Brewery Discovery: Redoak

Brewery: Redoak
City: Sydney
Country: Australia

Whilst finishing off my beer unrelated work of the day, and as my productivity came to an end, a thought came to me: lets google around and see if there are any brewpubs nearby.

I was rewarded with a number of different brewery/pubs, all just a walk away! It was 4pm and i had nothing else planned for the afternoon so i decided to go on a little brewery discovery. One of the brewpubs stood out as it proudly displayed the title "Australia's most awarded Brewery!".

Well that sparked my interest…

Recruiting one of my friends to come along, we set off toward the brewpub!

Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe, and Brewery

After about a 10 minute walk, we arrived at Redoak "Boutique Beer Cafe", and for the benefit of making this beer blog slightly educational here is some background information:

Redoak opened its doors in 2004, by a guy called David Hollyoak together with his sister. David started brewing ginger beer at the age of 14, and as such many years later did possess some beer brewing skills. The brewery brews a wide range of different beer styles, and is apparently the most award winning brewery in all of Australia! For more information, and a longer version of my short summary, visit redoak.com.au!

But back to me

The brewpub really looks nice from the inside, a bit on the modern side, and it has that real craft beer feel to it!

Redoak Bar 

Only staying in Sydney for a short while, and wanting to visit some more brewpubs (hopefully!) in the city, i asked if it were possible to do some form of beer tasting or something similar in that direction. This was a possibility, and i have to say, Redoak has an absolutely genius way of giving people the opportunity to taste its beers! 

Beer Paddle #1

Beer Paddles! While quite common in brewpubs, Redoak has added an extra dimension to this beer tasting platform. All beers on tap, of which there were about 12 (all from the brewery), had a specific number allocated to them. Customers are able to write this number, with chalk, next to each hole in the paddle, the paddle is than handed to bar staff and said holes are then filled with tasting glasses containing the matching brews!

Awesome!

Some of the taps!

And i have to say, based on my limited experience so far with Australian Beers, i do have to say that i really enjoyed the 8 beers i tasted (yes i had two paddles, couldn't help myself). The staff were also very friendly and up for a chat, it was a great way to spend the end of the afternoon. The brewpub also serves food, and a variety of different beverages. 

Functional Decoration

Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe was a great place to visit, and i will definitely come back here if time allows! Great beers, friendly staff, and apparently also good food (didn't have the opportunity to try). Next time you are in Sydney, i highly recommend giving Redoak a try!

As mentioned earlier, i tried 8 different Redoak beers at the brewpub, my ratings:

Special Strong Ale: 3.75/5 ESB

All Day Breakfast: 3.5/5 Session IPA/Hoppy Lager?

American Pale Ale: 3.5/5 Pale Ale

Winter in the Rye: 4/5 Bock?

Pommy Bitter: 3.5/5 Bitter

Honey Ale: 3.25/5 Honey/Mead

Dr Paddy's Elixer: 3.5/5 Stout

Organic Pale Ale: 3.75/5 Pale Ale

Awesome Decorations! 

Cheers! 

Stouts on a Plane!

As previously mentioned on my facebook page, the next three months I will be travelling around the Asia-Pacific for non beer related reasons. But being the multi-tasker that I am, my plan was (and still is) to discover some new brews and breweries on the side.

Interesting for me, hopefully interesting to you..

But anyway, in order to get to where I needed to be going, I off course had to take an airplane. And being the fearless adventurer that I am, I delved right into the beverage menu, which was handed to me when I was seated.

Stout!? and yes, free drinks….

As you can see, a wide variety of different beverages. When taking a closer look however, you will see that this did not apply to the beer section. Here we see the choice between an “international selection” or “stout”.

Wait, what.. did that menu say stout!!?

That was pretty much my reaction, I didn’t expect much of the in flight brew list, but I definitely did not expect to see stout on the menu. This also gave me hope of what was hiding behind the vague term of “international selection”, but unfortunately international selection, on the first flight, meant a choice between two pilsners brewed by the same company: Heineken and Tiger (Heineken). A decent lager, catering to predominately Asian markets. 

The International Selection, Flight 1

But back to the interesting stuff, stout on a plane? Why, from all choices you have of serving a nice and refreshing brew way up in the sky, would you choose for a 6.8% extra stout? I mean I’m not complaining, I like stouts and its really cool to see them being served in flight, but its just so unexpected. The stewardess definitely didn’t expect me ordering it, as it took her a few seconds to register what exactly it was that I ordered. Said stewardess then proceeded to the back of the airplane where, after some minutes, she came back with a can of stout.

Stout on a plane

Her unexpected look at someone ordering stout, coupled with the fact that it had to be retrieved from the back instead of from the drinks trolley, makes me come to the somewhat unsupported conclusion that they are not very popular on flights. However, as Singapore airlines states that all beverages are carefully selected, they must have their reasons. 

And, to be quite honest, the stout tasted damn good given its surroundings. Craft beer, and especially beers bringing strong tastes are, in my opinion, great for flights as they really bring a lot of taste to a somewhat bland environment. 

The International Selection, Flight 2

On my second flight, from Singapore to Sydney, Mr. Heineken was replaced by his Australian colleague Mr. Foster (also owned by Heineken, in Europe). 

So, a short overview of my experiences with the craft beer sommeliers of Singapore Airlines. A great and pleasantly surprising inclusion of stout beer on the airplane really gives me hope that in the future there actually might be a respectable "international selection" of craft beers on airplanes. 

Know of any other airlines serving specialty beers types? Let me know!

Cheers! 

Beer Discovery: Bombs and Grenades!! (Bommen & Granaten)

Beer: Bommen & Granaten (Bombs & Grenades)
Brewery: De Molen
Country: Netherlands
Style: Barleywine
ABV: 15.2% - 11.9%

Bommen & Granaten, or Bombs & Grenades,  is an apt title for this beautiful, and extreme, Barleywine!

Quite honestly, this was also the first full on barleywine which I've had (if i remember correctly), previous to B&B i did drink Anchor Brewing's famous "Old Foghorn" barleywine style ale, but as the name suggests it doesn't quite come close to a full blown barleywine.

B&B represents the strongest beer in the arsenal of Brouwerij/Brewery de Molen, and is a great balanced barleywine.

Enjoying the original 15.2% B&B, please enjoy within 25 years :P

As you may have noticed at the top, there are two different ABV's presented. Originally, the beer was brewed with an explosive 15.2% alcohol, something which really made an impression on me the first time i drank it. This has now been reduced to 11.9%, a little less explosive but still strong enough for a Barleywine.
A change in the brewing process caused this alcohol reduction, although the recipe still remains the same. I have drunk both ABV strengths and both were really good, i can't remember if there are any distinct differences as quite some time has passed since i had the 15.2% B&B.

What also made this beer really stand out for me, when i first came across it, was the fact that the label stated "Enjoy within 25 years". There are few beers i have encountered which prominently state their longevity, 25 years is something of a bold statement to make in regards to consistent quality. Whilst i believe that B&B is still quite drinkable, maybe even better if stored correctly, coming out with such a statement whilst its longevity has not yet been tested is quite remarkable (the brewery itself is only 12 years old, and B&B quite a bit younger than that).

Perhaps the brewers at de Molen thought the same, as all new 11.9% B&B bottels no longer prominently display this claim of longevity (the best before date is still 25 years however). B&B is now also available in many barrel aged and other variants. I have had the pleasure of sampling a rioja aged variant which was simply delicious.

Enjoying a B&B Rioja B.A.

B&B is brewed with champagne yeast, and pours a champagne mousse. Many fruit flavours are present and the barleywine is quite sweet (something the Rioja B.A. brilliantly balances out). All in all definitely one of my favourite barleywines to this day, both the regular and B.A. versions that i have tried.

Cheers!

My Ratings:

Bommen & Granaten: 4.5/5*
Bommen & Granaten Rioja B.A.: 4.5/5*

Beer Style Discovery: Small Beer

Beer Style: Small Beer

About a week ago I was sitting in a pub and I noticed, chalked on the wall, “Anchor Small Beer, 3.3%”.

Having exhausted most other options of said wall chalking, I thought to myself, why not? Lets try this strange sounding and low ABV brew.

You are probably thinking, that’s just a small glass of beer! That was on my mind too as I placed my order with the barkeeper. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I received a regular half-pint glass filled with a pleasantly coloured brew. But then what does “small” mean in this context?

No, not that kind of small beer (Source: Bike Bus Beer)

This thought was forgotten as the night progressed, and emerged again the next day after I recovered from a mild hangover. Still curious, I set out to do some research.

What is a small beer, beside the size reference?

The term was first mentioned in 1568, and it stated that small beer was either a weak or inferior beer, or something of small importance. Not a very promising start, but lets go on...

Centuries ago, whilst brewing, the first runnings from mash would usually become the strongest and most expensive beer a brewer created, the second running of this mash would create the average regular beer, the third running of the same mash would result in “small” beer (in some cases the small beer was the result of the second running of mash) This beer was then drunk as a supplement instead of water (due to poor sanitation or when water wasn’t available) by servants, workers and even children (cheeky bastards).

Therefore, small beer was a low alchohol left over style brew which was consumed as a beverage akin to water. There are even refrences of physical labour workers drinking over 10 pints of the stuff during a workday, try doing that with a regular brew and still be able to function.

What is interesting to note is that some historical figures have been known to consume, or even brew, small beer! Benjamin Franklin apparently sometimes had it with breakfast and George Washington even had a recipe for it:

George and his beer recipe (Source: Gawker)

or if the above writing is a bit too hard to read:

"Take a large Sifter full of Bran Hops to your Taste -- Boil these 3 hours. Then strain out 30 Gall. into a Cooler put in 3 Gallons Molasses while the Beer is scalding hot or rather drain the molasses into the Cooler. Strain the Beer on it while boiling hot let this stand til it is little more than Blood warm. Then put in a quart of Yeast if the weather is very cold cover it over with a Blanket. Let it work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask. Leave the Bung open til it is almost done working -- Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed." – George Washington, 1757

Enjoying a Anchor Small Beer

So, all you (home) brewers out there, give that one a try!

The small beer I tried, Anchor Small Beer, was first released in 1997. It is made from the second mash running’s of Anchor’s famed Old Foghorn Barleywine Style ale , a great brew in its own right.  This is to date also the only small beer which I have encountered and had the privilege of drinking.

So there you have it, a big story behind a small beer!

Cheers!

Project Beer Cellar

As some of you might have noticed, i have posted one or two pictures on the Facebook page regarding my slowly growing collection of stashed away beer in my parents cellar.

Yes, i don't mind to admit it, that cellar isn't mine. Being a student, and living in student size accommodations, storing beer at any significant scale would probably mean sacrificing either my couch or bed. And anyway, all extra space is already occupied by my ever encroaching beer glass collection, but we will talk about that some other time.

Anyway, project beer cellar...A new addition to my beer hobby, storing away beers for ageing.

This came about for a number of reasons: First of all, i truly enjoy tasting beers which have "developed" and "matured" in taste, a truly interesting experience really showing beer is so much more than something which must be quickly consumed.

And off course the fact that my parents had a practically empty wine cellar with a perfect stable temperature, low humidity and limited light exposure... the ideal conditions for storing away beer.

So one day, some months ago, i decided to start with this project. I headed over to my local beer store and bought a number of beers which to my knowledge were good for storing away for a period of time. This collection has slowly been growing, most of the time now that i visit my parents (who live in a different city than i do) i tend to add two or three bottles to the collection.

So what i have so far:

Collection of regular bottles

In the category, regular beer bottles:

QTY/Name/Style/Bottle Date (DD/MM/YY).

- 2x St. Bernardus Abt 12, Belgian Quad/Strong Dark, 18/03/14
- 3x Hertog Jan Grand Prestige, Barleywine, ??/02/15
- 2x Orval, Belgian Ale, 21/04/15
- 3x Kasteel Donker, Quad, ??/03/15
- 2x Cuvee Du Chateau, Quad, ??/01/12
- 3x Chimay Bleue, Quad, ??/12/14
- 1x Grolsch Herfst Bok, Bock/Bok, 02/06/15
- 1x Rochefort 8, Strong Dark Ale, 03/03/15
- 3x Westmalle Tripel, Tripel, 07/10/14
- 3x Westmalle Dubbel, Dubbel, 24/09/15
- 1x St. Feuillien Grand Cru, Belgian Strong Ale, 08/08/15
- 3x Tripel Karmeliet, Tripel, 10/11/15
- 1x Watou Tripel, Tripel, 06/10/15
- 1x Mont des Cats, Strong Ale, 2015

The majority of small bottles do not have a bottle date, so it takes some research discovering said date by using the best before date which is displayed on all bottles.

Small collection of "big" bottles, (bottles are now being stored upright)

And in my still insignificant, but present, big bottle collection:

1x Gulden Draak Brewmasters Edition, Whiskey Barrel Aged Quad, 2015
1x Deus Brut des Flandres, Champagne Beer, 2014
1x Sink the Bismarck!, Quadruple IPA, 41% ABV monster which is not going to age anytime soon :P

There you have it, the start of my beer cellar collection!

I will post updates on my progress as time passes, if you have any suggestions or comments please post them below or on the Facebook page!

Cheers!


UPDATE

This blogpost is closed as the cellar in question is no longer available, my beer collection is growing however but is spread out across some locations.

Beer Style Discovery: India Pale Ale (IPA)

Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)

And no, its not from India…

The India Pale Ale, or IPA, is currently a well known (and consumed) beer style around the world, characterized by its hoppy flavor and aftertaste, this beer is favorite for many beer lovers!

But where does it come from, and what does India have to do with it?

History time!

Earliest mention of IPA (Source: FoodsofEngland)

The first documented mention of "India Pale Ale" was in an 1829 advertisement, in the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser. Its origins are in England however, not in Australia.

Based on the original pale ale, a beer first brewed in the mid 18th century. Due to a different brewing process this beer was pale of color and was lightly hopped. Bow Brewery produced a variant of this beer, named October beer.

This is where India comes into the story..

Tradesmen, Soldiers and colonizers stationed in India liked to have a drink every now and then. They faced one little problem however, the breweries were in England and they were in India. From England, a trip to India took around six months (imagine it took that long to get to your local beer store). Conditions on these ships were far from ideal; Heat, the rolling waves, thirsty sailors… not the best place for storing beer six months. Beer often became infected, spilled or was drunk by those who transported it.

British East Indian Trader (Source: British Library)

If none of those thing happened, and the beer survived, you must imagine that everyone was very happy? Not exactly…

Due to the length of the journey, one of the few beers which could survive the journey, and as such the majority of the beer, consisted of dark porters. Very popular in cold and rainy London at the time but not so much in hot and sweaty India. (although stouts and porters can be enjoyable on warm days, they don't eye as being very refreshing :P)

But first, back to England!

As i previously mentioned, Bow's Brewery created October beer (a pale ale variant of the day). This beer was the first beer of its kind to be exported to India by the EIC. The beer was very well received, it was refreshing, light of color and maintained its taste remarkably well over the six month journey.  However, the brewery experienced decline due to bad business practices (ignoring the EIC and attempting shipping by themselves) and as such exports dwindled.

It was the East India Company which requested a strong hopped pale ale, similar to that of Bow's Brewery, to be produced for export to India. Allsop brewery was the first to be approached with this request, and several other breweries quickly followed suit . Initial exports of this new "India Ale"or "India Pale Ale" proved very successful, and the beer was very well received in India. This beer was more heavily hopped and had a slightly higher alcohol percentage than most other beers of the time.

Enjoying some IPA 

This early connection to India is where the beer gained its name. Subsequently, the beer was also exported to other markets such as the Americas and Australia, often under the name pale ale as India was not the destination. However, due to its more hoppy nature and connection to India, the name did stick and later emerged as a distinct beer style!

Enjoying a Pliny the Elder Imperial IPA 

Enough history, back to the present…

IPA is currently enjoyed worldwide, and has a whole number of varieties. there are three "official" (main categories) styles for IPA:

American IPA: Significantly hoppy and usually characterized by a bitter aftertaste.

English IPA: Lower average ABV percentages (due to taxation over the decades) and is characterized by less of a hoppy flavor and more pronounced hints of malt.

Imperial/Double IPA: Intensely hoppy, and higher in ABV.

Several other "unofficial styles" or subcategories, include:

- Belgian IPA (IPA's fermented with Belgian yeast)
- India Session Ale (IPA with low ABV level)
- White IPA (Begian witbier hopped like an IPA)
- Wild IPA (IPA that experiences fermentation with wild yeast)
- Red IPA (American red ale brewed with the strength and hop level of IPA)
- Rye IPA (IPA brewed with rye)
- Spiced/Herbed IPA (IPA brewed with additional spices, herbs or flowers)
- Black IPA (IPA brewed with dark specialty malts)
- Triple IPA (more hops more glory)
- Quadrupel IPA (very extreme, not for the faint hearted)

So plenty of IPA's to choose from, and that all without the 6 month waiting time!

Cheers!

Brewery Visit: De Koninck

Brewery: De Koninck
City: Antwerp
Country: Belgium

Well the old brewery, so more like a museum..

Last weekend i visited the old Koninck brewery in the Belgian city of Antwerp!
Although the brewery no longer brews its beer there, which is now done at Duvel Moortgat (which bought the brewery), it still functions as a museum and brewery "experience". Why did we decide to visit? My sister is currently conducting her thesis research for the brewery!

De Koninck!

But first, a little history lesson..

The brewery was founded in 1833 (3 years after the formation of Belgium as a country) and was originally called "the hand". The reason for this original naming was that the building hosting the brewery was located at a boundary crossing between Antwerp and Berchem. A signpost with a hand sigil indicated that payment of a toll was necessary to pass. The hand has since become the symbol for the city of Antwerp.

The name "De Koninck" appeared in the first half of the 19th century, and as such the brewery was now named after its founding family. Around the same time, the beer also became the most popular drink in Antwerp and the surrounding countryside.

Ill just have one…..

But back to my story,

I visited the Brewery last weekend, on a Sunday. Looking back this was unfortunate as, although the brewery was open, all surrounding restaurants and bars (which are in the same complex) were closed. Although unfortunate, the brewery was open and that was the main reason for visiting.

Like i previously mentioned, the brewery has stopped brewing beer and has been turned into a brewery "experience" and museum. The experience guides you through the old brewery which has been renovated into a semi-interactive museum with televised tour guides and exhibitions.

Glasses, glasses everywhere!

For example, in the space shown by the picture above, a video guide informed us about different beer glasses and their corresponding beers (all owned by Duvel Moortgat, off course). Exhibitions like this really characterized this brewery museum, as each space had some form of video instruction or interaction. Probably the best part was taking a seat in a Koninck delivery truck as it, as a simulation, raced through the streets of Antwerp.

Grand Theft Koninck

But apart from a few other limited, tangible, interactions it was really just a museum and not so much an experience. Although informative, these semi interactive (press a button) video guides and interactions dont really let a visitor experience anything "real"(with the exception of being able to touch barley).

Moreover, even though the brewery is no longer in use, it was not possible to walk through the actual brewery. Instead, a suspended walkway with windows was seemingly constructed and as such it felt a little artificial.

An old Koninck cafe and a history lesson

Don't get me wrong, the exhibitions were nicely made and looked great, but the lack of physical or human interaction made this less of an "experience" for me. It would have been great if more activities were included, or for example places where one can taste and feel the brewing process and ingredients.

But first, let me take a brewfie..

So in terms of the "experience" in itself, i experienced it more like a museum. The exhibitions were great and the information displayed was great, however there was nothing really there to entice or motivate you to really explore and "experience" the Koninck.

The ending was good..

The end of the tour was nicely done however, as here you could exchange your ticket for either a tasting platter of three different beers or a single glass. The "brewery" bar was also very nice, and had a great atmosphere.

I selected the single glass as i was eager to taste on of the new test brews currently being made by de Koninck.

Cheers!

All in all a good day, but not really an "experience" which was unfortunate. However, if you ever find yourself in Antwerp and looking for something to do, de Koninck is a nice place to visit.

I hope my sister's research will contribute to some improvements to really make this a brewery experience!

Cheers!