Category: Beer

It’s Not Quite Stout Weather Yet

Beer Radar – It’s not quite stout weather yet.

By John Krüger

(Previously published in Wine Business Magazine in 2010)

Summer is gone and with it went pilsner and hefeweizen weather. We’re not into stout and porter territory yet though. Here’s a few chewy beers that are suited to sunny days as well as cool nights.

 

Barons – Extra Special Bitter 4.7%abv

Chewy malt and toffee. Rich with an almost orange colour. Dry clean finish. Good hop presence but somewhat lacking in fresh Goldings hop character and aroma. Still a good gutsy beer with body, malt and hops. One of the maltiest from our selection.

 

James Squire – Original Amber Ale 5%abv

One of the most popular in the James Squire range. An intense dark orange colour yet clear and clean. Not as malty and chewy as the Barons ESB but complex with very subtle hints of nuts, chocolate and mocha. Light on the toffee and a good hop presence. Still slightly lacking in the fresh hop department.

 

Young’s – Special London Ale 6.4%abv

Hints of grass, lollies and marshmallow on the nose. Light amber colour with a slight haze. A pronounced and unusual hop flavour with a bitterness that lingers. Strong earthy and weedy hop flavours with marshmallow and light toffee. Orange zest bitterness. A gutsy flavourful English ale without the public toilet yeast aromas.

 

Erdinger – Dunkel 5.6%abv

Deep dark red, verging on black. Smelling malty but in no way sweet. Surprisingly refreshing and thankfully missing in the burned acrid flavours associated with roast barley. Brings well done wheat toast to mind. Restrained hops and very well balanced. Thank goodness they come in 500ml bottles, this is a beer destined for a big glass. German precision.

 

White Rabbit – Dark Ale 5.2%

A beautiful dark reddish brown and crystal clear. Amazing hop aromas with malt and toffee. Clean yet very hoppy and fresh while balanced and delicious.  We’d almost risk getting in trouble again by mentioning pellets vs. whole hops, but we’ve seen mountains of whole hops fresh from the hop-back and the expense is definitely worth it. No snail pellets in sight. A slight cola flavour behind the hops with quite a complex aftertaste. Everything about this beer yells “fresh!” The only way to get a better version of this beer is trying it on tap in Healesville. A cracker!

 

 

 

Michael Weldon does food & beer matching

Food & Beer matching article.

By John Krüger

(First published in Beer & Brewer magazine in 2012)

Michael Weldon

Michael Weldon is instantly recognisable as a prominent contestant from the 2011 series of the hit TV cooking show Masterchef. Since his time in the limelight Michael has been honing his skills, including working with Coopers Brewery to work on matching some of his custom dishes to their range of beers. Michael gives Beer & Brewer exclusive access to some food matching combinations to a range of his favourite beers.

Coopers Celebration Ale – “I hadn’t tried this beer when I was working on developing the range of recipes for Coopers because they were still working on it. It’s got a freshness with the herbal and floral aspects of the hops. This beer would be great with a roast chook or fish. Something summery that’s been marinated with lemon and parsley. A salsa verde would add another dimension as well.”

Kronenbourg – “I drank a heap of this when I was in the UK. There’s a time and a place for a good lager. I can handle a session on these. These would be good with a first course of antipasto with loads of eggplant and artichoke. It’d go wicked with Rosemary.”

Budějovický Budvar – “Great stuff. This could go from a BBQ beer to a dinner beer. It’d be a good replacement for a glass of Chardonnay. It replaces the oily weight of Chardonnay with beer because there’s enough bitterness to do the job.”

Tongerlo Prior Tripel – “This Tripel would make a great after dinner beer. Imagine some goats cheese drizzled with honey and sprinkled with some fresh thyme. Slightly warmed up and served on some toasted sour-dough. The honey aspects of the beer would match really well. A young tangy goat’s cheese like Le Petit Prince from Barossa Valley Cheese Co would be ideal.”

Schöfferhofer Kristall Weizen – “The wheat flavours are almost earthy. I’d have this with a schnitzel with mushroom sauce. The weizen and mushrooms are a good match. I wouldn’t want to waste too much, but because of the lower bitterness, a bit of the beer in the sauce would be great. Earthiness and sweetness goes well with the crunchy crumb too.”

Charles Quint Blonde/Keizer Karel Blond – “This is another dessert beer. It’s got a honeycomb buttery quality. It’d be great with a caramel sauce. Anything with that buttery kind of sweet dessert flavours of caramel would match with that sweetness in the beer.”

Clausthaler Classic – “It’s only 0.5%abv so they’ve really pumped up the malt and bitterness to compensate. Don’t laugh, but the low alcohol would actually make it work as a beer sorbet. It’s got the flavor to work and the lack of alcohol would ensure that the sorbet would actually freeze properly.”

 

Beer & Bubs

Beer & Bubs

By John Krüger

(First published by SA Kids Magazine in 2010)

I was originally thinking that I had a good grasp of the whole childbirth concept. I get my wife pregnant, and a certain amount of time later, the exact amount I wasn’t too sure, she has a brief stay in the hospital and calls me to inform me the sex of our new child and when she needs a lift home. It wasn’t until a cousin in law started asking questions that I realised that I was in deep trouble; “When’s she due?”

“Err July”

“July when?”

“I dunno”

“Oh… Which hospital is she having the baby in?”

“Umm, I dunno. I guess I’d better find out before I have to drop her off.”

My wife Monique is a very organised person, which I’ve found to be invaluable as well as intriguing. I’m extremely disorganised so I always think we compliment each other remarkably well. Monique has done weeks worth of research, reading articles on the internet and a bucket load of pamphlets she seems to have acquired from the health department. After realising that my knowledge of gestation and childbirth was pretty well equal to that of a primary school child, I decided that brushing up on the basics would be a pretty good idea before the big day.

Luckily, my managing editor phoned me and asked if I’d be interested in going to a class held in a pub, designed specifically for men called “Beer and Bubs”. To be honest, I probably said yes after the word “beer”. It could have been “Beer and payroll tax” and I still would have put my hand up. This was the perfect chance to slake my insatiable thirst for Coopers beer and fill-in what would end up being chasms, rather than gaps in my knowledge.

I arrived at a beautiful back street pub about half an hour early and decided to get a beer or two in before the session started. Before long, there was a small group of young men all wandering aimlessly about like stunned mullets, each with a beer in hand. We were introduced briefly and were seated, taking turns to say how far pregnant our partners were and where we were having the baby. It was then that everyone realised that I had completely no idea. A young Turkish lecturer to my left who’d only moved to Adelaide a few weeks before, had a better grasp of the array of hospitals in our vicinity. The younger looking man to my right had seemed to have already done every natal course known to man, and it did make me wonder what he was doing there in the first place. Over the next few hours we ate schnitzels and watched on as the two women in front of us tag teamed through the evening with a massive amount of information. Sometimes hinting that epidurals and pethidine weren’t their favourite options, and leaning towards more natural alternatives. The main speaker Helen had informed us that she’d already popped out 7 children, so as far as I was concerned, whatever she said had to be pretty solid information. The night definitely wasn’t leaning too far towards “hippy radicals” as a friend of mine had pre warned me about. My new Turkish friend and I slowly worked our ways through 2 jugs of beer while franticly scribbling notes. The amount of choices we would have to make before even entering a maternity ward were beginning to be overwhelming. I kept thinking “Thank God Monique probably knows about all of this stuff already.”

As I have a horrible disposition of turning green and verging on vomiting in almost any hospital environment, I hadn’t even decided whether I’d even attend the birth of our first child. Monique seemed to be OK with either option, and commented that there was a favourite pub of mine only 5 minutes walk from the hospital. I asked the group of men before me if they’d all be at the birth and was met with a stone cold silence before one replied “Is it even an option?” I guess they’d already decided or been informed that they wouldn’t be reading a book and having a few quiet ones while they waited for the call.

Nearing the end of the session, a recently new dad of 6 weeks stood up to give a rather well organised power-point presentation. He used that many sporting references as to his wife’s performance during birth that I still wonder if he dragged her up onto a podium to present a medal or yellow jersey before the first feed.

Topping the night off was a video on the big screen of an actual birth. The first glimpses of a naked woman subconsciously got our attention, and I’m sure what followed will be painfully etched in our minds no matter how many beers preceded. The amount we learned was gargantuan and directly proportionate to the panic being kept at bay in the backs of our minds. It was amazing, scary and new, and we realised that this was only a glimpse of what was to come.

I’d still recommend Beer and Bubs, apart from a brain crushing deluge of information, meeting other fathers-to-be made us all realise that we’re not the only ones dealing with this amazing imminent arrival, but deep down, we’re all shitting ourselves to the same degree.

 

Beer & Bubs in SA Kids magazine
Beer & Bubs in SA Kids magazine. Illustration by Simon Kneebone

 

Beautiful Beers Amongst the Beautiful Valleys

Beer & Brewer

Beautiful beers amongst the beautiful valleys.

(First Published by Beer & Brewer Magazine in 2011)

By John Krüger

South Australia is blessed with some of the best wine regions in Australia, many of them only a short drive from the capital, Adelaide. If beer rather than wine is your heart’s desire there’s still plenty of good beer destinations to visit the Barossa and Clare valleys.

The Barossa

The Barossa valley is only an hour away from Adelaide thanks to the newly completed Northern Expressway, which passes the rolling hills of farmland and enters the historic vineyards of the Barossa, which look spectacular at any time of the year. There’s plenty to see and do in the Barossa and it’s a good central location to for day trips to Clare, Burra or the Riverland.

The first stop upon entering the historic German settled town of Tanunda is the recently relocated Barossa Valley Brewing brewery and brasserie. Previously in Lyndoch, the new location right at the entrance to Tanunda boasts a great selection of beers, all the snacks you’d need and a chance to see the brewery in action as well. Head Brewer Mark Prior is a passionate bloke who’s keen to keep a few staples like the Bee Sting honey wheat beer and Organic Ale on tap, but is also free to play around with Russian Imperial Stouts, English Bitters and the like. In fact, Barossa Valley Brewing has seven beers on tap, with the eighth dedicated to a non-alcoholic brew for kids or designated drivers. A pizza and tapas menu has been formulated to provide a wide range of choices to match the beers with an excellent selection of local wines to peruse as well. The brewery is right next to the brasserie and there’s some nice big windows to catch the action while enjoying a beer and a meal.

In the middle of Tanunda is acclaimed restaurant 1918, which not only has a reputation for quality dining, roaring log fires and relaxed outdoor settings but also serves local bottled beers along with their extensive wine list. The grand old home of a long gone local mayor houses one of the Barossa’s finest restaurants. Head Chef and owner Christian Fletcher serves fresh, seasonally inspired modern Australian cuisine with inspiration from Asia and the Middle-East.

On the western side of the Barossa valley is the charming hamlet of Greenock. The impressive Murray Street Vineyards winery stands on the hill approaching Greenock, and just at the edge of the town on the main road is their cellar door. With a good range of wines available along with regional platters, their outdoor area is a great spot to relax with the kids and take in the views.

Further into Greenock is the Barossa Brewing Company. Situated in the historic 1860’s wheat stores building, owner Darryl Trinne opens the tasting room on weekends for beer aficionados and curious visitors.  An interesting operation, the beers are currently mashed and boiled in Mildura, then immediately brought back to Greenock to be fermented, conditioned and bottled or kegged. Darryl is happy to show inquisitive visitors through the facility, which is an eclectic mix of new custom-made stainless steel and classic old German machinery. The Barossa Brewing Company produce regular beers; the Millers Lager, Greenock Dark Ale and Wheat Store Hefeweizen, which are complimented with occasional appearances of a hoppy American style pale ale called Victorville, and the Bunawunda Blonde, which definitely isn’t a low carb excuse for a beer. The beers are becoming so popular that they’re occasionally sold out after a big event like the Barossa Vintage Festival, which is an annual week-long event at the end of April, so it’s worth calling ahead. The second best thing to having a beer with Darryl in the Wheat Store is trying one of his beers fresh on tap just around the corner at the Greenock Tavern. It’s not unusual to see him wheel a keg into the pub on a sack truck direct from the cold room in cellar door so the beer is guaranteed to be fresh.

On the eastern side of the Barossa is the quaint town of Angaston. Just before the town is Saltram Wines cellar door. Not only are they well known for their wines, restaurant and wood oven pizzas, but it’s also the home of Saltram’s Pepperjack Ale. The only beer in the valley to use local Shiraz juice to add fermentables, a hint of colour and the unmistakable Shiraz aroma to this tidy ale. Only open for lunch, it’s a great place to relax with a few beers and plenty of good wine options. Sundays include live and local music to keep the toes tapping while enjoying a beer.

Further into Angaston is another Barossa pizza institution, The 40’s Café boasts Australia’s best pizza for 2009 in Dairy Farmers Best of the Best Pizza Challenge, an award winning pizza that meat lovers will fall in love with. Local ingredients like Barossan wood smoked bacon ensure a pizza experience that’ll never be forgotten. The Café is licensed with a modest beer selection as well as wines and spirits.

If a few days of enjoying the local beers and wines have taken their toll, drop into Blond Coffee in Angaston for the best coffee in the valley along with excellent breakfast and lunch options. Saturday mornings are particularly busy with many locals making Blond part of their Saturday mid-morning routine. There’s also a toy box and small play area for the kids.

If early mornings aren’t too much of a strain, the Vintners Farmers Markets just out of Angaston behind the Vintners Bar & Grill is one of the best farmer’s markets in the state. Fresh coffee and smokey bacon & egg rolls are available from opening at 7.30am Saturdays, and the range of fresh produce is amazing. Many locals drop in to purchase a good percentage of their fresh supplies for the week so the biggest range is available early.

Clare

The drive from the Barossa Valley to Clare is only 90 minutes through rolling countryside with plenty to see along the way. The valley gets bitterly cold in winter and can often seem like it’s somewhere in Europe rather than only two hours drive from Adelaide. The Clare valley actually encompasses a string of towns running through the valley rather than just the area around the large town of Clare itself so there’s plenty to see. The Rising Sun Hotel in the picturesque town of Auburn offers a good range of beers, good honest pub food as well as popular accommodation with ensuites. A perfect spot to sit out under the veranda sipping on a few beers and watching the world go by.

From Auburn travelling towards Clare along the Main North road are plenty of regular little towns ready to explore, each with a different little hotel and more winery cellar doors than you can poke a stick at. A favourite if somewhat understated little town is Watervale. The area is famous for Watervale Riesling and up on the hill behind the pub is Crabtree Wines cellar door. It’s rustic, charming, and boasts some of the best wines in the Clare Valley. The popular 35km walking and cycling track the weaves through the Clare Valley known as the Riesling Trail runs right past Crabtree and the Watervale Hotel so don’t be surprised if there’s more bicycles than cars in the car parks.

Pikes may have started brewing in the Adelaide Hills town of Oakbank back in 1886 but these days the Pike family call the Clare Valley home. They continue their family history of fine beverages concentrating on excellent wines including their massively popular Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend. Pikes don’t make their own historic Pikes Oakbank beer anymore but it was resurrected in 1996 and is now contract brewed in Sydney. The beer and an outstanding range of wines are available at their family-friendly cellar door situated at Polish Hill River near Sevenhill. There’s also an art gallery incorporated within the cellar door.

In the main township of Clare is their renowned beer destination, Knappstein Enterprise Winery and Brewery. Established in 1878 the grand historic looking cellar door boasts the only place in Australia to try the renowned Knappstein Reserve Lager on tap. Guaranteed to really get those Nelson hop aromas wafting out of the glass, there’s nothing better than fresh draught beer. For those beer geeks who like their brewery bling, there’s a big glass window viewing area where brewing and bottling can be seen if the timing’s right. More organised people can call ahead and book a brewery tour to get closer to the action.

One of the grand old hotels in Clare is Bentley’s Hotel Motel in the main street. They’ve got everything from the local Knappstein Reserve stubbies as well as a range of other beers, great pub meals and even a play area with toys for the kids. It’s the kind of pub that’s large and comfortable enough to stay for most of the day relaxing with good food and plenty of drink options. Bentley’s is also popular with travellers who are just after a quick counter meal and a drink on the way through town.

Day Trips

Moonta is situated on the western coast of Yorke Peninsula and home to the biennial Kernewek Lowender, the world’s largest Cornish festival that runs for five days in the middle of May. The next festival is due in May 2013. The area known as the Copper Coast encompassing Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo has a strong history of Cornish copper mining. Each two years a batch of beer known as Copper Coast Swanky is made by BrewBoys in Adelaide strictly for the festival and available only at the Moonta Bay Patio Motel and Restaurant as well as a small quantity available to guests at the Adelaide Caravan Park. Six different labels are produced and beer fans are encouraged to buy a six pack to collect the different labels.

Yorke Brewing is a relatively new operation with its heart at the small town of Warooka in southern Yorke Peninsula. The Yorke Peninsula is a well loved holiday destination for many South Australians with beautiful scenery, a thriving local gourmet scene and secretly, some of the best fishing spots around. Justin Murdoch is a proud local and Company Director of Yorke Brewing who currently brews his own beers at a facility in Adelaide, but he’s keen to eventually move the operation completely back to Warooka. He’s pleased to maintain the regional authenticity by adding locally grown wheat to his White Sands wheat beer. Justin has carefully selected a few local hotels that meet his requirements of no pokies and good service and is in negotiations now to have his beers on tap at these local pubs. Keep an eye on the Yorke Brewing website and he’ll announce where the beers will be available. Along with the White Sands, his English style ale called Shipwrecked will be a welcome bold brew on a winters day at 6%abv and has become very popular with those lucky punters who have tried it.

Renmark is situated in the South Australian Riverland along the banks of the Murray River. A two and a half hour drive from the Barossa, it’s completely different scenery with long flat roads occasionally crossing the banks of the Murray, surrounded by vivid deep red soils and under clear blue skies. One minute the roads are surrounded by orange groves and the next, vineyards that go for ages. An old shearing shed now houses the brew-house for aptly named Woolshed Brewery. Partners Tom Freeman and Sarah Dowdell currently produce their first beer, the Amazon Ale, named after the nearby Amazon creek only a kilometre away.  The Amazon ale is described as an Australian style pale ale. The brewery is open for tours by appointment and ultimately in the future will be the ideal tourist destination with Kayaking and possibly the only brewery in South Australia that can be visited via the river. Tourists travelling along the Murray River will be able to moor their houseboat or tinny at the brewery and enjoy the day there.

Burra is less than 90 minutes from the Barossa and only 30 minutes from Clare. It’s another area of South Australia that rose to fame and fortune in 1845 when copper was discovered. In it’s hey day the town was a thriving community with it’s own brewery. The remnants of the old Unicorn brewery that was started in 1873 is still able to be toured with access via the Burra Information Centre.

One operation that is still thriving in Burra is Thorogoods Cidery. Tony Thorogood and his wife Susan have worked hard to plant orchards of a variety of classic cider apples and still use an old Italian basket press to press their own estate grown organic apples, making traditional ciders with wild yeasts natural to the area. The resulting range of ciders are unique and full of flavour. Everything from sparkling cider to a range of liqueurs and even a dark and golden apple beer that both weigh in at hefty 12%abv. Their cellar door is open to the public for sales and tastings pretty well every day of the year.

Burra still has four operational hotels, one of which, the Kooringa Hotel is directly across the street from the historic Paxton Square cottages. The Kooringa is a beautiful old hotel with polished wooden floors and a cozy little front bar. It’s known for good value meals and a modest selection of beers on tap. It’s the perfect spot for a pint of Kilkenny and a filling counter meal.

Info Box

Barossa Valley Brewing

2A Murray Street,
Heinemann Park
SA, Tanunda 5352
Brewery Phone: 08 8563 0997

Restaurant Phone: 08 8563 0696

http://www.bvbeer.com.au

1918

94 Murray St, Tanunda, SA 5352

Phone 08 8563 0405

http://www.1918.com.au

Murray Street Vineyards

Murray Street, Greenock, SA 5360

Phone 08 8562 8373

Barossa Brewing Company

Mill Street, Greenock SA 5360

Phone: 0419 811 525 or (08) 8563 4041

http://www.barossabrewingcompany.com

Saltram’s

Nuriootpa Road, Angaston, SA 5353

Phone: 08 8561 0200

http://www.saltramwines.com.au

Angaston Roaring 40’s Cafe

30 Murray Street, Angaston, SA  5353

Phone 08 8564 2901

http://www.40scafe.com.au

Blond Coffee

60 Murray Street Angaston SA 5353

Phone 08 8564 3444

http://www.blondcoffee.com.au

Barossa Farmers Markets

Vintners Sheds, corner of Nuriootpa and Light Pass Roads, Angaston SA 5353

Maria Yfantidis Market Manager Mobile 0402 026 882

The Rising Sun Hotel

Main North Road, Auburn SA 5451

Phone: 08 8849 2015

Crabtree Wines

1 North Terrace, Watervale SA 5452

Phone 08 88430069

http://crabtreewines.com.au

Pikes

Polish Hill River via Sevenhill, South Australia 5453

Phone: +61 8 8843 4370

info@pikeswines.com.au

Knappstein Cellar Door

2 Pioneer Ave, Clare 5453

Phone 08 88412100

http://www.knappsteinwines.com.au

The Bentley’s Hotel Motel

191 Main North Rd, CLARE, SA, 5453

Phone 08 8842 1700

Yorke Brewing

PO Box 113 Warooka, SA 5577

Phone 0439 890 006

http://www.yorkebrewing.com.au

Woolshed Brewing

Wilkinson Rd, Murtho via Renmark, SA 5341

Phone 08 8595 8037

http://www.woolshedbrewery.com.au

Thorogoods Cidery

John Barker Street Burra, SA 5417

Phone 08 8892 2669

http://www.thorogoods.com.au

Kooringa Hotel

4 Kingston St, Burra SA 5417

Phone 08 8892 2013

Events Box

Barossa Vintage Festival

April/May

http://barossavintagefestival.com.au

Barossa Airshow

May

http://www.barossaairshow.com.au

Clare Valley Gourmet Weekend

12-13 May 2012

http://www.clarevalleywinemakers.com.au/Gourmet

Kernewek Lowender

May

http://www.kernewek.org

The Rotary Farm Shed Markets, Kadina

Last Saturday of each month.

50 Moonta Road, Kadina SA 5554

Phone 0458 368 419

Riverland Balloon Fiesta 2012

Renmark Oval Complex, Ral Ral Ave, Renmark, SA 5341

Phone 08 8586 6704

Low-Carb Beers

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Low-Carb Beers

(First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2007)

What’s light in colour, light in body, has a smattering more flavour than light beer and well… let’s just cut to the chase: it’s low-carb beer. Out of all the beers in our assessment fridge, these were shuffled, stacked and used to hold other things up, until we had no choice but to open a few and get on with it.

We won’t waste too much ink on the dodgey ones, but let’s just say the first one did look very clear, had a beautiful yellow colour, had little bubbles and well, didn’t taste very nice. We’re erring on the side of caution and suggesting that the beer was “skunked”, an American coined term for light-struck beer. It’s not a great result, and apart from oxidation, (and just plain bad beer) it’s one of the scourges of the bottled beer market. Clear bottles offer the least protection from UV but look cool.

Surely another big reputable brand can blow the cobwebs off the tastebuds instead of scare them into curling up in a defensive position. Boags Blonde low-carb was actually surprisingly drinkable, but they seem to know what they’re doing when it comes to mouthfeel and finish with session beers in Tassie. And session beers are what low-carb beers are all about aren’t they?

 

Big Bumper Beers for 2012/New Year 2013

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

Big Bumper Beers for 2012/New Year 2013

(First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2012)

Holiday beers; forget the dodgy sporting sponsorships and marketing campaigns. By all means, if you need a safety net, buy your preferred uninspired slab of fizzy dishwater and stash a 6-pack in the back fridge. But I beg of you for the sake of the future of good beer, go to a decent bottle shop and buy a broad range of proper beers. I’d usually insert “in brown bottles to avoid light strike” in that last sentence, but during the holidays there’s pretty good turnover of stock, so fingers crossed.

I have to say, Dan Murphy’s might be a dirty word to the producers, but for a prolific beer buyer like myself, some of the big stores like Dan’s have a big range. For the rest, I frequent good wine stores. The better ones now have quite a few obscure beers and sometimes even a staff member who has tried a few of them.

Australian beers have a history of being insipid, pine-like flavoured bitter yellow fizzy water. I have a very hard time drinking the top 2 selling beers in Australia. It’s not being a hipster or a beer snob, I just really dislike their aroma and flavour. Thank goodness there’s new beers emerging that exhibit reliability, fresh flavours, quality aromas and they’re local.

Here’s a list of Aussie beers (and a cider) that I’ll be happy to purchase and drink over the holiday period in no particular order.

Feral White – A Belgian style spiced wheat beer. It’s soft, easy drinking, naturally cloudy and a great food beer. Subtle additions of orange peel and coriander to the boil add to the spicy yeast.

Sail & Anchor Cat’s Shank Kölsch – Aussies call it “Kolsh” but it’s a bit more like “Kelsh” in its original home of Cologne, Germany. This is a great Aussie version. My wife tried it at a food & wine event and thought it was that great, she came home plastered. It’s light, floral in a hoppy way and perfect for a hot day. It’s a tasty beer, wherever it’s brewed.

Stone & Wood Pacific Ale – It’s a bit like a light bodied American Pale Ale and so sessionable you’ll easily knock over a six-pack. Hoppy tropical fruit aromas leap out of the glass and it’s not too heavy or sweet. If only it was regularly on tap nearby.

McLaren Vale Beer Co IPA – It’s hoppy and malty and has some weight. Maybe not a session beer but drinking more than a few is still on the cards. The beer bigots thought it wasn’t hoppy enough, but it’s a damn fine beer.

Murray’s Angry Man Pale Ale – A very smooth drinker. Really nice full body with an almost creamy mouth feel. Fruity hops but not overly bitter or offensive. Definitely a session beer but there’s enough guts to be a nice single sipper as well.

Goodieson’s Wheat Ale – Like the German stuff but fresher. A quality weizen that ticks all the boxes; soft, aromatic and great with food. I’ll happily chip away at a six-pack of these without a problem. Available online direct from the brewer.

David Franz Cider – sits nicely in the middle of craft cider meets drinkability. 500ml bottles full of zingy and refreshing apple cider with guts. Try adding some ice because it’s a ball buster at over 7%abv. I wish I could drink more than one but I’m too scared to. So good, and available online from Dave himself.

A Nation of Young Sugar Ants?

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

A nation of young sugar ants?

(First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2008)

With all the talk about alcopops, binge drinking and healthy living, it looks like there’s never been a better time to hit the 18-35yr old market with a new alternative. Something modern, something cool, something new, something with substance. Fusion Brewing is attempting a new angle with good old beer. Their Bluebottle beer is designed to match seafood, and the Firefly beer made for spicy food. We tried both beers and were impressed with the amount and quality of hop flavour and aroma. If Little Creatures have proved anything with their fabulous Pale Ale, it’s the fact that Aussie drinkers aren’t scared of bitterness, hop flavour, and aroma in their beers. Fusion Brewing have taken the next step by mentioning the fact that their beers have an “understated” sweetness. We admit that even Stella Artois is a little too sweet for our tastes, but we’d replace the word “understated” with “damn”. It’s too sweet for us to handle any more than one of the dinky 300ml bottles, but let’s face it, going by the pre-tax-hike sales of RTD’s, the younger portion of the Australian population seem to have a palate akin to insects. Huge 440ml cans of cheap perfumy Bourbon and sickly cola line most of the shelves of the bottlo’s now days which is surely an indication that although maybe not our preferred pint, Fusion could be onto a winner and take modern brewing to the next scary step. Has Beer Radar just coined the phrase “beerpops”?

We Met in a Bar

Beer Radar

By John Krüger

We met in a bar.

(First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2010)

With some fantastic stories about the beer that changed people’s lives under our belt, it’s about time that I recounted my own experiences. There are three distinct beer moments that have happened in my life. They weren’t biblical in nature but they broadened my horizons further than any advertising campaign could dream of.

The first was when I was a longhaired eighteen-year-old living in the country with not much more on my mind than working on cars, moving to a place with women and playing pinball. My drink of choice was passed down to me from my older brother, American whiskey, but in those seasonal employment days, unemployment benefits didn’t stretch far enough for American whiskey. My father was an ex-home brewer and he decided to share the knowledge of “dump & stir”; the process of brewing extract tins of Coopers stout. We were brewing a batch every weekend, and during the coldest months, Dad’s “paint shed” was transformed into a walk in cool room chock full of big Henry’s, all full of stout.

The second moment was when a small Scottish home brewer gave me a taste of all-grain beer. It tasted like real commercial quality beer instead of dodgy extract beer. The first sip of his beer sitting in his little kitchen rocked my world and I’ll never forget him explaining in a strong Scottish accent about his “total control” over the beer. It was a Scotch ale, a style I’m still none too fond of but the quality of the beer surpassed the few imported versions that were available to us at the time.

The third was with a friend of mine called Sam, an ex-country bloke like myself who also had a passion for all-grain home brewing. He’d design a uranium processing plant during the week, then knock out the most amazing beers on the weekend. For a while he was my home brew guru, discussing the finer points of decoction mashing and it’s relation to alpha and beta amylase reactions with starches. One afternoon we sat in the Thebarton Wheatsheaf hotel’s front bar working our way through the taps. A mutual decision was made to order a couple of bottles of hefeweizen since we’re both wheat beer aficionado’s. We were served two bottles of Schneider Organic Edelweiss that were served in tall Schneider branded glasses. As we coaxed the last of the yeast from the bottles into the glasses, we could hear other patrons enquiring about our unusual 500ml bottles and tall glasses. The beer was sublime. Fresh German and American hops in perfect unison. German precision and balance. Loads of esters jumping from the glass, bananas, yeasty fruit and funk galore. Smooth flavourful complexity that gave me goosebumps. I was in love.

Sam waited until I’ve almost finished the 500ml glass and enquired “Can you taste the baked beans?”

I laughed, hesitated and took another sip. “Baked beans?” I thought, “surely not”…. “Oh you bastard.” I replied as I picked up on the background flavour of tinned baked beans. My beer rapture had been turned out into the street. It was a moment akin to when you realize the pretty girl at school you’d been doting over will never go out with you, but she seems to have the beginnings of a gnarly set of side burns and you don’t really like her anymore anyway. The flavour had been hovering around in the background before I could put my finger on it, and now 50% of the hefeweizens I taste have an element of tinned baked beans in tomato sauce. Most respected beer writers I’ve asked guess at a fermentation issue but my own brewing experiments leave it all down to the brand of malted wheat. Either way, it was a starry-eyed love affair that was short lived, even if I do still lust after a fresh Schneider Organic Edelweiss on occasion.

Yes, but have you actually tasted this?

Beer Radar

By John Kruger

“Yes, but have you actually tasted this?”

(First published by Wine Business Magazine in 2012)

…is a question I almost blurt out quite often, but I stifle it and nod. It’s the first response after tasting a very occasional new commercial beer that’s pretty damn rough around the edges. It’s usually a beer from a new small time operation but not always. I know tasting is all very individual and one man’s Champagne is another man’s low-carb light beer. Unfortunately there’s always a shocker waiting in that bottle shop beer fridge for me. Sometimes it’s a fermentation issue, or a sparge issue, sometimes I wonder if some brewers think that using old hops will be fine, but the oxidised cheesy character isn’t always complimentary to the style. Sadly, it’s the hop driven beers that sometimes get the stale hops instead of fresh sappy aromatic hops. If the beer is supposed to be conditioned; before adding another 3 big-screen TV’s to the bar area, please at least consider if that money would be better spent on longer conditioning for the beer. It seems as if the quality of the product slips down the list of priorities for some brewers, where I’d consider it to be permanently number one and well above the live band nights and Facebook campaign.

I find it hard to give people a response to their beer because some people in the brewing business just want to share the beer love, not get a critical response to a friendly gesture. That’s why some people prefer the anonymous feedback from a competition rather that a razor sharp critique from a friend or loved one.

I can understand how the occasional dodgy beer slips through into the market in the heat of running a small brewery passionately. You love your beer so much, that’s all you drink and your blinkers go on, but tunnel vision doesn’t give a very helpful view of uncharted terrain. Good brewers constantly get feedback from as many people as possible and I’ve also noticed that successful brewers, sometimes surreptitiously, drink a lot of other people’s beers. It’s not just for market research; it also keeps the palate stimulated. Unfortunately the newly commercial brewers often seem to be asking the wrong questions. Instead of pouring a good friend another free beer and asking him or her, “Hey, what do you think of this?” Where the answer is an amazingly enthusiastic and positive response like “Oh this is amazing, it’s so good. Would you mind pouring me another free beer please? You really should start selling this after I’ve left.”

A more realistic question you should be asking is “Hey, would you pay eight bucks for a glass of this? If you did, how many do you think you’d buy?” Then the answers come back from a very different angle. All of a sudden it’s not an ego stroking, free beer inducing response, but the kind of answer a business owner should be hearing.

“Well actually, this beer has a funny medicinal background taste and there’s also a dry husky harshness going on, but it’s cold and drinkable.” might be a more realistic response when the weight of a person’s wallet is thrown into the mix.

One SA brewer changed one of his beer recipes directly in response to some fairly minor comments left by an anonymous beer judge in a large competition for commercial beers. The next year the brewer entered the resulting beer from the new recipe and won gold. The same brewer is also known to religiously work the taps at night. Not because he’s too tight to hire more bar staff, but because he listens to every comment every customer makes about the beers. He’s not trying to turn the brewery into the biggest business ever, he just wants to be known for damn good beer, and it’s working.

In the grand scheme of things, that’s what we lovers of a pint of ale or a crisp lager want; damn good beers. The promotions, the hats and cheap sunglasses, the sporting and events sponsorships are all secondary and very short term in the memory compared to the primary thing of importance, the beer. Get that right and when you do, please let me know about it.