F#cking Hell

It actually exists!

Would you believe me if I told you that there is a place in Austria called Fucking?

Would you still believe me if I told you that there is a beer named after Fucking called Fucking Hell?

Well here’s proof! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking_Hell

Welcome to Fucking

Fucking is the name of the place where the beer is named, even though it is actually brewed in Germany. Hell is the German word for pale.

This 4.9% pilsner is sold internationally, I know because I got onto a craft beer distributor in Japan and ordered this beer as often as I could.

F#cking hell this is a good beer!

This beer is meant to have been on sale in Australia since 2011 but I have been unable to find it since I returned from Japan in 2014.

Drink beer!

The creators were able to get the name of the beer approved, obviously the beer is named after a real place and the German word for pale but you and I both know that you can have a lot of fun with a beer named Fucking Hell.

Bloody tourists, haha

The locals of Fucking have had the signs to their town stolen on numerous occasions.

Here is a link to Google Maps: https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/5121+Fucking,+Austria/@48.0673358,12.8622639,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x4775d4854dbcba19:0x802456ee60b72a17

“Between Heaven and Hell there are good things here on Earth” Fucking Hell Official Website

Fucking Hell that's a lot of beer...

Fucking Hell is made under the German Purity Law which I have talked about with Becks in a previous post. Its only ingredients are hops, yeast, water and malt.

Here is some music to listen to while you are drinking it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6OFVMdkdHw

I really like this beer!

Try some Fucking Hell for yourself and then wash your mouth out – with more beer!

Cheers

Dave

Please drink and curse responsibly!

Stout

This time I talk about stout

Winter is almost over in Tasmania but while it was here it was good stout drinking weather.

Stouts aren’t as common as the other ranges of beer but they hold their own with unique characteristics.

Japanese are also making stout

I want to try the Catwoman stout

A part of what making stout unique is how the malt is produced.

A Dan Murphy’s guide to stout explains it as “If we think of a grain of malted barley as like a piece of bread, then (sic) most beer is made by setting the toaster to '1'. For Amber Ales and Pale Ales, we can turn the dial to '3' or '4'. To achieve the kind of malt needed to make a Stout we turn the knob all the way around to 'frozen crumpet' and leave it until the 'bread' is almost singed. This gives Stout its deep and roasty flavour and full mouthfeel.” https://www.danmurphys.com.au/liquor-library/beer/styles/stout

You don't have to be Irish to drink Guinness

When you think of stout I’m sure that the first that comes to mind is Guinness, the Irish stout which is not just for St Patricks Day.

A fellow beer drinking enthusiast once claimed that stout is virtually a food group, which has all the important vitamins and minerals a growing body needs.

Another from Saint John, a coffee and chocolate stout

As well as standard stout many companies are experimenting with dark flavours such as coffee and chocolate to give their stout something extra, unless you are Brewfist and have created a coffee and chocolate hybrid.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE STOUT

This year I was lucky enough to try Double Chocolate Stout which tasted amazing! (From Saint John Craft Beer).

Stout is definitely not for the faint of heart, of my many beer drinking friends only a few would choose to drink it because of its strong taste and feel.

I haven't tried this one yet

The most local stout for me is Cascade Export Stout (because Boag’s don’t make it anymore…), even though it is a Cascade product I do enjoy drinking it from time to time.

If you need any more convincing I will add that stout contains less calories than normal beer, it is often higher in alcohol content which is always a good thing, it’s also linked to preventing blood clotting.

Cheers

Dave

  

This looks awesome, I want to try

Beck's

This time around we go to Germany

Do you know about the German Beer Purity Laws?

If you don’t I’ll quickly fill you in...

The purity laws of 1516 state that beer should only be made using barley, water and hops (yeast was later added to the list) fortunately for beer drinkers the laws are still being followed (Otaru Beer), a fine example of this is Becks, Germany’s #1 (exported) beer.

The Beck's Brewery in Bremen, Germany

Beck’s Brewery in Northern Germany has been pumping out quality beer since 1873 and as globalisation goes it is no longer owned locally.

The beer I’m talking about is their main product, simply called Beck’s, a German style Pilsner.

Beck’s reaches around ninety countries and is one of Germany’s five best rated beers.

"To drink or not to drink?"

In 1998, Beck’s Beer won gold at the World Beer Cup Awards.

The logo on the label (a silver key on a red shield) is the coat of arms of Bremen – where the Beck’s Brewery is located in Germany. Although international Beck’s is now often brewed out of country.

Interesting choice for a label...

The beer has mixed reviews online (which I wouldn’t take too seriously because every beer I research has the same old people moaning about it). Truth is I was pretty excited to try this beer properly (for the Blog) and was very pleased with it.

Subliminal: Drink Beck's!

A downside to it being an international beer no longer being brewed in Germany for Australian drinkers it carries with it that little bit extra on the price as opposed to mainstream Australian beers.

I would suggest if you want to drink something different or get a close enough taste of what beer is supposed to taste like (referring to the purity laws) then get some Beck’s and try for yourself.

Beer (insert Homer Simpson drool)

Advertisements:

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONyHuF0AfJI

Writing about German Beer reminds me of the Beerfest movie, here is a short clip of some of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi6XF2u_aZ0 

(Caution, contains coarse language etc.)

Another approved beer by Dave

Above all else, please drink responsibly.

Cheers,

Dave =)

Tap King

Do yourself a favour and feel like royalty.

I referred to Tap King in my first Blog about Boag’s Premium. I bought one shortly after and have bought a couple of different beers to try it out.

A re-enactment of the testing phase

I am glad to say that this is a bit of fun that you can have when enjoying a cold beer or two. I don’t know about you but I’ve been pouring beers for a long time now so the novelty has long since worn off, but with the Tap King I can do it at home, simply go to the fridge and refill my glass.

The kit

The kit is easy to find at bottle-shops around Australia and popular beers are around as refills.

The un-boxing

So far Tap King can tap these beers:

XXXX Gold

James Squire Golden Ale

James Squire One Fifty Lashes

Hahn Superdry

Tooheys New
Tooheys Extra Dry

James Boag’s Premium

To date I have only had Boag’s Premium and the James Squire Golden Ale, both tasted as they would in stubbies.

Each bottle is 3.2 litres and is easy assemble. Make sure you chill the bottle for seven to nine hours prior to consuming.

I found that with each new bottle the first beer or two pours with a lot of head but the quality improves with each pour until you realise you have already emptied it.

This is the future of beer drinking

Cost wise you have to buy the dispenser as well as bottles which are $28 each or two for $52, it doesn’t work out cheaper per drink compared to buying the beers in cans or stubbies where applicable so if you get a Tap King you have to be aware that it won’t be for value.

My verdict is that this is another great way to enjoy drinking beer, if you are passionate about it as much as I am I encourage you to get a Tap King if you haven’t already and try it for yourself.

This was a fun experiment for the blog

Instructional Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQdh6rDcGCg

The Advertising:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK9419Oicp0

Cheers

Dave

Join the Beer Royalty

Beer Challenge: Victoria Bitter

Nothing better than crushing an empty can

Since writing these blogs I have attracted a lot of attention from fellow beer lovers who recommend me to drink and write about their favourites. One person offered to shout me a night of drinking under the condition it was a beer that they knew I didn’t like very much.

By taking them up on their offer I have created a new way to cover my blog.

Let me present to you Beer Challenge #1: VB

VB comes in many shapes and sizes

I would like to thank my mate Troy for making this possible.

VB is an Australian icon

Firstly, I have had VB (Victoria Bitter) many times before, it is widely available and popular, one of Australia’s most popular beers.

A funny/ interesting thing about the beer is the initials, VB which people have used to make many comedic references to the beer. The most popular ones I've heard are: Vomit Bombs, Very Bad, Vaginal Backwash, and even Very Best.

It just isn’t one that places highly on my drinking list. Not for any real reason though, other than I don’t know many that drink it (in Tasmania).

THE CHALLENGE

What we faced at the beginning of the night

What happened: A block of 30 cans were provided for the purpose of the challenge, to have a controlled environment the beers were chilled and no other alcohol was consumed prior to the challenge.

“You have to drink VB cold and fast!” - a seasoned VB drinker.

With this comment in mind I cracked my first can with the aim to get it down as fast as possible.

Once the first was gone I got straight onto the second, they got better the more I drank, the challenge went well into the night.

We left a few afterwards...

How many did we drink?

I didn’t check the final count but between us we drank at least half of the block, not a bad effort but there is always room for improvement.

Lessons learned:

The next morning I checked my hands and feet to see if any extra appendages grew overnight, apart from the usual Tasmanian anomalies everything seemed fine. It turns out that VB is a good session drinking beer, my only concern was the throbbing headache for the whole day afterwards.

VB puts you to sleep...

If you have a favourite beer you want to prove to me makes the cut send me an invite!

Cheers,

Dave 

They like to brag, haha

Otaru Beer

Always fun times here at Otaru Beer

Prost – the German drinking word for cheers!

This is a handy phrase to know if you visit one of my favourite drinking establishments, Otaru Beer.

If you visit Japan I highly recommended you visit Hokkaido, the Tasmania of Japan and when there visit a small city called Otaru. 

When you arrive at the train station walk down to the canal and go 

right where you will find an old warehouse/ factory type building which has been converted into a German microbrewery.

Otaru Beer is one of the buildings on the right

I was fortunate enough to live in the Japanese city for two years and spent a lot of my down time at Otaru Beer, enjoying quality German beer.

They are brewing the beer right before your eyes

In addition to the three main lines of beer, Pilsner, Dunkel and Weiss, there is a seasonal beer which can range from a smokey bacon type to a rich dark beer for winter.

The three main beers in stubbies

The friendly Japanese staff are dressed as Germans and the building looks like you have stepped into a portal to beerfest in Germany.

The Beermaster himself!

The German beer master Johannes Braun brought beer vats from his small town in Germany and started up his business in the city that thrives on tourism.

They also have an awesome gift shop!

While you are there drinking they have a restaurant open all day every day serving popular German dishes from ham on the bone, German Pizza, sausage platters and steak and roast dishes.

Did I mention the massive pretzels?

Even though you can drink the beers in a range of glasses from a standard mug of about 10 ounces you can also have 1 litre steins and for the veteran beer drinker the 2 litre boot!!!

My favourite day of the month was the second Wednesday of the month, this is Beerclub at Otaru Beer from 6:30pm to 11:00pm where you pay 1,800 yen (about $20) and drink any item on the drink menu in your choice of glass size for the four and a half hours.

During Oktoberfest (which is actually in September I’ve learned) a German band come and perform each night for a week, drink and socialise with the guests.

I’ve been at this place and every seat downstairs and upstairs is being used, it is the place to be in Otaru.

The place to be

Thanks for reading another beer post,

Prost!

Dave

Morrison Brewery

My local craft beer

The Morrison craft beer brewery has been brewing beer right under my nose without me realising it.

It hit me like a hockey puck to the face when I read someone recently that this beer was brewed right here in Launceston, and not only that but Invermay, an area I drive through almost daily to get to work (insert facepalm).

I am focusing my drinking habits towards craft beer these days and have in fact sampled the Morrison Brewery beers on several occasions since the Esk Beerfest in January. It has been one I often start with at my favourite alcohol establishment Saint John Craft Beer as it is usually on the #1 tap.

I want all of the beer...

Purchasing a stubby of it today I read the label to confirm what I thought I had read, that Morrison Brewery is my closest craft beer brewer.

Doing the usual basic research I have found its Facebook page which sadly only has 539 likes since its creation in 2011.

Morrison Beer is popular at Tassie Beer Festivals 

They specialise in English and Irish style craft beer after Tasmanian Paul Morrison started with a home brew kit and sent samples down to the Hobart for the Tasmanian Beerfest which won the approval of thousands and encouraged him to grow his business into a 500 litre microbrewery.

Morrison Brewery in full swing

Click on this link to see a short YouTube clip about the brewery:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S307j8OMdHY 

This was good!

The three main beers they have available are English Bitter, Irish Red Ale and Irish Stout. I’ve had the first two on several occasions and remember trying a Saison type at Beerfest.

A Morrison Brewery employee hard at work

According to their Facebook page they have their product for sale Tasmania wide at many establishments and bottleshops (including all BWS stores in Tasmania), and the beers have placed well in Melbourne beer competitions.

I will be supporting this brewer more now even though I already liked it and hopefully Mr Morrison can continue his success.

Cheers,

Dave