All posts by Phil

Yeastie Boys ‘Her Majesty 2010’

September 6, 2010 Phil 3 Comments

And so begins Diary II. I’m kinda surprised I lasted a week since the birthday-closing of Diary I. But this was a hell of a way to kick things off; with a big, mad, not-concerned-with-style kinda thing.

The Yeastie Boys are no one-trick ponies; they can make crazy hoppy pale ales, delicious easy milds, and things like this that escape classification and just are what they are. Somewhat reminiscent of Emerson’s too-scarce ‘Taieri George’, this is a dark, smooth beer with oodles of chocolate and spice flavours, which is almost worryingly drinkable for its rather-high strength.

They make a ‘His Majesty’, as well, but this one is dedicated to their wives (and the largely-unsung women of the craft-brewing world in general) and apparently made to their tastes — which also makes this another useful thing to help dynamite silly notions of what is or isn’t a “girly beer”.

Verbatim: Yeastie Boys ‘Her Majesty 2010’ 6/9/10 on tap @MH 7.5%. Welcome to the new book! An anniversary-ish beer seemed appropriate, and so did one that doesn’t respect style guidelines. “Belgian Imperial Porter” or Brown is people’s best bet. But why bother? It is what it is, and it’s good. Big, dark + spicy. Hides its booze worryingly well. Very wintery, almost Eastery with all those spices. Brewed for their wive’s tastes, apparently. Another counter-example to usual silly notions of what might be a “girly beer”, then.

Rambles and rants

My entry for the People’s Blog

October 20, 2009 Phil 4 Comments

The weekly blog on the Malthouse’s website has a semi-regular feature called ‘The People’s Blog’, where regulars and hangers-on and (occasionally) staff are invited to / dragooned into writing a little blab about their “two favourite Malthouse beers”. I was one of the “volunteers” for the second edition of that, and so this probably rates as my earliest, most-official piece of Rambling About Beer:

It’s chronically unfair to ask me for my “two favourite” Malthouse beers since I’m a fairly fickle and promiscuous drinker with tastes that vary pretty wildly depending on the weather, the plan for the evening (or morning…), what my previous beer was and general whims. But okay. Let’s play along and pick two enduring favourites, at least.

Emerson’s Bookbinder (Dunedin, 3.7%). Absurdly flavourful for its moderate weight, Booky serves brilliantly as an after-work restorative (and actual book-binding is damn hard work, I can assure you) or as a sessionable fuel for long hours of talking nonsense with friends and generally laughing asses off – which won’t leave you too blurry in the small hours, or too hungover the day after. It’s a reminder that, if you’re clever enough, you don’t have to climb to boozy heights to make a tasty beer, and that often there’s merit to be had for finding that perfect balance between your malts and your hops. Both factors run nicely contrary to some frequently-silly fashions, and are worth celebrating. So raise a glass. Then another.

Cooper’s Sparkling Ale (Adelaide, 5.8%). My first good Australian beer, upon which I luckily stumbled while beer-shopping for an Australia Day while off at university in a forty-degree Canberra summer. Hardly “sessionable” at 5.8% (not that that stopped me…) but a truly gorgeous golden ale with a wonderfully easy, fruity, lively and lingering taste that can be a great way to ease lagerheads into other styles, or to bring those who don’t consider themselves “beer drinkers” (maybe because lagerheads just offer them lager…) into the fold.

With its optional ritual of rolling the bottle to kick up the sediment, it’s also a great introduction to the joys of natural, unfiltered, bottle-conditioned (and so, arguably, “real”) beer. It’s effortlessly delicious.

Continue reading My entry for the People’s Blog →

Actual Diary entries

Beer and Food and Philosophy

April 5, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

With good beer goes good ramble, I’ve always thought. Two of my regulars at the Malthouse — Clare and Jula — were of a similar mind, and organised for a group of people in likewise agreement to meet up at their place one Saturday afternoon (the timing was tricky, given the vastly different hours we all worked). It was ridiculously civilised; we sat around their kitchen table and talked about some tricky questions of ethics and metaphysics all tangled up in the notion of what counts — and what doesn’t count, and why — as a “person”. We were all coming at that from strikingly different angles (for myself, it was basically the main obsession of my philosophy degree…), which made for a spirited and fascinating conversation.

And, it went bloody-well with:

Singha Lager
Wigram Hefe
Emerson’s ‘Little Red Rooster’
Belhaven ‘Twisted Thistle’
Peak Brewery ‘Monkey Point’ IPA
Belhaven ‘Wee Heavy’
Emerson’s ‘Taieri George’, and
Black Sheep ‘Riggwelter’

You can see by the photos that most people did as they were told and also brought some food to go with their choice of beer. Falling into my deservedly-stereotypical role as The Guy Who Knows Nothing About Food, I failed; I can’t even tell you what those things are that the others provided. I therefore shifted a little into the role of Slightly More Beer Nerdy Nerd, and picked the order of service, at least.

My own beer for the occasion was Emerson’s ‘Little Red Rooster’, a ‘Brewers’ Reserve’ series release that had just come out at the time and was available on the fill-your-own at Regional Wines & Spirits. It was a rather-lovely little Vienna Lager; the increased caramelly maltiness accounting for the colour and name, and providing a nicely interesting body. My new place in Mount Victoria is a very short walk from that shop, which makes for some delightfully-dangerous pay day shopping sprees.

Unnumbered Diary entry, Beer and food and philosophy

Actual Diary entries

Yeastie Boys ‘Kid Chocolate’

March 25, 2009 Phil 3 Comments

After the Silage Debacle, this was an incredibly-welcome change. The third Yeastie Boys release was a charmingly un-fashionable mild — great big hop-fueled high-booze things were very much in fashion, so the Yeasties staked their claim to being Plural-Tricked Ponies very early on.

It is weird that we got to the point where mildness could be a vaguely revolutionary thing, but this stuff was too enjoyable and mellow and good for any sort of complaint about the state of craft brewing in general to bubble very far up the brainstem. That’s what these things do, when they’re done well; they shut you up. Or at least, they shut up anything overly-animated and just let you sit and quietly talk nonsense with your friends. Like you should do more often, whoever you are.

Verbatim: Yeastie Boys ‘Kid Chocolate’ Mild 25/3/09 staffie at Malty $8/pint 3.6% The third YB, and a mostly forgotten style. Sessionable brown ale. Lovely chestnut colour, almost no hop presennce, as per style. Nice smooth malt-driven quaffer. Slightest nudge of choc. Another oddly-named good thing.

Actual Diary entries

Kaiapoi Draught

March 25, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

Oh, I’m so sad I entirely lost the photo for this… this, thing. It turns out I never even added it to my ‘Beer Nerd Diaries’ on Facebook, back when that the world’s window into my beerbrain. Perhaps I was just embarrassed.

(I’m only slightly sad that I apparently can’t spell Kaiapoi, even when the beer label was staring me in the phiz. I’ve long since comes to terms with that fact that, for a Trivia Nerd, my New Zealand Geography is relatively rubbish.)

A case of this arrived with the traditional Massive Swag of Stuff before the beer festival in August, and a good many of these were still in the fridge six months later. Perhaps owing to the laughably-homebrewish label that I so very much wish I could show you. It was a beer from another time, it seemed, one when ‘No Added Sugar’ was something worth bragging about rather than a minimum condition for the merest scrap of credibility.

Malthouse blackboard, my birthday — The Malthouse blackboard, on my birthday, indicating my apparently-preferred Draught

It smelt utterly awful, and tasting alarmingly… nothing. One really does wonder how they managed that. Or, indeed, why. Two local boys were over the moon to see that we stocked it, but had the dignity to have that classic hometown combination of embarrassment and pride as they insisted Peter and I try it. I’m glad we did, because I’m just that much of a masochist / empiricist, but honestly, I’d rather a Tui,¹ if I ever found myself in the mood for something of the style.

Verbatim: Kaipoi Draught 25/3/09 nicked from Malty 330ml Been in the fridge since Beerfest in September. Two boys from Kaipoi insisted we try. Smells like arse, or silage. Doesn’t taste too bad, because not much at all. “No added sugar” and all that sad branding. And “draught”. Hrmph. What a word in need of retirement.

1: A few months later, some mischievous staff — on the occasion of my 30th birthday, and of DB winning an award in their class for it — amended my “Staff Pick” on the Big Blackboard to Tui. I decided just to own it, and insist that people actually give it a go, for its historical oddness.

Actual Diary entries

Theresianer Pale Ale

March 24, 2009 Phil 1 Comment

Another Italian beer, and one I’d had before, with an altogether brilliant dinner at La Casa here in town, a while back. It’s an appealing bright orangey colour, and definitely has appropriately citrussy twangs in the nose and the taste. It’s a bit boozy, at 6.3%, and has a slightly metallic zing to it which just comes across as refreshing, not irritating.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: Metal is such a weird flavour to pick up, but it is pretty distinctive. Usually, it’s bad, bad news — my usual citation is Beck’s, which (when had on tap in Melbourne occasionally) just tasted, to me, like biting down hard on a wet stainless steel butterknife. But here’s me singling it out as a “not in a bad way” thing. Which does weird me out, in hindsight.

This beer in particular probably did get a lot of Circumstantial Points, given the awesomeness of the dinner it originally accompanied. But beer is like that, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be.

Verbatim: Theresianer Pale Ale 24/3/09 @ home, Mt Vic. 330ml 6.5% Had another La Rossa the other day, so more Italian. I had this at La Casa with Kylee a while back, too. Nice amber, grunty, floral, slightly metallic, but refreshingly. Citrussy and fun. Good stuff.

Actual Diary entries

Moa ‘St. Joseph’

March 23, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

Moa brewery in Blenheim is the work of Josh Scott, son of winemaker Allan Scott. And it really does have a significant “wanky side-project of spoilt rich kid” air about the whole thing. The beers are particularly expensive, nobbishly marketed — and unforgivably naff all too often. I suppose when you’re charging an arse and a head for your beer, you have to make sure it’s mild enough that people won’t hate it. Really, it’s a clever corner of the market to go for, too; wealthier people with pretensions of boutique beer-ery, but who are still Heineken drinkers at heart.

All that said, ‘Saint Jo.’ is pretty much the exception to the rule. It’s a nice little Tripel, and is very-definitely the pick of the bunch.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: Heh, there’s your ‘balance’. “Ranty-ranty-rant — but this is okay.” But it’s sincerely meant, still, even after Moa have expanded their range with a few more properly-worthy offerings like some genuinely-interesting barrel-aged beers. Aspects of the marketing are massively annoying; I’ve been considering using their stuff for a whole post of Please Don’t Do This points about beer branding. And the ‘First Three’ (the ‘Original’ lager, the ‘Blanc’ wheat, and the ‘Noir’) are terribly bland for their price — and what isn’t ‘bland’ about them is a worryingly-distinct Moa Funk that it takes their heavier beers to cover up / avoid / compensate-for.

Though there are some exceptions, the Moa Beers are — in general, and so far — a depressing triumph of brandwank over substance.

Actual Diary entries

Birra Moretti ‘La Rossa’, again

March 18, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

We were out for a surprise birthday dinner for Robyn’s 30th, where I got to play beer nerd / consultant, and couldn’t resist another La Rossa — especially since they had the cute little glass.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: This was a great little night out, and one of the unexpected benefits was meeting Jessie and Simon, two friends who have since hooked me up with several good beer recommendations and joined me for some enjoyable Rambling Time. Jessie’s from California, within “crawling distance” (as she puts it) of the Sierra Nevada brewery. So I’m going to run a bit of a Local Stuff Beer Tasting for her family (including her apparently-formidably Beer Nerdy father) when they’re in town later this month.

The lesson is this: you do meet good people when you let yourself geek out. Be not afraid to let your nerdlight shine, fellow nerds.

Actual Diary entries

Emerson’s ‘Taieri George’

March 10, 2009 Phil 2 Comments

One of Emersons’ seasonal releases, this one comes out each year in honour of Mister Emerson Senior’s birthday. He’d be the George in the name, it also being a punny nod to the fact he was involved with the Taieri Gorge railway. It’s a great big yummy dark ale, significantly spicy (they admit to nutmeg and cinnamon, but won’t be drawn on the secret third), and a good bit boozy (at 6.8%) — absolutely perfect for just when the days are turning colder.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: The usual tasting note for this stuff is that it’s ‘liquid hot cross buns’, and it certainly arrives with roughly Easterish timing. But I really despise hot cross buns — not just for, you know, theological reasons — and I love this to bits. So your mileage may vary. Certainly don’t let the comparison put you off, if it does.

I compared the delicious ‘Her Majesty’ by Yeastie Boys to this, and the pairing also shows you just what work yeast and malt can do if you cleverly pick your pairing and regularly crack the whip; the Yeastie Boys brew didn’t have any actual spices in it but still gets itself an awesomely-multi-faceted shape like this has.

I also had this beer with (and went to Watchmen with) my friend George. I have literally no idea how that coincidental alignment of beer names and people names went un-noted. I’m usually all over that stuff, to a relatively-pathological degree.

Verbatim: Emerson’s Taieri George 10/3/09 $12 @ work 6.8% 500ml Released a few days ago, and had before heading off to Watchmen. It’s got a cute story, and it’s always gorgeous. Big and dark with ruby highlights, super smooth and silky, spicy and warming. Loveliness.

Actual Diary entries

Epic ‘Mayhem’

February 19, 2009 Phil 2 Comments

I’ve said some nasty things about Epic in the past, so in credit-where-due spirit, Mayhem is awesome. It’s one of a few variant editions of the Epic Pale, and addresses all of that beer’s shortcomings nicely. It’s vastly maltier and ‘beerier’ in the body (and a bit boozier too, as a result) and is thereby much better balanced. But it’s still astonishingly hoppy and aromatic, with New Zealand-developed Riwaka hops in there alongside the usual American Cascade — so the big hop notes aren’t just striking in one place like they do in the Pale. To re-purpose Epic’s particularly-stupid marketing phrase, this really Just Tastes Bigger, in all directions, and is vastly better for it. But more importantly than merely being “better” than the Pale Ale, this is, on its own merits, bloody lovely.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: I remember liking liking this, if you follow what I mean. I really grumped about the Pale Ale, partially because it was so absurdly popular — hailed as the best-ever by any number of otherwise-plausible people, when I thought the most you could say in its favour was that it was a well-made example of that intentionally off-kilter hop-nonsensed sort of beer. Stunt beer. Boy racer beer, as my colleague Ben used to say. It wasn’t badly made, it was just boringly flashy and it mystified me that so many people had it as their standby everday ‘session’ beer. I like those beers sometimes, but worried about how, if you drank it all the time, your tastebuds must resemble an apocalyptic wasteland — and whether that was the cause of the Epic-sessioning, or its effect.

In fairness, Epic Pale has massively improved. There was one horror-batch as the malt in the recipe was changed around in Luke’s absence, but after that things stabilised nicely and the beer became considerably more drinkable, I thought. If anything, now the real irony is that Tuatara’s APA — designed fairly shamelessly as a bandwagoning local-sales-stealer — is just that bit better yet; it’s certainly less one-note and more balanced. Epic Pale was necessary to push people in this hoppy direction, but is now in danger of watching its students become its master, perhaps.

Verbatim: Epic Mayhem 19/2/09 380ml 6.5% $9 @ Malty. After nasty words about the Pale, this is great. Much maltier underneath and with the passionfruity Riwaka hop alongside the US Cascade. So deeper and wider. Actually balanced, still remarkably hoppy. Altogether very good.

Beer Diary

All posts by Phil

Yeastie Boys ‘Her Majesty 2010’

My entry for the People’s Blog

Beer and Food and Philosophy

Yeastie Boys ‘Kid Chocolate’

Kaiapoi Draught

Theresianer Pale Ale

Moa ‘St. Joseph’

Birra Moretti ‘La Rossa’, again

Emerson’s ‘Taieri George’

Epic ‘Mayhem’

Tastings and ramblings and whatnot