Beer Style Discovery: Ginger Beer

Beer Style: Ginger Beer

My interest for this apparent Beer style was sparked a few weeks back in Singapore, where i had the opportunity to try a "Fiery Alcoholic Ginger Beer".

The taste took me completely off guard!

4.2%, not that Fiery, but oh well...

Well yes i was expecting ginger (kind of hard not to when its called ginger beer), but i was not expecting to be pretty much drinking a brew which tasted a lot like ginger ale (with alcohol).

At this point you are probably wondering:
"Where does this crazy ginger tasting beer come from?" or "Discovery of Beer, please tell me more!"

Well especially for you dear reader (and a little bit for me too because i was wondering the same thing), i set out and conducted some research - so you don't have to!

Time for a little history lesson:

In the mid 17th century, the British were both expanding their empire into the Caribbean and the oriental spice trade was in full swing. Why is this important you might ask? well these two historical occurrences brought about two of the key ingredients used in creating Ginger Beer: Sugar and Ginger.

An 18th Century Ginger Beer Vendor. Source: Victorianlondon.org

Brewers throughout history have always experimented with a wide range of different ingredients when it came to brewing beer, or just alcohol in general. Some sources claim that things such as acorns, oyster shells and ox feet had been used at some point (creativity seemingly had no bounds, pretty much like craft brewers today :P)

So it didn't take long for experiments to be made with ginger and sugar. Now the invention of Ginger Beer itself is a little disputed, but the most accepted theory is a mention in the 1702 edition of A History of the Royal Society of London which states that its members had experimented adding ginger to the brewing process instead of hop.

Ginger beer, being relatively easy (and cheap) to produce, soon became immensely popular and at a certain point was "the" drink of Britain's lower and middle classes. It was also easy to home-brew, as the process is quite simple (i will share a recipe later on), and as such Ginger Beer brewers popped up everywhere.

Brew your own. Source: Alarmy.com

Sufficient to say, Ginger Beer was hugely popular in Britain (and subsequently also in the United States and the British colonies). There are mentions in old publications which state that in the 18th century, an approximate 300,000 gallons (1,363,827 liters) of Ginger Beer were being sold per year in London alone!

Old Ginger Beer Bottles. Source: whatthevictoriansthrewaway.com

 Ginger Beers also used to be quite a bit stronger than their modern counterparts, there have even been records of Ginger Beer being brewed at a staggering 11% ABV. However, an alcohol excise tax act passed by the British Government in 1855 (sound familiar from a different blogpost?), made all alcoholic beverages with more than 2% heavily taxable (causing the majority of brewers to start brewing ginger beer "light", or cut out the alcohol all together, in order to keep the drink affordable)

This 2% version (or lower)  however proved hugely popular with Britain's school children at the time, and as the years progressed it remained a popular beverage both for children and adults alike. However, with the rise of the carbonated, and over-sugared soft drinks, the Ginger Beer lost a lot of popularity (whilst the Ginger Ale remained). This is well characterized by the fact that Britain was home to 3000 traditional Ginger Beer brewers in 1935, whilst today only one remains.

 Luckily for us however, many brewers have started reviving the old alcoholic ginger beer recipes and as such they are available to the masses once again!

Try it yourself and brew Ginger Beer at home! (I will be giving that recipe a try soon i think!)

Cheers!

My Ratings:

Ginger Beard - Wychwood Brewery: 3.5/5*

Sources: 

Hennessy, J (2016) Ginger Beer History. I love Ginger Beer. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from: http://www.ilovegingerbeer.com

Madden, D (2008) Ginger Beer: A traditional fermented low-alchohol drink. Science in School. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from: http://www.scienceinschool.org/2008/issue8/gingerbeer

Sprat, T (1702) A history of the Royal Society of London, page 196 "of Brewing Beer with Ginger instead of Hops"

Thompson, J. Smith, A. (1877) Street Life in London. Victorian London Publications. Retrieved April 21, 2016, from: http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications/thomson-27.htm

The Search for Craft Beer on Bali!

The Search for Balinese Craft Beer!

Bali…

Known for its paradise island qualities, with beautiful beaches, nature and scenery. Or for others, (yes, you Australia) a great place to go party. 

However, what the island is not known for is Craft Beer…

Nope, no craft beer here...

Sufficient to say, my expectations for Bali were not that high, although significantly higher than Myanmar (one of my previous destinations).  Surely, it would offer me more than what I encountered in that lager/pilsner infested savannah named Bagan (not that there is anything wrong with lagers or pilsners for that matter).

I did have some hope for Bali, regarding craft beer, however. Some months ago, one of my friends who had been on his internship on the island brought back two Balinese craft beers! 

These two brews, a wheat and dark wheat ale from a Balinese microbrewery, gave me a real hope for success finding somewhat of a craft beer scene on this paradise island!

So, here follows the tale of my long, epic, and dangerous, quest of finding Craft Beer on Bali...

The first thing one will encounter in terms of brews, and encounter quite a lot, is Bintang. It really is Bintang’s Bali…

Having a Bintang, with a view!

Bintang is the local pilsner, or used to be if you keep in mind that Heineken now owns it. Light, crisp, and with a slight bitter, this is a nice and refreshing pilsner (especially with the humidity and temperatures one experiences on Bali). 

But, as mentioned, I was searching for craft beer and not the local pilsner, so that’s all I will say about Bintang for now. 

Anyway,

Sparked by those first few beers brought over by a friend of mine, I set out one afternoon to find some craft beer in Kuta, in which my hotel is located (party central on Bali). 

After checking quite a few bars and restaurants, I came across the Stadium Cafe. This bar had a number of beers on tap (Guinness, Kilkenny etc), and best of all what seemed to be one of the local brews: STARK WHEAT from the Lovina Beach Brewery or STARK BEER BALI. 

The Stadium Cafe, Kuta.

Apart from apparently having problems with their CAPS LOCK key, or being run by brewers who like to shout continuously, this seemed to be the only microbrewery that I could find on the island (yes, i did some research).  In fact, this was also the brewery from which my friend brought back some brews to the Netherlands.

Unfortunately for me however, they were out of STARK WHEAT at the Stadium Cafe, and really had no clue about when they would be resupplied. Disappointed, and ordering a Guinness as a consolation beer, i started looking online for some more places which served STARK. 

What i discovered at this point sounded amazing! STARK had their own bar/club, located on the areas party street (Jalan Legian), which was only about a 20 minute walk away! Downing my Guinness, i set out braving the hot and humid Balinese climate once more, the things i do for beer!

Surely, this would be the best place on the island to enjoy local Balinese craft beer!

Or not...

As you probably summarized from the picture above, the place was pretty much closed down. Literally swimming in my own sweat at this point, after my 20 minute afternoon stroll, and in dire need of a refreshing beer, i was extremely disappointed. 

Desperate, i went for a closer look, maybe it just seemed like it was closed…

Nope, still closed.

In dire need of a beer at this point, i swallowed my disappointed and rushed into the air-conditioned heaven that is Mini-Mart (small convenience store). Grabbing a (second) consolation beer, i asked the manager why the STARK bar was closed. According to Mr. Minimart, the bar had closed due to bad management only a little more than a month ago…

Just my luck..

Anker, Pilsner

With my Anker pils in one hand (average pilsner from Jakarta, Indonesia), and my phone in the other, i once again ventured online for another place serving STARK beers! Once again i found a spot, skipped over in favor of the STARK bar in my previous search, about a 30 minute walk away. However, being quite done with walking at this point i decided to hail a taxi.  "Rooftop Beer Garden serving a number of different Beers" sounded promising enough to do so, so off i went. 

More like a "very empty and depressing rooftop Beer Garden serving no Beer"

Climbing too many stairs, i arrived to this "Rooftop Beer Garden". In reality it was an abandoned rooftop pool bar, with an empty beer fridge, and absolutely no one there. Sitting down at the bar, catching my breath i noticed a telephone next to me with a number attached to it. At this point i had a slight hope that this calling this number might conjure up some bartender and some craft beer, so i gave it a dial. 

"Hello, Rooftop bar? So sorry closed, bye"- Random Telephone Lady, 2016

Well, having pretty much given up hope for the day at this point, i walked back down the stairs and set off back to the hotel. 

What i encountered at this point was like a desert illusion… 

Is it real?

Just as i had given up hope i encountered this beautiful beer oasis! (and yes, it seems quite happy ending-ish, and convenient for the story, but I'm not making this stuff up!)

The rooftop Beer Garden had apparently moved off the roof and was now hidden down below underneath the building. And the person that answered by phone call earlier, Random Telephone Lady, was behind the bar! 

YES!

I had suffered, i had endured, and now i had arrived in Balinese Beer heaven! It seemed like almost all available beer types on Bali were available at this bar, and best of all; STARK brews! 

Time for a beer!

Finally, after a long, hot, and sweaty search, i had finally found what i was looking for: Balinese Craft Beer!

STARK MANGO ALE 

I tried a number of different STARK brews at this point, all those which i had never tried before. The mango ale was especially enjoyable, light sweet with a hint of Mango, this was a very refreshing Balinese craft beer. I spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Beer Garden, sampling a bunch of different local brews!

It seemed that after my search, and the discovery of this Beer Garden, my fortunes had shifted. 

That night, when going out with a number of friends to the locally famous Sky Garden club, i made another surprising discovery!

Sorry for the out of focus picture, i was also a bit out of focus at this point :P

The two beers which a friend of mine brought back to the Netherlands; STARK WHEAT and STARK DARK WHEAT, were actually available in this club (and at exactly the same price as a Bintang!)

You can probably guess what i was drinking the rest of the night…



Well, that was my epic tale of my search for craft beer on Bali!

Cheers!

My Ratings:

STARK MANGO ALE: 3.5/5*
STARK 1954 Pilsner: 3/5*
STARK L.C.: 3.25/5*
STARK WHEAT: 3.25/5*
STARK DARK WHEAT: 3/5*
-
Bintang: 3/5*
Anker: 3/5*

Brewery Discovery: Brewerkz

Brewery: Brewerkz
Country/City State: Singapore

Yesterday I stopped by Brewerkz, a Singapore founded Micro Brewery and one of the regions largest craft beer brewers!

Brewerkz @ Riverside Point

Having only a limited amount of time to discover Singapore's craft beer scene, i had to make some choices regarding what places to visit. Brewerkz was the name that kept popping up whenever i asked fellow craft beer lovers for recommendations on what places i should visit, so Brewerkz it was!

Brewerkz Restaurant & Microbreweries

Brewerkz has several venues in Singapore. I visited the Riverside Point venue, and to be honest, for no other reason than the fact that it was relatively close by to my hostel.

So after a nice and extremely sweaty city walk, I arrived at Brewerkz! The Riverside Point venue is along the Singapore river (the name "Riverside" kind of gives this away), and is located in the idyllic Clarke Quay area.

However, as i was losing body water at an alarming rate, i decided to rush inside to the bar!

What to Drink?

As you can see, plenty of brews to choose from. As i wanted to experience as much of Brewerkz as i could, with my limited amount of time, i decided to try out a Beer Sampler. Brewerkz continuously produces six "signature" beers, and a number of seasonal brews (they have produced 50 so far!). At any one time, Brewerkz will have 13 of its brews on tap.

While the bartender was tapping my first sampler set, i had a little look around the venue.

The Brewery 

What i discovered at this (riverside..ha ha) point was that the Riverside Point venue hosts a custom made Canadian micro brewery installation. It is really cool to see that the beers are practically brewed inside the bar and restaurant.

I couldn't get any closer, or they would have shot me! (see sign)

It really looked like an awesome brewery set up, however i didn't dare to go any closer as the warning sign had me believe that there was trigger happy sniper somewhere nearby.

Brewerkz Bar

Brewerkz also had a nice, and original, take on beer samplers or tasting paddles. Instead of giving a "paddle" they place their tasting glasses on a plastic sheet, right on top of the corresponding beer's picture, which makes it very easy to keep track of what you are drinking.

From top left to bottom right: Golden Ale, Single Hop Series Vic Secret, Black Raspberry Ale and the IPA

The brews were nice, and quite good, although none of this first batch really stood out for me. Well, maybe the Black Raspberry Ale, due to the fact that it really just tasted like raspberry juice. 

Time for Round 2: Blonde Hoppy Monk, Irish Red Ale, Wheat, Hopback Ale!

Well, 4 tasting glasses weren't just going to cut it, and i still needed to recover lots of water before braving the walk back to the hostel through humid Singapore. So a second sampler set had to be ordered.

The second round proved more successful, the collaboration brew: Blonde Hoppy Monk, was really enjoyable! With a nice floral aroma and taste, and with only a light lingering bitterness, this was a really nice brew and the best of the day! The other brews were once again quite good, but nothing which really stood out for me.

All done!

All in all a great brew tasting filled (early) afternoon at Brewerkz! You are probably wondering why, why stop if you only have four more brews left to try?

Well, i was wondering the same thing myself. This was really due to two main factors: I was out of cash, and i was still out of cash as i realized that i was out of cash. However, the official story will be that i left these four, so that in the future i could go back to Brewerkz and still try these.

Follow these to get to the bathroom

Afterwards, i decided to visit the bathroom… but i won't get into much details about that.

Brewerkz is definitely a place i can recommend! Nice brews, friendly staff, and a great looking venue!

Cheers!

My Ratings:
(In order of consumption)

1. Golden Ale: 3.5/5*
2. Black Raspberry Ale: 3.5/5*
3. Vic Secret: 3.5/5*
4. IPA: 3.5/5*

5. Irish Red Ale: 3.5/5*
6. Wheat Ale: 3.5/5*
7. Blonde Hoppy Monk: 3.75/5*
8. Hopback Ale: 3.5/5*