Recent Tasting Notes

Nils Oscar Imperial Stout (14/20) - 2006 Vintage
Very light for style, both in terms of palate weight and abv. Light milk chocolate and quite a bit of fizz in the mouth. Solid enough but doesn’t stand out for me.

Ølfabrikken Winter Stout (14/20)
Raspy, minerally, roasty nose with chocolate kicking in late. Palate is unusual; very very bitter early, almost tart, before soft chocolates kick in (and plenty of them). Very classy build and the structure is quite intriguing.

Emersons Whisky Porter (14/20)
Sweet, spirity, peaty nose. Quite lifted and indeed whisky-like. Dense. Concentrated in the palate. I got a weird chocolately pongy note, can’t put my finger on it, but I think this beer is ok.

Cloudwine / Slowbeer On-line Beer Store

Alrighty,

I've been mucking around with a properly functioning on-line beer style for a few weeks. The first 'draft' can be found at http://www.slowbeer.com.au/.

I still have to fill out the content (ie pics, tasting notes etc) but the site does function from a transaction point of view. Regular visitors to the store will note that I haven't loaded all the beers onto the site, rather I'm sticking to the gear I know we'll have in-stock pretty much all the time.

Pricing will continue to be amongst the best in the nation and I reckon it's pretty clear we blow the doors off our key competitors in Melbourne and Perth with respect to competitiveness. But, of course, the consumer will ultimately be the judge.

Offerings are either singles or 6 packs but always happy to provide case prices etc. Just shoot me a note in need.

cheers

Beer News - Latest Red Hill Newsletter

Some good news here.......Red Hill's 2008 Imperial Stout is not far away!! Farking good beer I reckon.

Read on..................

Cellar Notes - Cantillon Iris

Vintage: 2003
Tasted: May 2008 (16/20)

On tap at the Football Pub in Rome. Best example of Iris in living memory for me; lively, tangy, mild yet balanced sour cut right through the beer. Intriguing aromas of perfumed hops, or so it seems. Vinegar and salty lining to finish. Looks 'middle aged' at 5 years.

Vintage: 2004

Tasted: Jan 2008 (16/20)

A classic of the genre. Pongy, sour and citrus fruits; ultra tangy. Quite and stern sour fruits run right through the palate, all serious stuff. Low fizz, as expected. Has at least 3 years left in it.

New Releases - Red Hill

Just got the following 'heads-up; email from Red Hill. We have ordered plenty of the Imperial and should have stocks on the shelf early next week. There's also a few cases of Hop Harvest ($5.00 p.b) left and I even spied 4 bottles of the Belgian Blonde ($5.00 p.b) in the Camberwell store. Be quick on the latter.

Imperial Stout Now Available - delivery next week
Jet black and one to be savoured. The mouth feel is silky smooth, the nose has roasted malt and a touch of caramel. Rich, deep mocha and coffee flavours are accentuated with caramel and smoky flavours. Willamette and Goldings hops were used in 3 additions to create an ale with a big bitterness and an assertive hop character.

Silver medal Australian International Beer Awards 2008 & 2007

Five Stars, Winestate magazine winter beer tasting...

”Great nose – a big, rich, smoky/chocolaty/malty promise of things to come. Fantastic balance of dark roasted malt flavours and a squeaky-clean dry hop finish that coats the tonsils as it goes down.”

A limited amount available for wholesale June/July only ...

Coming Soon...Weizenbock.

Now brewing, available Jul/Aug, strong dark German wheat beer with complex malt & chocolate characters 8%. Only one brew available, predominantly for wholesale only. KEGS BY PRE-ORDER ONLY. Silver medal Australian International Beer Awards 2008 & 2007.

Beer News - Local Taphouse 'Beer Spectapular'

Ok,

So any self-respecting Melbourne beer nerd would be well aware of The Local Taphouse in Balaclava (right?) but some of you may not know that owner Steve has pulled together 40 cracking kegs for a one day beer festival on Sunday June 22nd. Kicks off at noon.

Another great sign that the Melbourne craft beer scene is gathering serious momentum.

$25 gets you 20 tasting tickets (60ml samples)...sounds like very decent value. I'll be very keen to take a look at 2 Brothers, Paddy's, Feral and Wig & Pen, amongst others.

Full details at the Taphouse Blog. Specific post can be found here and PDF flyer here.

My earlier plug for this joint can be found here.

See you there!

Cellar Notes - Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru

1999 Vintage / Tasted May 2008 (16/20)
Sweet nose, relatively speaking of course, and not miles away from dessert wines based on botrytised semillon grapes. In fact the similarity is striking. Colour is certainly developed with darker apricot but this 9yr old beer. Palate is dead flat and shows great aged apricot and wine characters. Good tangy, spicy fruits throughout. Slight pong on the finish.

2003 Vintage / Tasted May 2007 (12/20)
Ok, I admit, I am a complete nuff when it comes to the style, but the completely flat palate effectively kills the beer for me. Strictly medium strength in terms of acid, sour fruits and intensity, particularly in the contex of a Cantillon offering. Orange apricot hue with no head. Sour and citrus fruits on the nose. Much more bitter and firm to taste; citrus and acid in abundance early, but the palate suffers from a chronic lack of fizz which flattens and dulls the palate. Flavours tail off as a result. Disappointing (yeah I know, unblended lambic should be flat).
(purchased at the brewery in late 2006)

New Releases & Fresh Stocks - May

Belgium
MC Chouffe $13.00

Czech Republic
Krusovice Imperial $2.80

England
Fursty Ferret Ale $6.50
Theakstons Old Perculier $6.50

US
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale $6.00

Recent Tasting Notes

Baron's Extra Special Bitter (13/20)
Barons’ tries to have foot in a number of camps but it doesn’t really nail either. Holds itself out to be a micro yet the beers are contract made, or at least started out life this way. It has a go at some very interesting interpretations (Black Wattle etc) yet punches out some rubbish like the Pale Ale. The ESB could have been a shocker but I thought it was a credible interpretation. Great to look at; dirty tan with a decent head. Nose shows nice caramel malts with just the right whack of sugary sweetness. Palate structure is pretty good; soft creamy feel (still plenty of bubbles compared to the ’norm’) with an authentic kick of suble bitterness and equally subtle malts.

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (12/20)
Don’t quite know what to make of this. Certaintly has some IPA character with coppery metallic flavours underpinned with fruit but to my taste becomes more of a bitter as the beer travels through the palate. Very broad flavours and palate structure on the finish. Ultimately not remarkable.

Struise Pannepot Reserva Oak Aged (15/20)
Interesting. The abv of 10% is far more noticable that the the other 2 Pannepot beers. Relatively simpled and subdued early before a kick of aniseed, big malts and alcohol.