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As far as Kolsch goes, and this is one of many problems/issues with the style, is they are quite delicate, light sort of beer, and thusly doesn't travel too well. If you were after an authentic German example, you'd wanna make sure it's really fresh.
Otherwise there are a few Aussie breweries brewing their own, and they can be hit and miss...even moreso than the German ones.
I'm yet to be blown away by a commercial example of this style, yet the couple of homebrewed versions i've tried have been quite good, which really seems to accentuate the point that freshness, and quality ingredients, are important to this style.
JoshuaHardie mentioned 4 Pines from Manly, which is probably one of the better Aussie ones i've come across...worth a try.

Sunner Kolsch has been on tap in the Local Taphouse in St Kilda before I think so may be a chance of getting in Darlo, more likely you'll find it in bottles there, too - but at pub prices of course.

...and International Beers in Perth import it in bottles.

Mal Secourable brews a nice Kolsch-style beer at Colonial Brewery in WA, but probably only available at cellar door :(
 
had a really different one today out of the fermentor. it was the F.A.B from paddys. i couldnt pick the flavour hop but it was bloody drinkable. ill be back down there for a schooner when it goes on tap.
sorry no time for taking pics today.
 
James Squire - Hop Thief 09

ok, no photos, i think ive already placed photos of this beer. anyway, the reason for the post is i have finally been able to confirm what Jamil said to me when he was down for THE BEER AND BREWER EXPO. Basically all of the US beers we get here are oxidised. Its as simple as that, if it aint less than a few months (at the most) old, its most likly oxidised.

That big deep sweet toffee character you get.... oxidiation. We had a couple of sourthern tier beers together and he confirmed they do not taste like that back home, definitely oxidation. i had an inkling this was the case but i was glad he confirmed it for me. Until today i had only experienced this character in US hop driven beers and was assuming it had soemthign todo with the hops or malt specifically. Today is the first day i have had it in a locally made beer.

My conclusion at this point is any beers with high hopping rates and a decent portion of specialty malts/crystal will get this rich oxidated quality.

Personally i love the character, unfortuantly we dont get the US beers as fresh as they should be :(

This is a bit late, but I missed this post...
If oxidised beers give a deep toffee character, what's the metallicy type taste you get from time to time? I seem to pick that up really easily and just assumed it was oxidisation. Well done for keeping a bottle of Hop Thief for that long btw :p I really really liked the 09.


Also, they sell Sunner Kolsch at Dan Murpheys. At least in WA they do.
 
DSCN1232.JPG


Beer Here Hoptilicus - I sort of didn't want to buy this beer because the label made me think this beer would be an unbalanced heap of shit made by immature morons.

But then I opened the bottle and out poured this wonderfully malty looking beer.

But then but then I drank it and it was like chewing on a hop pellet. Seriously. My mouth hurts a little bit. Don't drink this beer if you'd been hoping to try another new beer afterwards as I had been but now won't.
 
Pic from yesterday of a beer that Batz brought around on his weekend visit:


floreffe.jpg
(Apologies for the average pic quality!)

Never even heard of it, but not a bad drop at all. Never been a huge belgian fan, but this is dangerously drinkable

Cheers
 
Pic from yesterday of a beer that Batz brought around on his weekend visit:


View attachment 40367
(Apologies for the average pic quality!)

Never even heard of it, but not a bad drop at all. Never been a huge belgian fan, but this is dangerously drinkable

Cheers

Have to agree. I had one of these earlier in the year and it was very drinkable.
 
Adding to the conversation regarding oxidation - it gets worse in Perth. Most bottled beers from over east are oxidised. Am currently struggling to drink my way through a six pack of Mildura brewery beers. I've had a good bottle in the past, this this pack is really bad.

I rarely bother shelling out for US & belgian beers here. More often than not they are buggered and not worth the expensive gamble.

Just got back from Northern California and Oregon. Most supermarkets and liquor outlets refrigerate all their beer (its treated like milk) and it appears a lot of the trucks are refrigerated also. Its not uncommon to see a pallet of beer sitting out in the Perth summer sun!

End of rant!
 
Have you tried 4Pines in manly?
Not sure who they distribute to, but it would be your best bet
Maybe the Australian hotel in the rocks stock them?

i'll put them both on places i need to visit

As far as Kolsch goes, and this is one of many problems/issues with the style, is they are quite delicate, light sort of beer, and thusly doesn't travel too well. If you were after an authentic German example, you'd wanna make sure it's really fresh.
Otherwise there are a few Aussie breweries brewing their own, and they can be hit and miss...even moreso than the German ones.
I'm yet to be blown away by a commercial example of this style, yet the couple of homebrewed versions i've tried have been quite good, which really seems to accentuate the point that freshness, and quality ingredients, are important to this style.
JoshuaHardie mentioned 4 Pines from Manly, which is probably one of the better Aussie ones i've come across...worth a try.

i guess i'll have to wait until i brew mine
 
Adding to the conversation regarding oxidation - it gets worse in Perth. Most bottled beers from over east are oxidised. Am currently struggling to drink my way through a six pack of Mildura brewery beers. I've had a good bottle in the past, this this pack is really bad.

I rarely bother shelling out for US & belgian beers here. More often than not they are buggered and not worth the expensive gamble.

Just got back from Northern California and Oregon. Most supermarkets and liquor outlets refrigerate all their beer (its treated like milk) and it appears a lot of the trucks are refrigerated also. Its not uncommon to see a pallet of beer sitting out in the Perth summer sun!

End of rant!

LCPA is the same here in the east, IMO. It is pretty ratshit.

Imports are just as big a gamble here in chilly Melbs.

I also was sorta recently in California and wept tears of joy at how beer is treated in supermarkets. Did you happen to have a look in a Wholefoods, by any chance?
 
Sunner Kolsch has been on tap in the Local Taphouse in St Kilda before I think so may be a chance of getting in Darlo, more likely you'll find it in bottles there, too - but at pub prices of course.

...and International Beers in Perth import it in bottles.

Mal Secourable brews a nice Kolsch-style beer at Colonial Brewery in WA, but probably only available at cellar door :(

long trip from sydney to perth for a beer ... get the wife to agree to that ...

i have remembered it was a reissdorf kolsch i had in wollongong so someone must be bringing the beer into the country, i'll keep looking
 
LCPA is the same here in the east, IMO. It is pretty ratshit.

Imports are just as big a gamble here in chilly Melbs.

I also was sorta recently in California and wept tears of joy at how beer is treated in supermarkets. Did you happen to have a look in a Wholefoods, by any chance?

Nah - mainly supermarkets and convenience stores. Things got even better in Oregon, where there is no sales tax. Still weeping tears of joy over the 12-6pm happy hours every day and all day sunday. Still have fond memories of a $3 pint + $5 meal session at Bridgeport brewing :D
 
please tell me how

A long story indeed, but when I offered to buy her a drink for the first time (in Wales), she scanned the bar and said "anything but that shit!" and pointed at the XXXX. I knew I was onto a winner.
 
Courage directors bitter :

Not bad, a good ale. Tastes very similar to another i've tried, im thinking adnams?. Anyway, nice beer, and would drink again, just didn't stand out to me.


LC Single batch brown ale:

Wow, pretty good, lots of hops in it, but some nice malty flavours in there too. Much rather this than the above. Wish i got a few more of them haha.
 
Courage directors bitter :

Not bad, a good ale. Tastes very similar to another i've tried, im thinking adnams?. Anyway, nice beer, and would drink again, just didn't stand out to me.


LC Single batch brown ale:

Wow, pretty good, lots of hops in it, but some nice malty flavours in there too. Much rather this than the above. Wish i got a few more of them haha.

Where did you find the brown ale?

cheers

grant
 
Dan murphy's at shellharbour. They also had the cascade first harvest ale. They have a very good selection of ales, and heaps of the aussie craftbrewed beers.

Worth a trip grant, just remember your credit card hehehe
 
DSCN1234.JPG


So. Tonight I'm drinking yet another Beer Here beer with yet another ludicrously immature and amateurish label design. This time it is a Hop Fix RUG IPA (no idea what RUG is supposed to stand for). Is the beer as disappointing as their Hoptilicus? Low but nice fruity hop aroma, a little floral hops underneath. It tastes pretty perfumy to be honest. Flabby bitterness. Kinda metallic. If the other beer was metallic too I'd be putting it down to beer miles but I can't say that it was. I think I'll go with my original instinct and stay away from this brewery from now on.

DSCN1233.JPG


Baird Beer Teikoku IPA (seen modelled here by the beautiful Miss Biscuit) - With Hatichino Nest's Red Rice Ale being my only previous Japanese craftbrew experience I wasn't sure what to expect but I was prepared to have my beer safety zone intruded upon. Turns out this is pretty much a straight up UK IPA but with a slight twist. The aroma is a bit earthy, slightly floral hops, a little malt. The bitterness is slightly rough (bit acceptable). There is what might be a slight astringency (or possibly the rough, firm bitterness interacting with a too heavy carb?) Earthy hop flavour with ever so slight fruitiness underneath (I suspect hops rather than yeast despite it UK leanings). The little twist in this beer is a distinct Germanic breadiness emerging as the beer warms. Seems a little out of place for me but not entirely unpleasant. Long fade with vegetal qualities (but not at all grassy). A decent and somewhat thought provoking beer for me.
 
No photos, but I had to throw this list up.....


The wife and I went to Camperdown Cellars yesterday and Platinum Liquor today.....Here is our bounty list, most of which is currently either in the kegfridge or the cellar downstairs....

Camperdown Cellars
Malt Shovel Orchad Ale * 2
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale * 6
Barons Lemon Myrtle Witbeir
Brew Dog Trashy Dog
Brew Dog 77 Lager
Westons Premium cider

Platinum Cellars

Unibroue Terrible
Rogues Double Dead Man Ale
Brew Dog Tokyo (oak aged stout)
Brew Dog Bashah (Black Belgian style double IPA)
Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin single hop IPA
Mikkeller Cascade single hop IPA
Mikkeller stateside IPA
Dieu du Ciel Corne du diable (IPA)
The Flying Dog HornDog barleywine
Hitachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale
Organic Etienne Dupont (An organic cider from Normandy) The label is all in French....
 
piratebeer.jpg


Pirate beer, tastes like fermented cough syrup with just a touch of pseudoepedrine. Three bucks who can complain though as it's the same bang for the buck as two litres of normal Kiwi beer. And how about that Scroggin, hey. Kiwis start scroggin at an early age and keep it up all their lives. Scrog for New Zealand I say

However for the alcohol choice of the unemployed and homeless, for around $A 5 you can't beat 1.25 litres of crisp, clean and actually very drinkable:

scrumpy.jpg


Woohoo

Anyway I dragged myself away from the strong stuff and ventured out for an Epic Armageddon IPA at the Malthouse on Courtenay Street - definitely the choice of the Employed and Homed.

B)

epic.jpg


Kia Ora

:)
 

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