Appetiser
Borscht, creme fraiche and rye
Bacalao mousse and olive cigar

Bridge Road Saison vs NV Paul Louis Blancs de Blancs

To be honest I didn’t find either drink really went with the food. Both drinks seemed to be fighting with the food rather than complementing it. Thats not to say they aren’t great drinks of course

First course
Caramelised pork hock, confit orange and cuttlefish

Feral Hop Hog vs Croucher Pilsner vs 2007 Chestnut Hill Chardonnay

The Hop Hog was a winner for me here. Went beautifully with the confit.

In between course
Smoked potato and truffle tortellini

Haand Norwegian Wood

This course seemed to disappear so quickly that I can’t really recall it. I think I was deep in conversation with someone at the time.

Second course
Roulade of guinea fowl breast, braised leg and pine nut pithivier, puy lentils

Holgate Nut Brown Ale vs Stone & Wood Stone Beer vs 2010 Mayer Bloody Hill Pinot Noir

The Nut Brown Ale took this round for me.

Cheese course
Tome Vieux Saulnois Reserve, port and pear chutney

Westmalle Tripel vs 2009 Domaine Charvin Le Poutet Cotes du Rhone

Tripel hands down

Fourth course
Rose scented parfait with chocolate, pistachio and toasted beetroot meringue

Lindemans Kriek vs 2005 Chateau Bouscasse Les Larnes Celestes

This was the discovery of the night. The Kriek was something entirely new for me. Not something I’d drink often but a perfect match here and I could imagine it with a few other desserts too.

The evening was made even better by Elbowskin who entertained us between courses, the hosts and fellow diners who made it a fun and relaxing night and everyone at the fantastic Courthouse hotel. I can’t believe it was my first time there. Not my last I suspect

Cheers

After a few email exchanges to explain the situation and ensure the management didn’t think I was just some lager lout who wanted to have endless VB while sampling their exquisite food, it was agreed that appropriate beers would be matched for those who choose this option. I was a little skeptical that his would be taken seriously but was reassured when I was told that local craft beers would be used wherever appropriate.

On arrival we were asked about a pre-dinner drink. Sparkling white was suggested. I identified myself as the beer enthusiast and asked to see the beer list. It was suggested that I should have an asian lager so as not to ruin my palate for the food and beer to come. This seemed entirely reasonable. My confidence was rising.

We were then presented with the menu and any lingering doubts immediately disappeared….

FREMANTLE OCTOPUS

YOUNG VEGETABLE “GIARDINIERA”, GOATS CHEESE CROQUETTE, ORITZ ANCHOVIES

RED ANGUS PILNSER

CALAMARI, BACCALA, PEA FILLING, LEMON, MARJORAM, PEA SHOOTS, ONOIN CREAM

HIX BEER PALE ALE

LOBSTER RAVIOLI, OSETRA CAVIAR, PEAS, LEMON, COLATURA

KOOINDA BELGIAN WITBIER

SLOW COOKED WAYGU RUMP CAP,

PICKLED VEAL TONGUE, SHALLOT AND POTATO “SALTATE”, FENNEL AND ROSEMARY PRALINE, SALSA VERDE

BRIDGE ROAD CELTIC ALE

VALRHONA CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE

MALT ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE

BRIDGE ROAD ROBUST PORTER

It was clear that some thought had gone into the beer selection. I had had a pleasant introduction to the Hix Pale Ale only a few days earlier courtesy of  my local beer supplier and the Robust Porter is an old favourite.

I won’t attempt to describe the meal here (mainly because I was having too good a time to take any notes) but rest assured it was superb. The service was excellent and the staff knowledgeable about the chosen beers and breweries.

I believe we must be at a craft beer tipping point in Melbourne when such well established classic restaurants happily match beers rather than wines to their magnificent food. It wasn’t a novelty event or a special occasion (for them anyway). It was an acknowledgement that there is great quality, complexity and variety in local beers and that this can be appreciated by their customers.

If we all keep asking, it won’t be long before a good beer list is a must at any self-respecting restaurant.

Thanks to Sue-Ann for the organising, my fellow diners and to all at Grossi Florentino for a very memorable night.

When I started this blog my main objectives were to 1) understand what blogging was all about and 2) keep a diary of my journey of discovery about craft beer. I soon started to record my impressions of various beers, breweries and beer outlets. This was all very personal but eventually evolved into aspirations for a readership. I was starting to understand the power of blogs and thought that perhaps I had something to say that others would be interested in.

By late last year, I had begun to really appreciate different beers and styles, had visited breweries I hadn’t even known existed, had met some beer enthusiasts and had been present at the birth of the Australian Beer Writers Guild. This was all great fun and very informative (and the adventure continues).

The aspect that was beginning to fall by the wayside was the blogging. Its not that I am less interested in craft beers (see previous posts for the reasons I drink craft beer) its just that I seem to have less motivation to write about it. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, when I started out I had time on my hands. I now find myself juggling family responsibilities, a challenging job, study and beer tasting. There just doesn’t seem to be time to also regularly write.

The second reason is that there is not much about local craft beers and brewers that isn’t already being written about by the excellent online resources that have been set up recently. Some great writers are publishing well researched and engagingly written stories and reviews on various  sites. Some of my favourites are The Crafty Pint, BrewsNews, EatDrinkStagger, Beer Blokes, Beer Bar Band and From Beer to Eternity

If I find myself with spare time, I’m more likely to be reading these blogs that writing my own.

So, of my original reasons for this blog, the one that still seems relevant is the keeping of  a record of my personal journey. This is what will keep this blog alive. Posts will not be regular or frequent and will rarely be reviews of particular beers.What I will record are reflections on new discoveries and my progress along the beer appreciation path.

I hope you continue to enjoy great craft beer and occasionally drop in here to see me.

Cheers

Beer Song by ElbowSkin from Alister Robbie on Vimeo.

So time for a quick catch-up.

Disappointment #1: Prior to Christmas I spent a few days in Warrnambool, the home of the Flying Horse Brewery. I have enjoy their Dirty Angel on a number of occasions and was keen to see where it was brewed and chat to the brewers. I realise that I probably have a romantic image of what a microbrewery should look like but I couldn’t help being disappointed when I appraoched the brewery only to find that it was a modern “laminex” pub with gaming machines and a franchised drive through bottleshop. Not what I was expecting at all.

I took a few minutes to remind myself that there was no reason for the proprietors to run their brewery the way I wanted it run and that they are in business and have a right to make their own business decisions. I was willing to accept that the pokies and slabs of VB probably pay the bills and enable the business to survive and the craft beers to be brewed. So I ventured into the bottle shop (the Friday night swill in the bar just didn’t appeal). I scanned the numerous beer fridges and couldn’t see any Flying Horse beer. I asked the guy behind the counter where it all was and a single half empty shelf was pointed out. On further inquiry it was revealed that the brewery has no brewer and that they were basically just running down the stock of their best seller – Whale Ale. Hopefully this was just some bad timing on my behalf and the brewery will be producing again soon. I still like that Dirty Angel though.

Disappointment #2: After Christmas I had the pleasure of a few weeks in Ocean Grove on the Bellarine Peninsula. If you were to believe the labels, you’d think this was the home of the Bellarine Brewery. I had heard that this wasn’t the case and that all the Bellarine brewing is done under contract at the other end of the State. I didn’t want to believe this but needed to find out for myself. It didn’t take me long to find a very reliable source who said “not brewed here and never has been”. I have nothing against contract brewing except when its coupled with misleading labeling.

Disappointment #3: When I got home to Melbourne, I had the urge to visit my local beer outlet to source some of the great Victorian beers. Imagine my horror when I find that there has been a change of management and, against all trends,  the craft beer range has been greatly reduced. And I can only buy beer at single bottle prices. And the deep knowledge of local brews seems to have departed with the previous management. Its almost enough to drive you to drink wine.

But not quite.

Cheers

He left us all better educated about brewing and curious about how his experimental beers would taste. These included batches containing  pumpkin (for Halloween) and rose petals (for a birthday present). While neither of these were available when we were there, we all sampled the range of usual Prickly Moses beers before settling in for a long lunch in their excellent restaurant/gallery.

My pick is the Otway Red Ale, which has a little more body than others in the range. Having said that, there was plenty of debate about favorites within our group. One of the benefits of beers that actually have distinctive characteristics is that there is generally something to suit all tastes.

Otway Estate have regular events on-site throughout the year including Oktoberfest celebrations. If you really want to wind down you can even stay in the Estate’s own bush cottages.

If you are thinking of a visit don’t be put off by the fairly average website (Hendo tells me he was in IT before making the change to brewing and if the website is his work, I think he made the right move).

While I wouldn’t travel to the Otways only for Otway Estate, it’s a great part of the world to explore anyway and some Prickly Moses can only add to the overall enjoyment.

Stay tuned for brief reports on other Victorian microbreweries I visit this summer.

Cheers

Brewer: 3 Ravens, Thornbury

Variety: (4.6% ABV)

The marketers say: Burnished copper hue. Full of hop flavour. Lusty country aroma. Unique crystal malts

Appearance: Cloudy brown pour with very little head. Not immediately appealing.

Aroma:Rich, earthy hops. Starting to interest me now.

Taste: Toffee malts, plenty of bitterness that hangs around for a while. Real enjoyment starts

Overall: Complex enough to make every mouthful interesting. Well worth perservering with. Try some.

Cheers

All this activity can be very important to country towns or out-of-the-way suburbs. It can help reverse the general decline faced by many towns, giving young people opportunities and therefore keep families close and communities alive.

Another reason to drink craft beer? Because it’s practically a civic duty!

Over some months I sampled between one and six craft beers in an evening and noted the effect, if any, the following morning. In between ‘craft evenings’, I drank mass-produced beers (usually VB – old habits and all) and again noted the morning-after feelings. On a couple of occasions I even went so far as to drink too much VB or craft beer (there are those habits again).

I can say with some certainty that for me, the morning after is more unpleasant after drinking mass-produced beer. The effect ranges from minor if 1 or 2 drinks have been consumed to really quite nasty for 5 or more beers.

I understand that there are many other factors at play here – food consumed, water drunk, time frames, general mood, alignment of the planets, etc. – however I believe that the depth of my research is sufficient to say that craft beer is definitely less likely to produce unpleasant effects the next day.

Exactly why this is so will be the subject of a future study, however I suspect the answer lies in the additives in your average mass-produced beer. I am told these include foaming agents (propylene glycol alginate?) and chemicals to speed up the brewing process (betaglucanase?). As far as I know these are not used in a typical craft brew. The standard beer ingredients – water, barley, hops and yeast – and perhaps some fruit or even seafood are all the craft brewers use.

A reason to drink craft beer? Because it feels better the next day.

It seems to me that craft brewers are fighting against many things.

1. Generations of Australian beer drinkers who are more interested in brand loyalty, consistency and easy drinking than complex tastes and interesting variety (I was in that category myself only 12 months ago).

2. Big breweries with big budgets who can control much of the trade in raw materials and much of the distribution. Even some of the ’2nd tier’  breweries – in terms of size – are big enough these days to have a significant impact on the availability of hops.

3. A small number of outlets willing to sell craft beer (although thankfully this is increasing). Every tap and fridge counts. No ‘instant market’ that the big boys enjoy.

4. A taxation system that is stacked against craft brewers.

5. Large setup costs and very little potential for a decent pay-back for all the effort. Few financial planners would recommend brewing as a retirement plan.

With all these challenges it would be reasonable to ask “Why bother?”.

The brewers I talk to all say it’s about tackling the challenges, having fun, innovating and indulging a passion.

Like listening to music created by people who truly love what they do, drinking beer brewed with passion is always a pleasure regardless of the style or even the quality (within reason).

A reason to drink craft beer? Because each one is a pint of passion in a world of impersonal mass-produced economically rational sameness.

Cheers