You can’t always blame the beer

Before I regale you all with a series of wittily written travel stories from my trip to Tassie, I thought I’d begin with something of a cautionary tale.

The House of Pilsner is a fairly low maintenance affair with just a couple of goldfish to be cared for and the daily newspaper and mail to be collected. As we would be away for ten days we were happy a neighbour to look after things for us.

As it happened, the recently Sydney-relocated family of Dr Lager was to be back in Melbourne for the Easter break and a conference for Dr Lager so it was convenient for them to stay here and kill two birds with one stone. We needed a house-sitter and they needed a place to stay. A simple problem simply fixed. Or so you’d think.

Many of my readers may be familiar with the complex and intricate methods employed in order to make a house both secure and, at the same time, accessible to those with a valid purpose for entering. You and I know them as – DOORS – and they are reasonably straightforward in their operation. They very often consist of just TWO primary features. A KEY and a DOOR HANDLE.

We called home to see how the Lagers were settling in on the second day to find that , well, without putting too fine a point on it, they hadn’t ‘got there’ yet. That is to say they HAD ‘got there’ the night before (as planned) but couldn’t GET IN (as planned).

You see – and here’s where the tricky bit comes in – one of the Lagers (promised I wouldn’t identify to protect the guilty – but here’s a subtle clue; Oestrogen) WAS able to get the key into the lock. WAS able to turn key in lock. WAS also able to turn handle. WAS NOT able to perform both activities simultaneously. Remained on wrong side of threshold. Stayed at Mother-in-Laws place for the night instead.

I have since installed large cat-flap type arrangement in case they visit again.

Cheers,
Prof Pilsner

Back in the loop

The Pilsner clan has just returned from a school holiday family adventure to Tasmania and while it is very nice – and necessary – to get away, it’s always nice to come home.

Despite staying in a stilted house among the treetops, the internet reception was even slower than the relaxed Hobart lifestyle although the fact that we were nestled in the shadow of Mt Wellington might also have had a bit of an effect. Needless to say the ability to update the blog was severely handicapped and I didn’t want to spend the whole holiday standing on one leg angling the laptop at various points in each room trying to fire a post at a fleeting sliver of cyber-connectivity.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t do plenty of very beery things, meet plenty of interesting beer people and drink plenty of very nice local product. Perish the thought. I am now taking the opportunity to gather my thoughts and make sense of the hastily scrawled notes to post a few interesting posts over the next week. After the Famine, prepare for the Feast!

Cheers
Prof Pilsner

High Country living

I have always been a ‘city boy’. More specifically, I have always been a suburban ‘city boy’. Never lived outside of a standard, common garden-variety, outer suburban postcode. Didn’t really even spend much holiday time on farms or anywhere else in the country – no relatives with sprawling properties or acres of livestock and all that. So our recent getaway to Mansfield in Victoria’s magnificent high country was a welcome change.

I’ve spoken plenty before about just how lucky we are at the moment to have so many dedicated and passionate craft brewers out there producing beers of a high quality and varied style. Our three days away was a great chance to relax and seriously (as serious as I can take beer) enjoy some fine ales and lagers. There is just something about a roaring fire, sprawling mountain ranges as a backdrop coupled with the knowledge that you don’t have to be anywhere the next day that makes beer even more special.

I was able to put my feet up with a selection of Jamieson Brewery’s offerings – excluding the IPA which I later found was to be brewed the next week – as well as a few I had brought from home and one I had not even heard of. Jamieson make some very good craft beers and I will write more about our visit there in the coming days. A Brown Ale was their first beer brewed ten years ago and. Embarrassingly, I haven’t had one for years. it’s probably one of those styles that isn’t in my Top Ten, but it is one that fits into my resolution to try more beers that are not in my Top Ten this year. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it as much as I did.

A Jamieson Pale Ale (US style), a Mountain Ale (Dark Wheat) and a Raspberry Ale (errr) went down a treat with the family seated around and the crackling of the fire at my feet. The new brew I found was from up near the border, New South Wales way, just out of Swan Hill. Glenbar on the Wakool does not have the slick beer name like the Fat Yak or the Summer Lightning or even the Growler but it does have a very fine beer taste. Glenbar claims to be the first beer in Australia made from organic Australian malt and is a pretty good story that I will tell shortly. As soon as I find out what the story is.

A couple of Ben’s Bridge Road Pale Ales finished the beer side of the story. These were chosen because, although Beechworth is a short trip from Mansfield on a paper map, the issue of the small group of hills collectively known as the Victorian Alps are plonked fairly between the two.

Beers really do seem to taste better when the occasion is right. Right company, right location and right frame of relaxed mind – great beer.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

It’s not about beer – or is it?

One of the variables that come into play while you’re holidaying is the food. Tourist destinations can be hit and miss when it comes to feeding a range of diets, preferences and attitudes – especially where young children’s appetites are concerned.

Country towns can often supply plenty of Road House crap, dodgy processed stuff wrapped in that crinkly plastic that won’t burn and massively large serves of Pub Favourites which are big on size and small on flavour. And, like Forrest Gump, until you get there, you never know what you’re gonna git.

These small rural and regional destinations will always, however, throw up a nice surprise every time. You just have to find it. In Mansfield I found the ultimate example of my all time favourite non-beer treat – The Vanilla Slice. Or The Snot Block to its devotees. For the uninitiated, The Snot Block is a tasty pastry made by sandwiching a thick slab of set vanilla custard between to thinnish layers of crispy puff pastry and topped with either a layer of vanilla icing or a generous dusting of vanilla icing sugar. Mmmmmmmm .... colesterolly!

Most Snot Blocks fall into the mid-range as far as quality goes – it’s pretty difficult to find a bad one – but a really good one is a rare treat. This was as rare a find as you could hope for. As you can see in the picture, this thing was less of a dessert and more of a doorstop; thick in a generous way, custard-y in a very homemade way and delicious in an overall way. $4.40 and it was a bargain. So much so that we stopped in at cafe Forty-1 on our way back to Melbourne. Partly to get another one and partly because this treat was SO good, I had eaten it all before I realised that I hadn’t taken a picture of it for the blog.

Why, you may ask is this Snot Block review on a beerblog? Good question – glad you asked. Eating this (after speaking to the staff at Forty-1 to confirm that it was not just homemade but homemade on the premises) I realised that the taste was better for knowing that someone had put some real care and passion as well as skill, to create this sensation I was feeling. Someone developed the process that resulted in something that looked pretty much like all the others but, when savoured, was an experience worth writing about.

And I’ve just discovered that this is why I like a good craft beer so much.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

Beer Blokes in the High Country

A pretty hectic two weeks has just been capped off by a very nice (if very short) break in Mansfield in the Victorian High Country.

The Pilsner family managed to squeeze a three day getaway into the first slot of the school holidays after a week and a half of two-day and all-day training courses for me combined with extra nights at the Courthouse Restaurant. We must be doing something right out there as midweek nights are getting busier and busier which is difficult for me – I have to stand and serve and then watch as people drink more and more specialty beers and I can’t join them!

Mansfield is a small regional centre at the foot of the Victorian Alps (read; collection of small hill-like objects) about two and a half hours out of Melbourne. It is at the heart of the King Valley, a region that produces some very good wines, and has some fair historical significance.

It is also bloody cold in winter and trying to marshal the little Pilsners into cold weather gear when they just want to bolt around in fairy dresses and bare feet is, I guess, just a part of the rich tapestry that is family holidays.

Once I get my head back in the big city game – and unpack and wash the last of the many, many, many suitcases that seem to have grown out of the back of the Commodore over the three days, I will sit down with a beer and write up my various experiences.

Cheers
Prof. Pilsner

We Wish You a Beery Christmas 2008

Just a quick post amidst all the hustle and bustle of festivities to wish all the Beer Blokes and Blokettes out there in internetland a Happy and Safe Christmas.

A very busy 2008 has seen Beer Blokes grow from a rubbishy bit of waffle which was mostly made up by me and read by a few easily amused punters, to a flourishing source of wisdom and beery information which is awaited eagerly by many, many astute beer lovers and industry experts alike. No, wait, that’s another made up bit. But we have increased our hits from around 20 a week to between 20 and 50 a day and for that support I thank you all. It makes the time it takes to source and compile the stuff I post worthwhile.

Thank you also to all those who have encouraged this tomfoolery by leaving comments and feedback on the stuff you have stumbled across here over the year and I hope you continue to post your thoughts in the future.

A special thanks to all my overseas readers and contributors who have helped out during the year to find answers and opinions for me and the other blokes when I have requested it. I am hoping to ‘profile’ a few OS beer blogs in the New Year so that we can generate a few extra hits ad keep spreading the good beer word.

The New Year will also see me embark on a couple of Beer Nerd Adventures as I attempt to visit as many beer bars and restaurants as I can so that I can give you all an idea of what they are about. Many more nights and sunny afternoons will be spent at special places like The Local Taphouse which is fast becoming a beer Mecca for those seeking beery sustenance as well as beery conversation and beery company. Well done, boys, and keep up the good work.

And, lastly, to all those craft brewers out there who have kept my fridge full and my mouth happy, a huge thank you. I hope that this blog has helped to spread the word about the types and styles and brands of good beer that are out there and that some of you have been encouraged to try some of the same as a result of these pages. Keep supporting the blokes who are getting some terrific brews out into the market and support the blokes like Cloudwine, Purvis and Sword’s Select who are retailing and showcasing these beers.

Stay safe, be excellent to each other and, for goodness sake, drink some great craft beer and tell your mates about it.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

Tassie Touring

While sipping on some very fine German celebration beers at The Local Taphouse during the last Ale Stars meeting, I received a text message from Mrs Pilsner. She had found a flight offer on the internet and wanted to know did I want to go to Tasmania for a week in November? Hmmm, Tasmanian beer, some very fine craft brew operations (presumably with cellar door sales and beer people to chat with) some very fine food and produce, beer, markets, things for the kids to do and beers?!?

I put about the same amount of thinking time into the question as it took me to put my beer down and replied in the affirmative.

I had been planning a trip to The Apple Isle for a while and this nice surprise came as, well, as a ... a nice surprise. I have only ever had the opportunity to visit once before and then for only a couple of days so this time around I can plan ahead a bit and squeeze a few things into the itinerary. And I can squeeze a few very nice ales into my mouth as well! Tasmania may be small in size and in population, but when it comes to fine beers, as a state they are right up there.

I have already contacted Ashley and Jane Huntington at Two Metre Tall and have talked my way into a quick visit, a chat and an ale despite the fact that they are still building their brewery and don’t even have much beer around! Their deliciously named ‘Cleansing Ale’ was an absolute cracker and I have been keen to get a chance at working my way through their range of beers named after Tasmanian rivers! The website is currently also under construction but I will post a link to it when it emerges from the ether.

Moo Brew is another on the list and has been described by Willie Simpson as ‘probably the best appointed microbrewery in Australia’ which is good enough for me. Moo Brew is an extension of the Moorilla Estate winery and has a set of four standard beers in the range plus some seasonal and ‘one offs’. A terrific website allows you to see just what kind of care and attention goes into the brews. Have scammed an invitation to bend the ears of the blokes running the show down there as well. Report to follow!

At this point I need to make a point of just how friendly, approachable and ‘real’ these beer people are. I have often fired off a quick e-mail to check on a fact or propose a visit or just to thank a brewer for a nice drop and on every occasion I have received a reply that was not only genuine and appreciative but quick as well. Considering how labour intensive a small brewing operation can be, this is no small feat. Thanks to you all, guys.

So for the week of the Melbourne Cup holiday the Pilsner family will be heading south across Bass Strait for a relaxing, soul re-tuning, battery recharging and beer filled time. Could be a good chance to add some beers to my list of ‘Mo-Vembeer’ specials. I am guessing that the Moo Brews have already booked a place. I will report on my findings as soon as I can be bothered! And for those who don’t know, here is a ‘map of Tassie’.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner

Hey, You hear that?

No, of course you can’t. This is a beer blog, not some sort of cyberspace powered hearing-things-that-I-can-hear internetty thingy! But, if it was ... you would hear ... nothing. As in a full blooded, high powered Sgt. Shultz style NUH-THING!!

This morning we drove Mrs Pilsner and our eldest off to the airport for their Big Bangkok adventure – three weeks in Thailand and Singapore visiting the wife’s’ best friend, shopping, visiting the daughters home stay student, shopping, beach bumming and shopping. Which leaves me here at home. With the silence.

Oh, and the four year old and the two year old.

For three weeks.

So, I’m not too sure what I can promise you in the way of intelligent, thoughtful, incisive and entertaining posts over the journey to come. Could be concise well thought out research. Could be witty observations of current beer events. Could be entertaining pieces concerning trends and styles in beer. Could be a distressingly chaotic ramble of blithering dribble. Can’t say.

Needless to say. So I won’t. Shit. It’s started already.

Tomorrow I will endeavour to explore the subtle nuances which separate the respective educational merits of Dora the Explorer and Bear in the Big Blue House. Also, who is hotter; Charlie from the Australian Hi-5 or the Charlie chick from Canada Hi-5 or the chick from Play School who used to be on A Country Practice.

Hmmmm.

Cheers,
Prof. Pilsner