2 Metres Tall Company - Preservative Free Cider And Real Ale.

[manticle]

Grabbed a few beverages from the world beer shop in moonee ponds on my way home. They have a nice cider selection. In my quest for good cider I'm always on the look out for preservative/sulphite free stuff.

Came across a cider from huon, Tasmania which claims to be made from ingredients grown by the brewers (farm based company). Further research suggests they make 'real ale', also from ingredients grown on the farm. Unfortunately the website either doesn't load properly on my browser or is incompletre - I can't find any other info apart from what I've written.

Good cider. Interested in the ale. Like the philosophy. Want more info.

 

[jyo]

Grabbed a few beverages from the world beer shop in moonee ponds on my way home. They have a nice cider selection. In my quest for good cider I'm always on the look out for preservative/sulphite free stuff.

Came across a cider from huon, Tasmania which claims to be made from ingredients grown by the brewers (farm based company). Further research suggests they make 'real ale', also from ingredients grown on the farm. Unfortunately the website either doesn't load properly on my browser or is incompletre - I can't find any other info apart from what I've written.

Good cider. Interested in the ale. Like the philosophy. Want more info.

The site loads up fine for me, mate. Using Mozilla. Here are some specs:

Derwent Real Ale 5.2% alc vol
Wheat & barley malts are used in this ale along with old, noble aromatic hop varieties grown on the banks of the Derwent River which are no longer commercially available. Fantastic citrus notes often evolve in this real ale.

Forester Real Ale 5.5% alc vol
Featuring Pride of Ringwood hops procured directly from the kilns of the last working hop farm in the Forester Region of North East Tasmania. This is a refreshing and versatile, fully flavoured, bitter ale.

Huon Dark Apple Ale 5.5% alc vol
Taking a classic dark ale base, a winemakers touch has provided a soft, rich fruit palate via the use of fresh, unfiltered apple juice procured directly from an on-farm apple grower & processor in the Huon Valley. A blend of five different barley malts, this is a complex and satisfying drinking experience. Triple fermented using nearly 20% whole apple juice.

Two Metre Tall Cleansing Ale 4.9% alc vol
Refreshing, bottle-conditioned real ale. This ale has been brewed to introduce consumers to the fascinating world of real ale and uses 100% Tasmanian ingredients.

Looks very interesting. Hope they make it over to W.A.

 

[manticle]

Thanks for that. Might be an explorer isssue.

I'll keep an eye out for the beer.

 

[wabster]

You might want to follow them on Twitter too, @TwoMetreTall, some interesting commentary there, cheerz Wabster.

 

[brettprevans]

Ive tried the derwent real ale. Flat lifeless bland, tasted like the derwent river. Hopefully it was just a bad bottle.

Report back once u tasted them andrew

 

[DU99]

if i have time will check them out next month..

 

[big78sam]

Had a Forester Ale when I was in Tassie recently. Bottle was bad, really sour, undrinkable. I emailed the brewer and he sent me a replacement. Out of interest his comments were:

"On another, more technically oriented note, as we uniquely in this country I think make Real Ale from unprocessed straight off farm ingredients Im not dismissive of acidity (often prejudicially referred to as infected) and a light sourness which can develop over time in some of our ales, provided it is clean & balanced & in keeping with the overall taste profile of the ale in question (eg in our Huon Dark Apple Ale the acidity or sourness is deliberate and originates from the addition of whole apple juice and, in another example, there is a slight lactic acidity in our current batch of Cleansing Ale which is otherwise as clean as a whistle and complimentary to the malt & bitter notes to provide a freshly cleansing finish)."

The second one wasn't infected but still had a slight sour/acid note which was much more in balance and in line with his comments above. An interesting beer to try but no one I'll go back to.

 

[Maxt]

Tried 2 of his beers with a fellow brewer a few years ago. We decided both bottles were either infected or just horrible (we are both beer judges and still could not really tell!)
Avoid at all costs.

 

[Dazza_devil]

I tried the Huon Dark Apple Ale and struggled to finish it, which doesn't happen often.
I saw an interview with the brewer on the 'Perfect Beer' show hosted by Andrew Daddo, he's definitely out there. A brewer that doesn't believe in consistency, he reckons all his batches are different from one to the next. I'm thinking that could be an advantage in this particular instance but then again perhaps not. Maybe if he strived for consistency he could put his finger on what is making his beers taste like shit.
Perhaps I'm being a little harsh and some of his beers maybe drinkable but I don't see his logic. Maybe it's just a more convenient way of putting it that he's still refining his method.

 

[manticle]

Interesting. Well the cider's good anyway (different to the apple ale obviously).

 

[Dazza_devil]

Perhaps the ciders are more up his alley due to his background as a winemaker. I think he cut his teeth in Europe making wine then came to Tassie with the idea of setting up a winery but was inspired to make beer instead by the surrounding hop farms.
It was a while back I tried the dark ale but it had some off flavours, I wouldn't say sour but more similar to cardboardy, perhaps oxidised notes from memory.

 

[Tanga]

Oh dear. If he learnt in Europe then lets hope he doesn't do that thing where he just lets natural yeasts do the fermenting. In Europe that works because they've been brewing for centuries, and selecting for tasty yeasts (even though they didn't know it) through re-using the trub from good tasting ales and wines. Here in Australia our wild yeasts are still bloody barbaric and it doesn't work (or at least rarely).

 

[sim]

I tried their range at the "taste" food and drink festival in hobart some years back, and they were all great. a little left of centre, and really very good. No doubt these would have been his freshest and bestest, but just like when us homebrewers put our beers into comps. Of course all our beers taste good from the cellar door, but if we were to start brewing round the clock, and shipping them round the country - lord knows half of us would love an excuse to - faults would start to show up out of nowhere. If anything the oddities reflected in those drinks are aligned with the spirit of homebrewing - inventive, quirky, and just never quite as consistent as we keep hoping for.

I didnt see that interview, but i reckon when he said he wasnt into consistency he probably meant uniformity, and that he relishes in the seasonal and "handpicked" touch. man grows his own barley! his attitude to brewing is in good taste


sim

 

[Dazza_devil]

From 'The Perfect Beer',
Apparently he treats every batch like a vintage. Daddo mentioned to him that beer making is all about consistency and he replied that apparently that is the biggest accusation that can be levelled at him as a berwer.
He reckons 'consistency is a very importent criteria of a high volume fast speed factory' like that of most breweries. He mentioned that 'here we are artisanal, barrel by barrel, batch by batch, bottle by bottle and to do that, to help, instead of people saying, I like his blue one, the problem is that they will like a blue one and the next one they will think ,oh dear I'm not sure I like his blue one any more. We've developed a label here that gives you the full ingredient profile, everything, and tasting notes....'


Let's not forget he is making the stuff and selling it for profit not like a lot of homebrewers here. Perhaps quality control could be integrated into some sort of consistency that utilises the subtle effects that seasonal changes bring to his ingredients. After all, we all use ingedients that have been given to us from nature originally.

 

[manticle]

I think the artisanal approach is great but even when giving away beer, I feel pained if something isn't up to scratch. Selling it is another thing entirely. Individual characteristics are completely excusable (and welcome) but infections are not a good thing for beer, microbrewing or me. Shouldn't be justified as part of the character.

Anyway I've emailed the brewer as to where to find the ales near me so hopefully I can try some. Still stoked about finding preservative free cider though. Does anyone know if Sam Smith's organic contains sulphites?