Sydney Craft Beer Week: Riverside's Block Party (Part II)

Riverside Brewing

Sydney Craft Beer Week just gets better and better. An awesome week where we get to try the great craft beers of Australia. On 24th October, Riverside Brewing over in North Parramatta hosted an event with Melbourne-based Rockwell & Sons, famous for their American-style food and a whole bunch more.

The "Riverside Brewing Block Party" was an extravaganza of top-notch hand-crafted beer from Riverside, a couple more of their seasonal beers and a food menu from Rockwell & Sons that would make you drown in your own drool. Unlike last year's Riverside event, this was a 'standing room only' gathering that had all the hallmarks of a festive party that your mates would throw.

Drinks card

 Aren't we all mates, though? Craft beer gatherings such as this typifies the genuinely friendly nature of craft beer lovers. As we were all "feeling the love", showing my entry ticket allowed me to receive this very sophisticated stamping card. The responsible service of alcohol was certainly in place, and rightly so.

Rockwell & Sons menu

It's imperative that Riverside do the right thing, considering some of their beers have been known to hit 9%. Yes, Othello's Curse was indeed a seasonal and is 9%, but it's one of the best Black IPA's in the country and is a very big beer.

Not so big was the menu stuck on Riverside's mash tun. Well, I say "big" in terms of size. You could have easily missed it, but had you have taken the opportunity to have a look you would have seen how huge the food being on offer was. Prepared by the awesome folk at Rockwell & Sons, it certainly brought a few tears to my eyes.

Beef Jerky

For starters, the "Ancho Spiced 88 Porter Beef Jerky" was an utter hit. I'm usually not a fan of beef jerky of any sort, so it was with some trepidation that I try one out. I'm so glad I have an easy going attitude in life, cause I took the plunge and began my delightful experience of this wonderfully prepared beef jerky. If you're a fan of the 88 Robust Porter, you'll definitely love this. A great combination.

Gribenes (RB)

Up next, "Gribenes with Buttered Onions and BBQ Salt". Oh. My. Goodness. I not only took seconds, but thirds and fourths.....and fifths. It had the texture and consistency of pork scratchings, but this was much, much better. Yet another wonderful bit of finger food that just kept on giving. Combining buttered onions with barbeque salt was, for me, a great addition.

Deviled eggs (RB)

The next dish coming out was my favourite; "Deviled Eggs with Lovage and Celery Salt". It was so simple, yet so deliciously awesome that I could have sat in a corner all by myself and carried on eating these by the bucket load. Extraordinarily refreshing and the perfect accompaniment with Riverside craft beer.

Interestingly, the beers flowed but they blended so well with the food that it didn't even occur to me to take any pictures of Riverside's beer that matched the food. Granted, this would have been a nice addition to this blog but reality dictates that after a few beers, fading light and a fading battery it just wasn't to be.

Double Patty Smash (RB)

Still, we can't forget about the food. Rockwell & Sons went above and beyond expectations. Their "Double Patty Smash with Kraft and Special Sauce on a Seeded Bun" was to die for. Forget about the Al Qaeda terrorists going to heaven and getting 41 virgins, this stuff right here will give you all of that and a whole lot more.

Speaking of virgins and Al Qaeda, what about the "Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Rockwell's Hot Sauce, Coleslaw", huh? Actually, virgins and Al Qaeda have no association with this chicken or their cooks, but I could not find a better transition. What I do know is that the chicken was actually to die for. I guess that's what those silly folk at Al Qaeda should be concentrating on; eating this delicious chicken.

Chicken (RB)

Really, I should probably have concentrated on eating all the food and taking more pictures. Courtesy of Riverside Brewing, most of the pictures you see here and captioned with "(RB)" were seen on the Riverside Brewing Facebook page. I spoke to Ben, Riverside's Sales Guru, and kindly asked permission to use these photos on this blog. He had no hesitation, so thank you to Ben.

So, where were we? Ah, yeah; virgins and Al Qaeda. Uh, maybe not. Regardless, every time I drink Riverside's beers I scream out how fantastic those beers are. Pair it up with Rockwell & Sons food on the night and I don't really need to die, go to heaven and get 41 virgins. The best night on planet Earth was at Riverside's Block Party serving awesome beer paired with phenomenal food during a magnificent SCBW event.

Until next time.....
dann

Sydney Craft Beer Week: Yulli's and the Tassie Pepper Devil (Part I)

And so it begins. Another Sydney Craft Beer Week (SCBW) has started, with it beginning on 18th October until its completion on 26th October. It's eight days of stunningly beautiful and absolutely fantastic craft beer being served from selected venues across Sydney. If last year's event wasn't phenomenal enough, this year's SCBW has started in the most awesome of fashion!
 
Why? Well, I had the privilege of actually participating. Back in August, I was invited (via Nick, from Crafty Pint, through Dave Padden, head brewer at Riverside Brewing) to take part in Yulli's Australian Spice Bonanza. The idea was for a lucky few Sydney home brewers to choose a native Australian herb or spice and introduce it into a beer they brewed (some 100L). It was then to be matched with dumplings and form part of Yulli's SCBW event. Needless to say, I accepted the challenge.

I was soon in contact with James "Harvs" Harvey, head brewer at Yulli's in Surry Hills. We chatted a little and talked about ideas that I could use and my possible herb/spice that I would be willing to try. After much thought (and recovering from the dreaded flu) I decided to select Tasmanian Mountain Pepper. It was an unique ingredient in which I had never known anyone to use it in a beer before, so why the hell could I not use it?

Of course, it is illegal to ferment a beer at home and sell it on tap. So, for the first time I used the "no chill" method. Rather than chilling the wort, transferring it to a fermenter and pitching the yeast, I waited until the boil completed then transferred the wort into food grade plastic containers near 100C (boiling point). After expunging the oxygen from the containers, I closed the lids and let them cool down naturally. The wort was then transported to a brewery in which they fermented legally and followed appropriate procedures until such time as the beer was on tap.

So, last Sunday 19th October the home brewers were invited to Yulli's to try out the beers, to chat and just do everything "beery".  What a night it turned out to be! I had a good mate, Dougal, come along with me so he, too, could enjoy the my beer being on tap at a restaurant. The owners and staff at Yulli's were absolutely terrific and generous. And so, here is my journey at the beginning of SCBW and what took place on this wonderful evening.

Yulli's

Located in the heart of Surry Hills, Yulli's is perfectly located on Crown Street and is only a short 15 minute walk from Central Station. This part of town is full of vibrant people enjoying the many eats and treats available. For me and my mate, Dougal, our intention was to try out my beer for SCBW for the very first time, and Yulli's were kind enough to make that happen.

Yulli's has a very snug feeling to it, and with the addition of being quite hip lots of young folk happily wile away time with a great selection of food and drink, chatting endlessly with friends and loved ones.

Tassie Pepper Devil, 4.1%

As Dougal and I made ourselves known, up pops James "Harvs" Harvey, head brewer at Yulli's. We all have a quick chat and pop upstairs for the beer taste testing. Although the stairs were tricky to navigate, I easily navigated to the bar and found my beer on tap. The "Tassie Peper Devil" uses Tasmanian Mountain Pepper in a mild ale with an alcohol content of 4.1%.

Tassie Pepper Devil

So what does it look and taste like? Well, the orange-red hue, beautiful lacing and subtle mint/sage aroma provides the backbone to the all but subtle hint of pepper on the tongue. My only personal criticism of this beer is that there could a bit more Tasmanian Mountain Pepper. However, it can easily be overpowered so I was quite cautious in my approach when adding it to the boil during brewing. On a side note, here is what a writer for The Guardian, Australia had to say about my beer.

Yulli's menu

As both Dougal and I, along with Harvs, start settling in we noticed that the menu was "up in lights". Well, actually it was on a projector unit above the bar area. So, not only do I get to have my beer on tap but it is proudly displayed by the good people at Yulli's . By this stage I was pretty stoked.

Dougal and I enjoying the beers

Most importantly, though, was that it gave Dougal and myself the opportunity to try out the beers brewed by the lucky few home brewers taking part in this event. It was a privilege to have been able to taste their creations.

Every brewer taking part should be congratulated on their efforts. Harvs should also be congratulated on taking a leap of faith with us and giving us the the opportunity. Overall, Yulli's has done a magnificent job for SCBW and for the home brewers that took part. For that, we very much thank you. It was certainly an awesome way to get SCBW up, up and away.

Until next time.....
dann