My Education Into Beer Appreciation

[Murray]

I always steer clear of Hobgoblin and its ilk, not confident enough to buy beer imported in a clear bottle.

 

[Ash in Perth]

All the beers bottled in clear bottles in Aus are rubbish, as are most imported ones. I dont know what the english have done right but ive tried alot of english ales in clear bottles that have been quite good. Daleside, Shepherd Neame, etc. Hobgoblin is alright but i havent tried any of the other beers by that brewery.

Ash

 

[macr]

Had the St. Pauls beers last night. The special was nice, with a good malt aroma, but I think would of been better if it was warmer. The triple on the other hand was awesome. It was very similar to the Karmaliet Triple but with less of that distinct aromatics. I may have to get a couple more, seen as they are $3.49 and can reccommend it, if you enjoy Karmaliet's.

 

[Busboy]

macr, I haven't seen the St Paul's before. Is it a Belgian? At that price, I wouldn't mind trying it. Although I don't know where I could buy it in Sydney.

 

[macr]

macr, I haven't seen the St Paul's before. Is it a Belgian? At that price, I wouldn't mind trying it. Although I don't know where I could buy it in Sydney.

I believe this is the St. Pauls Brewery :chug:
And if you click on the sterkens label, you will go to the very page. As a matter of interest, the shop I got these from also have the very left and the two very far right beers. The one on the far left is $23 and I am seriously considering buying it, for the bottle alone! Oh and I think they have the red one which is a Radeuse IIRC.

 

[Busboy]

I'll keep an eye out for the St Paul's beers.

Last night I dropped into the bottleshop at the Sackville Hotel in Rozelle, as they have a good range of imported and local beers. I bought a bottle of the Badger Golden Champion Ale as I haven't tried many British beers and the description on the label made it sound unusual. Tried it when I got home and it was unusual, but very nice. Lovely golden colour (as the name implies). Sweet, fragrant aromas, described on the label as reminiscent of elderflowers. On the palate it was medium bodied, mildly bittered and quite sweet malty. And that aroma of elderflowers really came through. The finish was dry and pleasant. All in all, a very nice drop. I tried to found out through their website what hops they used to get that elderflowers aroma, to no avail. I'll try this beer again!

 

[macr]

Just about finished the Hoegaarden Forbidden fruit (De Verboden Vrucht). From what I can read it has coriander and curacao among other things which I cannot work out. Aroma is a sweetish alcohol smell. Colour is a red brown. Flavour has a very mild mouthfeel until swallowed, then you have a definite acidic orange aftertaste. Bit of a bite actually, maybe coriander, not sure. Not a beer that I would have regularly, but not too bad, none the less. Next up the hobgoblin!

 

[macr]

Hmmmmm. I just cracked the hobgoblin and it is very on the nose, cannot describe it. Cheese maybe. Notice the date is best before Sep 2005 :angry: Not happy Jan :angry: Low carbonation which I think is normal for English Ales. Colour is a cloudy dark red/bown. Similar burnt malt flavours of the tooheys old, but with a bit of toffee. Not sure about it yet, but will comment more when I get to the end.

 

[Busboy]

I've just read Michael Jackson's description of Badger Golden Champion Ale, here. Apparently they do use elderflower essence in the beer. Well, who woulda thunk it?

 

[macr]

6 more beers to try. Starting with the Konig Ludwig Weissbier and at only $3.80 (IIRC) for a 500mL bottle it is a steal. Funnily enough it taste very similar to my wheat beer that I made with Cascade spicy ghost, 1Kg of wheat DME and K92. Typical wheat aroma and fruity/bubblegum notes.

 

[macr]

The better half is home and just in time to try the Konig Ludwig. She seemed to like it. Moved on to the white Chimay. Reminds me of Duvel, but with one hell of a punch 8% (Blue knocked my socks off at 9.2%). Jude thinks this beer has similar characteristics to the red. I personally prefer the red.