Erdinger Wheat Beer

I haven’t had a decent German beer for a while so when I found this among my stash out the back, I knew it was coming out and into the fridge.

Erdinger is a traditional brewery who have been doing it since 1886 so they must be doing something right.

I only studied a little bit of German a long time ago but I’m pretty sure the pronounciation including the funny B in the beers name is ‘wheat’ which is exactly what this beer is.

A half-litre brew that’s 5.3%, its pale-yellow colour is synonymous with wheat beers, it also has some citrus tones to the flavour.

Of course, this Bavarian beer is brewed under the German purity law, another reason to like it as it is a proper traditional beer.

I just need to find some lederhosen and some pretzels and I can have a German party!

Cheers,

Dave

Little Rivers VoVo Milkshake

Someone recently said to me that I drink a lot of weird beers, and that I should write about them?

… I thought I already did?

This one is definitely a weird one, Little Rivers had a small release of the VoVo Milkshake, I picked up a couple of 500ml cans to find 

out how good they were.

The Iced VoVo is an iconic Australian treat, a biscuit with coconut and raspberry jam. The beer is made pretty much the same but with Branxholm hops, lactose powder, vanilla, biscuit malt, coconut and raspberry jam – according to some research.

I first imagined that this would be a dark tasting beer, boy I was wrong, it was a smooth and sweet tasting brew that very much reminded me of the Arnott biscuit.

Apparently, this is a spin off of the Milkshake IPA that Little Rivers presented at this years Hop Harvest Festival, they get some praise for being experimental.

Another win for craft beer brewers willing to try new things and a win for me for keeping my ear to the ground.

Cheers,

Dave

Little Creatures XPA

Little Creatures XPA is hoppy and refreshing, the beers description says it all.

Using three different hop varieties it bursts with tropical fruit and citrus undertones.

The name XPA has generated some hot debate online over the years, some saying it is made up while others say it’s a different take on a traditional IPA with more hops added.

IPA’s came about with a higher hop content and stronger in alcohol back in the 19^th century when England tried sending beer to its troops in India, in order for the beer to survive the journey they had to brew it differently, India Pale Ales have stuck around and have become a popular model for craft beer brewers who like to use different hop varieties to make their product stand out among the rest.

Little Creatures are known for their good quality brews, this is one of their best and one of the best craft beers I’ve had for a while, don’t let the pale blue colour on the label fool you, this beer stands up for itself with 4.9% ABV.

Cheers,

Dave

Pirate Life Port Local Lager

Craft Beer Company Pirate Life have brewed a new beer that is meant to fit in well with Australia’s beer drinking culture.

Known for churning out different kinds of Pale Ales or IPA’s Pirate Life is based in South Australia. Created in 2014 the company has quickly swept over Australia with their hip beer cans.

South Australia is synonymous with wine with the Yarra Valley producing some of Australia’s best quality wines.

Something I like about their cans that makes them unique is the brewing process shown step by step around the top.

What makes Port Local Lager unique is that it’s brewed to traditional German techniques where it spends 42 days in tank so that the flavours and aromas have time to integrate.

The can is a little small at 355mls and the beer is only 4.5% but it is a very nice Lager and one you should add to your try list.

Cheers,

Dave

O'Hara's Irish Red Ale

By chance I came upon an Irish Craft Beer and wow, what a find.

O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale is a testament to the fine brewing skills of the Irish.

The website describes it as having a smooth malt body complimented by caramel tones and perfectly balanced in bitterness, this Irish Red is much more complex than its mainstream rivals.

It has a nice red hue on pour and beautiful caramel tones with every sip.

At 4% and 330mls it is a little weak and a little less in content, but it makes up for that with flavour.

Founded in 1996, the brewery is one of 72 craft breweries in Ireland, each adding their own Irish twist to their brews.

Interesting fact, before the 1700’s, beer in Ireland were fermented without hops.

If you are feeling a bit Irish then seek out this beer, you won’t be disappointed.

Cheers,

Dave

Fresh Hop 2019

 After an enjoyable visit to the 2019 Hop Harvest in Launceston I have to say that it has been my #1 event this year.

This has replaced the Fyre Festival that I was at briefly on New Year’s Eve.

Twenty-six beers were on display that were only made for this event, ranging from pale ales, stouts and even a few sours.

With my booklet I got at the gate I ticked beers off as I went and studied which ones I wanted to sample.

I got through x15 in the end, this year to save on waste they had plastic cups you could purchase, they could be swapped over at any time and if you didn’t want to take it home you could give it back to the bar for a refund.

The thing I like about Hop Harvest is the option to get a 100ml sample of any beer for $3 or 400ml for $9, you can get through them all a lot quicker.

Once again, the food was a credit to the event, with Saint John’s regular spectacular choices to dark choc, stout brownies, loaded nachos and a lamb kebab which I didn’t get to in the end.

Choc Stout Brownie

Saint Johns tickled my merchandise habit with stubby holders and T-shirts for sale.

The beer I voted for on the way out was the Eleventh Order Super Galactic Sour Cherry, a close second was the first beer I tasted when I got there – Shambles Brewery & Ocho’s Attack of the Cones.

The winner by people’s choice was The Mill Brewery’s The Freshest Haze, unfortunately it was one of the few I missed.

Overall a fun event, only wish I could have put in three hard days there, maybe next year.

Cheers,

Dave

A popular Event

New Zealand Beer Speights

In spirit of this being ANZAC Day week I decided to focus on beer in New Zealand.

I have had a lot of trouble finding NZ beers over here, I find the occasional craft beer in my hunting, but I am curious as to what is popular over there.

Fortunately, a family member went over on holiday and I asked him to investigate.

What he came up with is Speights Gold Medal Lager.

This cheeky beer was entered into the Melbourne Exhibition in 1880 and won two gold medals, hence its name.

The flagship beer of Speights isn’t sweet so that the malt and the hops can come forward a lot more.

At 4% it isn’t as strong as I’m used to but from what I’ve heard it is a very good beer.

Beer was introduced to New Zealand by those drunken Europeans who travelled around quite a bit back in the day. Captain Cook was the first to brew beer there.

The first commercial brewery was opened in 1835 so they haven’t been brewing beer for as long as many other nations, but they seem to be on a good thing.

I once heard from someone who visited there that they like to drink warm beer? I need to confirm this.

I will endeavour to find more New Zealand brews to share with you.

Cheers,

Dave

Hobbits live here