Fed Square Micro Brew Showcase

[reVoxAHB]

You'd think 22 Victorian microbreweries would be enough to keep everyone entertained! The AIBA Expo is there every year now to showcase beers from interstate, across the Tasman, and internationally.

I didn't get around to everyone, but top beers for me this time were the Arctic Fox APA (sorry ReVox - guess I don't have the salt sensitivity!), Sweetwater Weizen, Cold Stream Elderflower Ale, and True South Red Truck. Wish there were more Vic Micros there - Kooinda, Red Hill, and Jamiesons notably absent - and fewer faux micros and contracts. Too bad about the LLV (f*cking ******s) cracking down this time and keeping Hargreaves and Bridge Road from participating. The guys at Arctic Fox said they were given a written warning for not serving into 60ml plastic containers as stipulated in the license!

meh no dramas on Arctic APA. guess i'm a rogue tongue on the over calc'd salt w/this one; glad most of you are enjoying it. anyone know if the Artic APA is in bottles, yet? i'll bring a couple round a buddies house next weekend and give it retry.

hey yeah, so what's the story with LLV, etc. I too, wondered where Har/BR was this time around (and Temple).

 

[Count Vorlauf]

From what I gathered this was the first event where each brewery had to provide their own license and not everyone got one in time basically due to LLV dragging its heels. Some change in the licensing rules that means the Fed Square event isn't big enough (!) to warrant a blanket license. Meanwhile, the wine tasting at Southbank this weekend is big enough to get one. Bridge Road did indeed get shut down by LLV on night one. Temple was getting enough exposure at the Japanese beer garden; Ron and Renata looked like they were enjoying just making the rounds for a change rather than slinging beers .

These festival licenses have escalated hugely in cost for the breweries, too. At the same time, wineries have been granted a special festival license that allows them to get one license for 20 or so events rather than a separate one for each. Just another way that brewers get screwed because they cater to bogans and drunks while only the finer sort drink wine. <_< Funny, the only tasting event I've seen devolve into a massive drunken brawl was a "Jazz in the Vines" day out in Yarra Valley a few years back... :lol:

The AIBA Expo = Beer & Brewer Expo. This year it's going to be at Fed Square and Y&J's. First I saw of Epic was at last year's Expo. Looks like a good line up of speakers.

meh no dramas on Arctic APA. guess i'm a rogue tongue on the over calc'd salt w/this one; glad most of you are enjoying it. anyone know if the Artic APA is in bottles, yet? i'll bring a couple round a buddies house next weekend and give it retry.

hey yeah, so what's the story with LLV, etc. I too, wondered where Har/BR was this time around (and Temple).

 

[Wolfy]

When I asked the organizer-lady where Hargreaves were, she said they did not get a liquor license in time, also as I mentioned earlier some places had to turn people away at exactly 8pm due to their restricted license.

Bridge Rd were there on Wed with a Saison and Bire de Garde both on tap.

 

[bum]

I missed those at Bridge Road at about 7 and they had the Celtic Red and I think Beechworth Pale on tap (coming out as pure foam though).

 

[Wayne'o]

These festival licenses have escalated hugely in cost for the breweries, too. At the same time, wineries have been granted a special festival license that allows them to get one license for 20 or so events rather than a separate one for each. Just another way that brewers get screwed because they cater to bogans and drunks while only the finer sort drink wine. <_< Funny, the only tasting event I've seen devolve into a massive drunken brawl was a "Jazz in the Vines" day out in Yarra Valley a few years back... :lol:

Yes the liquor licenses have escalated, around double the price it was last year, and taking about double the time to get one as well.

 

[HoppingMad]

Jeeze, the amount of stories I've heard about EH and process is astounding. The 400L flat bottomed tanks is another to the list! I'd been in there a couple of times but to be honest with you, never noticed their primarys were flat-bottomed! I was told they picked up most of their gear from the dairy industry, and the kettle in particular was custom built.

Just found this on their still operational website:
View attachment 36485

Yeah, no way you're going to effectively drop yeast with that slope.. EH's bottom looks akin to an inverted glass carboy (where similarly the fermentap folks thought the pitch was sufficient to drop- it isn't, and fermentap is no longer avail afaik).

Cheers
reVox

Sorry Revox, you're right. The fermenters weren't 'flat-bottomed' as I earlier reported, they had cones that were inadequate. I just went back over an old email and my mate had noted that the fermenters weren't "60% conical" as these things should be if built to standard. The speculation as you say is that some yeast will roll down and be tapped out, but much of it would get stuck, making it a problem with autolysis.

Hope that clears it up.

Hopper.

 

[bum]

I'll see if I feel that same after I try one obtained through normal channels and one not direct from the brewery.

Just reporting back on this one after finding a bottle of the Grand Ridge Moonshine under discussion. I'm getting a buttered toast thing in the aroma but the missus is getting butterscotch. The flavour is purest revolting. I dunno what happened on the night - whether they pulled a switcheroo, I had some sort of palate fatigue (should maybe revisit Tooborac's Pale too) or I was just completely pissed. This really is proper shitful.