Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

October 13, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

We’ve struck censorship once before in these pages, but here I find myself doing some redaction before the paper was ever scanned. I’d had a very weird run-in with some misbehaving Police on my way home from Hashigo, so I stopped by Malthouse and raided the fridge’s supply of abandoned samples in search of something to follow ‘Péché Mortel’.

I found this, and shared it with a plural number of colleagues who I shan’t name; it’s obvious enough that I had it, but they were a little more squiffy as to its status as ‘abandoned’, despite it having laid idle for months.

Unfortunately, despite its ludicrously high scores on Ratebeer.com, I just wasn’t wowed. This could be attributable to several things (or some combination thereof):

Maybe I’d had too-many high-grunt beers before it. This is definitely a factor with beer; you just can’t properly try that many ‘new’ things in a session, especially if they’re quite strong. There comes a point at work where someone will ask for one more random recommendation from me (who is, quite naturally, well stocked with such), and my frank advice will be to return to something they know. Save the new things for next time.
Perhaps the beer had had a hard life before reaching me. Beers of this kind (strong, malt-driven) tend to age well, and the brewery are confident it would, but this was two years old and may have had some difficult (too hot, too rough) travels in its time. It’s a relatively-fragile product, really, and that fact is a large part of what drives the controversy over ‘grey market’ imports — about which more later, I’m sure. Or,
Possibly it just Wasn’t My Thing. The subjectivity of beer tasting should never be allowed to be forgotten. That you yourself don’t enjoy something otherwise-almost-universally-acclaimed is no cause for concern. Especially if you know even just a little about what you’re getting in for, you’re perfectly entitled to not like something.

For me, at the time at least (I’d certainly give it another go, with that reputation), it was just too smack-in-the-face, too fumey — despite being only a nudge stronger than my previous beer’s 9.5%, one particularly-apt comment on Ratebeer.com has it as smelling “like some sort of solvent poured into an ashtray”. Just not nearly as lovely as the Péché Mortel.

Verbatim: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 07/08 13/10/10 10/6% abandoned sample @ MH. 12 floz ÷ 3 w/ [redacted] Same gorgeous colour, same espresso head, fumier, though. Tarter chocolatey flavour. Strength is much more apparent in the face, too. Rapey, says [anonymous]. As you can see from the censorship, the internet publication potential is meeting with paranoia about the exact abandonedness of these things. Possibly a bit too full-on, actually. Or maybe just mis-timed.

Actual Diary entries

Dieu du Ciel! ‘Péché Mortel’

October 13, 2010 Phil 1 Comment

First, it must be said that a brewery which insists on ending their name with an exclamation point deserves a bucket of Awesome Points right out of the gate. Next, I’m delighted to have a second Canadian beer in my book so relatively-soon after my first.

I’d enjoyed my Tall Poppy (and its accompanying Japanese Chicken Curry pie) so much, and my ‘early’ night’s time off spent just mooching in the pub was doing my brain a world of good, so I decided to stay for another — and then spent an agonising seeming-eternity trying to decide just what my ’nother would be.

Evidently, I settled on this. Adjusting for the Frogspeak, the brewery is called ‘Oh My God!’¹ and this ridiculously good little ‘Imperial Coffee Stout’ is named ‘Mortal Sin’ — though they don’t explicitly indiciate which one they mean… It’s freaking delicious. Big and gloopy and dark with an appropriately crema-looking head, it’s a lovely thing to look at, and a serious wallop of chocolate and coffee up the nose when you give a swirl. The coffee flavours aren’t all just bitter, plenty of that chocolate from the nose is there in the taste, too, along with nudges of smoke and earthy hops to dry out the back end of each sip, and send you back on another go-round of the gawp-swirl-sniff-taste cycle.

Verbatim: Dieu du Diel! ‘Péché Mortel’ Imperial Coffee Stout 13/10/10 $16 @ HZ 341ml(?) What better way to visit more often than just to stay a while longer? Also, it’s a bit of a Bad Brain Day, in both senses. So: reward self. Quebecker beer. I’m told the favourite of a recent tasting. Gorgeously dark, crema-ish head, appropriately. Superblunt coffee / chocolate nose. Slightly syrupy body, borders closer to Big Dark Choc than classic dry bitter coffee. Places an even hundred on rateBeer, and some people there rightly note that it’s not all coffee; much more complex + better for it. Smoky, earthy, grassy hoppiness. No way a one-note showpony. Impressive. One of those beers you just keep taking big whiffs from.

1: Well, literally ‘god in the sky’, but it’s an idiomatic exclamation — much like the German ‘gott in himmel!’ — for surprise or suchlike.

Actual Diary entries

8 Wired ‘Tall Poppy’ India Red Ale

October 13, 2010 Phil 1 Comment

8 Wired continue to be a sure thing in the local beer scene. Whenever the almost-aggravatingly-talented Søren Eriksen releases another beer, just try it. Worry about details like style, strength and price later. It’s going to be good, whatever the hell it is, you can basically rely on that.

This pint of ‘Tall Poppy’ is from a preview keg that was at Hashigo. Dave Wood, one of their bartenders, recommended it to me when he stopped by my pub — all ‘suited up’ in honour of the great Barney Stinson. I finished work pretty early (by my standards) that night, so wandered over for a pint, and was very glad I did.

Tall Poppy is pitched as an ‘India Red Ale’ — big, strong (enough that I put ‘Imperial’ in my notes, accidentally), hoppy, and definitely red. The latter comes from the richer malt and is a wonderful signal of the flavour and balance that are lurking within. We eventually got four kegs for our pub, and blammed through them in deservedly short order. It’s popped up in (really gorgeous) 500ml bottles, so you should bloody-well grab some of those if you’re at all able.

‘Red IPA’ is a developing trend, too; Emerson’s did a ‘Brewers’ Reserve’ of them late this year which produced a couple of lovely beers. Black IPA is certainly a stronger trend in terms of emerging styles, but I’m very fond of both. The pale ale scene has lately been dominated by a gone-too-far (I think) fashion of More Hoppiness Whatever the Consequences, and I’d like to believe that increasing appearance Red and Black IPAs might be an antidote to that, if not an intentional reaction against it.

Verbatim: 8 Wired ‘Tall Poppy’ Imperial Red Ale 13/10/10 preview keg from the pilot batch @ HZ Dave recommended it when he was at my pub, earlier, all suited up in honor of Barney Stinson. 7% $10.5 Murky reddy amber, flat as a pancake (but not on a handpull). Lovely hoppy nose and malty body. Red is the synatheish word from both, really. Good initial whack of fruity bitterness. Almost alarmingly-well suited to the Japanese Chicken Curry pie they made for me, too. Resolved: visit more often.

— long-range addendum, 20/11/10. The actual batch, on tap @ MH. Remains a thing of Bloody Lovely-ness. Big, but not off-putting after a few. And the colour is just bloody gorgeous.

8 Wired 'Tall Poppy' tap badge at Hashigo

Actual Diary entries

Beer 101 Tasting Session

October 10, 2010 Phil 1 Comment

George (the gifter of the original Diary) organised a little tasting session at his house for a few friends of ours, with me playing the Informative Nerd. I’ll be the first to admit that I made them all run a bit of a marathon, but we hit most of the Big Styles, did some Interesting Comparisons, and had a whirlwind tour of the Long and Rambling History of Beer.

There’s a lot more variation in beer than there is in, say, wine or whisky, so a fairly zoomed-out overview can go a long way towards making people more ‘conversant’ in the basic styles, why they are what they are, how to figure out what they’re in for by looking at the bottle, and to help people discover what is (and isn’t) Their Thing.

I can’t help but notice, though, that I utterly failed to fulfil Jessie’s request / demand for a “super-awesome” Diary entry. I’m definitely more of an improvisational entertainer than an on-demand one — and that curry was seriously distracting. Especially after all that beer.

Verbatim: Beer 101 10/10/10 I have to write something super-awesome, says Jessie. No pressure. Tasting session & history lesson at George & Robyn’s, with Jessie + Simon + Pip. Great chance to get my nerd on, and evangelise to Robyn. We had: – Wigram Spruce Beer – Hoegaarden – Hofbräu Munchner Weisse – Köstritzer – Pilsner Urquell – Mussel Inn Golden Goose – Tuatara Porter – Invercargill Pitch Black – Emerson’s Bookbinder – Fuller’s IPA – Epic Pale Ale – Three Boys Golden Ale – Chimay Blue – Kriek Boon. And now, George + Pip have wrangled us a curry. Bloody marvellous.

Actual Diary entries

Thornbridge ‘Halcyon’ IPA

October 5, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

An interesting contrast against their ‘Jaipur’ IPA (and a worthy thing in itself), ‘Halcyon’ is a fresh-hopped IPA of higher strength but lighter body than usual.

Its Best Before date had been set quite conservatively, to encourage people to drink up and enjoy it while that madly-fresh hoppy aroma was still good to go. With ‘proper beer’, it has to be said that Best Before dates become a bit of a joke — well-made beers, especially bottle conditioned ones don’t really go bad in the way that the relevant regulations seem to expect. Hop notes will fade over time, though, so these brews really are best enjoyed sooner rather than later. Save your Delayed Gratification energies for the malty ones.

Verbatim: Thornbridge ‘Halcyon’ Green-Hopped IPA ’09 5/10/10 7.7% 500ml ÷ 2 w/ Amanda, who was shouted it at work. We’re flogging them like crazy since their official Best Before is fast approaching, but we all know what nonsense those things are. Lovely hazy pale golden straw with peachy highlights. So fruity and lush, even this far away from its Harvest season.

Actual Diary entries

Three Boys Golden Ale (on handpull)

October 5, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

Diary II entry #21, Three Boys Golden Ale, handpulled

Three Boys Golden is an absolute favourite of mine. So after the heartbreak that was the Hopinated version of Twisted Hop’s ‘Sauvin’ Pils — another beer whose deliciousness is closely-tied to its simplicity — I was a little nervous to try this. Especially after Martin had some and found it a little sweaty.

But this modification wasn’t as extreme as biffing in a whole buttload of some superfluous flavour, this was a difference in delivery method — upping the temperature a tad, and losing almost all of the bubbles. The effect wasn’t as jarring, and I thought it moved the beer into the sort of very-pale English-style bitter territory occupied by Galbraith’s charming ‘Bob Hudson’s’.

Verbatim: Three Boys Golden Ale – Handpulled 5/10/10 on tap @ MH Another slightly-varied old favourite, so after Hopinated Sauvin Pils, I was pretty nervous. But I like this more. I think it winds up like a golden Bitter, like Bob Hudsons from Galbraith’s, maybe.

Actual Diary entries

Mountain Goat ‘Hightail’ Ale

October 1, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

The New World supermarkets in Wellington are surprisingly-good places to find some seriously out-of-the-way beers. Amanda, one of our bartenders at work, was at their Thorndon store, found this, and generously split it with me. I was pretty damn chuffed; my particular fondness for good Australian beer is pretty well-known at work, and we had this one in particular as a random guest after the beer festival last year. It’s just uncomplicatedly delightful; rich and malty and balanced and plain yum.

As I promised myself in my notes, I did indeed bike there the next day, and came home with a backpack heavy with goodies:

Flying Dog ‘Raging Bitch’ Belgian IPA¹
Dogfish Head ‘Midas Touch’
BrewDog ‘5am Saint’ Amber Ale
BrewDog ‘Rip Tide’ Stout
BrewDog ‘Paradox: Isle of Arran’ Barrel-aged Stout
Mountain Goat Steam Ale

Given the preponderance of heavy-hitters in there, it was pushing fifty bucks for the set. When I was putting them into a ‘Philbert’s Stash’ box in the fridge, Peter and I couldn’t help but notice that all of those breweries were named after animals — and that there was a distinctly canine trend among them. I guess there’s something totemistic about animal names, and they do make for easy logos.

Verbatim: Mountain Goat ‘Hightail’ Ale 1/10/10 $? @ NW Thorndon, found by Amanda, who generously split it. 4.5% 330ml. I’m heading there on me bike tomorrow. MFing MG, man! Just as I remember it. Rich and malty and yum.

1: Tragically, I never got to enjoy this one. It was smashed in a unfortunate cascade of bottles in the chiller at work, one night. Godsdamn gravity.

Actual Diary entries

Thornbridge ‘Jaipur’ IPA

September 30, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

For this year’s Big Import (after the success of it, and of the BrewDog swag this time last year, we really should make it an annual tradition worthy of Capital Letters), the Overboss scored an actual metric tonne of beer from Thornbridge, an excellent little brewery on a stately country property in Derbyshire. (Fittingly, I’m watching Antiques Roadshow as I write this one up.) Coincidentally, they’d just been featured on TV, in the (somewhat delayed) local airing of Oz and James Drink to Britain — the eponymous pair visit the brewery in the first episode, and Oz declares this ‘Jaipur’ IPA to be his favourite British beer of the moment.

That’s by no means an outrageous call, because this is pretty damn good. (And, of course, “favourite” is properly subjective; there’s never a need to get grumpy about what someone else might call their favourite.) It’s very fresh, fruity (peachy, I thought), incredibly drinkable and with a hoppy bitterness that rewardingly builds and changes as you make your way through it. One of those great, well-rounded beers that certainly deserves the accolades that zip towards it.

Verbatim: Thornbridge ‘Jaipur’ IPA 30/9/10 5.9% 500ml ÷ 2 with Peter as we nerd out on the end of the bar after work. $11 @ work; this year’s Big Import, basically. They (3 of them) were a sod to put away, but did well @ Beervana, and the brewery was just mentioned in James May’s TV Show (nice timing; must download that…). Gorgeous hazy pale orange, lovely fruity nose. Zesty and delicious, really. Quite peachy, too.

Actual Diary entries

Tuatara ‘Ardennes’

September 30, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

‘Ardennes’ is one of those beers that I forget about for ages, only to pleasantly surprise myself when I go back to it. In this case, I was cleaning out the fridge one night — as I do; I’ve turned it from a chore into a sport and an artform, and have dubbed it ‘Kegtris’¹ — and discovered an unlabelled (and so unsellable) bottle. Since I’d recently had the Golden Bear ‘Bear Trappe’ and ‘Ardennes’ was a candidate for Hopinator treatment, we had a little sampling. Almost certainly inspired by the Golden Bear, my vote was for peaches in the Hopinator, but we eventually went with pears, which did go quite nicely. Part of the fun of these extra-stuff-in-beer experiments is seeing how they change over time, from subtle to sometimes overwhelmingly (but not necessarily unwelcomely) heavily flavoured, depending on the doubtless-very-complex chemistry going on inside that neat little gadget.

Peter and I did try actually eating some of the pears when he was cleaning out the Hopinator after we’d gone through our supply of Ardennes; that was a bridge too far.

Verbatim: Tuatara ‘Ardennes’ 30/9/10 6.5% 330ml ÷ 3 w/ Peter & Amanda. Ages since we’ve had it on tap and there was an unlabelled bottle in a delivery a while ago. It’s a hopinator candidate, and the Bear Trappe made me curious. And it’s really lovely, actually. Big, fruity, dry. I definitely think we should run it over peaches if we Hopify it.

1: A fairly-cursory Google search — a.k.a. “research” — does begin to suggest that I might actually deserve credit for coining this useful word. It’s possible that that’s mostly because I’m just about the only person in the world who enjoys the combination of a) prolonged exposure to zero degrees Celsius, b) heavy lifting (boxes ≈ 16kg, kegs ≈ 65kg), and c) a task that boils down to Organising Things Into Rows and Piles like some kind of gibbering compulsive.

Actual Diary entries

White Rabbit ‘Dark Ale’

September 30, 2010 Phil Leave a comment

I have to explain to people sometimes, at work, that if I compare something to Little Creatures Pale Ale, then I think that thing is a very good thing indeed. So I was curious to try something from White Rabbit, a new-ish operation outside of my beloved Melbourne, and sort of East Coast Cousin to the famous Creatures.

But when we had this at our stand at Beervana in August, I was a little meh about it. It was something of a misunderstood orphan, really. Unlike the Stone & Wood, Bridge Road and Coopers beers we had, the Rabbit didn’t have anyone from the brewery over to talk about it — and the name threw us locals a bit, too; by “Dark Ale”, they mean Brown Ale rather than anything Portery, or further South.¹

In between having it at Beervana and having it on tap at work, my friend Glenn (a former colleague at the College of Surgeons in Melbourne) was in town and muled over a few interesting-looking bottles of beer for me, in what is becoming a neat little tradition (he’s repaid in Tour Guidery around Wellington’s Interesting Little Places). One of these was included, so I gave it another go. And was glad I did.

Especially once you’re not expecting anything dark-dark (expectations can really do funny things to how you taste a beer), it presents itself as pleasantly rich but still nicely easy-drinking. Lots of malt character, and a interesting little sideline of a certain sort of mustiness and a subtle fruity wineyness. This bottle was almost-alarmingly sedimented, which also leant a nice big smooth layer of foam. It was interestingly-divisive, on tap at work; much of the Beer Nerdy crowd didn’t really go for it, but it was surprisingly good (given their usual prejudices against Australian beer and things darker than gold) at winning over more ‘mainstream’ drinkers. I do always enjoy stumbling upon effective ‘evangelism’ beers; seeing people have that ‘wow, this is tasty’ moment when you give them something that goes against their preconceptions is a very rewarding thing, as a bartending Beer Nerd.

Verbatim: White Rabbit ‘Dark Ale’ 30/9/10 muled over by Glenn 4.9% 330ml From memory, this is Little Creatures’ baby brother in Healesville, outside the beloved Melb. We had it at our stand at the Beer Festival, but it was a bit of a misunderstood orphan, as none of its people were over. I was a little meh about it, but I think the name threw my expectations — it’s really a brown ale, and as one, is rather good. Quite rich but still very easy, a little musty and a little winey. Seems to be a national thing; Moo Brew’s ‘Dark Ale’ was also a Brown. Not a lot of Aussie Porter… maybe it’s just usually too fucking hot. I should’ve said MOO BREW ‘DARK ALE’. I’m not good at making new habits.² This is definitely growing on me. The head is particularly impressive — big + smooth + resurrectable. (There was an almost-worrying amount of sediment in the bottle; that’ll help.)

1: This might be (or might be beginning to be) an Australian Thing; Moo Brew do it too with their ‘Dark Ale’. Maybe it’s just almost always Too Damn Hot for anything blacker and heavier — though of course, the delectable Coopers ‘Best Extra Stout’ is an obvious counter-example.

2: Perhaps I should explain why I chastise myself for not writing in capitals (here, as once before). They’re kind of like little visual hyperlinks, so that I can more-readily see what entries talk about other entries, basically. Things got quite hard to navigate with 300+ entries in Diary I — though I was still capable of occasional Rain Man-esque feats of spookiness like turning instantly to the page that contained the more-than-a-year-ago diary entry for Stone & Wood’s (delicious) ‘Draught Ale’ when Brad from the brewery saw my book and asked if his beer was in there…

Beer Diary

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Dieu du Ciel! ‘Péché Mortel’

8 Wired ‘Tall Poppy’ India Red Ale

Beer 101 Tasting Session

Thornbridge ‘Halcyon’ IPA

Three Boys Golden Ale (on handpull)

Mountain Goat ‘Hightail’ Ale

Thornbridge ‘Jaipur’ IPA

Tuatara ‘Ardennes’

White Rabbit ‘Dark Ale’

Tastings and ramblings and whatnot