• Welcome to the Green and Gold Rugby forums. As you can see we've upgraded the forums to new software. Your old logon details should work, just click the 'Login' button in the top right.

Craft beer thread

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
A beer thread was actually one of the first threads on this board in Sep 07, but it's probably time to revisit this, with the "Belgian" stuck in there to keep out the riff raff.

fos and T78 were speaking of the trappists. ah, brother Bernard, you are a genuis.

Trapiste2.JPG


Last night i had a Rochefort 8, because the 10 is getting harder to find. I haven't yet got a hold of the Westlventen (sp?) but until then, this is my favourite beer

T78 might be astonished, but here 100kms west of Sydney, here in New Holland, I live 5 minutes walk from one of the best (beer) bottle shops in the world. If it's bottled, they've got it or can get it.

I also love this, and don't find it overpriced at all.

Deus_Brut_Flanders_L.jpg


$55 this goes for here, and for that price, makes an excellent substitute on occasions when people are looking to 'pop' a cork in celebration.

More to come. Much, much, more.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
One of the best beer shops I've been to was in Berry on the south coast. All manner of stuff.

On Belgian: I'm partial to Kwak.
 
F

formeropenside

Guest
damn, now I need to pick me up some Chimay on the way home tonight

maybe I'll even grab a tallie of Red Chimay to crack open for Reds v Cheetahs on Sat night
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
Fond of Duvel and Leffe myself.

I'd fecking murder a big pot of mussels and some chips with mayonnaise at the moment as well... :p
 
F

formeropenside

Guest
Foolishly I once had 3 Leffe's over lunch, not realising at the time that the alcohol content was around 8%. I had assumed a mid-4% brew (this was in my youth).

Was not much chop in the office that PM. Kept wanting to nod off for a sleep.
 
T

Turban

Guest
I don't understand this new Aussie obsession with Imported beers. When i was young I drank VB, EB and Export. Now I drink mostly Toohey's New, Hahn Superdry or Carlton Colds. If i want something Imported I'll get that 30$ Amsterdam or Bavaria. It's cheaper than most Aussie beers ATM. If I want something nice I'll go for some Coopers or some Little Creatures, don't mind Boags either.

What is so great about beers like Chimay, Leffe etc? I have tried them and felt incredibly ripped off, you get about 50% head in a fucking wine glass, 5mins later everyone is wondering what they spent their money on. Check that, 5mins later I'll be down the road getting something local in a real pint glass, apparently the Belgium's invented plenty of nice things to drink but never invented the proper drinking vessels.
 

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
Well Turbs, we've got some work to do.

I'll start by describing my perfect beer afternoon / evening. It starts just a touch before dinner with a Hefeweizen (wheat beer). Like these, my favourite Aussie Hefe, moo brew from Moorilla, Tasmania:

moo_hefeweizen_sm.jpg


If you can't get one of those, at least have a go at a Redback. Not nearly as good, though.

I'll have a couple of those. Wheat beer is very refreshing and doesn't just taste like orange-flavoured steel. :p There's spicy and fruity flavours carried by the malt, which are brought to a sharp close by the bitter hops. There's structure, in other words. Not just a marshmallow mouthful of cold-filtered unflavour. Try to think of a name for the flavour of Carlton Cold, apart from "beer."

Then, when the kids are in bed and the conversation turns more adult, I'll have 2 Belgians. Whatever the Trappist, the beer will be spicy: cloves, cinnamon, citrus. A perfect pour will create a dense, thick, creamy foam ... [dribbles profusely on the keyboard]. The thing is to pour it so that it's dense. It's like an entree before the main meal.

Having said all that, there is a lot to be said for genuine Pilseners. From Plzn, Czech Republic, mind. Not Broadway, Sydney, Australia. Buy a Pilsener Urquell sometime. Buy one and think about what it tastes and feels like going down, from the sniff, to the sip, to the big pour down the gullet, and how your mouth feels at the end. Then have a Tooheys. You ought to see the difference.

The best Aussie Pilsner has just been invented by the nice chaps at DeBortoli wines. It's called Red Angus. If you can get anywhere near that, buy a crate of the stuff. Rich, fruity malt, and the most magnificent Czech hops to give you the best of both worlds.

80718.jpg


But the main thing is to enjoy what you drink - so drink whatever gets you enjoy.

If you're like me you'll drink somewhere halfway between "in moderation" and "in excess". :)
 
T

Turban

Guest
I just can't afford all these beers. I have a beer budget and the cheaper the beer, the more I can drink. I have tried plenty of imports and I have spent quite a bit of time in Austria and Germany as a teenager, so I know what good beer tastes like. I even used to collect beer bottles from my younger days with quite a wide international selection but the only recent additions have been local beers (little creatures, feral, bootleg) and things like Superdry and *gag* Cold Shots (came free with cartons of Coldies for a while so I had plenty). I just find that at the end of the day when I drop onto my couch with a beer in hand it tastes good no matter what brand name is stamped on the bottle.

To be honest every type of Chimay I have tried has done nothing for me. Stella, Becks, Heiniken, Corona....all the yuppie beers go down well but to be honest they don't taste better than local beers to me, they just taste different and I'd still prefer a pint of tooheys new most days. I'm a man of consistancy, if i start drinking one type of beer chances are 2 yrs later I'll be drinking the same stuff because I just don't do change. I must admit that we went through plenty of the Heiniken mini-kegs during the World Cup thou, but that was more about the spirit of the game then the taste of the beer!
 

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
I know what you mean about Heineken. If I ever drink one now it takes me back to Bruce Stadium, watching Wales and Tonga. The haka. The singing. Pissing down rain. Absolutely terrific.

A lot of those yuppy beers are now locally brewed I would note, too.

But each to their own. I've got no money either, but I still can't stomach the piss and froth that comes out of the local corporate breweries.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
I'm at the stage now where any beer with preservatives in it gives me a monster headache and dehydration i.e. I'm allergic to it. Same for most wines. I can stomach Bundy Rum without a hassle and most brown spirits though I have to avoid the caffeine because it sets me off as well. Hence, Sprite Zero is my mixer of choice :thumb

Oirish - next time you're in town we'll head to the Belgian Beer Cafe for those mussels, Leffe and chips with mayo :thumb

Turban said:
What is so great about beers like Chimay, Leffe etc? I have tried them and felt incredibly ripped off, you get about 50% head in a fucking wine glass,

::) Houston, we have a problem... Did you pour the beer yourself or get some idiot to do it for you?
 

Lindommer

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
The best places to buy beer in Sydney are Victoria Cellars, Gladesville and Northmead Cellars. Victoria Cellars does a lot of parallel importing, ie, he gets the proper Beck's from Germany, not the Tooheys-brewed brew, as well as keeping an awesome range of Australian beers. They sell shitloads of these genuine brews of Stella, Beck's, Heineken as well as Peroni and Corona among others cheaper than the importers can supply your local bottleo. Northmead Cellars is a beer specialist with a wall of local and imported beers large enough to give most blokes on TYS a good woody.

A bit of bad news: Coca-Cola recently bought Bluetongue from Singo and his mates and are going into the beer business big time. They're importing Miller Genuine Draft (formerly Carlton), Pilsner Urquell (formerly Lion Nathan) and Peroni. MGD's crap but the other two are good beers. CC are talking about brewing Pilsner Urquell here, so there goes another good beer. Personally, I won't have anything to do with CC or any of its products; if I need an Italian beer I choose Moretti, which is a better beer than Peroni anyway.

Favourite beer? James Squire Pilsener on tap. Have one at the Fox + Lion at Fox Studios before most Super 14 games. The Porter on tap's also bloody nice on a cold night.
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
Would have to say Boag's is a lovely beer.

VB's filth, but I drink it because a good mate of mine is so manically Melburnian that he turns up to events saying "national dress" in a North Melbourne club tie, arguing in all seriousness that it is his national dress.

Beamish is the stout of the Gods. In somewhere proper, like the Oval or the HiB, it's perfect. As well as that, it's a crucial indicator, as a pub with good Beamish invariably has everything else right as well.

Most Belgian beers are fantastic, love all wheat beers, including the brilliant Friar Weisse made here in Cork. Interestingly, most of them also do a brilliant alcohol-free version as well, which means you can have a beer while driving. :thumb :thumb :thumb

A particular favourite of mine is Windhoek. German beer brewed in Namibia. Perfect beer for when it's hot, and slips down just so, sooo easily. ;D :p
 

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
Funny thing T, I've never got into brown or red ales in the British and Irish style. My bottle shop has dozens of the bastards. Speckled Hen, etc, etc. I should make a list and get your advice.

The closest I get is a tall widget can of Boddington's every now and then.
 
T

Turban

Guest
Turban said:
What is so great about beers like Chimay, Leffe etc? I have tried them and felt incredibly ripped off, you get about 50% head in a fucking wine glass,

::) Houston, we have a problem... Did you pour the beer yourself or get some idiot to do it for you?
[/quote]

I've only ever gotten Leffe at a pub, I dunno how it is over there but jumping behind the bar and serving yourself is frowned upon this side of the island. ;)

And apparently getting a beer with more than 50% head is the done thing in Belgium, or so they told me at the Belgium Beer Cafe when I asked them if there was any beer in my foam.

Speaking to a bunch of beer lover like yourself you might find this blasphemous but the other day 2 of my mates where round and we had drunk all but two of my beers. I'd had a BBQ the day before so I had a bunch of random beers so the last two where a Hoegarden and a Bright Ale, with 3 guys and only 2 beers we found ourselves locked in a tight round of "who doesn't want a beer" when I had the idea to get out 3 glasses and pour 1/3 of each beer into each glass creating a beuatiful tasting mix we could only call Bright Hoe Ale.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
Actually Turbs - that's not a bad idea. Sometimes you get a beer that lacks a little something for your personal taste. As with wine - there is not often something that is "good" or "bad" - if it tastes good, do it!
 

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
Something I do every so often:

1. Invite Jonnosan over.

2. Buy 6 beers of a certain style (let's say, Aussie sub-premium lagers e.g, Boags, Hahn, Cascade, etc).

3. Get your wife to pour a decent measure of each into 12 unmarked glasses (6 for J, 6 for me) and to secretly note down the order.

4. Drink them and write down whatever you reckon.

Find out which are your favourite beers MINUS all the bullshit marketing and German Purity Laws of 1516*, and fancy gold leaf around the bottle, etc. It's weird when you give a low rating to a beer which you normally go around saying is your favourite.

* As opposed to the German Purity Law of 1939
 

Lindommer

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
Was at Leura Cellars today, Scarfy. Your name was mentioned. And your card marked.
 

Thomond78

Colin Windon (37)
Scarfman said:
Funny thing T, I've never got into brown or red ales in the British and Irish style. My bottle shop has dozens of the bastards. Speckled Hen, etc, etc. I should make a list and get your advice.

The closest I get is a tall widget can of Boddington's every now and then.

Don't ask me, that's a British thing, not an Irish one. I wouldn't drink that drek in a fit.

Porter, all the way. In this, as in so much else, Myles was spot on the money; a pint of plain is your only man. :thumb
 
Top