Fresh Hop Beer Festival 2016

Hops, what make beer great!

Launceston has earned itself a new beer festival to add to your calendar. The Fresh Hop Beer Festival, held on April 23-24 was created to celebrate the first harvest of hops for the year is a unique kind of Beerfest, similar in feel but definitely has its own hoppy flavour.

The Festivals website gives a run-down of what was to be expected: “First Harvest beers from craft brewers around the state a weekend of fresh hopped beers from the 2016 harvest. An all Tassie line up of limited releases, with Hop Education, Q&As, live music, food, hop garden and hop brownies.” http://www.freshhopfestival.com.au/ 

Due to work commitments I got to see an hour of the Festival late on Sunday evening – I have to fund my drinking habit somehow.

The festival was held behind Saint John Craft Beer

I thought the festival was AMAZING!

Around fifteen craft beer brewers used their first hops of the season to make some great beer to try at the festival.

There was more than enough beer to try but because I was driving I had three (little) samples.

The beers that were available

Winston Brewing Co. First Harvest – Brown Ale

I had this first while sampling a HOP BROWNIE, more on that later. The beer was what I was hoping for, crafty, powerful and hoppy at 7%.

Van Dieman Steam Punk Ale

I got this for two reasons, I love Van Dieman and the name Steam Punk Ale, which I thought was an interesting name for a brew. Lower in content at 3.5% it still had a nice flavour and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Morrison Brewing Harvest IPA

For my last choice I had to go with the most local brew, and I was glad I did as this was my favourite, only wish I could have had more than a cup of it.

Morrison was the best! - They spelt it wrong

Some familiar food tents/ trailers were there to give us something to mix with the beer. The Morrison Smoked Chilli IPA Boozehound Hot-dog went down well.

Some of the food

The Boozehound with chilli beer sauce

HOP BROWNIES!!!!

HOP BROWNIES: A featured item for sale at the festival were harmless looking brownies, at first taste they seem like normal chocolatey goodness, by the time it hits the back of your mouth you get the green hoppy after taste. I took a couple home to try later, I wish I knew the recipe, they go down well with a beer.

I understand that this festival will be an annual event, it seemed to meet crowd expectations and is a great idea. I’ll have to book in the date for next year’s event and give it a proper effort.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Dave

Another great Tassie Beer Festival 

Tecate

Another Mexican beer for review

Look out Corona, Sol and Dos Equis, Mexico has another beer, which has been around since the 1950’s but has only just arrived in stores in Tasmania (Australia?)

First of all, there is a big difference between this and the other Mexican brewed beers we can get, it comes in a can.

It has a familiar Mexican beer taste like its buddies, a bit hard to drink at first but I think all Mexican beer I've had so far tastes a lot better with lemon or lime added (I had it without any fruit).

I recommend drinking it like this!

I also approve of this!

It’s weighs in at 4.5% so it falls in line with Mexican and Australian full strength beers.

Price wise it is a little cheaper than a carton of Corona, Tecate is supplied to Australia through a Woolworths owned business and sold in BWS stores.

It has received mixed reviews online, some people love it, others would only touch it if it was the last beer in the world – people seem to say that about every beer at some stage.

Hellboy approves Tecate

Best drunk on a hot day – don’t expect many more of those in Tasmania this side of 2016.

It has some nice advertising

This is also nice!

If you are looking for a different feel when you are in a Mexican mood then pick up some Tecate, just don’t forgot the limes!

Huh?

Cheers,

Dave

Tun Bitter

This American supplied beer to Australia has been giving me nightmares.

The Dave’s Beers of the World seasoned drinking team selected this for our next session drinking beer, however it was all gone before I even got a taste.

The review I was given was pretty bad, that it was a bad beer and drinking in even small quantities results in severe headaches the following day.

Nevertheless I was still determined to try just one, it only comes in a 30 block, but I was able to get one to try.

It comes to our shores by Woolworths, who have BWS and Dan Murphy’s – the main stores that sell it.

At first glance it looks like a beer, very pale in colour, it doesn’t have much of a noticeable smell either.

The taste is where my nightmares begin, it taste reminds me of fake beer, it is weak and watery.

It left a bad taste in my mouth.

That is all I have to say…

Cheers,

Dave

Worlds Biggest Selling Beer

What is the world's biggest selling beer?

If I asked you what you thought the world’s biggest selling beer was, what would you guess?

Good guesses would include the ubiquitous Corona and Budweiser.

I was hoping it would be Boag’s Draught but apparently I’m wrong.

These figures are from 2012

Whether it is the best tasting or most exciting beer is still up for debate but Snow Beer, brewed in China is #1. Primarily sold in China – a country of one billion people, it has a yearly output of around 61 million hectolitres, which is an f-ton of beer (according to The Ultimate Book of Beers, 2015).

Until I read it in a Beers of the World book I was recently given for a present I wouldn’t have believed that this beer that I have never heard of before sells more than any other brew in the world.

Not just China but the world apparently

This post is unique in that I’m writing about a beer I’ve never tried or even seen in the flesh, but I thought that I should share this with you, for Dave’s Beers of the World, Snow Beer by sales is the most popular beer in this world.

It is a pale lager with only 3.9% alcohol so it is a tease between a mid and full strength.

I want to drink you ;-)

I like the look of the green label and bottle from pictures I’ve seen, and recently I was informed that it is being sold in QLD, Australia.

I will endeavour to try this and let you know what I think.

Cheers,

Dave

I'll have my beer cold please =)