Bintang

The star beer of Indonesia, Bintang is the nations #1 and possible only real beer according to my research – by all means prove me wrong please.

Brewed since 1929 it is styled after Heineken, in taste and bottle design, it has ties to the Holland brewer who have given Indonesia a taste of European culture – the brewery was originally called Heineken’s Indonesian Brewing Company.

Styled to look and taste like Heineken

Australian’s visit the nation quite regularly, being just north of us, one place in particular – Bali – is an Australian hotspot.

After trying Bintang for the first time I get the Heineken-like feel of it but also think of Chinese beers such as Tiger and Tsing Tao.

I can very much see myself in Bali on holiday, in a pool, knocking back Bintang after Bintang.

Where I want to be!

Never having been to Bali though I did some research and learned that there are areas where alcohol is illegal, they don’t sound very exciting to visit.

It is exported here to Australia but I don’t know how much further than that.

Cheers,

Dave

Winter Warmer Idea

Down here in Tasmania it is a bit cold during this time of the year, though it doesn’t stop us from drinking our favourite beers cold but I know of a way of still enjoying beer and keeping warm.

A known way of warming up here in Tassie is taking your favourite beer, having a mouthful and then pouring in a shot of Stone’s Green Ginger Wine.

Ginger infused wine with spice and zest at 13.9% it adds a nice kick to what you are drinking.

Do you know of another way to warm up during winter?

Cheers,

Dave

James Boag’s Epicurean

Epicurean isn’t a word you would hear often, I had to look it up, it means to be paired with food. James Boag’s has developed two very different beers to be had with food, red and white.

As the colours suggest, red is best paired with red meat while white is best for seafood and light dishes.

These beers are the most expensive that Boag’s has created that I’m aware of to date, at $70 a carton at Dan Murphy’s.

I only purchased one of each being very wary of such a unique product. On sampling (without food) the red was very hard to drink, it was very rich, while the white wasn’t rich enough, it almost felt like drinking a light champagne.

Crafted by food and beer experts

On first sample, I wasn’t very excited about either beer, with food involved it may take away the unusual taste of both but this would be a beer only suited for a real foodie.

I would much prefer Boag’s to bring back Classic Blonde, Boag’s Pure or even St George rather than create an ambitious but strange range of beers.

Cheers,

Dave 

Colonial Draught

Recently I received an email from my favourite Australian Rules football club (Essendon Bombers) that they had signed a beer as their official drink for 2017. Colonial Draught, a beer made in Victoria and Western Australia, I knew nothing about the product, the crazy thing was though, seeing an image of the can I was hit with déjà vu… I had seen this before. 

The next time I visited my girlfriends place I opened her fridge and reached into the back to find a can hidden away, the last of a mixed six pack I got from Saint John’s a couple of months earlier.

It was a Colonial Draught.

With excitement, I sat down on the beanbag and switched on the Xbox, cracking the can and smelling the contents as I always do before I drink a new beer I tasted it and instantly fell in love. A smooth and rich fruity tasting beer, it was a strange coincidence that I had the beer and could enjoy it right away.

The best way to enjoy Colonial Draught

A new craft beer for you to sample, even better to have when Essendon are winning.

One of the best teams in the AFL

From Colonial Brewing Co.'s official website:

“It's draught, but not as you know it. Think German noble hops and malt. Think perfect carbonation. Think refreshing on a scorching summer day and tasty on a cold winter one. Our mission was simple: to create a beer that's perfect for those times when you feel like a beer - because the sun is shining, it’s the weekend, or because it’s day time, or night time. Any time, really, because Colonial Draught is the beer that goes with anything, and everything. Made using the same small-batch, artisan techniques as the rest of our range, and brewed to deliver a clean, crisp ale that’s refreshingly uncomplicated, Colonial Draught is beer at its easy-drinking best. Smooth, with just a hint of lemon and passionfruit, it’s the hand-crafted draught that's perfect for every occasion.”

Cheers,

Dave

Belated Cinco De Mayo

A Spanish holiday, Cinco De Mayo has been celebrated since 1862. Spanish military forces won an unexpected victory against the French at the battle of Puebla. I don’t know Spanish so I didn’t know that Cinco De Mayo simply means May the fifth.

On this day, every year Mexicans celebrate and they celebrate hard. The US and Canada have also adopted the event as a way of promoting Mexican culture and cuisine.

I was in no condition to do any celebrating on the May the fifth this year so I want to share what I might have had if I could.

The best way to celebrate

Happy belated Cinco De Mayo,

Cheers,

Dave

Add caption

Time away from beer

Not by my choosing but I had a life changing event happen, not at all caused by alcohol but it kept me off it for some time.

A longer than usual stint in hospital was a sudden stop to my fast-paced life that I didn’t see coming, unfortunately they don’t have a bar to help pass the time.

Now that I’m out and have wi-fi access again I can get back to writing about the thing that helps lubricate me through life.

I had been thinking for days about what the first beer should be once I start drinking again. It has taken me over a week to be able to drink a whole can of lemonade in one sitting.

After all of that though I opened the fridge and found some Samurye Lager I picked up from Saint John’s after the Hop Harvest Festival.

The feeling of the beer on my lips brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye.

It had been way too long between drinks.

I’ve got a long list of things to tick before I’m back to 100%, this was one I’m glad I could do early.

It’s good to be back.

Cheers,

Dave

Out of Date Beer

What was that? Beer has an expiry date?

I don’t really believe it myself since no beer I ever have gets to last that long… haha

Is it safe to drink out of date beer?

Unfortunately, beer does have a shelf life and if neglected changes for the worst over time. The question I’m going to try and answer is “is it okay to drink out of date beer?”

Let’s have a look at the research.

This is what Google provided for an answer from a contributor in 2014: “The beer will not be bad in the sense of unsafe to drink, since no harmful pathogens grow once the beer is fully fermented. So you can certainly drink the beer. However, the beer may not taste good! ... Generally, the higher the alcohol content of the beer the less you need to be concerned with the use by date”

Another source from https://www.reference.com/food/can-drink-expired-beer-123d39921fa9b1f2# had this to say:

“One can drink expired beer without fear of health problems. However, beer is not as flavorful beyond the expiration date. Most beer is not meant to age, so there is no benefit to drinking it beyond its expiration or "best before" date.”

Beer doesn’t have to be out of date to be bad, other things may have gone wrong before it even reaches that point, the colour of the glass used for stubbies if exposed to light for long periods of time can destroy the contents, clear glass is one of the main culprits that keep getting returned after being left in a lit fridge for too long.

Would you tackle this one?

So what I’m trying to get at here is that you can drink beer past its expiry, there is no guarantee it will be anywhere near as good as when it was fresh, it won’t kill you but it probably won’t be pleasant.

I acquire beer from time to time and it can be over the expiry line, sometimes I have had out of date beer and other times it has gone right down the sink, from my experience you should be able to tell first of all by the smell, if you can stomach that then try and deal with the taste for the whole drink.

If we were in a zombie apocalypse and I came upon some expired beer you bet I would drink it, but since I have a bottle shop nearby and money in my wallet I will always choose fresh beer first.

Some brave people on the internet will show you how hard it can be to drink beer that is not so fresh anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7-lf_OFvxw

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

A picture says a 1000 words...

Cheers,

Dave

Bad boy John