# Paddy's Brewery Challenge



## Gerard_M (5/4/05)

Remember when you did a lap of Mount Panorama in the family Tarago & wondered what it would be like to take a spot on the grid in the big race? 

Have you ever screamed down the sideline in a game of Wednesday night touch footy, & thought you could make it in the NRL?

You crack a perfect 7 iron to inches from the flag to take out the nearest to the pin in the RSL Social Club golf day? Pack your bags; next its Tour School and a crack at the Pro-Circuit!

Have you ever brewed a beer that you reckon should be on tap at the local for all your mates to rave about? 

This is the *ALL GRAIN BREWING *comp for you!!

Welcome to the inaugural Paddys Challenge. The aim of this competition is to find an amateur brewer that has a beer that is not only a great beer, but will be attractive in a commercial environment. The beer will be judged on flavour, balance, appearance, & sessionability. The brewer of this precious drop will be rewarded with endless bragging rights. The winning beer will be brewed at Paddy's Brewery in a 600-litre batch & will be added to our range. If you live in Sydney or are willing to travel then you are welcome to be present on brew day. We will crack the first keg on a Saturday night with all your mates paying for the privilege of drinking your beer & listening to you brag.

What are you going to brew?
You are trying to produce a commercially viable beer. The best way to tell if a beer is any good is how many kegs are we selling per week? We are not going to replace a beer that is already on tap. We don't have a Stout, Belgian Ale, Irish Red, Australian Lager, Pale or Sparkling style ale, Kolsch, IPA, Vienna the list is endless. We are looking for a beer of 4.6 - 5% alc/vol.
You can do some homework by coming in & trying a few of our beers. If you need some help just email: [email protected]

Ingredients
Joe White Malts -We are looking for a 100% Aussie grown grain bill!
Hops - Pellets only
White Labs Yeasts only- No dried yeast or cultures from a Coopers bottle etc
We DO NOT use any adjuncts.

Judging
Judging will take place in three [3] stages. Firstly your paperwork. Get ready to fill out a brew & fermentation log. You don't have to fill in every square & if you don't have a ph meter don't worry. Single Infusion mash only. Neatest correct entries will make it through to the next stage, please stay between the lines. 
Two tasting sessions will follow. All entrants will have their brew & fermentation log returned with the judges comments attached.
No judges will be allowed to enter the competition.

Bottling 
All entries must be in long-neck (640-750-800ml) bottles.
Glass or PET Bottles are fine. Two [2] must be provided.
All entries will be bagged & refrigerated until required for judging


Entries are to be dropped off at 
Paddys Bar & Brewery at The Markets Hotel
268 Parramatta Road 
Flemington NSW 2129

If you are trusting Australia Post send your entry to 
Gerard Meares C/O
Markets Hotel 
PO Box 358
Sydney Markets NSW 2129

Entries Close Sat June 25th

Entry forms will be up on the ndbrewing website soon


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## nonicman (5/4/05)

Would you accept Wyeast?


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## johnno (5/4/05)

nonicman said:


> Would you accept Wyeast?
> [post="52931"][/post]​


And Powells malts?


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## Gerard_M (5/4/05)

The reason I have stated which grains & yeasts we use is to avoid a situation where a guy says "Yeah but they used the wrong yeast & ruined my beer".
We don't use Powells Malts at Paddy's. Nothing against their grains, I have used the stuff Grant has sent me for some pilot brews at home. They just don't have a distributer up here. This makes it difficult for us.
We use JW Malts because we have a very good set up where we only order in grain as we need it. We do not have a suitable grain storage area, so we get a delivery the day before we brew.
We use White Labs Yeasts. We are happy with the results we get, and have a great supply of fresh vials available when we need them.
Cheers
Gerard


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## Ross (5/4/05)

Surely for the sake of the entry a wyeast could be used??

Nothing to stop the brewery using the Whitelabs equivalent - Surely, you wouldn't know the difference anyway?...


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## kungy (5/4/05)

Why not compromise. How about using Wyeast which have a relatively clear Whitelabs alternative.

Eg WLP001 American Ale and Wy1056

Whilst this is clearly a logical match, i think it would be possible to find a match for some of them. So possibly limit the range of Wyeast to those with a worthy Whitelab substitute and allow the entire Whitelabs yeast to be used.

Will


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## Gulf Brewery (5/4/05)

Folks

I think you are missing the point here. Gerard is looking at doing a commercial beer with the ingredients that he has ready access to. Just a small variation is going to prevent him repeating your beer. As in all competitions, there are restrictions, and in this one, the ingredients have been specified.

I don't think it would be too hard to brew with the ingredients specified.

Cheers
Pedro


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## Tony (10/4/05)

JW malts ans WL yeast it is  

Can we enter more than one beer?

This sounds like more of a chalenge than the mash paddle.......... what to brew :blink: 

I like it.

im going to ring NDBS tomorrow about the entry forms 

I love brewin


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## Gerard_M (11/4/05)

Great to see some interest in our comp. All the entry details, forms etc are on our website for you to print off
Cheers
Gerard

www.ndbrewing.com.au


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## jgriffin (11/4/05)

QUick Q, the comp says that you don't have "We don't have a Stout, Belgian Ale, Irish Red, Australian Lager, Pale or Sparkling style ale, Kolsch, IPA, Vienna"

So what do you have on tap exactly? Maybe we could think of something not in that list.


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## Gerard_M (11/4/05)

We have on tap Pilsner, APA, Amber,Wheat,2 different Choc porters, the Summer Ale best described as a junior IPA, currently our best seller, particularly with guys trying our beers for the first time. In the next few weeks we are brewing a Light beer and an Organic.

There is a heap of beers we don't have, you just have to ask yourself "Can I sell 600 litres of that?"

Best advise I can offer is KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!

Cheers
Gerard


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## Doc (3/5/05)

Gerard,

You can close the comp and call all entries right now if you like.
I've just racked and taste tested the first beer I've brewed for your comp and she is a ripper.
Fits all the guidelines for the comp which is pretty amazing for the way I normally brew. I don't remember the last time I brewed a beer that was under 5% :lol:

Beers,
Doc


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## Gerard_M (3/5/05)

Then me & Baldrick miss out on trying all those free beers. June 25 still looks good. We might need to have a tasting night in a few weeks time though as I have had quite a few enquiries. 
The Pale Ale, formerly known as The American Pale is back on tap and very popular. Seems that fairly basic ales are popular at the moment.
Cheers
Gerard


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## Tony (3/5/05)

Ge wiz doc i was thinking the same thing  

Just racked "it" from cc and will bottle "it" very soon.

It........... well "its" a secret h34r:


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## Jim_Levet (14/5/05)

A few questions about the different styles of beers you have & don't have. So I can better understand what I should enter

You have two Choc Porters, one very dark, almost black & the other not really dark. Isn't the darker one pretty close to a Stout anyway?Would you consider a Schwartz Beer?

What happened to the Strong Scottish Ale that is advertised out on the board on Pmatta Rd?

Your Amber is a nice drop, how far away from an Irish Red is it?

The Summer Ale is still on tap in the middle of winter??!! You say it is an IPA, yet its not dominated by strong hop flavours like the 5 Islands IPA. Do you really want another of the same type of thing?

I look forward to your answers
James


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## Gerard_M (15/5/05)

Gday everyone

Jim has some good questions. As I have stated all along, you need to look at a beer that is commercially viable. Our best selling beers at the moment would be the Pale Ale & the Porter. The Pilz goes a bit slower in winter.

"The Summer Ale is still on tap in the middle of winter??!! You say it is an IPA, yet its not dominated by strong hop flavours like the 5 Islands IPA. Do you really want another of the same type of thing?"

Our Summer Ale has been very popular with people trying our beers for the first time. We aimed for 45 IBU's and kept the whole process very simple. When it came time to send the beers off to the AIBA in Melb we entered it as an IPA and it scored a prize. I have tried quite a few IPA's around the place, and quite enjoy the big hop flavours that some have. Whilst there might be better examples of IPA out there, our version is selling very nicely.

"Your Amber is a nice drop, how far away from an Irish Red is it?"

I would expect a much brighter reddish finish to for this style. I also think our Amber is too heavy on the hops to be thought of as an Irish Red. As the winning brew will be ready to put on tap in late winter/early spring, an Irish Red could be a good bet.

"What happened to the Strong Scottish Ale that is advertised out on the board on Pmatta Rd?"

The Scottish Ale was a great beer. Unfortunately no-one drank it.At 6.5%Alc/Vol it was too heavy on excise. The dark beer drinkers went for the choc porter as it is more user friendly.

"You have two Choc Porters, one very dark, almost black & the other not really dark. Isn't the darker one pretty close to a Stout anyway?Would you consider a Schwartz Beer?"

We usually only have the Choc Porter on tap at Paddy's. The darker version is brewed for Gearins Hotel at Katoomba.It isn't roasty enough in my book to call it a Stout. If I dropped the Crystal, & upped the Roast Barley it would go close.
Schwartz Beer: Go to the Macquarie for that, I couldn't beat their version!


Any other questions just drop me an email, or post them up here.

We will be having a tasting night on June 25th, see you by the Giraffes!
Cheers
Gerard
www.ndbrewing.com.au


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## jgriffin (31/5/05)

Oh sugar! I just realised that i put a small amount of sugar in my mash paddle beer that i was going to submit, is this classed as an adjunct?


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## Doc (31/5/05)

The comp got some more publicity today.
The Brew section of the Good Living supplement of the SMH today had the call to all AG Craftbrewers with the comp details.
Looks like Gerard and Baldrick will be doing a few days worth of tasting :lol:

Beers,
Doc


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## Gerard_M (31/5/05)

Greetings All
Well a few entries have already turned up. Baldrick hasn't been sighted for a few weeks, could be time to go rattle his cage.
On the topic of adjuncts, Sugar is a no-no. I realise that Australian Lager or Ale styles allow for the use of sugar , but we brew all-malt beers so it won't get a run unfortunately. Remember we are looking for a great beer that is commercially viable, that doesn't mean it has to fall inside any style guidelines.
Keep it simple!
Gerard


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## Gerard_M (20/6/05)

Gentlemen
Saturday June 25th has turned up very quickly & its time to get those entries in for The Paddy's Brewing Challenge. We will be having a $1 middy session at the Brewery this Saturday evening from 7.30pm so you can drop off your entries then!
It is a great chance to catch up with other brewers for a chat & a laugh. :beer: 
On tap we will have 
Paddy's Pilsner (Special Batch)
Paddy's Choc Porter
Paddy's Summer Ale (IPA)
Paddy's Wheat (Filtered)
Paddy's Pale Ale
Paddy's Amber Ale
Gearins' Dark
Paddy's Chilli Beer - Maybe!
Gerard's Lazy Narfa
In the past we have served Chocolate Mousse or Double Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwichs with our dark beers, expect more of the same, along with plenty of finger food.

See ya next to the Giraffes!

Paddys Bar & Brewery at The Markets Hotel
268 Parramatta Road 
Flemington NSW 2129
(02) 97643500


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## Weizguy (25/6/05)

Visited Paddy's yesterday.
Enjoyed everything. :beer: 
Wheat beer, Summer Ale (IPA), Pale Ale. Choc porter, Lazy Narfa, Amber. Shouted a round by Gerard while he chatted with us and he did an excellent PR job, despite his busy day. Well done.
Another round came from the manager/ owner Jeff (or Geoff).
Lingerie girl was blonde and wore a babydoll outfit.
Cheers 2 everyone who's there 2nite.

Seth out 

edit: Wow, there really are giraffes. What the?


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## Doc (25/6/05)

I didn't make it tonight, but got my entries in on Thursday.
Fingers crossed for the results when they come in.

Beers,
Doc


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## Weizguy (25/6/05)

I dropped a sample of my Berliner weisse to G-man. Just as a taster. He may put it in the comp. As long as he tastes it, that's enough...
Nice "light beer", but a bit tart 2 be commercial. U could dumb it down 4 the masses.

BTW, Gerard, try it without the Ribena first. Not a bad quaffing beer, and I still owe U a sample of the Arrogant, which I was too arrogant to bring.

Seth


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## Doc (4/7/05)

How is the judging coming along Gerard ?
Are the entries up to standard ?

Beers,
Doc


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## Gerard_M (4/7/05)

Glad you asked Doc. 
I was just trying to find the post where you asked about how many entries we got etc. We ended up with 24 entries. Not bad when you consider some of the popular beer styles were excluded. The standard has been very good so far. Probably about half way there. When we sort out the top 6 we will have a crack at the 2nd bottle & see what we end up with.
Cheers
Gerard


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## Doc (8/7/05)

Oh the suspense ................. :blink: 

Doc


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## Weizguy (8/7/05)

Performance anxiety, Doc?


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## Doc (9/7/05)

Weizguy said:


> Performance anxiety, Doc?
> [post="66698"][/post]​



Not quite. I was talking to Gerard on Thursday and he said he was going to post the Final 6 on Thursday night/Friday morning.
Hense the suspense.

Doc


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## Weizguy (9/7/05)

Just jokin' buddy, U know. Couldn't help myself..

BTW, lucky I emailed him with my beer recipe.
Hope I didn't hold things up?

I'd like to to be in the 6. That's be nice.   

Don't know if they'd sell much Berliner weisse... Nice light beer, tho', and U can always tone down the sourness, like they do @ Redoak (no affiliation), and make it a refreshing lite beer.

Dreamin', I know.

Seth out 

P.S. S'pose that means; if the Brewery gets the recipe, they own it?...and we'll not see the recipe ever posted here again?


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## Doc (10/7/05)

Weizguy said:


> BTW, lucky I emailed him with my beer recipe.
> Hope I didn't hold things up?



Ah so it is your fault :lol:

I'm sure they are just having difficulties getting it down to the last six, as we are all such top notch brewers 

Beers,
Doc


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## Gerard_M (10/7/05)

The first two rounds of judging have left us with six entries.

The Final Six- in no particular order!

Kolsch - Andrew Clark 
Kolsch -Darren Robinson
ESB - Darren Robinson
ESB - Brett Morris
Stout - Doug Owen
Stout - Richard Hawkins

The standard was very good, which is an indication of how far craft brewing has advanced. A big thankyou to all that took the time to enter. We will make our final decision on Tuesday. I will post the results & contact the winner by phone. All entrants will receive their brew sheets in the post later in the week, with the judges comments etc.
Cheers
Gerard


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## Ross (10/7/05)

Well done guys - best of luck for tuesday... :beer:


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## Doc (11/7/05)

Wooohoooo. Without knowing everyones real names it looks like at least a 50% showing of AHB members in the final six.

Beers,
Doc


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (11/7/05)

I can vouch for Doc's ESB, it's bloody excellent :beerbang: !

The Kolsch was good too :chug: !

Well done Doc and Andrew.

C&B
TDA


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## quincy (11/7/05)

Doc said:


> Oh the suspense ................. :blink:
> 
> Doc
> [post="66689"][/post]​



How's the suspense meter now Doc!!!  

If the Kolsch is the same you sent me from Super 12 sucess, you are every chance.

Well done to all the finalists.

Cheers


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## AndrewQLD (11/7/05)

Well done Doc, both the beers you have entered were excellent and deserve to win, same for you too Brett, if the ESB is anything like your kolsch your in with a winner too. I'd hate to be judging and trying to seperate the winners.

good luck fellas.

andrew


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## Doc (11/7/05)

I haven't tried your Kolsh yet Andrew.
I'm guessing it is ready for consumption. 
I'll put it in the fridge tonight.

Yep Quincy, it is the same Kolsch.

Beers,
Doc


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## PeterS (11/7/05)

Doc said:


> Wooohoooo. Without knowing everyones real names it looks like at least a 50% showing of AHB members in the final six.
> 
> Beers,
> Doc
> [post="66815"][/post]​



Well done Doc and congratulations, I smell success. Is your recipes listed anywhere or is there a chance of getting a copy of your ESB and Kolsch either in here or pm/email?

Good Luck.
PeterS....


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## Doc (11/7/05)

Peter Shane said:


> Well done Doc and congratulations, I smell success. Is your recipes listed anywhere or is there a chance of getting a copy of your ESB and Kolsch either in here or pm/email?
> 
> Good Luck.
> PeterS....
> [post="66826"][/post]​



I guess the winning recipe will become the ownership of the brewery. 
But we don't have a winner yet.

Doc


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## Gerard_M (11/7/05)

The winning recipe will be recorded in our files for excise purposes and future use, other than that you can tell whoever you like about it!
We have no secrets here  
Cheers
Gerard


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## Gerard_M (12/7/05)

The winner of this years Paddy's Brewery Challenge is Richard Hawkins. From a very good field, Richard's Dry Stout was a clear favourite with the judges. A big thank you to all those that made the effort to get an entry in. Congratulations to Richard, who has already jumped at the chance to brew for the day at Paddy's & shovel out the mash tun!
Cheers
Gerard


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## Duff (12/7/05)

Congratulations Richard on your success, I look forward to trying the stout when it comes on line at Paddy's.

Thanks also to Gerard for putting on a great competition, look forward to next years challenge.

Cheers,

Brett Morris.


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## AndrewQLD (12/7/05)

Congratulations Richard, a nice feather in your cap!
And thanks Gerard for giving us the opportunity in this comp. I look forward to the score sheets and judges comments.

cheers
Andrew


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## Doc (12/7/05)

I hope this is OK for me to do this, but I am sure Darren wants to pass on his congratulations to the winner. He is on a plane to the USA for a work conference at the moment and will do this himself when he can.
Cheers
Mrs Doc


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## Bilph (12/7/05)

> Doc Posted Today, 10:11 AM
> I hope this is OK for me to do this, but I am sure Darren wants to pass on his congratulations to the winner. He is on a plane to the USA for a work conference at the moment and will do this himself when he can.
> Cheers
> Mrs Doc



I'm sure it'll be allright Mrs. Doc.
I think you've just demonstrated the allround class of the Doc household.

Big Congrats to Richard on his success. Without having had the pleasure of tasting, I'd hazard a guess that it was a class field.


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## Ross (12/7/05)

Well done Richard - sounds like it was the cream of some great beers - Would love to know the recipe if it's not a guarded secret?... :beer:


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## homebrewworld.com (13/7/05)

Congrats Richard,
Nice to see a Stout win a comp too !
Well done,


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## Doc (13/7/05)

Congratulations Richard.
I'm sure it is a beauty.
Better start working on those biceps to empty the mash tun :lol:

Well done,
Doc


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## Weizguy (13/7/05)

Congrats, Richard.

I anticipate tasting it on my next mission to the Paddy's Institution for the Beerologically Inclined.


Seth


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## Gerard_M (31/7/05)

Well Richard came in very early on Friday just gone to get his Stout brewed. 
A very smooth run for the day. The photographer from SMH Good Living took heaps of pics for Willie Simpson.The spent grain was picked up just after lunch, and the cows were grazing on it for dinner. I checked in at the brewery Sat morning and the yeast had kicked in very nicely. Hopefully we will have the Stout on tap for Friday August 19th. It would be earlier but I am off overseas for a week.
Cheers
Gerard


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## Doc (4/8/05)

I looked for the Brew section in this weeks Good Living supplement, but alas there was nothing from the Paddy's Brewery Challenge. In fact there was no column at all.
Willie must have been slack and not got his column submitted in time.
Will keep an eye out for it next week.

Beers,
Doc


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## Gerard_M (4/8/05)

Willie will be at Paddy's for lunch to meet Richard & try his Stout on Aug 18th. The article is supposed to be in on the 23rd.
Cheers
Gerard


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## Doc (26/8/05)

Gerard_M said:


> Willie will be at Paddy's for lunch to meet Richard & try his Stout on Aug 18th. The article is supposed to be in on the 23rd.
> Cheers
> Gerard
> [post="70048"][/post]​



Went hunting and found the Good Living section from Tuesday SMH. Alas no article on Richard, Gerard and Paddy's.
Maybe next week Gerard ?

Beers,
Doc


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## Gerard_M (26/8/05)

We got bumped back by a week, maybe two due to no advertising which means no pages for articles on beer.
Stay tuned 
Gerard


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