Good Beer Week

Beer Blokes Gold Medal Beer Dinner at The Terminus Hotel

Time for a little shameless self promotion.

Let’s face it; Good Beer Week is going to be bigger than King Kong’s bollocks and every self respecting beer lover will be hitting venues all over this marvellous town to indulge their passion for good beer and good beer company. But don’t forget to keep your stomach, as well as your soul, nourished.

What better way to kick the week off than with some of Melbourne’s finest pub grub matched with five beers which hooked Gold Medals at last year’s awards, served up in one of Melbourne’s nicest pub dining rooms in the company of possibly one of Melbourne’s top six or seven nicest Beer Dinner hosts?

The Beer Blokes Gold Medal Beer Dinner will showcase a range of beers designed to delight the experienced drinker while taking the novice on a giddy ride through the wonders of beer. From light, refreshing Pilsner through yeasty and earthy Saison, to malty English Ale and hoppy and punchy American style pale ale before finishing with the richness and depth of a big bold Stout this selection will highlight the flavour range, the aroma differences and the colour variation that beer offers.

Alongside the beers will be the culinary art of Chef Matt Merrick which he has crafted to match the flavours, aromas, bitterness and texture of each brew. Diners will experience the remarkable ability of the malted beverage to compliment or contrast the flavours and tastes of the dishes with the malt, the yeast or the hops or to cut through the richness and refresh with its bitterness.

Elements of the much loved Beer Blokes Beer Dinners will be included such as the Prof Pilsner’s Beer Trivia Quiz and BEERducation but a couple of surprises are also planned. After all, it IS Good Beer Week and this dinner needs to set the bar high for those who follow. What is assured is that those present will come away with a greater understanding of, and love for, the amber nectar. And the black gold. And the golden liquid. And the bronze beverage.

Seating is limited and just over half the spots are already sold so get your party together and book a table by contacting The Terminus Hotel on 9481 3182. Tickets are just $79 for five courses matched to five different beers plus all the fun of a Beer Blokes Beer Dinner. The Terminus is located at 492 Queens Pde Clifton Hill.

The Beer Blokes Gold Medal Beer Dinner at The Terminus Hotel is proudly supported by The Crafty Pint – ‘putting class in your glass’. And in between courses you are welcome to pop down to the front bar for one of the lovely Australian craft beers selected by The Crafty Pint himself, James Smith. Crafty will be curating the taps at The Terminus and its sister pub, The Royston Hotel during Good Beer Week. Tough gig, eh?!

Cheers

Prof Pilsner

http://www.terminus.com.au/www/content/default.aspx?cid=641 For more details, the menu and bookings.

http://www.goodbeerweek.com/ For everything your beery heart could desire in Melbourne between May 16 and 22^nd.

http://www.craftypint.com.au/ For everything from new beer news and venue and event listing to the musical and lighter side of beer. You might even end up ‘going on a march’. You never know.

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.