers and their staff willing to support these events and the talents of the kitchen harnessed it looks likely that Beer Deluxe will take the next step in its development and establish itself as a Beer & Food destination for Melbourne’s ever growing beer crowd.

The next Beer Deluxe Beer Dinner is High Country in the Big Smoke which is an all-round sensory spectacular featuring Bridge Road Brewers beers for your mouth, Simone’s of Bright menu for your tum and Blank Vault Productions musical treats for your ears as well as the official launch of Ben Kraus’ very special 2011 Hop Harvest Ale. Tables are very limited and, if you haven’t gathered by now, I’d book quickly if I were you. Thursday April 14, $85 per head all inclusive and a 6.30pm start.

Cheers,

Prof Pilsner

PS A big shout-out to the guys and girls from Beer Deluxe who worked so well to make the night a success. To Sam and Siobhan, Evan, James & Gene and to Quentin and his kitchen crew; well done!

PSS An equally large thank you to all those who booked and came along to support this event – from my very own Ale Stars and friends to the secretly booked brewers and the many local beer lovers who took a bit of chance on the unknown.

The Diva & the Darlings of Victorian Beer

In May last year I was in Sydney especially to support Beer Diva and good beer buddy, Kirrily Waldhorn as she ventured on stage to present her first ‘live full arena cabaret multimedia and sensory spectacular’ one woman beer show.

Based on the material central to her Beer Diva beer and food matching events and covering all aspects of the Beer World in a fun and entertaining way, the show titled “Beer is Proof God wants us to be Happy” set out to explode the myths surrounding beer and bring good beer to the people.

At The Thornbury Theatre she reprised the show for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival with the assistance of five of the state’s most prominent ‘Women of Beer’ and it lost nothing in either the translation or the expansion of its talent.

Those interested in the Order of Business of the show can click here to read my review of last year’s Opera House performance and the rest of you can stick with me and enjoy my take on the reworked performance which played a one-nighter to a large and appreciative and well lubricated audience on Friday.

The first point worth noting is the support given by the brewing community as evidenced by the many familiar faces at tables set out across the floor of the very elegant Thornbury Theatre. From brewers to beer book publishers and venue operators and staff there were plenty on hand to make sure the night was given every chance of success.

More importantly, the remainder of the crowd appeared to be average punters keen to see what good beer was all about. Many, I’m sure, were also there on the basis that the words ‘beer’ and ‘women’ featured prominently in the advertising and they were not disappointed. A couple were probably even there just on the off-chance they’d see Sam Fuss in heels. They were equally not disappointed although the ‘heels’ appeared to be Blundstones.

The format for the show was similar to The Beer Diva’s previous outings but this time each beer style would be introduced by the Woman of Beer from each brewery. After an entertaining concise history of beer we elected Beer Captains and cracked on into the first of five beers, Bridge Road Brewers Chevalier Saison and heard former brewer Nardia McGrath discuss its charms. More familiar with seeing Nardia in jungle green brewery outfit, she shone in her finery. It’s fair to say that none of the girls sought to out shine the host, however. Especially Sam.

Beth Williams from Hargreaves Hill then talked us through their Hefewiezen and teased us with the possibility of returning later to share her talent for opera singing. As the show progressed we were walked through various beer myths and misconceptions and the interactive nature of the evening ensured everyone had a voice. Some, as you might guess, took this invitation a little too literally and Beer Captains were required to retain some semblance of order. Except on those tables where the Beer Captains were the worst offenders!

The sensory experience was taken to the next level when Karen Golding introduced the Red Hill Brewery Pilsner complete with table rations of fresh estate grown Tettnanger hop flowers. ‘Beer Floaters’ became all the rage as the crowd enjoyed the aroma and flavour of fresh ingredients.

Jayne Lewis from Mountain Goat shared her Rare Breed IPA after Kirrily had regaled us with tales of the original voyages to the Jewel in the Imperial Crown that first brought us this hoppy style. By now the audience was well refreshed and each brewer and her beer were welcomed warmly to the microphone. But the love for the Goat IPA was soon to be eclipsed by the Rock Star welcome reserved for Melbourne brewing identity and all-round-nice-girl, True South’s Sam Fuss.

Not enough was it that Sam had bottled some of her Cherry Bomb Porter especially for the night, but each guest was supplied with a Cherry Ripe chocky to enjoy with the beer. And, in an impromptu in-house auction, Sam managed to sever $22 from an eager punter in return for the half eaten sample that had inspired the brew in the first place. Half eaten and sat on.

As the night wound up and the punters began to make their way home Beer Blokes, along with The Crafty Pint and The Wobbly Thong (remake of The Goon Show, anybody?) managed to steal a few moments with some of the girls who had come along to see what all the beery fuss was about. It bodes well for the future of good beer in this town that so many felt comfortable enough to venture out to catch a show which most admitted they knew little about. Having said that, this made it pretty easy to exceed their expectations.

They all left happy and just a little bit more knowledgeable about that mysterious amber nectar which, for so long, seems to have been dominated by the male of the species. That the girls are now a driving force at the production end, as well as increasingly at the retail end, makes for a future that is as full of promise and as well balanced as the beers they are brewing.

Cheers,

Prof Pilsner