Monday, December 21st, 2009
I have been a big fan of the Baron’s beers since they first came out, although the Black Wattle Ale and Lemon Myrtle Witbier seem to be the only ones I see on a regular basis. So it came as a pleasant surprise to track down a bottle of their Lager in Vintage Cellars, I had an earlier look in Dan Murphy’s but was unable to locate it.
The Barons lager poured clear with a bright golden colour, minimal level of carbonation and a smallish white head around 1cm. On the nose, grassy and floral notes predominate straight after pouring with honey and clove notes coming through later after being allowed to stand awhile.
On the palate a light mouth feel is accompanied by grassy herbal notes, clove, pepper the beer then goes on to finish crisp with minimal after-taste. A few times I swore I tasted some slight “musty” flavors toward the back of the palate that one would expect from a Belgian but it didn’t seem constant so was very hard to pin down.
Verdict: It did strike me as a tad watery in places although this may have just been too excessive chilling, as it did grow on me the further down i got. All in all a very smooth session lager for lazy summer days.
Score: 7.2 / 10
Link: Barons Brewing
Tags: Barons, lager, NSW
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Thursday, November 12th, 2009
All the major breweries around the country are try to get drinkers attention of late claiming their new beer is extra pure, extra tasty and has less carbs than your run of the mill domestic brew. VB Raw is the Fosters entrant to the market place which attempts to throw off the image of VB as not being hip and with the times for Gen Y drinkers.
The bottle is green in colour and looks slightly like a Heineken bottle, so i think the marketers are aiming for it to look like an import rather than part of the domestic line up. Decanting the bottle into a glass gave a smallish white head around 1 cm in height floating above a bright clear golden coloured liquid. The carbonation level seemed a bit above average and the aroma had nothing really going on bar a very faint malt sweetness which i noticed came across as a bit “ciderish” later on after it had a chance to warm up a bit.
On the palate this beer is not very inspiring it has slight sweetness a bit of crispness that appears around the front of the palate the taste does seem to change throughout the beer however but it seems very hard to put your finger on how the taste changes.
Verdict: This beer aims to convince us it contains all malt and no sugar like a craft beer, has less carbs than your average brew and finishes dry clean and crisp like a Tooheys Dry, but seems to do all these things half heartedly. That said i was talking to friend about it the other day and he said he could see it being a good session beer for a hot afternoon. Personally though i can see myself reaching for a case of the original VB in the bottlo cool room before buying the Raw.
Rating: 4.1 / 10
Link: http://www.vbraw.com.au/ (Warning Flash based site)
Where to buy: Any mainstream bottle shop around Sydney should have it in stock.
Tags: Carlton, dry, lager, VB
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Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Today is the last day of June and in preparation for “Dry July“, which supports adults living with cancer, i decided to have one last beer while i was still allowed. I had a hard decision to make, after all the beer chosen would have to keep me satisfied for the next 31 days till August 1st!
Finally after 5 minutes of umming and ahhing i settled on a Knappstein reserve lager, it had a nice looking bottle, at 5.6% packed a tad extra alcohol in and being a lager i figured worst case scenario it should still be pretty smooth to drink.
Emptying the bottle into glass only helped reinforce in my head i had made the right choice. The beer was lightly carbonated, crystal clear with a brilliant golden colour. On the nose the aroma was bursting with fresh tropical fruit smells, the most predominate to me being mango.
On the palate the beer was light, full of tropical fruit and lemon flavors accompanied by a slight bitterness from the hops which helped offset the sweetness from the fruity tastes. The aftertaste was very clean bar a slight lingering fruit flavor.
Verdict: This beer was extremely easy to drink, and i definitely wont pass up the opportunity to try it again.
Score: 8.3 / 10
Link: http://www.knappsteinwines.com.au/
Where to buy: I am not currently aware of any retailers in the Sydney area. Although you can buy it online from the wineries online store. It’s fairly expensive at $58 for half a case but well worth a try at least once.
If you just want to try one, Knappstein Lager can also be found behind the bar at The Australian Hotel located in The Rocks.
Tags: Claire Valley, dry july, Knappstien, lager, SA
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Wednesday, May 20th, 2009
Fusion Brewing takes a unique approach to creating a brew, first they decide on a style of food to match. Then Matthew Evans (Chef / Food critic), dissects what key flavours are normally present in the chosen style of dish and what qualities a beer should have to further bring out these flavours. From here some guidelines are created and passed along to head brewer Brian Watson to transform into amber liquid, which should then be the perfect partner for your dinner.
Seeing as so much care had gone into seeing that Firefly brew would be the perfect partner for spicy food, i decided it was only fair to try this number with a meal. In the name of science i cooked a nice hot chilli / ginger stir fry for dinner specially to enjoy this beer with. Upon decanting the bottle into a glass i was greeted by a lightly carbonated brew, bright gold in colour with an aroma full of floral notes.
Tasting the brew, the drinker is hit initially with a sharp pilsner style bitterness which i found to be a great blend with the heat from the stir fry. Upon swallowing pretty much all taste quickly subsides leaving nothing except a subtle sweetness on the palate, not much else to it, this is an exceptionally clean tasting beer.
Verdict: This beer is super clean in taste designed to compliment the flavours of your meal not fight them. That said i could also see myself enjoying a six pack of these beside the pool on a hot summers day. Can’t wait give their other beer “Bluebottle” another try with some seafood as it was intended, the first time i tasted it i was in a pub and without any food to give the proper taste test.
Rating: 7.3 / 10
Link: Fusion Brewing & Firefly Beer
P.S It has also come to my attention this brew recently took out Silver in the 2009 Australian International Beer Awards. Full results sheet can be found here.
Related Reading: Pairing Beer With Food
Tags: Beer, dining, food, lager, review, tasting
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