BEERtasters

Just a few highlights from our “Tis The Saison!”tasting event on Thursday night… Cheers to all who attended, and to for hosting us in style. Cheers also to the beers, including farmhouse treats from , , x , and … Great night!

Many thanks to everyone who joined us for “Tis The Saison!” 2023 last night, and to the whole Brixton Yard crew who hosted - and fed - us in style! Here’s the rundown on what we sampled/savoured:

1. Side Project Saisonnier (Blend #5)
2. Sobremesa Fermentary & Blendery Keep Your Worries - matched with Salmon Nisoise salad
3. One Drop x Slow Lane Drop It Slow
4. Saison Dupont - matched with Steak with chimichurie and jus, pork belly bites, Dirty potatoes (fried potatoes with pickled red onion, spring onion, jalapenos and Parmesan cheese), chargrilled broccolini with garlic and almonds
5. North End Bones Of The Land
6. Jester King Less Dots - matched with vanilla panna cotta, mixed berry coulis, lemon zest
7. Garage Project Tsuyu Saison

Cheers one and all!

And we’re off… “Tis The Saison!” 2023 at Brixton Yard… Festive farmhouse goodness!!

First time for everything… Drinking, and enjoying, a Sultana IPA at Pirate Life Perth! Can confirm that a subtle sultana character is most agreeable with a solid, drying bitterness… Indeed, it’s a fine idea! Props to the PL Perth brewers… 👍

Really enjoying this latest limited release from … A New-Zealand IPL that really puts the India Pale hop-weight into a clean, crisp Lager base. As the can describes, and the aroma definitely suggests, this is a lager that’s been “slammed with New World [NZ] hops”; giving intoxicating citrus notes - even a hint of candy - on the palate, before the lager finish slides in stylishly… It’s solid and sessionable - more Moa than Kiwi!

Hello again Petition Beer Corner… it’s been a while. Otherside Brewing Co. has secured four taps here it seems, leaving nine for “Beer” and four for “Sours” (including a funk cider Passion fruit Radler, which could perhaps be listed in the “Not Beer” menu?). Pretty solid “Beer” offering - from Swan Draught to Mr Otter’s Barley Wine - but sour beers might be having an identity crisis. Still, there’s a Cascade Brewing 2017 Sang du Chêne in the mix, and I’m glad to be having that next… Cheers!

Garage Project bring two of summer’s very best beer styles together for Celestial Odyssey (8.8% abv) - a Hazy Double IPA blended with a foeder-aged Sour. Idaho 7, Strata, Simcoe and Citra hops layer heady tropical and citrus atop yeast-derived fruit notes, tartness and a hint of sherbet fizz. It’s a combination that might not appeal to everyone, but the blend’s acidity works beautifully to cut, dry and counterpoint all that hop character. This “Celestial Odyssey” is a voyage I look forward to taking regularly… or while stocks last!

August 2018: After getting off the BART in the afternoon heat, the walk to this Berkeley, California brewery - - was much further than expected. This photo reminds me of how I was feeling by the time we arrived (ie: exhausted, seeing mirages!) - and how good their sour beers tasted as a result. This is California Redwood, a mixed ferment brew co-fermented with Newton Pippin apples, Pinot Noir grapes and Grenache grapes - aged in oak. Glorious ruby colour with dry, woody, plum-Berry vinous notes on the nose and across the palate… Absolutely no sign of the beer’s 10.1% abv and a complexity befitting this 5th Anniversary (2022) release. I hope to get back there one day; it wasn’t a mirage!

It’s been a while between drinks in Baskerville, but ’s super-clean, tropical-tinged Pale Ale is quite the welcome back… Delicious! Cheers …

I remember this being a highlight of last year’s IPA experiences, and have done it again with the 2023 Space Oddity Imperial IPA… It’s a brew that captures the complexity offered by recent developments in hops - Sabro, Talus and Idaho 7 in particular…
Aromas/flavours of coconut, berry fruits, wood, mint and cream make clear that we’re not in IPA-Kansas anymore, while the beer’s less surprising notes of citrus, stone fruit, pine and spice are welcome IPA reference points. From ground control to major tastebud dazzle, Space Oddity is a very special release… Cheers!

Unfortunately, we've had to cancel our "Lager, Lager, Lager..." event - scheduled for next Thursday 19th October. It seems that the subtle, elegant, well-rested (ie: 'lagered') charms of bottom-fermented beer are less appreciated than I'd imagined!

If you'd like to get a better understanding of what yours truly admires about well-crafted lager, the beer pictured - Commerzienrat Riegele Privat, from Germany's most awarded brewery Brauhaus Riegele - is a fine place to start. Indeed, this brew has been adjudged "German Beer of the Decade" (2000 - 2009) and “Beer of the Year at the World Beer Cup", as well as being a nine-time DLG Gold and six-time European Gold Star recipient.

It's a crisp, elegant, and complex lager, with an exceptional balance of grainy, bready malt and spicy, herbal Noble hops, and also has a remarkable softness across the palate. And that is more than enough; a beer experience every bit as impressive as a cracking Imperial IPA.

Other highlights from the prep for this event include Rocky Ridge Brewing Co's Brunhilde - a double decoction, oak-chipped festbier that's an absolute pleasure to drink - and the Fox Friday Craft Brewery T-1000 Doppelbock. The latter's layering of rich, smooth, seriously-delicious dark malt characters is just stunning... Give them a go if you can!

Moving on to November... the "season" is almost here...