Slow Beer

Friday, April 09, 2010

SLOWBEER'S HOP-TASTIC ARRIVALS + NEWS & REVIEWS

We hope everyone enjoyed their extra long easter weekend & opened something worthy of the occasion. Getting stuck into the chocolate beers certainly got us in the mood for some other great autumn appropriate beers. With this in mind we will be focusing on the most popular craft beer style of the moment & perfect autumn season style, the IPA!

FEATURE DEAL
BUY A MIXED 6PK OF MIKKELLER SINGLE HOP IPAs FOR $54.00 (USUALLY $10 EACH)
I’ve mentioned before how fond I am of Danish brewer Mikkeller & this concept makes them even more admirable. Essentially what they have done is brew exactly the same beer but changed the hop used with each new release. Now, while this may sound really boring & unoriginal, it actually serves as an excellent teaching tool for home brewers & beer enthusiasts alike as it enables you to pick up the exact characteristics that the specific hop attributes to the beer. Of course they taste great as well!

East Kent Goldings Single Hop IPA 330ml $10.00
Probably one of the most iconic English hops around. Known for its delicate nature & attributing spicy, earthy hop characters.
Nelson Sauvin Single Hop IPA 330ml $10.00
Possibly the most unique hop variety of the lot. Hailing from NZ, this hop is akin to the now world famous Marlborough sauvignon blanc, exhibiting tropical fruit notes of passion fruit, kiwi & gooseberry while the finish is quite grassy & herbaceous.
Cascade Single Hop IPA 330ml $10.00
Nowadays this hop tends to get overshadowed by the vast array of more robust US varieties. However its pedigree is undeniable & some hold it responsible for the explosion in popularity of craft beer some 25 years ago. Known for its floral & citrus notes.
Amarillo Single Hop IPA 330ml $10.00
Another much loved US variety & seen as the bigger brother of cascade. The two exhibit similar characters, however amarillo is a little more robust in terms of bitterness & has some stone fruit notes.
Simcoe Single Hop IPA 330ml $10.00
Quite prolific among US brewers, given its ability to offer robust piney bitterness as well as some grapefruit & passion fruit notes. Often used in conjunction with Amarillo & Cascade.
Chinook Single Hop IPA 330ml $10.00
Definitely one of the big boys, known for its huge peppery, almost herbal character with piney & sometimes woody bitterness on the finish. Also has some grapefruit notes, but this is all about the bitterness!
BUY A MIXED 6PK OF MIKKELLER SINGLE HOP IPAs FOR $54.00 (USUALLY $10 EACH)

FEATURE BREWERY
COLDSTREAM (VIC)
One assumes this Yarra Valley based producer would be doing a roaring trade at the cellar/brewery door, given its location & hardly surprising is their choice to unveil 3 new limited release beers in 750ml format.

Summer Ale 750ml $25.00
A light, refreshing pale golden ale “Kolsh Style”, brewed for the summer months from pale malt & a small amount of flaked rice. A late-hop addition that includes a quantity of Tasmanian-grown elderflowers provides the beer with a delicate floral nose & a hint of earthy, floral sweetness on the palate.
Dark Lager 750ml $25.00
Personally, I feel this is a style that is much maligned & thus often overlooked. Obviously being a lager, the general profile is quite clean however the use of darker malts gives quite a rich mouth feel without getting too heavy or too far into roasty stout/porter territory. An autumnal delight!
Porter 750ml $25.00
I often refer to these as stout jr, while they aren't all that similar I find it is a good way to get people into them when traditionally they “don’t like stouts or dark beers”. They serve as a good gateway style & this example is no different, possessing significant dark malt presence that brings chocolate & coffee notes.

UPCOMING ARRIVALS
After a bit of a shipping delay we will finally be receiving delivery of a number of unbelievable new Brewdog beers next week, including Tactical Nuclear Penguin, Tokyo*, Hardcore IPA & 5AM Saint

Additionally, the following week the much anticipated Dieu Du Ciel beers will be hitting the shelves. Exciting times ahead!

SLOWBEER TASTINGS
In addition to our regular Friday night free tastings, we are looking at running themed tastings. They will run every second month & focus on a style or theme. We will be looking at rare & limited release beers (expensive too!), thus attendance will require a small fee ($10-20) to try the full range on offer (about 10 beers). Given we will be trying & discussing quite a few beers (with high abv!), samples will be 100ml, which we feel is enough to enjoy the beer but not too much to get you drunk & forget the beer altogether!

To give you an idea of what to expect, we are thinking of locking in the following for our first themed tasting night:
SINGLE HOP IPAs
  • Galaxy (AUS)
  • Nelson Sauvin (NZ)
  • East Kent Goldings (ENG)
  • Cascade (US)
  • Amarillo (US)
  • Simcoe (US)
  • Chinook (US)
When: Either Wednesday evening or Sunday evening from 7PM
Cost: $15.00 to try ALL beers
+ Attendees receive 10% DISCOUNT on any purchase of beers on tasting that night
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING PLEASE EMAIL US, INFORMING WHICH DAY SUITS

Labels: , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



<< Home


 
Free Web Counters
Free Counter