Sydney Craft Beer Week, 2013

http://sydneycraftbeerweek.com/

Sydney Craft Beer Week (SCBW) for 2013 has began, and in earnest Sydney's craft beer community is out in force trying our best Aussie brews at specialist venues around Sydney. For me, SCBW has started at home with a specially selected batch of 12 craft beers brewed right here in Australia.

Thanks to the selectively stocked Oak Barrel in Sydney my very own craft beer week started in grand form. My guilt-free selection would have made former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid proud, and would have had ICAC talking.The plethora of choices was just too much to fathom for such a meek-minded simpleton like myself. Still, I managed to gather enough courage and propel myself into the Aussie craft beer section. Boy, what a selection I chose.

12 Australian Craft Beers

From Hawthorn Brewing, to Dalgety, to Riverside, to Mountain Goat, to Moon Dog, to Prickly Moses. Was I in heaven? Possibly. Even when I saw all 12 beers in front of me I wondered how on Earth would I approach such a task? Drink all 12?

Yep. Drink all 12. I had various theories on how to approach this mammoth task. One thing that stood out was to go from "light to dark". It was my feeble attempt to have some type of structure around what I was trying to do. Indeed, that was probably the most sensible approach I could have taken. Secondly, having now determined what order the beers were to be had I needed to decide how to approach some type of 'rating' system.

Says it all, huh?

Anyone that knows my blog (as I see no one put their hand up) should know about this.  Rating craft beer is such a bloody subjective thing that it's not funny. What I would consider a fabulous beer would be some other persons train-wreck of a beer. Should I take notes perhaps and just simply write down what I taste?

A terrific idea, with only one drawback. I realised that I'd most likely be pissed as a fart by beer 5 and couldn't even write my name in the snow (assuming it'd snow here in Sydney in an almost total fire ban during Spring, approaching Summer).

So, with those little details in mind I figured out that my approach would be similar to that of my recent US trip: what beer wooed me? What beer would make me talk like a sixteen year-old girl and, like, just went, like, you know, like - wow, you know? With the mind of a teen I went and just went, like, you know, from light to dark, man. Having said that, each and every beer was fantastic in their own right. No beer was "bad" per say. I just had to be wooed. So, from the ground up here is my list and, eventual, favourite.

Enjoy.

dannbrew@gmail.com

12. 2 Brothers

2 Brothers. 4.5%

A rice lager. Now, when I think of rice lager I think of US beers such as Coors and Bud Light. This is not one of those beers. It has character, it has flavour, it has style, it has an immense taste that blows away any competition in its path.

It's one of those qwerky things in life, or is it psychosomatic? I read this as "rice lager", so here is me thinking: did I just taste rice in this? I am pretty sure if I hadn't read the label then I would not have said I taste rice. I would have more likely have said that this was a great lager, and a fantastic addition to any Summer drinking session.



                                                                                                                            11. Prickly Moses

Prickly Moses Wheat 4.8%

It's one of those weird things in life. In a training course recently I got to talk to a fellow work colleague I don't normally associate with. I know him, he knows me. We both know what we do. In the training course I mention that I am a craft beer connoisseur and brew my own beer. He advises he likes craft beer and if I had tried "Prickly Moses". No, was the obvious answer.

It was with delight I tried this wheat beer. Sadly, it was slightly over carbonated and wasn't up to my "expectations" (as tough as they are). Your local Dan Murhpy outlet will provide you some German wheat beers that are much better.

10. Ekim Brewing

Ekim Brewing IPA 6.4%

Ekim Brewing was already known to me. They had taken part of Paddy's Brewery "Hop Festival" about 18 months ago. I recall having a terrific beer from Ekim, and it could have been this one I'm talking about now. What I found, however, was this beer was just a tad too sweet in the aftertaste department. Was it hoppy? Yes. Unfortunately,  that touch of sweetness I got from the beer wasn't something I was expecting from an IPA.

Still, drinking one of these beers was a pleasure and compared to other beers that I even tried in the good ol' US of A, this beer was pretty good. On this occasion, this beer had some hefty competition and it came in 10th place. Nothing to be shy about, rather a blessing that we have Ekim as an option here in Oz for IPA's.

                                                                                                                            9. Stone & Wood

Stone & Wood 6.6%

This lager kicks ass. Actually, it also kicked my balls into oblivion. This is certainly not a Summer beer per say, but what a mother f****r of a beer this is. I was gobsmacked at how good this beer was. This fairly hefty beer had what I thought was roasted malt in it? It was very much darker than normal lagers, and with a bit of a kick at 6.6% abv.

If I had judged this in March or April, rather than late October then my guess is this would most likely had been a much higher rating. As it stands, a fantastic beer that I had such pleasure in drinking. With such solid viscosity and some 'roasted' malt (or maybe chocolate?) that gives it a very unique taste was sublime. Simply brilliant.

8. 4 Pines

4 Pines Oktoberfest 5.5%

The moment I see the word "Oktoberfest" is the moment I wet my pants. I think of German beers, naked German women with big breasts caressing my naked body....eer, I'll just scrap that. When I think of Oktoberfest beers I think of greatness. I get images of politicians tapping the first keg. I visualise thousands of people drinking the most gorgeous of beers. This is what I thought of this beer when I looked at it.

When I drank it, however, was something else. To be truthful, I've never been a fan of 4 Pines. Sorry to those who are. Their range of beers is good, but there are better beers out there. However, this breaks the cast. This is good. Real good. I get that similar taste to that of the Stone & Wood beer with that roasty taste (chocolate? roasted malt?). Regardless, this is a quaffer of a beer, and I love quaffers.

                                                                                                                            7. Wayward Brewing

Wayward India Red Ale 5%

At this point, after five beers I was indeed a touch 'wayward'. However, I was pretty much on fire at this point and raring to go. What I found about this beer was that it was a touch too over carbonated perhaps? Strikingly similar to a beer I had the night before (...and the brewer shall remain nameless, unless he gets a Facebook account and reads this - then I am completely F***ED). 

Nothing wrong with over carbonation as such but it does take away from the overall beer. Apart from that, an India Red Ale? Wow. I gather an IPA mixed with an IRA? Great! In fact, it's a fantastic combination. I am truly loving this beer to death.

6. Mountain Goat

Mountain Goat 4.7%

Gee whiz. What can I say about this thirst quencher? My goodness. I'm in awe of this beer. The Mountain Goat Summer Ale is such a light and refreshing beer that I'd be prepared to drop my pants in readiness for someone to kiss my white, naked butt to get another. It's that good.

It's so funny that the only reason why I got it was because it was in a can. You see, if you know me then you know I love Surly Brewing. They have their beer in cans. I'm a huge fan, and when perusing through the Oak Barrel stockist my eyes caught this strange creature. I had to buy it. I'm so lucky I did. I could drink this again...and again...and again...and again. You get the picture. A supremely superb Summer beer.

                                                                                                                            5. Hawthorn Brewing

Hawthorn IPA 5.8%

That deep, dark seeded feeling that you've had this beer before crept up on me when I actually opened this beer. I couldn't help but think that somewhere on my Facebook photos that I had this beer? Even if I did, the fact remained that right now was the time to judge this beer. It was a winner.

A lovely fruity aroma that had hops right throughout the boil process, and indeed some dry hopping. It was very nice, and at one point was my number 1 rated beer. Of course, more beers were still to come. Anyway, what an excellent IPA that's been hand-crafted by an Aussie brewer. Can it get any better than this?

4. Riverside Brewing

Riverside IPA 7.7%

OK, this isn't really a cash for comments issue but I will admit to knowing the head brewer, David Padden. I am a huge fan of his beers. Having said that, I'm quite open and honest of my assessment of all beers, be it his or any other.

Granted, I always go to his brewery on Saturday and try the beers on tap. With the IPA, I'd never tried it in a bottle. So, it was with great relief that I not only tried it in a bottle but actually enjoyed it. Off keg, it's a brilliant IPA and in the bottle it's just as nice. It just beat Hawthorn's IPA simply because I got less of that "sweetness" and more of a "hoppiness". It was more drinkable than the Hawthorn IPA, and that gave it a higher number in my judging.

                                                                                                                            3. Riverside Brewing

Riverside Robust Porter 6%

Without a doubt this is the best Robust Porter in Australia, bar none. I had the pleasure of having this beer soon after I came back from the USA, with 253 different craft beers under my belt. This beer held its own quite easily. It's phenomenal on tap, but is oh so fantastic also in the bottle.

I continue to drool at this beer. It defines greatness, elegance and poise in such a way that it will make you proud to drink it. There are quite a lot of good Porter's out there, and they shall remain nameless for now. What I can say is that this stands high in the craft beer world, and Paddo should be proud.


2. Dalgety

Dalgety Smoked Porter 6.5%

Can I swear? Sweet Zombie (Fucking) Jesus. I've had a few smoked beers before, but this certainly takes the cake. I was so looking forward to trying a Dalgety beer that it's not funny. About 18 months ago a mate of mine introduced me to Dalgety and how great they were. We were only a few hundred yards from their brewery, only for a blocked road to make us turn back. I was cheesed off!

That disappointment meant that I just had to try this beer, which is why I picked it up in the first place. Thank God I did. Smokey, chocolatey, and just enough body, texture, flavour and awesomeness that I just cannot describe how brilliant this beer was. It wasn't too smokey, rather just like reading a Goldilocks rhyme; it was just right. It was just mind-blowing.

                                                                                                                             1.  Moon Dog

Black Lung III 8.7%

We have a winner. I am speechless. Black Lung III is a beer for the ages. A smokey, woody barrel-aged Stout that is all that you want in a beer. Some Crystal malt, Peated malt, Chocolate malt and some English malt gives this beer a magnificent depth of flavour and texture. The smokiness is there, that woody characteristic is certainly there, so too the chocolate and slight sweetness.

Was I surprised that this beer won on the night? Yes, and no. I was not surprised that my taste for darker style beers has increased over time. What I was surprised was that it actually "wooed" me significantly. That's what essentially done it for me. It wooed me enough to give this the number 1 spot in this 12 craft beer extravaganza.

So, the winner out of all this? Australian craft beer. A magnificent array of craft beer that can only get better and stronger as time goes on. It is an honour and privilege that I had the opportunity to try such a vast range of beers, which we all could only dream about several years ago.

Long live craft beer in Australia.

dannbrew@gmail.com

PS: Excuse any spelling or grammatical errors. Several beers were consumed during the course of this blog!