Ale Stars turns 2

There’s just something about beer, isn’t there?

A social lubricant, a new baby head-wetter a toast to the bride and groom or a glass raised in memory – it’s always there. Always has and always will be. Goodness, you can even enjoy a quiet one on your own.

But a beer shared is a real experience.

If you’re lucky, you’ll have a small crew of mates who get together regularly and share a beer and shoot the breeze and, if you’re really lucky, you’ll have a place close by in which to do this meeting and drinking. But if you’re really, really, really lucky – you’ll have something like Ale Stars.

Two years ago Ale Stars began with little more than polite applause from eight drinkers who were not really sure what would happen. This week it celebrated its second birthday with a craft beer-fuelled fanfare before 82 people, most of whom knew exactly what to expect. What a difference two years, 50 signed-up members, almost 100 different beers and plenty of Wednesday morning sleep-ins can make!

Ale Stars, in essence, is a beer appreciation ‘session’ where drinkers gather to taste four or five samples of a particular beer style, or the assembled offerings of a craft brewery. They are ‘led’ by a host who describes the characteristics of the style, gives a bit of history and peppers the evening with witty asides, some challenging trivia and the chance to ask questions. A guest brewer may be on hand to introduce his or her beers personally and shed some light on the brewing process or the trials and tribulations of running a small business.

But it is so much more than a simple paragraph can convey.

I usually devote this page each month to describing the sometimes amusing and always entertaining ‘doings’ that transpire on these nights (I’ve attended every session apart from the very first) and I list the beers we tried and the thoughts of the guests and I often attempt to translate Shandy’s hosting, but this time will be different.

Apart from the fact that the room was generously dotted with real, proper beer-writing journalists who will no doubt write more tightly edited and less rambling descriptions of the event than I could manage, I decided late in the piece that I would focus on ‘the vibe’ and ‘the feel’ and the ‘this-is-what-it’s-really-all-about’ kind of thing instead.





I have the distinction of choosing to travel 40 minutes by car to get to Ale Stars each month and, while this can somewhat curtail my ability to fully immerse myself in the experience, it gives me a great insight into how it affects people. In particular, those who are able to enjoy the ‘fringe benefits of Ale Stars. These include SUBS (Sneaky Upstairs Beers before the session), TWEENIES (beers enjoyed in between the listed samples), AFTERS (self explanatory, really) and even SHOULD’NEES (Beers enjoyed after AFTERS when, really you should be heading home, but you stay for just one more – “Oooh, ah SHOULD”NEE, but why nort?”) G’Day Shandy!!

As a result, I often find myself in the midst of conversations that truly illustrate what it is about Ale Stars that is not good just for the craft beer scene in Australia, but also for its people on a more personal and community level. What The Local Taphouse has tried to create is a ‘local’ where anyone can meet and feel at home. It’s like those pubs we have probably all read about or heard about or even dreamt about but assumed were consigned to the pages of Pub History.

Don’t get me wrong, for many it is all about the beer – good beer brewed well by good people – but for many I think it is becoming as much about a sense of commonality and shared experience and community as it is about trying new styles or discussing brewing techniques and ABVs and IBUs and such.

It is in these conversations that I have learned more about what drives beer culture, about why young people are able to move more freely from VB to Russian Imperial Stout than my predecessors ever were and about where this journey is taking us all. Speaking to people who genuinely appreciate what it is about beer that drives their passion and satisfies their curiosities and provides for them real friendships and more than a few laughs. These are what it is all about.

And Ale Stars provides these opportunities – even if it didn’t set out to do it and even if it doesn’t realise that it’s doing it!

That’s more than enough philosophicality for one post. I will write more about the 2nd birthday party later because having the Mountain Goat crew on board en masse as well as the first pouring of the 2nd edition of the Homebrew Champions collaborative effort with the Goat Guys is all worth its own page. For now, I just needed to pull together all the little thoughts and feelings that were buzzing around my head on the drive home.

For the rest, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Cheers,
Prof Pilsner

Ale Stars – A new year

Tuesday night saw Ale Stars at the Local Taphouse in St Kilda reach something of a turning point. We saw the first instalment of the new Ale Star year. We saw the launch of the very first Ale Stars memberships. We saw the presentation of the first Ale Stars member shirts. And we saw Trappist Ales.

Many saw very little by the end of the night.

I’d like to spend a little time to detail the tasting notes of the four Trappist Ales we tried. I’d like to, but I can’t. I remember we started with Orval that kicked off at 6.2% ABV, moved through Chimay Rouge at 7%, onto Westmalle Tripel at 9.5% and finished with a Gulden Drak dark tripel at 10.5%. It all gets a bit hazy after that.

I do remember that, before the night kicked off our Ale Stars shirts were received. The presentation of the ‘gurnseys’ revived memories of junior footy days when the coach – usually the team captain’s Dad – called each kid up, shook his hand and reminded us all that the jumper carried the club’s history and proud traditions and that, if you were going to go out and get pissed and embarrass yourself, don’t be wearing the jumper. Guy and Justin just threw our shirts at us from the bar. But the sentiment was the same. At least it was FOR THOSE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET THEIR SHIRT Apparently a couple of us with unique sizing requirements will need to wait a bit longer.
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Ale Stars has kicked up another gear yet again. It was as if everyone in the room suddenly ‘knew’ each other. We were all ‘known’ before, but now we ‘knew’ each other. Proudly walking the room wearing a stylish Local Taphouse- badged shirt, individually monogrammed and numbered, the Ale Stars seemed ‘closer’ and it just seemed to make the place a strangely happier one. For those who got their shirt.

I don’t know if it was entirely due to the fact that the long awaited memberships were delivered or the fact that those cheeky Monks hidden within our brews were giving us a little more ‘buzz’, but the night seemed to fly. No sooner had we settled in than we were standing around in groups, holding up the bar, holding up The High Table or holding up Simon-Rob and admiring each others shirts. Those who had them.

I should point out at this point that I was humbled and thrilled, in equal parts, to have been able to celebrate my birthday on the same night. Thanks Shandy in particular, for the special gift of a homeopathic, organic and bio-dynamic hangover cure. To Ben, thanks for the Camra magazine – I have already filled out the form for my Beard-and-Anorak Special Offer.

Thanks also to everyone who wished me well. I should especially thank my mate Col who offered to drive because I must also thank the twelve other Ale Stars who bought me a birthday drink which left me incapable of driving a greasy stick up a dead dog’s arse – so to speak. Kelv, the Rochefort was a particularly memorable drop if for no other reason that I got to share it with you and that it eclipsed the night’s previous holder of most potent brew. 11.2%??? I could have sworn it was no more that 11%!

Maybe because I had my birthday buzz on, but this Ale Stars just stood out as especially memorable. Did the heady Trappist brews have anything to do with the following;

We recorded our FIRST glass-drop-and-smash. Don’t worry Robert, I won’t print who did it.
We almost recorded our first light-smash when Shandy got a bit too enthusiastic with the tech-foul bell.
We definitely recorded our first Prof-Smashed. Luckily, no-one knew it was me because I DIDN’T HAVE MY ALE STARS SHIRT.

And to finish, I have to give a huge shout-out to Jo, Gemma, Bron (Bran) and the rest of their team who aced the trivia Quiz for the first time. And they did it on one of the few nights that ‘Lucky’ Simon was away – coincidence? Or just Lady Luck?!

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

Ale Stars with party poppers

A celebration of beer and of beer people kicked off well before the advertised time last Tuesday and, by all sketchy reports, was still going strong well after the advertised finishing time!

Ale Stars at the Local Taphouse St Kilda had its first birthday and kicked up its heels in style with 7 beers, plenty of pizza and prizes and plenty of beery fun. A new record of 52 drinkers filled the bar downstairs – a scene far removed from the humble origins of the event where a dozen tentative but brave souls sat upstairs wondering if this thing would take off. You couldn’t wipe the smiles from the faces of Ale Stars proud ‘parents’, Steve, Guy and Shandy.


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To the beers. A ‘Best Of’ – of sorts – seven beers chosen from eleven previous meetings of four or five examples each, chosen by the Ale Star Czar, Shandy, to represent the most popularly received beers rather than just his seven favourites. In truth, I think he may have had a leaning towards some of the beers most likely to be found in his own fridge!

Each beer was introduced by Shandy with a ‘Who Am I?’ introduction giving hints as to its identity. The first person to call out their own name and provide the correct answer won a prize. Unfortunately, I was stricken with a nasty dry cough and had to exclude myself from the competition. In something of an unrelated coincidence, three others on our table were fortunate enough to come up with some wins – in many cases after only one clue! {sings; “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down ...”}

We led off with Pilsner Urquell, closely followed by Weihenstephaner Heffeweissbier and two finer beers it would be hard to find. Crisp, clean and refreshing but in very different ways, these beers could easily be representative of the whole Ale Stars feel – a broad range of people, from all over and with different beer tastes and experiences, but all drawn together by the event. That’s a bit esoteric isn’t it? I promise I won’t use big words like that again. Which reminds me, does anyone know who has hidden the tech-foul bell?

Timothy Taylor Landlord Pale Ale was opened next and this one was generally well received, as it was the first time around. It was particularly good to see Shandy get all gooey-eyed over his favourite tipple as if it were his high school sweetheart. Perhaps it was? Samuel Smith was probably not his high school sweetheart, but his Taddy Porter was well received as a nice counterpoint to the clean and crisp beers we had had til now.

The only beer out of a total of around fifty that Ale Stars has showcased that has really divided opinion has been Schelkerla smoke beer. We had the Marzen again this time around and, again, it drew the most conversation. Surprisingly, it seemed to have gained a few extra supporters this time. as something of a palate cleanser, we were served the very delicious Saison Dupont, a very fine representative of the Farmhouse style. Slighty sour, with sweet follow up notes and a dry refreshing finish, this one put some space between the smoky and the final beer, a Red Hill Imperial Stout.


But enough about the beers. This is a good chance to thank the Ale Stars creators and driving force, the blokes who run the joint, whose time and effort go into making sure these nights are what they are and whose passion for good beer makes them such a gosh-darn great night out. So, to Steve and Guy, to Justin and James and Sean and all he staff at The Taphouse, a huge thank you. And to Shandy, the at times indecipherable but always affable host who keeps the thing running along the tracks – even if sometimes no one is really quite sure where the tracks are heading! Well done, Happy Birthday and here’s cheers to the next twelve instalments.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

Special mention to Salt & Pepper, AKA ex Taphouse staffer Brendan and Steve and Mark from Cats Arse Art who, despite managing to concentrate so well on the beers that they regularly bring up the rear of the field in the trivia quiz, managed to ace it this time around. For those keeping score, The Prof – and his team, it’s not about me – managed a very creditable third. Second if you don’t count the staff. And that we all reckon Salt & Pepper cheated.

Ale Stars. This could be a big one.

I’m off to a birthday party tonight. It’s a first birthday party and I can drink as much as I want. For the first time in a long time, the Prof has a lift into The Local Taphouse for the 1st Anniversary edition of Ale Stars.

Pretty fortunate, really, as we are to be treated to not four, not five, not six .... but SEVEN beers in a ‘Best Of Ale Stars So Far Extravaganza’. Picked from the twelve different beer styles and types that we have visited since August last year, these beers range from hefeweizens to stouts and from English Pale Ales to saisons and smokies.

$35 rather than the usual $25 with trivia (not mine), pizzas and plenty more as well.

See you there.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

Birthday Beers

When I woke up this morning I didn’t feel any different. I felt flat, but that was more a case of being disappointed that my top place finishing Rugby League team had been beaten in the biggest upset of the year by the eighth placed underdogs in the first round of the finals series.

As the system goes, the only difference is that we now play next week instead of having the weeks rest and forego a home preliminary final. A hand full of cold beers took the edge off the disappointment and life goes on. The Melbourne Storm are still more than capable of whipping any of the remaining finalists and in the AFL my Hawks are still a red hot chance of winning their prelim this week and advancing to the Grand Final on the last Saturday in September.

Which brings me back to the original reason for my post. September is something of a celebration month in the Pilsner house with three of the five members having a birthday as well as Father’s Day, Dr Lager’s birthday and a full month of sporting commitments. And, of course, the accompanying beers.

The ‘Week of Candles, Cake & Kegs’ began on Thursday with the middle ‘little’ Pilsner reaching her fifth birthday. I counted off the beers in the fridge and the fifth was a new/old brew Platinum Blonde from Six Star Breweries. Old because it is one of these low-carb beers that want you to think are health tonics of sorts. In reality, they are as low in taste as they are in carbs and I’ll pick this theme back up in a follow up post.

Sunday was prepping the place for the onslaught of a dozen four and five year olds for the party before heading out to Olympic Park to see the Storm outplayed by the New Zealand Warriors. Standing out on the ground to hoist the players’ run-through banner, I had the feeling that this wasn’t going to be our day. The beers I had pre-game were like summer and winter – opposites, not one hot and one cold – one was ‘ice cream’ and the other ‘tide out’. And this despite the fact that it took THREE servers to get it wrong! Sanjeet, Ardip and Sharmi managed to take the order, the money and the pour and because I didn’t speak Urdhu we didn’t chat much. And, to top it off, the Kiwi’s got their national anthem in but then the sound system packed it in before the Aussie shiela could warble ours and the good natured crowd sang it instead – a Capella and out of tune. Badly. Should have seen the omen then.

Sunday was also the good Dr’s birthday and I raised a glass of St Arnou Premium Blond – because it is a nice low carb beer for those pretending to be health conscious and lead a good clean lifestyle. Much as Dr Lager does. Pretend.

And today I manage to put yet another year behind me and the girls made sure I had a lovely breakfast and plenty of presents this morning. A tradition in our house is that the birthday person gets to choose dinner and have it made for them but as I tap away here the forecast nasty weather is just beginning to break. As I am a volunteer with the local State Emergency Service unit I expect that tonight might be interrupted by a few call outs from the public and dinner may have to wait for another day. Plus, I don’t fancy driving in this weather if I don’t absolutely have to and so it might just be left over party pies and ‘little boys’ from the party for us.

I’ll just have to make up for this with a special beer from the ‘beer crisper’ when the storms die down and the pager stops beeping. So, wish me luck, happy birthday to me and cheers!

Prof. Pilsner