Dry Beer

This weeks topic is dry beer

Since beer is wet it is strange that Dry types of beer exist.

Dry beer is available through many brewers and is known for a very unique dry taste.

Everyone who has drunk a beer before should have heard of Toohey’s Extra Dry and the Japanese Asahi Super Dry.

Even the Simpsons have had dry beer

I didn’t know about the reasoning behind dry beer until I decided to write about it for the beer blog. Dry beer is made using a German pale lager process where the sugars are fully fermented into alcohol, the reason for this was to create a beer for diabetics.

I don't know what beer it is, I just wanted to share

From Germany it has been picked up in Japan, America and Australia.

I know of quite a few people though who drink dry beers purely because of the taste, they almost have a cult-like following.

Here are the usual suspects where I come from.

Dry Dock: A beer by Sail & Anchor Brewery based in Fremantle, Western Australia. This beer doesn’t rate high on my beerometer but I have had a few before, it is an average dry beer at best.

Carlton Dry: The Carlton guys in Victoria have put together a really nice beer, there is a standard dry version as well as a lime or lemon infused dry beer. This interesting twist has had me coming back to have each of them time and time again.

Asahi Super Dry: If you drink Japanese brews or spend time in Japan you won’t get far without seeing Asahi Super Dry, this is Japan’s number one beer hands down. I will always have a special place in my heart for Japanese beer but it isn’t the same quality as Australian beer. There is a Japanese-style clothing company out of the UK that is also called Super Dry, it is often confused with the beer but there is no resemblance whatsoever. The Super Dry clothing company sells stylish and semi-expensive clothing among other things and they don’t have a single store in Japan as their target customers are westerners.

Hahn Superdry: This super beer in my opinion doesn’t live up to the name, from what I understand some people do like this beer but it hasn’t been sold over the bar I work at for many years, I haven’t had it in years and I don’t plan to try it again any time soon.

Toohey’s Extra Dry: Now, when you think of dry beer in Australia this should be the first beer that comes to mind, its clean, crisp taste is distinctive and is a good drinking beer, the deer on the label is an interesting choice for a mascot. The initials T.E.D are often used in reference to the extra dry beer. This beer originated in Sydney and is apparently the sixth highest selling beer in Australia.

There are a lot of dry beers out there, try one today and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

- Dave

Super Dry!!!

Light Beer

This weeks topic is light beer

This week I will get a bit soft and talk about those other beers that might occasionally get selected from the fridge. Let’s look at some of my favourite light beers. (Did I just type that?)

Light beer is lower in alcohol content or lower in calories compared to standard beer.

Light beer =)

There are benefits to drinking light beer such as allowing people in Australia to have a couple of beerish drinks and still be under the influence and drive, or to not get drunk, or… I don’t know?

The biggest criticism for light beer is that it tastes like watered down beer, which it is.

I do not condone drinking and driving, so I will come prepared with a couple of light beers, still have something to drink and not do anything illegal or dangerous.

So what kinds of light beer are out there? There are a lot!

To avoid writing a novel about this I will narrow it down by sharing with you some of my often sought after light beers and a few that have made me regret the choice.

Boag's again..

First off, Boag’s have a couple of lights, Draught Light and Premium Light. The main difference is the taste even though the beers are the same alcohol percentage at 2.7%. I have heard that the Draught Light is soon to be removed from production though.

Next, and believe it or not this is my #1 light beer, Cascade Premium Light. Yes, I do plan to have the Boag’s in the North and Cascade in the South war one day but this Southern Tasmanian brew is my favourite light. I believe it is the best tasting of any light beer I have ever had, plus the Tasmanian Tiger on the logo is an important part of the island state. It was through our fear and misunderstanding that the mysterious and magnificent creature no longer exists – I believe it might do though.

Ones that I have sampled and never want to again include Hahn Premium Light, Coors Light and Fosters Light Ice, purely because of their horrible watery taste.

Is that paint?

Even though light beer has been created for a purpose it is a drink that seems to be hard to sell, companies do try though with appealing advertising.

If you want to be a good beer drinker I think that you should have mastery of the different styles of beer and select according to the situation, not every drinking event requires a six pack of standard beer.

Be sensible with your drinking habits

In my opinion, people that drink light beer choose to do so. They shouldn’t be thought less of a person for doing so and in fact should be supported. 

Cheers,

- Dave

Carlton Draught

This week’s choice is made from beer.

If you guessed Carlton Draught then you were spot on.

I just returned from a quick trip over the Bass Strait, spending a bit of time in Melbourne and sampling the local product.

Carlton Draught is a good beer, I can’t say the same for the football club bearing the same place name.*

It is known as one of Australia’s best-selling tap beers and can be found everywhere in this great country.

This full bodied and full flavoured lager is only mildly bitter at 4.6% and will set you back around $50 a carton.

It’s owned by Carlton United Brewery, this company has control of a lot of Australia’s beer, including Pure Blonde which featured in a previous post.

I bought a carton for hotel-drinking, it is easy to drink in large quantities and goes great first thing of a morning.

When I drink Carlton Draught I have fond memories of Melbourne: football matches, paintball, Crown Casino, other things that you can get to in Melbourne…

Yep!

Under each stubby cap of Carlton there is a trivia question and answer.

The cans aren’t as exciting but they have recently undergone a facelift to look like little silver kegs.

I judge a beer based on how it is advertised.

This is one of my favourite ads of all time.

I love this ad!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wM2c3WtDjQ

The next one is a bit strange.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRDcbPAe2g4

Carlton Draught has been and still is deeply involved in Australian Football.

I have seen AFL Premiership cup shaped glasses, I hope I can get a hold of one someday.

This is worthy of my go to drinks list and it should be on yours too.

Have one and see if I’m right.

Cheers,

- Dave

* Apologies to Carlton supporters out there. HAHA

Carlsberg

AN international beer brewed under supervision in Australia is breaking into the market.

Carlsberg, a Denmark beer is available down under, brewed with Australian and European influences.

Originally owned by beer giant Carlton and now Coopers, this different beer is one to look out for if you appreciate international beer.

Carlsberg was founded in 1847 by brewer J. C. Jacobson who wanted to improve the entire brewing process and the quality of beer.

J. C. Jacobson’s son Carl bought a part of the brewery whose product sold better than his fathers.

They were both beer crazy after learning their craft from travelling internationally at different times. 

Both had different opinions on how to make beer. Carl eventually went into business with his father.

Carlsberg’s beer laboratory in Copenhagen invented the ground-breaking method for extracting pure yeast in 1883.

The Carlsbergenisis yeast is one of the best suited kinds of yeast for beer brewing. Carlsberg allowed the process for making it to become public and soon across the world brewers better understood yeast.

The dark green, plain looking Carlsberg bottle today is sold in 500,000 cartons annually in Australia, on top of that Coopers brews 6,500 kegs of the stuff.

She can serve me anytime!

The Coopers website claims that: “It’s a refreshing, bottom fermented lager beer with a clean, crisp taste and satisfying depth of flavour. It is full bodied and has a prominent, rich golden colour.

“Together with its malt and grain notes it delivers a perfect experience. Carlsberg is brewed with uncompromising quality using the choicest barley, exclusive Carlsberg aromatic hops and the unique Carlsbergenisis yeast.”

I’ll admit it isn’t a beer I had ever encountered until recently when I tried it while at my local and will definitely drink it again.

Carlsberg has had quite a bit of advertising over time, below are some links to their clips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsRFlJ7lqJg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--RVuPKR_kk

Carlsberg has even sponsored soccer which is huge in Denmark.

Soccer and beer!

Denmark is special for Tasmanians, the Danish Prince Frederick is married to Mary Donaldson, 

formerly of Tasmania.

Princess Mary of Denmark

Carlsberg is one of the biggest selling international brands, try one for yourself and see why.

A Chinese ad?

I think she is Japanese?

Cheers,

-          - Dave

      http://www.carlsberg.com/flash.html

      

Saint John Craft Beer

Craft beer is a sensation that is increasing in popularity, and if you live in Launceston I know the best place to visit, Saint John Craft Beer.

This hole in the wall type bar opened in January 2014 and business has been increasing ever since.

I visited Saint John this week and spoke to Bar Manager Luke Dempsey, he was more than happy to assist answering my questions.

Currently, Saint John’s has about 160-170 different craft beers and ciders available between on tap, on the shelves and in the fridges.

These drinks can be taken away or consumed on the premises for a little extra charge.

The range of beers and ciders include but are not limited to IPA’s, pale ales, lagers and stouts. They also have a classy array of whiskies available.

“We have something for every taste.” Mr Dempsey said.

This place I think is the Holy Grail of Dave’s Beers of the World since their stock is a variety of beers of the world, from the US, Japan, Europe and even local Australian brewed stock.

They currently have eight taps which pour rotating stock, powered by nowtapped.com the current beers and cider can be seen on the website, www.saintjohncraftbeer.com.au.

Mr Dempsey told me about his plans to expand the bar, providing a larger space out the back for functions and for more beer taps.

“We have a whiskey night on April 13, the tickets sold out quicker than we expected.” He said.

If you are like me and go in with no idea what to drink, the staff are skilled beer consumers and can suggest beers depending on your taste.

Every week they have a mixed six-pack of beer. For around $33-35 the six-pack includes a variety of craft beer, check their Facebook page to see what beers are in the pack each week.

If you are into classy drinking, bar staff can serve a ‘boilermaker of the week’, which includes a matched beer and whiskey. This often expensive mix is worth every dollar though.

Meat Tray Tuesday’s give you the chance to win amazing looking meat trays, and if you can’t wait to go home and cook it there is ‘Eats with Beats’, a local food van that supplies amazing food by Synjon, a friend of mine from High School on Tuesdays to Saturday evenings.

Stay tuned because they have plans to continue getting bigger and better, I can see myself spending a lot of time here from now on.

Saint John Craft Beer is located at 133 St John Street, Launceston, Tasmania 7250.

They are open Monday to Saturday 12:00pm to late and on Sunday 2pm to late.

Hope to see you there soon!

- Dave

*Pictures have been sourced from Google Images.

Pure Blonde (Premium)

New and old designs

The adjectives pure and blonde by themselves are ones that I hold in high regard.

Put them together though and you get a beer that has become a cult icon in Australia for more than a decade.

It comes in cans too!

Pure Blonde is an all malt lager, released by Carlton & United Breweries in 2004. This beer contains seventy-percent less carbohydrates than other standard full strength beers, but it still contains the same alcohol content, weighing in at 4.6%.

This beer contains nothing artificial, delivering a pure, crisp taste. It’s a pale coloured beer that undergoes an extended brewing process in order to deliver the low carb contents.

This is me right now!

If you went into a bar or bottleshop in Australia today I guarantee that they will sell Pure Blonde or at least another version of blonde beer.

Where was my invite to this party?

Where bragging rights are concerned, this beer has won (according to Wikipedia) a lot of awards in its short life, including gold at the Effie awards in 2009. The Effie awards are marketing communications awards, given to honour the most effective marketing communications ideas.

Pure Blonde has had interesting advertising campaigns, including pure, blonde, male and female models living in some kind of paradise, a place I would very much like to visit (just the female area though).

I have some links here to take you to some of these advertisements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml3ybCxxMRk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMj_4bIqjik

This truck is on the way to my place, haha!

This article is pro-blonde but for all you brunettes and red-headed (ladies) out there, you are all still amazing. I won’t level the playing field here by adding a blonde joke though.

Pure Blonde appeals to beer drinkers as it sells itself as a weight-losing beer. I remember when it first came out, a friend and I swapped to blonde beer in an attempt to trim our waist lines. If anything I’m pretty sure we gained weight.

Low carb? Why did I put on more weight?

Blonde beers have been popping up around Australia for a while now, the brewing style has long been used in Europe and has given Australians interested beers such as Platinum Blonde, Bondi Blonde, and of course Classic Blonde by James Boags.

A carton, yes please

There has been much debate about the effectiveness of blonde beers and a connection with losing weight, less carbs means less weight gain doesn’t it?

To put it simply, Catherine Saxelby in 2008 on her Foodwatch website pointed out that the carbs saved by drinking a beer equates to about half a slice of bread. Not much when you drink one but in a session you could have about half a loaf of bread less of carbs floating around in your stomach.

It has been scientifically argued that it is better to drink LESS alcohol than to take in less carbs. I hate to break it to the beer drinkers out there, but if we want to lose some weight we have to cut back on 

how much we drink (I hate myself for just typing that).

They can work for me!

At the time of writing this, Dave’s Beers of the World has had 468 views over all of the articles. 

Please help to boost my ego by getting it to 500 views.

Thank you once again,

Cheers!

-          Dave

Pure Blonde! =)