Hump Day | 20 November | Late Beaver!

Sorry for the delay with these beers, they have finally cleared customs and are in my hot little hands, ready for November Hump Day... There has been plenty of hype for UK craft brewers but you Hump Day crowds have seemed underwhelmed so far. Let’s see if we can raise the whelm-ometer with four beers from London’s Beavertown Brewery, founded by Logan Plant, the son of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.

We will be sampling four beers from its core range:

• Gamma Ray (American Pale Ale)
• 8 Ball (India Pale Ale)
• Black Betty (Black IPA)
• Smog Rocket (Smoked Porter)

Each of these beers rates in the high 90s on RateBeer.com (for those to whom that is a good indicator), but let’s let our own tastebuds be our guides…

As always, this will be a fun and laid-back tasting of good beers with great people with light nibbles and lucky door prizes…

Only 45 tickets available.

When: 20 November 2013 5.30pm for 6pm start. Where: Kerbside, Cnr Constance & Ann Street, Fortitude Valley Price: $30

Bookings.

PS. This is the first time I have used Eventbrite. It is a little more expensive for bookings, but has much better features. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Alliance Hotel tastings....

The Alliance Hotel in Spring Hill has been gradually developing itself as a venue for craft beer and great food. I have been really impressed with their approach, and not just because I have been working with them to develop their beer list. I don’t know of too many other pubs that would allow me to write tasting notes for their beers like this…

• Budweiser 5% (AB InBev, US) We don’t understand why it’s called ‘premium’ just because its imported either. Light-flavoured and crisp but, unlike Fosters in Oz, at least they really do drink this in the US.
• Corona 4.6% (Grupo Modelo, Mx) What can we say about the flavour of Corona, apart from here at The Alliance we use only the finest limes.
• Sapporo (Sapporo, Coopers) Yes, it’s brewed in Australia, but so what? When it was ‘imported’ it came from Canada. Another crisp, easy-drinking lager. The can will stand out on your table.
• Heineken (Heineken, Lion) Heineken talks more about the packaging than the beer, so why should we be any different? You know how it tastes, if you like it – go for it.
• McLaren Vale ALE 4.5% (Mclaren Vale Beer Co, SA and contract) An Australian pale ale gently showcasing balance of malt, ale yeast and hop bitterness, with light Amarillo and Cascade aromas.
• Two Birds Golden Ale 4.4% (contract) A delightfully balanced ale, with an emphasis on malt with aromatic hops. Offers a flavour dividend and complexity, while still leaving your palate intact.

It will be interesting to see if honesty has a future in beer menus and if it catches on elsewhere. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

Anyway, I have been working with them to develop their beer list with Australian craft and will be gradually adding some imported craft beers as well. This is where you come in. I am going to host a monthly beer tasting to trial some of the beers I am considering. You get to have a say and see what you think and see whether they should be put on. As with all of my tastings, they will be laid-back and relaxed, with great beer and fun the emphasis.

The first tasting...

In the first tasting I am going to pit three beers in traditional styles from the US’s North Coast Brewing against three of the same style from the traditional breweries. You get to choose whether the imitator or the original is the best of the bunch.

We will see:

North Coast Le Merle (Super Saison) –vs–  Saison Dupont Bons Voeux North Coast Brother Thelonius (Belgian Abbey Ale) –vs– Brasserie Dupont Moinette Brune North Coast PranQster (Belgian Golden Ale) –vs– Duvel

I can’t think of a tasting I have been more excited about, with such legendary classics up against an exciting array of US craft imports…

Apart from the tastings there will be some finger foods from The Alliance’s kitchen and plenty of lucky door prizes.

Hope to see you there!

Where: The Alliance Hotel, Boundary Road, Spring Hill When: 9 October at 5.30 for 6pm start. Price: $39 all inclusive.

BOOKINGS

Finally, another Hump Day tasting...

Sorry folks, it's been crazy since the end of July and Queensland Beer Week, Regional Flavours and The Ekka...but we finally have another Hump Day scheduled, and more on the way... Hope to join you for some really interesting beers.

Hump Day | 25 September 2013 | An odd bunch of IPAs

This Hump Day will feature a number of little-known but highly-regarded beers from the UK’s Buxton Brewery and French Brewery Craig Allan. It’s a bit of an IPA-a-thon so should appeal to the hopheads amongst you…

The beers:

• Craig Allan – Psychedelia Golden Ale
• Craig Allan - Agent Provocateur Belgian IPA
• Buxton Wild Boar - IPA
• Buxton Black Rocks – Black IPA
• Buxton Axe Edge – Strong IPA

As always, this will be a fun and laid-back tasting of good beers with great people with light nibbles and lucky door prizes…

Only 45 tickets available. (and 15 sold already, so 30 left....)

When: 25 September 2013 5.30pm for 6pm start. Where: Kerbside, Cnr Constance & Ann Street, Fortitude Valley Price: $35

Bookings

Queensland Beer Week events

Well, next week sees the second Queensland Beer Week roll into town. There is a stack of 'official' events, plus an active fringe festival has sprung up. The great thing is there is so much happening around good beer. There is no shortage of options to make the decision difficult, but if you're not already committed I have three events that I can recommend.

In a week that will see lots of great beer on offer, I have tried to pull together events that won't just offer good beer, but will be very entertaining as well.

Tuesday, 16 July. 7pm

BeerMatt vs Chuck Hahn

The 'versus' part of this dinner has been a little exaggerated. This is less about Chuck and I butting heads than conducting an experiment to see what people think of beers with brands and labels removed.

The evening  will feature three courses with two beers matched to each course, one chosen by Chuck and one by me, but you won't know what or which. Will you be able to pick the beers? Which one is better?

Included in the price is a beer on arrival and a very special mystery beer to finish. Plus lots of beer banter between Chuck and I.

If you've ever said, "I don't care who make the beer so long as it's good", this is an event not to be missed.

Where: The Alliance Hotel, Spring Hill Price: $69 Details and Bookings

Wednesday, 17 July. 6pm

The Brewin Transfer

If you liked the Gruen Transfer, join us as we dissect beer advertising in The Brewin' Transfer.

With a panel of heavy-hitters featuring Stone & Wood's Jamie Cook, Head of Craft at Lion - Brett Grebert and the ad man who  created the classic 'Charterboat? What charterboat?' ads for RACQ - Rem Bruijn, we will discuss classic beer ads while you drink beer and laugh.

Price includes entry, selection of beers on your table, cheese platter and light nibbles. The event is also timed to finish in time for the State of Origin decider, both for the sporting spectacle itself, and the flood of beer advertising that it contains.

Where: Kerbside, Fortitude Valley Price: $59 Bookings

Thursday, 18 July. 6pm

Beer & BBQ Masterclass

Excuse the pun, but Southern-style BBQ is so hot right now. Join us as tongmasters Pete Mitcham and Chris Luxton step you through dry-rubs and slow barbecue in this barbecue masterclass. We will show you how to prepare and slow barbecue brisket, plus learn better meat selection and grilling techniques for the traditional Australian barbecue and then we will feast on the spoils while enjoying some well-matched beers.

Food, fire and fun...with beer. Even better, come along for the barbecue class, then join the free Stone & Wood event that happens to be just outside in Ross Street afterwards. Two Good Beer Week events for the price of one!

Where: Golden Pig Cooking School, Newstead Price: $65 Bookings via The Golden Pig

Finally, if you haven't had your fill during the week, South Bank's fabulous Regional Flavours festival is being held in the Little Stanley Street over the weekend of 20/21 July. It features a pop-up beer garden called The Hunting Club in which I will be pairing great craft beer to such tasty comestibles as camel sliders, lemon myrtle-cured salmon and dessert lime crème brulee. Entry is free and the whole event is very family friendly.

Whichever events you are going to, enjoy great beer and I hope to join you for one.

Matt Kirkegaard

Beer glass tasting

More than seventy per cent of what we perceive as flavour is experienced through our sense of smell. While we have traditionally been happy to drink our beers from the package they came in, or the standard ‘pot’ glass, if a beer is worth tasting it is worth drinking from a glass – and especially from a glass that will complement and enhance its flavour.

While ‘the right glass’ has long been part of the culture of wine, beer drinkers are only starting to understand the role that a good glass can play in increasing their enjoyment of their favourite craft ales and lagers.

Even as a beer lover convinced of the value of drinking beer from a glass, I was more focused on using a glass rather than the glass, but the range of glasses from Spiegelau changed my views on this entirely.

Join me as we put the Spiegelau Beer Classics range through its paces, trying four different beers in each of the Beer Classics glasses to see how each glass changes the perception of flavour of each beer.

This class is great value. In addition to trying four great Australian craft beers, you will also receive your own Spiegelau Beer Connoisseur Set (RRP $59.99) to take home. And, as an added bonus, you will also receive a copy of the Complete Beer Service and Sommelier's Manual (RRP $29.99), which covers topics such as serving beer, caring for beer, building a beer list and matching beer and food....

When: 6 June, 2013, 6pm (2 hours)
Where: The Golden Pig Cooking School, 38 Ross Street, Newstead
Cost: $75

Be quick, there are just 20 seats to this class.

Bookings.

Stone & Wood Stone Dinner at The Villager

This is always worth checking out, the now annual Stone & Wood Stone Beer dinner. The stone beer itself is a fascinating throwback to medieval brewing techniques and last year's was a cracker. You can read a little more about it here. The menu looks great and you know the beers are...worth checking out. Thursday 6 June, 6.30pm. Bookings via The Villager.

17 April | Cooking and Drinking | Golden Pig

Working with the fabulous The Golden Pig Food & Wine School (yes, they are so good I will even forgive them for that title, but beer is food!) we have developed some great cooking and drinking workshops.

These two-hour, mid-week classes are designed to be short, sharp & punchy while being fun and informative. Most importantly, they are great value.

Acclaimed chef Katrina Ryan, cuts the boring bits out of cooking and each class will each focus on an ingredient, dish or cooking style to give you some insight to the techniques involved. We then do the old, "here's one we prepared earlier" and Matt Kirkegaard takes over and matches the dish to a couple of great craft beers, which he explains, and you get to sample. 

The classes start at 6.30 and run for about two hours. So you get an education, a meal and beer tasting all for $49, not to mention great fun. There's a craft beer on arrival too.

The next class will feature Beef Rendang. 

Details

Where: The Golden Pig, 38 Ross Street, Newstead. (Directions)
When: 17 April, 2013
Starts: 6.30pm - Finishes: 8.30pm - 9.00pm.
Price: $49

Bookings via The Golden Pig.

Hump Day | 24 April | Top of the Hops

If beer's ingredients were a rock band, hops would be the sexy and enigmatic lead singer swarmed by groupies and pestered for its autograph while the malt and yeast stand up the back keeping time and the rhythm. But are all strutting rock gods the same?

This Hump Day puts hops where the lead singer belongs, front and centre, with a tasting of seven IPAs from Danish brewer Mikkeller, each brewed with a different single hop.

We will be sampling India Pale Ales featuring the following hops:

• Galena
• Magnum
• Simcoe
• Tettnanger
• Cascade
• Saaz
• Amarillo

Get a sense for the different flavours that hops can bring to a beer, all while enjoying great company, light nibbles and getting over that mid-week hump.

VENUE: Kerbside, Constance Street (Ann Street End) Fortitude Valley COST: $35, includes seven samples and food. The fun is free. TIME: 5.30pm for 6pm start, until 7.30 (or later)

Bookings via TryBooking.

Hump Day | 10 October | Date with a Dane

There’s so many beer events on in Brisbane at the moment that we will drop Hump Day back to once a month. This means we’ll only have two more Hump Days before Christmas, October 10 and one in November, on the 14th. For those who haven’t joined us for a Hump Day tasting, these are very informal tastings in which we sample a selection of new or interesting (or new andinteresting) beers in the comfort of the lounge room-like Kerbside Bar in the Valley. They are great fun and very relaxed and feature five beer samples, some finger food and some good beer chat. There's also plenty of lucky door prizes.

They are an easy way to sample a range of beers and get a feel for the styles of beer that are available, and to see what you like. We kick off at about 5.30-5.45pm and, for those keen to get home, generally finish by 7.15pm. (Or not if you wanted to become more familiar with Kerbside's extensive bottled beer list).

The next Hump Day will see us head off to Denmark for some beers from Danish craft breweries, Beer Here and Norrebro.

We will be trying the following:

Beer Here

• Wicked Wheat  4.7% This is a wheat beer, but not your average yeasty mess. This kitten's got claws. Boldly hopped with Citra
• Dead Cat – Single Hop Amber Ale             4.7% Hopped exclusively with American Simcoe – giving pine needles, melon and catty notes to the caramel base
• Executioner IPA                7.0% Flavoursome, yet thirst quenching . Light caramel backbone with a grapefruit and citrus edge
• Sod – Baltic Porter 7.5% A pitch-black porter brewed with a dash of smoked malt. Roasty bitterness, cocoa and smoke highlights

Norrebro

• Kings County Brown Ale 5.5% A deliciously dark, medium body, fruity ale with the scent and taste of nuts, chocolate and dried fruits.

I hope to see you there.

When: Wednesday, 10 October at 5.30pm for 6pm Where: Kerbside, Constance Street, Fortitude Valley Cost:$30, includes five samples and finger food

Unleash your inner Bavarian this Oktoberfest at Bavarian Bier Cafe

I do enjoy the Bavarian Bier Cafes. Even though there is a rapidly developing world of craft beer with the huge range of hoptastic beers that is bringing, the Germans are still the masters of the everyday culture of beer. The well-made, but flavoursome lagers, the hefe- and dunkel weizens, the dunkel and the bock are classics and worth a place in every beer fridge alongside the latest hopbomb. I was lucky enough to be invited to present at the Bavarian Bier Cafe's Oktoberfest launch at Brisbane and the Gold Coast, including tapping the first keg at Brisbane. This was a big honour, performed in Munich by the mayor. As you can see from the photo on the link Munich Mayor, Christian Nagy, was photographed before the tapping started. I wonder whether his tapping was as spectacular as mine however!

Anyway, however inelegantly it was done, O'zapft (The keg is tapped!) Head along to the Bavarian Eagle Street or Broadbeach to check it out. I will be hosting a dinner at the Eagle Street Pier BBC on 18th October from 6pm if you'd like to come along and join us. Details and booking info below.

Media Release

Unleash your inner Bavarian this Oktoberfest at Bavarian Bier Cafe

It’s time to release your lederhosen-wearing, pretzel-loving, stein-swigging, yodeling inner Bavarian because Oktoberfest is coming to town!

Oktoberfest will be officially launched at Bavarian Bier Café – Eagle Street Pier on Saturday, 22 September, and gives you the chance to join in the world’s biggest festival, which first began in Munich in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

Throughout its six-week long Oktoberfest celebration, Bavarian Bier Café will bring the best of Bavaria to you with hearty menu specials, fun and family-friendly events, entertainment, and a range of authentic Oktoberfestbiers imported directly from Munich.

“We are absolutely passionate about all things Bavarian and want our guests to have the chance to celebrate the world’s greatest festival in true style,” said Dom Dighton, Bavarian Bier Café’s bier professor.

“That means simply choosing your venue, gathering a group of friends and being prepared to celebrate Oktoberfest properly in our contemporary settings.”

Here’s the lowdown on what to expect at Oktoberfest’s ‘home away from home’:

The Bier

• Each week of Oktoberfest, one of five exclusive Oktoberfest biers will be highlighted for patrons to enjoy - Spaten, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, or Lowenbräu.
• Bavarian Bier Café’s Bier Meisters will also host impromptu mini bier academies and educate bier lovers in the best way possible - tastings!

The Food

• Bavarian Bier Café will continue its reputation for perfecting Pure Bier and Pure Food matches with an authentic Oktoberfest menu of a la carte specialties all the way from Munich, and Bier Meisters available to recommend the perfect bier to complement a meal.

The Parties

• Join Beer Expert Matt Kirkegaard for a sit down 3 course Bavarian dinner perfectly matched with PURE Bavarian Oktoberfest bier and learn the secrets to brewing and tasting, Bavarian Style! $50 a ticket, Thursday 18th October from 6pm.
• Get your dirndls and lederhosen on for the inaugural Alpine Party! From 6.00pm on Saturday, 29 September, the ticketed event will be THE event of Oktoberfest, with a piccolo of Henkel sparkling wine on arrival, Bavarian canapés, and party tunes set to amp up the Alpine-themed atmosphere. Tickets are $20. Tickets to both events can be purchased by telephoning 3339 09 00.

The Family-friendly fun

• Family-friendly Oktoberfest activities will ensure parents enjoy an Oktoberfest outing as much as the kids!
• Face-painting: Every Oktoberfest Sunday from 12 noon to 3pm (starting 23 September)
• Sweet pretzel making: Every Oktoberfest Sunday from 10am to 2pm (starting 30 September)
• Kinder menu: Available every day, Bavarian Bier Café’s Kinder menu offers perfect meals for little tummies – think chicken schnitzel, fish, Frankfurter sausage, Bolognese, linguine and more – and all for $7.00 or less.

For more information about Oktoberfest 2012.

Note to editor: While each venue is distinctly different, all Bavarian Bier Cafés are united by a commitment to Pure Food, Pure Bier and Pure Passion. By sharing our passion for the very best bits of Bavaria, our guests get to experience fresh and flavoursome food, first-class beverages and the warm hospitality for which Bavaria is renowned.

Beer and cheese, with maybe a cider or two

Fresh from our appearance at the Brisbane Cheese Awards, Black Pearl's Peter Gross and I will be holding another beer (and cider) and cheese tasting on 27 September.

I am thoroughly enjoying the masterclasses that Peter and I have been doing recently, his cheese knowledge is absolutely phenomenal and his presentations are not only informative but great fun. We have great fun presenting them together - I just hope that everyone who comes does as well. The best bit is you get to try some of the most amazing cheeses, as well as the beers I have chosen - which I think are pretty good as well.

We will be having seven cheeses, matched to seven beers and ciders with Peter and I both presenting - which is pretty good value for $75.

You can book here.

You can also read about the Cheese Awards (which were last weekend) here.

Hump Day | 19 September | Marvellous Mish Mash

For readers who have't been to one of my Hump Day tastings, about twice a month I run a Wednesday evening tasting featuring four of five interesting beers. It's designed as a fun way to sample new beers that catch my eye. We kick off at Kerbside about 5.30 pm and it's all over about 7...unless you want to kick on. Next week in a departure from my usual ‘we all try it together’ policy, this is a special Hump Day where I will be bringing some beers that I want to showcase, including two beers brewed to celebrate seventh birthdays.

In an even greater departure, I will be featuring a couple of ciders. Don't worry, I'm not surrendering to the oceans of dross hitting the shelves. These aren’t the sweet, fizzy ciders the kids are drinking, these are extraordinary ciders and unique beers blended with cider.

Birra del Borgo ReAle Anniversario 7

Brewed to celebrate the Italian craft brewery’s seventh birthday, this is an American-inspired amber ale brewed with ingredients from 7 different areas of the globe.

Bridge Road B2 Mach 2.0

Brought back by popular demand, this Black Belgian IPA is a melding of a Belgian yeast with lots of hops and dark, roasty malts. Fewer than 1000 bottles of this once-off brew were made. Don’t miss out.

Thorogood’s Medium Dry Cider

Think you know cider? A beautifully fruity, dry champagne-style cider full of apple flavours. Unlike commercial ciders Thorogood’s do not use water or sugar but real apples grow in their own orchard.

Billy B's Golden Apple Beer

Billy B's Golden Fruit and sour lemon flavours enhance a big malty hit.

Billy B's Dark Apple Beer

An Australian lambic? Very possibly. A blend of dark beer and apple cider this is rich malt with a sour, malt cider finish. Words don’t describe it, not all will like it, those that do will love it, but you will definitely remember it.

This will be a unique Hump Day not to be missed!

Numbers will be strictly limited for this one due to the availability of the beers.

When: Wednesday, 19 September at 5.30pm for 6pm Where: Kerbside, Constance Street, Fortitude Valley Cost: $35, includes five samples and finger food

A beer with Chris Badenoch

No matter how well written a piece about beer is, it can't really give you the taste of a beer. Beer writing is more about preaching to the choir than bringing in new converts so I try spend more time putting beer in people's hands than writing about it. In a country that prides itself on the role beer plays in its national identity, it is often amazing how limited our knowledge of beer is.

While there are a lot of people working to change this, the man who has had the biggest impact on getting people to think a little differently about beer is Chris Badenoch...as in Chris from Masterchef as he is more commonly known these days.

Chris made the top 3 of what I gather was Australia's highest rating, non-sport television show and he did it with a fairly unique approach to food - not least because he cooked with beer and matched his meals to beer as well.

Since the show finished, Chris has been flat out with beer events, both due to his fame from Masterchef and also his main project, BeerMasons, which I have written about previously. He was in town last weekend and so we joined forces to hold a beer tasting raise some money for a charity close to Chris' heart - the Royal Children's Hospital Music Therapy Unit. We featured an exciting range of beers from the Innspire range including Flying Dog, Rogue and Nogne O, had a great time and managed to raise over $1100 for the charity.

The crowd at the tasting was widely varied, but all were interested in both Chris and the beers - and Chris was very generous in his time speaking to everyone who wanted to meet him. It's great to see Chris using his fame to promote the cause of great beer (and raising money for charity). Beer needs more ambassadors and fewer marketers.

Beer events

Brisbane has long lagged behind the rest of Australia in term of craft beer, but fortunately that is changing. Not only are the breweries starting to open, but they're also staging plenty of events. There are a couple of great beer events coming up around the South East in the next week. You can keep up-to-date with more beer events by following the events link to the right. I will endeavour to keep it up to date with events Australia wide, but the magazine is also a great place to stay informed about beer events in Australia and New Zealand.

International Brewers Day

This Friday (18th) has been declared International Brewers Day. You can find out more here and here. In Brisbane we're celebrating with the local craft brewers.

Burleigh Brewing

In addition to being at the International Brewers Day party in Brisbane, Burleigh Brewing Company is also hosting lunch on Friday in conjunction with Pointbreak Bar and Grill. The beer appreciation lunch will feature three courses designed by Pointbreak head chef Andy Hastings and Brewmaster Brennan to compliment four Burleigh Brewing Co Brews.

The lunch will also be the official Gold Coast launch of Burleigh Brewing Co's first seasonal beer, the Burleigh Hefeweizen.

Brennan describes the Hefewizen as, "an elegant beer with a delightful fruit character. Hefeweizens are not aged for very long and are designed to be consumed at the peak of freshness. They are traditionally a summer beer, but since it's always summer on the Gold Coast, now is a perfect time to brew one."

On arrival at the luncheon, guests will enjoy a Duke mid-strength with a range of appetizers, followed by a sumptuous 3 course lunch with each course matched to a Duke beer and desert matched to the new Hefeweizen.

Bookings: Phone Pointbreak on 07 5535 0822.

Northern Rivers Brewing Co.

On 18th & 19th July Northern Rivers Brewing Co. are also holding a winter banquet. The five-course feast matched to Northern Rivers beers will be held at Cafe One One One in Byron Bay and cost $59pp. Booking 02 6680 7388.