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

The Local gets Medieval on yo ass

The Local Taphouse St Kilda Winter Feast

Imagine, now a room adorned with the trimmings and trappings of a Medieval Master’s Lair. Heavily dressed tables with lavish settings, ceramic goblets – Bollacks, if you will – greenery clinging to walls from which the trophy beasts of the Master peer down as you arrive and the ‘noblemen and gentle-women’ gather around in anticipation of the coming feast.

Freshly shucked oysters (3 ways) on arrival were complimented with the relatively simple, yet perfectly matched Trumer Pils. A terrific “welcome” treat as the crowing crowd mingled and admired the mouth watering lamb and pork spits on the terrace, the sounds and smells of gently charring meats wafting forth to tease the senses. A surprisingly large crowd gathered (35+), some new faces interspersed with many familiar friends including Ale Stars, respected brewers, Local regulars - even the proprietors’ wives were not going to miss this one!

After being seated for the main course, Court Jester Justin explained a brief history of the Taphouse and its philosophies as well as the emergence of the “Winter Beer and Food Feast” idea (conjured by Justin and Head Chef Richard Smith over a few amber nectars after work one evening) and welcomed our very esteemed guests: Jayne Lewis (Mountain Goat), Ben Kraus (Bridge Rd Brewers), David & Karen Golding (Red Hill Brewery) and Steve Jurisic (Calendar Cheese).




With little or no further ado, the next amazing course of spit roasted suckling pig (with all the trimmings!!!) arrived accompanied by an Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier AND the Bridge Rd Megachile Pluto Braggott. Absolutely inspired choices: the Rauchbier’s smoked bacon notes developed a depth of flavour in the roasted pork that was mind blowing, whilst the Megachile Pluto provided a sweetening balance to the dish. For those playing at home, Megachile Pluto is, of course, the world’s largest species of honey bee (you already knew that, I suspect) and indicative of the scale of this Ale/Mead hybrid from Medieval times. Made with more than a fair whack of Beechworth Redgum Honey it is one out of the box and nothing less than what we have come to expect from Ben Kraus. Even if this one is down to Nardia Mc Grath, Bridge Roads Brewer in residence.



Refreshing the palate with a sip of water from medieval goblets the guests immediately regretted their over-indulgence on the first two courses with the dawning realisation that they weren’t even half way through the feast! Shaved spit roasted lamb, again with an array of outstanding sides and sauces, was served with a Mountain Goat Fancy Pants Amber Ale which, if you’ve read the first part of this review, managed to be in two places at once. The compelling aromatic hops of the Fancy Pants merged with the lamb’s herb seasoning brilliantly, while the malty undertones helped cut
through the creamy peppercorn sauce. In a word - outstanding.

The guests, by now incapable of any measurable movement, sat transfixed as dessert was served. Rich chocolate pudding with Samuel Smith Chocolate Stout sauce and a berry/saison reduction served with a Bridge Rd Robust Porter. One diner was heard to acclaim that, should he ever find himself on Death Row, this would be his chosen final meal. Samuel Johnson would also need to reincarnate himself in order that he might re-write his dictionary to include several new superlatives.




Finally, it was with a touch of guilt that Steve’s 5 cheese platter was welcomed to conclude the meal - guilt borne of the fact that all had eaten sooo much it seemed impossible that a full appreciation could be summoned to adequately compliment the quality of the selection he had provided. But, as is often the case, there is ALWAYS room for more of the finest things! The enigmatic Alpha Pale Ale matched beautifully, its bitey spiciness able to cut through the creamy textures whilst balanced enough to highlight the cheeses own complexities.

At this point, even had Oliver asked “for some more, please”, he would have had his annoying little face punched in and yet David and Karen Golding were able to get away with offering an extra special treat in the form of some barrel-aged Christmas Ale to truly cap a memorable evening for which all involved must be heartily thanked and cheered with a rousing Medieval “HUZZAHH!!!”

This feast would long be remembered as much for the respect shown to the foods served, the deference to the skills of the brewers and the artfully crafted matches created by Richard and his kitchen crew as it would be for the joy and friendship shared.

Reading back over what I’ve just written I could swear that I was actually THERE in more than just ‘spirit’. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking that I had some sort of ‘inside man’ taking notes and recording memories for me! At the very least, you’d reckon I had a fly on the wall armed with an I-Phone and a Twitter account.

In all, over little more than four hours and in two venues less than 9 kilometres apart, some dozen courses were created by a handful of chefs who managed beautiful pairings with around ten of Australia’s finest craft brews to the delight of nearly seventy craft beer lovers.

I think that points to the very healthy state of the Craft Beer scene in these-here parts.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner



The Local Taphouse St Kilda, 184 Carlisle St East St Kilda
9537 2633 www.thelocal.com.au

A Hopping we will go!

It was like my favourite scene from The Blues Brothers. Sitting outside The Local Taphouse in St Kilda in a 96 Holden Commodore wagon.

We got a brand new windscreen, two folding chairs, a full tank, a bleary-eyed Scotsman, long-sleeved shirts, a deaf guy and his brother. There are hops to be picked, it’s 84.7 kms to Red Hill and we’re wearing sunglasses.

Hit it!


There are very few brewers in this country who are able to grow their own hops. Hops are harvested in March each year and, while the process is fairly straightforward, it is pretty labour intensive. If you have a small crop, you harvest by hand and, if you don’t want it to take a week, you invite friends over for a feed and a beer. The windows of opportunity here are so small that this was an experience to jump at.

We joined twenty other like-minded souls on a crisp Melbourne Autumn morning and prepared ourselves for an intensive and exhausting technical demonstration and instruction before being let loose on the leafy product. David Golding, head brewer and proprietor of Red Hill Brewery spent the next twelve seconds showing us how it’s done and we were on our own.



It’s actually not that difficult and within minutes we were all happily plucking away at the prepared bines and popping the cones into the buckets with ease. An almost eerie silence indicated that we all wanted to get a good handle on this caper before the day became a social event. Cue the beer! Morning tea at a hop harvest is a seriously civilised affair, even if the weather lives up to its reputation for quick changes in these parts.



A brief shower moved morning tea forward and Dave kindly showed us through the brewery and allowed us the special treat of tasting a forthcoming limited release brew straight from the fermenter. The break also heralded the arrival of a couple of luminaries from The Beer World in Beer Matt (Matt Kirkegaard) and The Beer Diva (Kirrily Waldhorn) who, with film crew in tow, were preparing a beer-related TV program which will undoubtedly scoop the Logie for Best Beer Related TV Program if and when it gets off the ground. The Ale Stars certainly provided plenty of ‘promo-worthy’ material – although Shandy’s rambling may be well beyond the skills of even the finest subtitler.


I seem to recall there was a little more hop picking before lunch and as the clouds parted and the weather became more settled, the pickin’ fingers became more nimble and the conversation became louder. The beer barrel, in a totally unconnected way, also became a lot emptier. And they call this ‘work’?

A Ploughman’s Lunch greeted us along with refills of Red Hill Golden Ale topped generously with fresh hop flowers. I tell you, a true hop-head has not lived until he’s had a long cold draught of ridiculously fresh beer with even ridiclious-er fresh hop flowers thrown on top. The more you drink, the further the aroma and flavour intensifies and yet it doesn’t get any more bitter. I know I rattle on about beer being as much as about the occasion as it is about anything else – but this was an occasion and then some!!

Some more beer (with added hops) followed lunch as did a rather small amount of hop picking and then it was time to pack up the Pilsnermobile and head back to ‘civilisation’. As I hit the hay some time around midnight, I could still ‘taste’ the sweet hop aroma i the back of my throat and, as I write this, my car still smells like a brewery. But in a very beery-car air freshner kind of way.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

P.S. Thanks to David and Karen Golding and their team for their generous hospitality and for giving us the opportunity to contribute in a very ‘hands-on’ way to the craft beer industry!


And for those of you who don't have time to read the whole post, here's the summary of the day as I remember it.

The Start



The Middle Bit



The Finish