All posts by Phil

Brugge Tripel

February 15, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

I’d wandered into work on a day off mostly taken up by mooching around town running various errands. Just as I plonked myself in my usual spot at the bar, Scotty opened one of these by mistake, the customer apparently actually wanting its ‘Blonde’ sibling but not managing to properly articulate their decision — so I had this as a freebie to try, in the spirit of not letting something pointlessly go to waste.

It’s a Belgian strong golden ale, but not one I can really recommend. For the price tag, it just seemed a bit… naff — so I’m extra-glad the price tag didn’t apply, in my case. Have a Tuatara Ardennes, or a Moa St. Joseph if you’d like something local and similar, or hell, just have a Duvel if you’d like the real deal. It’s just better, somehow. The Brugge Tripel just seems a bit, thin — like they’ve candy-sugared it up too much. It does — at 8.2% — pack a sly boozy punch, though, I can tell you that.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: Just about the only thing I can give this beer credit for, now, is inspiring me to rewatch In Bruges. Pretty limp praise-by-assocation is the best I can manage; this beer was a real let-down from what I was hoping for, and against what I’ve liked in other examples of its style.

Actual Diary entries

Three Boys Golden Ale, again

February 9, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

This made for a nice finish to a civilised and therapeutic afternoon / evening of good beers and good books, and is still my front-runner for Beer of the Summer ’08/’09.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: I really do love this beer to bits. It’s in the Diaries a few times, and the arrival of several kegs of it at work this weekend considerably helped my Calm in the face of the impending nonsense of the Rugby Sevens. Though it’s easily the daftest few days of the year here in the City, if you ask me, we somehow dodged a bullet this time round and had a surprisingly manageable few days. Only one person was ejected from the bar all weekend, which is astonishing for a bog-standard Friday or Saturday, nevermind ones as busy as these were — it was our busiest weekend ever on Courtenay Place — with their oodles of costumed weirdos flooding into town.

Myself, I’m putting it down to the civilising power of all that Three Boys Golden Ale we had stacked up out the back. This could quickly turn me into a superstitious oddball, but I can’t think of anything I’d rather have as my own peculiar rabbit’s foot.

Actual Diary entries

Timothy Taylor’s ‘Landlord’

February 9, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

The timing of this is somewhat ironic, since I’m house-hunting. But I’d been meaning to have one for ages — and having beers for ‘punny’ reasons has always been a habit of mine. It’s a ‘Strong Pale Ale’, but they mean in terms of flavour, not booze. It’s golden, with a very herby, hoppy, grassy nose. Zesty and lively in the body, with a nice long finish, and a good solid presence in the taste, as opposed to the subtler Pedigree I had before it, but it’s still hugely drinkable.

The fraction that made it into the photo is ambiguous, but I’m fairly sure that’s Nation by Terry Pratchett that I was reading. You should, too; it’s very good.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: We couldn’t get this at work for ages; no one was importing it any more. It was probably the most asked-after of beers in that category for months. And then, recently, we got a dozen dozen. Which was fun for me to stack away, as it always is. We’re motoring through them.

Verbatim: Timothy Taylor’s Landlord 9/2/09 500ml 4.1% $12 @ Malthouse. Strong pale ale. Flavourful, not booze. Golden, with a herby, hoppy, grassy nose. Zesty + lively in the body, with a nice long finish. Good solid presence in the taste, as opp. the subtle Pedigree, but still hugely drinkable.

Actual Diary entries

Marston’s ‘Pedigree’

February 9, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

A classic English ale, with a nice old-school bent in that they still use a peculiar system of oak casks all piped-together for the brewing, which does give it definite woody undertones, especially late. It’s a nice light amber, starts smooth, and is generally easy-going, understated, but rewarding. Lots of subtle little flavours drifting up as you go, making for an enjoyably complex sipper. It’s also got the solid minerally-ness that comes from the Burton water, and became a characteristic of the stronger, hoppier India Pale Ales, when they were developed.

Afterthoughts, February 2011: In another instance for the Strange Timing files, I’m just getting back on to the archival-uploads task bang on two years after I first had this. I still have fond memories of this beer, and have had a couple in the intervening time. So sedate, and worth spending time with.

I love that the label says “Official Beer of England”, too. A wonderfully over-reaching marketing effort, since they mean “of the English Cricket Team”.

Verbatim: Marston’s Pedigree. 9/2/09. 500ml 4.5% $11 @ Malthouse. Classic English ale, brewed in a weird old oak cask system, and it shows. Very woody undertones, especially late. It’s a nice light amber, and has a smooth start. Easy-going, understated but rewarding. With the Burton water mineral note.

Actual Diary entries

Orkney ‘Northern Light’

January 27, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

Verbatim: Another beer from the island that gives me my beloved Highland Park whisky. This was a Christmas present to myself, and enjoyed on the occasion of a big family barbeque when my Aunt and Uncle were over from Canada. It’s bordering on midstrength / sessionable at 4.0%, and is a very appealing bright ambery gold with nice fine bubbles that make for an enduring smooth head. It’s only very subtly hopped on the nose and has a wonderfully fresh malt body to it. Loveliness, really.

Afterthoughts, November 2010: No proper Diary entry here, and even the photo was taken on a borrowed camera. Unaccountably, I hadn’t taken my bag with me out to the parents’ house. Habits are often very useful; it takes some doing to find a workaround when you don’t follow them, sometimes.

Actual Diary entries

Peak Brewery ‘Monkey Point’ IPA

January 27, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

My payment for helping George and Robyn (mostly Robyn, actually, since George was wounded) move their furniture around in readiness for renovations.

It’s basically a ruthlessly traditional IPA. Originally, IPA was what happened when the English over-hopped and strengthened up their ales, so they’d survive the commute out to the colonials in India. This one is oak barrel aged, to simulate some of that, and so despite being bottle conditioned, it pours flat as a pancake. It’s a nice muted reddy brown, and has a good apricotty hoppiness at the start and a citrusy zing in the tail. George and I thought it was great fun, and nicely quaffable — especially considering it’s actually 6.5%. I can easily imagine it’d be hated by many, even by many who consider themselves IPA fans. But I’ve long thought that you get extra points for being ballsy enough to be hated by some people, if it means doing a very-particular thing well. (See also, e.g., South coast Islay whisky.)

Verbatim: Peak Brewery Monkey Point IPA. 27/1/09 500ml 6.5%. Payment for lugging stuff. Understatedly organic. Seems hugely traditional. Oak aged IPA, which they would be, of course, in transit. Nearly flat, despite bottle conditioning. Apricotty and indeed oakey, it’s mild with a little fresh citrusy back end. Quite quaffable.

(Also, on Australia Day yesterday: a Creatures Pale, a Cooper’s Sparkling longneck and Pale. And a VB.)

Afterthoughts, November 2010: Here’s me, falling into the Captivating But Wrong Old Story about IPA. It turns out that IPA wasn’t at all “designed” to be shipped out to the colonies; the story is much more accidental and circumstantial than that. As you’d be right to expect, Martyn Cornell has nicely dealt with the topic on his blogthing.

I must also warn that this brewery, while capable of producing some lovely beers, does have a shockingly-bad occasional problem with infected batches / bottles. And when this one goes bad, as it too-often does, it goes horrid; full of a fizzy, strawberry-yoghurt flavour. Ranker than rank. Although one memorable customer at work one night did come in asking if we had the “strawberry-flavoured Peak beer” — he’d evidently had an infected bottle, and enjoyed it. To each their own, I suppose.

Actual Diary entries

Renaissance ‘Paradox’ Blonde

January 21, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

By “blonde”, here, they mean “golden ale”. You can see I’ve developed an obsession. It’s a great bright gold with lively racing bubbles that make a fine head which lasts all the way down the glass and make for an notably (but enjoyably) fizzy feel. It’s perhaps not as aromatic as billed — the text on the bottle is full of zesty and bursty and exclamatory tone that makes me want to counsel them to just calm down and embrace the nature of the lovely mild ale instead. (As I mentioned with the previous beer, some people expect too much of golden ales — it’s just odd that, here, it seems to be the people marketing one that miss the point a touch. But I forgive them.)

It does have a definite zing, and is brilliantly refreshing. There’s a solid passionfruitiness to it, which is apparently a hallmark of the Riwaka hops used — and probably accounts for the label’s colour scheme, too.

Verbatim: Renaissance ‘Paradox’ Blonde. 21/1/09 $7 at Kirks. 500ml 4%. Further adventures in golden ale. Nice bright gold with lively racing bubbles + fine head. Not as aromatic as billed, maybe — the pitch is over-enthused; embrace the mild ale, boys. Definite zing in the flavour. Very refreshing. Solid passionfruitiness; apparently a Riwaka hop hallmark. The bubbles stay around and dominate the feel a bit.

Afterthoughts, November 2010: “Blonde” is one of those abused / overused words in the beer world where you really have to ask someone exactly what they mean by it before you can talk to them if they strike up a conversation / ask a question. If you’re European, it’s Belgian-ish boozy light-ish ale; if you’re American, it’s wheat beer, usually more Belgian-ish than German-ish; if you’re Australian, it’s low-carb lager. It does get confusing.

“Draught” is a similar word, but worse still.

Actual Diary entries

Hopback ‘Summer Lightning’

January 20, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

This brewery’s self-proclaimed ‘flagship beer’, and a hugely-awarded one at that. Bottle-conditioning makes it a conspicuously-hazy warm gold, and it’s quite a lot fuller and maltier in the body than a lot of the Goldens I’ve been having lately. If it makes any sense, I almost want to say it’s more of a singly-capitalised golden Ale than what is (maybe mostly just to me) a doubly-capitalised Golden Ale. But for similar reasons, it’d make a great Gateway Golden for lagerheads, being all crisp and yum as it is.

Verbatim: Hopback ‘Summer Lightning’ Golden Ale. 20/1/09 $7 at Rumbles 500ml %5. A nice warm gold with slight haze — bottle conditioned. Quite a lot maltier than my other recent Goldens. Flagship beer of Hopback, and hugely awarded. More full bitterness not bad, just another expectations issue. (Lots of point-missing reviews.) Crisp +yum. Gateway Golden for lager-heads.

Afterthoughts, November 2010: The reference to ‘point-missing reviews’ comes from that fact that a lot of self-identified beer geeks don’t ‘get’ golden ale; you’ll see people harping about how the flavour is so light and soft and non-full-on. Which is exactly the idea. Not every damn beer has to be a punch in the face, people. There’s a lot of merit to be had in easy-going yumness.

Also, perhaps I’m just being picky, but that is the worst beer photo I’ve taken in ages. I’m not even sure why I dislike it so much; the glass, the focus, the wonky angle. Maybe the perilously-boozy beer before it softened my standards / ability again. But I certainly made up for it the next day.

Actual Diary entries

Birra Moretti ‘La Rossa’

January 20, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

This was one of the original beers in the famous chilly bin that George gave me. I remember being hugely impressed, and so leapt at a recent chance for another.

It’s a gorgeously-coloured strong Italian(!) doppelbock. It’s a sweet, caramelly, stupidly drinkable thing for 7.2%, with a nice little hoppy zing on the back end. I’ve just discovered it’s actually brewed by Heineken (and was when I first had it), so I feel morally peculiar, but I’m still a big fan.

Oh, and yes. That is indeed a chippie sandwich in the background. I am a Master Mongrelistic Beer & Food Matcher

Verbatim: Having another go at La Rossa. (20/1/09) It’s a strong Italian doppelbock. Sweet and caramelly, absurdly drinkable for 7.2%. Nice late hoppy zing to it, too. Even better than I remembered.

Afterthoughts, November 2010: My numbering system for what counted as a ‘proper’ Diary entry, and what was just an unnumbered note is pretty seriously idiosyncratic. Sufficiently so that I have no idea, now, what it was then. I was probably thinking that since this was a re-sampling of something already-noted, it didn’t need a full entry again. But in fairly short order, I’ll go on to break that ‘rule’ — if that was indeed the ‘rule’ I had in mind. It’s not that I’m fickle; I just have a terrible memory, sometimes.

Actual Diary entries

Three Boys Pils

January 17, 2009 Phil Leave a comment

A keg of this arrived at work, so I gave it another go, and was grateful I did. It will taste a little different off tap, of course — but my last try of it was also after a long day of dark beers; not the best sampling conditions. It’s fresher and less blunt than I remember, but still very much drier and punchier than the traditional after-work Tuatara Pilsner. That said, I still find it nicely smooth and refreshing.

Verbatim: Three Boys Pils. 17/1/09 $9 at work 425ml 5.5%. On tap, briefly. And I’m liking it a whole lot better. Fresher, less blunt Steinlagery nose to it. Very much drier than a Tuatara, but still smooth + refreshing.

Afterthoughts, November 2010: And herein lies a good lesson about tasting beers; try not to do too many at once, and pay a lot of attention to what you’ve just been having before you had the thing you’re trying. These cross-pint effects are huge, with beer, I find.

Which makes for another reason why a proper Beer Nerd will take ages to answer the usual “What’s your favourite beer?” question, if they answer it at all, rather than simply objecting to its terms. Favourite for what? For when? When I’m drinking what else? When I’m eating what? When the weather is how? If I’m planning on having how many? Be very suspicious of anyone with a predictable, perennial pint; they’re probably not a Proper Nerd.

Beer Diary

All posts by Phil

Brugge Tripel

Three Boys Golden Ale, again

Timothy Taylor’s ‘Landlord’

Marston’s ‘Pedigree’

Orkney ‘Northern Light’

Peak Brewery ‘Monkey Point’ IPA

Renaissance ‘Paradox’ Blonde

Hopback ‘Summer Lightning’

Birra Moretti ‘La Rossa’

Three Boys Pils

Tastings and ramblings and whatnot