Silly Rabbit

It is an absolute travesty, blasphemy, a complete black mark on my being that I haven't visited Slowbeer yet. I mean honestly, I feel like a traitor to the cause the longer this goes on. However come Friday this will be rectified, though I may have to be dragged out of there with drool-drenched clothes, just a heads up. So expect Slowbeer related reporting early next week.

My memory is completely shithouse at the moment - notice how that happens every couple of months of blogging on Skittle Brau? Funny that. I've tried a couple of other Unibroue (CAN) and Dieu Du Ciel (CAN) blends since the last post - and as I said, they're both really intriguing breweries creating interesting blends that won't be to everyone's taste. Mostly because they're so full on, especially Dieu Du Ciel which is consistently 8-10% in content and always very rich in taste. But I'm loving it - it's a fucking treat on the palette that's for sure.

Last night I sunk back a few pints of White Rabbit Dark Ale (VIC) at The Gem on Wellington St, for anyone wondering where else you can find said rabbit on tap in Melbourne. And yes that means I have come around to the Dark (side) Ale, on tap at least. Good times.

Chasing the rabbit

I must have misunderstood all the "Mr. Rabbit" conversation dominating the past week because come Saturday just gone instead of voting in the election, I went to the White Rabbit Brewery (Healesville, VIC).

I got to have a quick look at the brewery itself and see the production in action, and then across the road was Giant Steps / Innocent Bystander winery where they served food and White Rabbit on tap. And holy shitballs Batman, White Rabbit White Ale on tap is absolutely delicious. That's a no brainer though, considering how much I like the bottled product. I probably should have also given the Dark Ale a chance too seeing as how it never convinced me bottled-wise, but I was blinded by the White Ale and the fact that you could order as many Oysters as you liked at $3.50 each. So I ordered one, much to the confusion of the staff. Yes, cheekiness, plus I'd been drinking all day. But it was ONE damn fine oyster, as was the food in general too.

Anyway, White Rabbit on tap... if you haven't tried it yet or seen it around, you should be able to get it at any Little Creatures brewery/hall (they own some/all of it). Melbourne folk - apparently the Local Taphouse did secure some kegs too but they're probably gone now, so you can only grab it at the Little Creatures Dining Hall on Brunswick St at present.

Oh yeah, I drove through Coldstream as well, and therefore passed the Coldstream Brewery but, well... who cares.

Good stuff

Several great beers and ciders have been tried over the past few days so kicking off with the best...

- Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (CAN) - They say this golden ale is similar to the Triple Karmeliet when comparing it to other triple fermented beers, though when it comes to taste it reminds me a lot of Delirium Tremens (Belgium). If you don't know much about this particular beer, it's pretty much one that is raved about worldwide, has topped a number of beer lists and won competitions around the globe. It's also named after a medical condition related to alcohol withdrawal, and is packaged in a white bottle with a blue wrapping featuring a pink elephant. All of this is fucking hilarious - the beer itself is pretty full on, at 9% and with an overpowering hit of vanilla. Personally I think it's too over the top, which is where the La Fin Du Monde comes in - working with the flavours of the Delirium Tremens but presenting them in a much more subtle manner. Really delicious brew - though be aware that Unibroue no longer export from Canada as the demand is outgrowing the supply and the brewery is not in a position to expand its operation at this time. So if you see anything from Unibroue floating around, grab it and try it before you can't any longer. Though you'll be ok for awhile, since the word about Unibroue no longer exporting went out a year ago and their beers are still pretty easy to find. Try and get any of their seasonal products before you hit up the La Fin Du Monde and others that are produced year round, since obviously the seasonal ones will be the first to become extinct - or just put all your money on the table and buy anything with a Unibroue label because seriously, this brewery is sensational - they're doing some really interesting things, getting involved with some interesting & complex mixtures (I just tried an ale fused with apple and coriander) and executing them so well. I'll be talking more about Unibroue in the future. Check out their website in the meantime - www.unibroue.com - how fucking inspiring is that shit! (photo above is taken from the Ale section).

- Blanche De Namur (Belgium) - This won the best wheat beer in the world in some competition I can't remember (it's on the label) and you can see why but for me, it lacks excitement. It's a super smooth wheat beer, good balance of fruity flavour and smell. It does the job, but I don't feel like it satisfies all aspects of the palette completely. Yes, I am a wanker.

- 3 Ravens The Ravenator Bock (VIC) - just another quality product from a seriously great Australian microbrewery. I can't believe I've only stumbled across them recently. Ok, so I don't know enough to know exactly what a Bock is without some research (talk to me about Pale Ales and I'm all over that shit) but apparently this beer is lighter than the name suggests it should be... blah blah blah whatever (see, not such a wanker sometimes). It's fucking great, that's all you need to know.

- Kingston Press Dry Apple (UK) from the Aston Manor brewery is a crisp, light cider lacking in sweetness, with a flavour that decays rapidly. Meaning it's ridiculously easy to drink, which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on the circumstance. In complete contrast to this...

- Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel! Rigor Mortis Abbey-style Brown Ale (CAN) - I had to google the name of this beer and look at it about 5 times before I spelt it properly. With such an extravagant name, you know you're in for something pretty full on, and this Brown Ale delivers. 10.5%, so you can never drink more than one, and very slowly might I add... tasting like very rich dark chocolate. Sweet beginning, bitter ending. So this literally would be amazing with some dark chocolate and if you were in a completely decadent headspace, but just like any extravagant dessert, you really can only have this once in awhile.

Sock vs Rekorderlig pt 2, why Harvest is awesome pt 2

I've just done my weekly shop and it was one of my most pleasant bottleshop experiences yet. Now I know I still need to report on the good purchases from last week but I'll get to that later this week. What makes a great shopping experience for me is a) when the sales person knows their shit, b) when they can take a bit of time out to have a good bitch/whinge with you, and c) when they chuck in some free shit because they acknowledge you are passionate about your purchase/their store.

I've been recommended some quality beers from Harvest this week, mostly from Canada which is a nice change from my usual Belgium obsession. The owner dude gave me a free Monteith's glass too, and just as I was ready to go, I commented on wanting a good cider recommendation. In the process, we spent a good minute discussing how fucking gross Rekorderlig (SWE) is and being completely baffled as to how anyone can drink anything like that on a regular basis given how ridiculously over-the-top sweet it is.

Did I mention I love Harvest and hate Rekorderlig with a passion? Beer reporting shortly. The space below this line is to heighten the crapness of the product in the image.

3 Raving

3 Ravens (VIC) is my new favourite brewery. Just came back from the Northcote Social Club where they had both the 3 Ravens Golden Ale and the 3 Ravens Dark Smoke Beer bottled. The Golden is wonderfully crisp, and with the Dark Smoke, they really don't fuck around. It was a great accompaniment to the 350gm porterhouse I got stuck into for lunch, though would have been sensational with some BBQ pork ribs. When they say smokey beer, they really mean smokey beer, so the meatiness of it would be off-putting to your non-carnivores (vegetarians I think they call them, or some ridiculous name - either way, as the saying goes, you don't win friends with salad), but I love my meat, so it was a great surprise. Would be amazing with jerky too.

Obvious do's and don'ts and why Australian microbreweries mostly kick arse

So I've tried half of the purchases from last week. I have to admit, they've been hard to get through, mainly because I purposely tried the ones I thought would be the weakest - unfortunately they've been quite terrible to the point that the desire to drink died as soon as I had a taste.

Rules for the future;

1. Never buy beer/cider with "banana" in the title, no matter how curious you are. Apple, yes. Pear, yes. Banana, run for the fucking hills.
2. Never buy beer with a Japanese owl cartoon on the label.
3. Never continue to drink a beer that makes your tongue tingle (that would be offender #5 from the left in the photo)
4. Always give a brewery a second chance (except Pepperjack - stick to your fucking wine).

And by the fourth rule, specifically I'm talking about White Rabbit (VIC). I didn't like their dark ale, I thought it was pretty standard as far as dark ales go, which I don't find to be a very exciting brew to begin with. However, they've released White Rabbit White Ale (VIC) that steps up their game. Think the immediate bite and flavour of Hoegaarden (Belgium) but without the lingering fruitiness. This one is a lot drier at the end which is pleasing news for folks that hated the second half of the Hoegaarden experience. Damn impressive, well done White Rabbit.

Also, 3 Ravens (VIC) - YES. Now this brewery excites me. Fortunate enough that the Napier has 3 Ravens Golden Ale (VIC) on tap which was an absolute pleasure to drink the other night, and I do have the limited edition 3 Ravens The Ravenator Bock (VIC) sitting in my fridge which I'll report on next week. More 3 Ravens will be sourced, and I am further pleased by the brewery being based in Thornbury. May just have to pay them a little visit.

Oh and note my new Leffe (Belgium) glass in the picture. My aim is one new glass a week, I saw some Young's and Monteith's glasses in Harvest alongside this one, though pity Monteith's make such diluted products. Someone tried telling me Monteith's Crushed Apple Cider (NZ) was one of the best ciders on the market and I wanted to kick them in the head but I figured they needed as many braincells still working as possible.

The new Acland Cellars

Now before anyone goes jumping to any wild conclusions, I need to bash out a disclaimer. Acland Cellars is without a doubt my favourite boutique bottleshop of all time. The beer wall as soon as you enter the store is the most magnificent thing I've ever seen, and this is including the time I got to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa as a 6 year old kid. Though for some reason wasn't allowed to climb the Eiffel Tower, which is safer since it's not so, you know, lean-y and falling over and shit.

Anyhoo... since moving to Northcote, trips to St Kilda to fulfill my imported beer desires has been nothing short of a pain in the hole. So much so that I haven't even bothered to try. C'mon, we're talking at least a 30 minute trek there and that's assuming no traffic, but usually the times I want to go are on the weekend when I have to figure out a way that bypasses the MCG before/after a footy game when traffic is complete bollocks. Too much effort.

So you can imagine my delight stumbling across a smaller boutique bottleshop in Northcote that not only supplies a great range of imported beer but changes their supplies on a regular basis to keep from going stale AND has some highly sort after beer glasses available for purchase. They also had this crazy $80 Absinthe fountain. I can't even begin to explain what it looked like but it was the perfect device for any Absinthe fanatic.

Oh and I forgot to mention the most important part of this whole thing... literally 2 minutes drive from my house. Parallel to it but a couple of blocks over. It was meant to be.

Harvest Wine & Liquor - you are too awesome. I bought 8 new beers to try yesterday, will be posting about them shortly.

Beerwagon

So my stocks are not replenished as yet. I forgot about my day job when I jumped the gun on having Skittle Brau revived (note I spelt it wrong in the comeback post too... for shame). However, now that the day job is quieting down, a trip to St Kilda is imminent... and man, it'll be fucking sweet.

In the meantime, I stumbled across this today.
http://beerbureau.com/enjoy-craft-brewed-beer-on-tap-at-home

PS.2 Brothers Gypsy Pear Cider (AUS) is really good - refreshing, crisp, subtle, lacking in sweetness (that's a great thing since ciders by default are meant to be sweet to a point). It's up there with Magners, but is just edged out probably due to my fierce loyalty.