Some news and stuff

Wow! With all the wild weather and hop-pickin’ and what-not, I have completely overlooked a couple of very significant and very beery events on the calendar.

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 16th is the next instalment of the increasingly popular and people-packed Ale Stars at The Local Taphouse (St Kilda Chapter) and it will be the perfect opportunity to Bock On with Shandy and the crew as we sample and prattle on about 4 different Bock beers and enjoy some very nice pizza from Richard’s Kitchen. Thirty smackas, seven o’clock for a seven thirty start and I’ll see you there.


Wednesday and Thursday the 17th and 18th sees the next edition of the very social Victorian Microbrewery Showcase at Federation Square Atrium (off Flinders Street). This is a great opportunity to support the brewers who are out there providing we who are enlightened with quality, small batch, limited release and quality beers above and beyond the stuff that takes up the first three fridges in most bottle shops and pubs.

You can chat with the brewers and sample up to twenty different ales, lagers, wheat beers and various specialty brews while enjoying the company of thousands of like-minded souls. It’s still only $25 for 20 tasting tickets and a $5 food voucher plus a $2 deposit on your tasting glass.

And coming up is a beery event of such culture, class and theatrical conviviality that I will smack out a separate post to do it proper justice shortly, but here is a teaser.

The Beer Diva, Kirrily Waldhorn has put together a theatrical experience like none seen before to take place at some joint called The Sydney Opera House (Sydney readers and Darlo Ale Stars might like to enlighten us on what this is – some place near the SCG or is where they hold the Mardi Gras, perhaps?)


Titled, Beer is Proof that God Wants us to be Happy, tickets go on sale today and the show runs from Wednesday April 28th to Sunday May 2nd with two shows on the Friday. I will be there and God will make sure that I am very happy.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

Showcasing good blokes and blokettes

I was going to write up a post on the Victorian Microbreweries Showcase tomorrow, but, put quite simply, I had so much fun I had to do it now. That way, if the mood takes you, you can get down there tonight for the second, and last, instalment.

The Atrium at Federation Square is a magnificent canvas on which to depict the community spirit of the Beer Industry. A generous space that allows room to move but at the same time keeps everybody close creates a warm and welcoming environment. That the beers on offer are hand crafted and, in most cases, poured for you by the craftsman him/herself is something of a bonus.

20 plus brewers were displaying their brews (I lost count a little bit towards the end) and with some showcasing a single beer and others offering half a dozen ... well, let’s just say that their was something for everyone. Generous to a fault, the brewers were only too happy to talk about their beers, their breweries or their businesses as well as their plans for future releases and hopes for special release brews.

Arriving early, I felt as though I had the place to myself with some still setting up and others trying to find display stands as others ‘road tested’ their fonts and, in the case of Simon form Hargreaves Hill, their converted esky temprite system. Chatting to the reps and the brewers I felt as if I were at a private beer tasting for one! This illusion was soon shattered as I turned to discover that a couple of people had gate-crashed my beer-do. And when I say a couple, I mean about two hundred – all of a sudden the joint was chockers! The difference between ten past four and twenty-five past four was illustrated by the rise in noise level from ‘private conversation’ to ‘football crowd at train station’. By the time half-five arrived – along with The Suits – there were queues at every booth and the anticipation of trying something new was palpable.

Something of an Ale Stars Road Trip then began to take shape as half a dozen of us bumped into each other, and we eventually morphed into a kind of human beer drinking wave snaking through the various stands, sometimes splitting off to seek out an individual favourite, only to rejoin the amorphous beast some two or three beers later.


Despite the fact that my head was getting reasonably light, my tasting ticket was not getting particularly shorter. As I said, these beer guys are generous to a fault. It’s difficult to explain just how this event feels to the average punter and I hope the pics do the feel some justice. It’s hard to explain the sensation, but before long you are comparing notes with some bloke you’ve never met and giving and taking suggestions for beers ‘you just have to try’. Strangers become instant friends and calls of ‘where did you get that one?’ and ‘have you tried their Hefeweizen?’ ring out through the growing throng. As I said, it’s just a lot of fun.

If you can get down there this afternoon between four and eight you might see what I mean, in any case, you won’t be disappointed.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

Microbrewery Showcase reminder

Just a quick one to remind lovers of fine, handcrafted beers that the Victorian Microbrewery Showcase kicks of today and concludes tomorrow.

The Atrium at Fed Square is the venue and this time around a record 24 brewers will be offering their wares for your beery pleasure.

The gig kicks off at 4 and goes through until 8, tasting tickets are $25 for 20 samples with a $2 glass deposit and you also get a $5 food voucher with that.

Come and see if you can spot me there.

I'll be the one outside the entrance at ten to four, hopping on tippy-toes from foot to foot and pressing my nose against the glass until the very large Kiwi with the sunglasses and a Number Tag opens the door.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

Victorian Microbreweries Showcase 2009

At the end of this month Melbourne’s Federation Square will again host the microbreweries showcase. While it is probably time to re-vamp the name to reflect that the showcase is all about quality craft beer and not the size of the operation producing it, the event is well worth supporting.

For $25 and a $2 glass deposit, lovers of decent beer can get a tasting ticket for twenty 60ml samples and a $5 food voucher which will allow you to try beers from around 18 brewers from around the state. It is also a great opportunity to speak to the people crafting these beers and ask them how and why they do it – or you could just let them know that you love what they do and give them a thrill that way! In addition, and don’t tell anyone that I told you this, you can help to support your favourite brewer in a sneaky way.

If you can’t finish all your tasting tickets, don’t chuck the leftovers in the bin. ‘Donate’ them to the brewer of your choice. The brewers receive a small commission for each ticket ‘spent’ at their display (not that it’s enough to pay for the petrol home in most cases) and every little bit counts.

Perhaps more valuable is the People’s Choice for best beer in each category. This forms part of a media release which provides a great piece of advertising and brand recognition for these blokes who are working hard pumping out decent beers for us so the least we can do is fill out a few responses for the beers that really sing to you.

The Victorian Microbreweries Showcase at The Atrium at Federation Square (Flinders Street end towards the MCG) is on Wednesday and Thursday October 28th and 29th. It kicks off at 4.30 and they kick you out about 8.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner