REDOAK

I finally managed to get out and drink some beer on Friday night. In the craziness that has been the last few weeks I have had little time to drink beer let alone write about it. The destination was Redoak Boutique Beer Cafe on Clarence Street. I arrived a little ahead of my mates and had a swift half of the Organic Pale Ale (4.5% abv) which was good but hardly spectacular. I followed this by a half of their Belgian Pale Ale that was even better although didn't taste anything like any beer I had encountered in Belgium! I suppose it was trying to be a take on something like Kwak, but it kind of misses the mark. Friday also saw the arrival of a new member to the Redoak lineup, an IPA which one the 'World's Best IPA' at the World Beer Awards, UK (31 July 09). The beer was good, weighing in at 6.5% abv but was overly sweet and not really to style. As I have never heard about these particular awards before, I'm not sure if its genuine or just marketing spin. Anyhow the price of this beer is ridiculous and a pint set me back $13.50, which is about twice the price an equivalent beer would cost in London. Anyhow after the IPA I moved on to a couple of other venues and had some Little Creatures and Coopers Pale Ale and got pretty smashed before returning to Redoak for a (OK, I had two) nightcaps of their Robust Porter (6.5%). Overall I like Redoak as the beer is exceptional, however their prices are ridiculous. Given their location is at the fringe of the financial district - paying a premium is to be expected, but $13.50 a pint is taking the piss. But while the punters are willing to pay, I can't blame them for overcharging - the place was rammed.

About Redoak;
"Australia’s most awarded boutique beer café opened its doors in Sydney in mid 2004 and serves a range of boutique premium beers accompanied by a menu of exquisite cuisine. Redoak Brewery has had outstanding successes at the 2004 -2008 Australian International Beer Awards and has been Australia's most awarded brewery for the third consecutive year in 2007 and won 'Champion International Small Brewery' at AIBA 2008.

David started brewing beer at the age of 14 when he created his first ginger beer. He developed a passion for brewing beer in his teens and always dreamed of brewing a range of premium beers for the Australian market.

Over the years he developed his own unique methods of brewing specialty beers and has used these, along with some more traditional methods, to create the range available in the Redoak Boutique Beer Café.

Redoak’s unique beer styles

Redoak’s signature beer is the Framboise Froment, which is brewed in Belgian style with fresh raspberries infused resulting in intense flavours and aroma. This beer took home Gold and Best in Class medals at the 2004 awards and is proving highly popular with both men and women.

Another favourite is the Redoak Belgium Chocolate Stout, which is Australia’s first fully Belgian chocolate beer made by infusing Redoak’s Oatmeal Stout with the finest dark Belgian chocolate. David has also created another Australian first in the Redoak Belgium Choc-Cherry Stout, in which fresh cherries are used to create a luxurious sweet sensation.

Complementing the exotic premium range is the Redoak Organic Pale Ale, which was created using some traditional English brewing methods and only certified organic grown malt and hops. Redoak is the first brewery in New South Wales to create organic beers and the first in Australia to brew organic pale ale.

The Redoak Brewery currently brews over 40 premium beers, of which 20 are available at any one time at the Redoak Boutique Beer Café. Redoak was the first brewery in Australia to brew more than 10 of its own beers and has subsequently extended it's range of beers considerably.

All beers are created using only the highest quality ingredients, contain no additives, preservatives or added sugars. Redoak beers are not pasteurised and are served fresh.

Redoak matches premium beer with fine cuisine

In addition to premium quality beers, Janet and David offer a menu of exquisite gourmet cuisine, developed together with Head Chef Chris Beard as the perfect accompaniment to the Redoak beer range.

Diners at the Redoak Boutique Beer Café can choose from a selection of tempting dishes made with quality ingredients. Redoak has specially combined food and beer to create a unique experience for the customer. Janet Hollyoak said, “Each dish uses carefully selected premium Australian produce and is complimented with a unique beer style to provide the diner with a unique tasting experience.”

Redoak has created a beer appreciation course to take customers through the brewery history, process and special qualities and characteristics that define a premium beer. Customers can then enjoy the fine cuisine complimented by a Redoak beer, while being taken through the individual flavour and aroma profiles of different beer styles.

The Café also offers unique Tasting Boards – the first of their kind in Australia. The Tasting Boards each hold four canapé style dishes that are matched with four different Redoak premium beers. The boards are designed to enable diners to experience the unique cuisine and premium beers. The tastes and flavours of the dishes and beer are enhanced as the diners palate develops when they move across the board.

Janet and David have created a stylish boutique beer café which is uniquely different in many ways to any other drinking or eating establishment in Sydney or across Australia. Every aspect has been put together with the upmost detail. For example, the bar tops are made from 700 year old jarrah timber sourced from West Australia’s famous Fremantle Wool Store and decorated with Italian mosaic tiling."

Off Licence - NY Style

We flew into JFK Terminal 8 and made our first schoolboy error almost immediately. One of my wife's colleagues had told her to get an airport shuttle into town from the transport information desk as it was cheaper. Bad move. It took us an hour an a half to get to our hotel on the Upper West Side. A taxi would have been more direct and cost approx. The same price as they have a fixed cost between JFK and Manhattan. Anyhow, putting this aside we arrived at our digs in the mid afternoon and promptly headed out exploring the Upper West Side (UWS) and Midtown areas before jet lag put my wife out of service. On the way back to the hotel I popped into the NY equivalent of an off licence to pick up some booze. This was a funny experience as I was carded by a kid who must not have been a day over 16. The fact that I have a large proportion of gray hair and I am on the wrong side of 30 should have been enough, but obviously they roll a little bit differently in the States. So the missus went to sleep and I watched a 'Rock of Love, with Bret Michaels omnibus whilst drinking my purchase.

First up was Magic Hat #9 which is a not quite pale ale. Basically it tastes like your typical west coast US pale ale (Columbus and Cascade) but has an apricot like twang. My guess is that they add apricots to the boil and this adds some flavour to the beer. It's odd and takes a bit of time to get used to, but it's not unpleasant either. I followed this up with a bottle of Blue Point Hoptical Illusion, which is a 6.8% IPA that tasted like bitter pine cones and not much else. It was OK, but not really all that balanced. Blue Point is a small micro based on Long Island New York. Apparently their beers are hard to come by even in NYC, so I guess I was lucky to stumble upon them. I also had a bottle of Blue Point Spring Fling (6.0% abv) which tasted like a balanced and toned down version of the Hoptical Illusion. It had very little aroma and a slightly astringent grass like taste but I guess this is par of the course with these US pale ales. To top off the evening (I was pretty tired at this stage, even though it was probably only 9pm) I had a bottle of Sierra Nevada ESB (5.9% abv). The ESB stands for early spring beer and it's a US interpretation of the English ESB style. It's OK and it tastes like pine cones. I think every beer I had in the US tasted like pine cones! Not necessarily a bad thing, but it gets a bit boring after a while. Anyhow by this stage the hop demon and the alcohol was amplifying my jet lag and I wandered off to bed, but I did manage to see Bret Michaels choose his final two 'love matches'. If only off licences were this good in the UK!

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BTW - Bret Michaels is the former lead singer from '80s hair band Poison. He looks old and hagged and now wears makeup. He is also bald, but uses strategically placed bandanna's and hats to hide the fact that he is wearing a wig. A true hero for all you aging Generation X rockers.

I'm Trapped

For reasons I will not go into, I am trapped at home today - a prisoner in my small flat. I'm not going to let my situation get in the way of the greatness that is ticker Tuesday though!
To kick start the beer diary week the wife and I headed out to a local tapas bar in Brook Green. The food was pretty good and they had a few different Spanish lagers on the menu. I ordered a Mahou which is as good an example as any. I had this last year when I was Barcelona and in the video attached to the post is one of the best beer adverts I have ever seen. You can check it out here if that post predates your readership to the blog. Anyhow on Friday evening a few of the lads from the office headed to 'The Apple Tree' for a few after work pints. They had Bath Gem on and we proceeded to drink through the remains of the cask. They then put Fisherman's Tackle (4.1% abv) on which was a better beer than the Gem in my opinion. I can't find any information about the beer at all online and the pump clip was just some writing in chalk. Can anyone fill in the blanks here?
On Saturday evening I cracked open a bottle of UBU Amber Ale from purity Brewing Co. This US style amber ale was a little underwhelming after the Flying Goose I had from the same brewery last week, but still a nice drop. My beer drinking on Saturday was limited to just the one bottle of beer as I helped the missus finish off a few bottles of wine that have been loitering around for a while.
Sunday was the day of the hop monsters. My usual "Come Dine With Me" session was halted due to our television reception going down leaving me with only books and my wife's company for entertainment. Luckily I had a bottle of Mikkeller stateside IPA in the fridge. This 7% abv US style IPA from Denmark is extreme. It has to be over 100 IBU's of pure bitterness and makes your teeth feel like they are dissolving. Because of the lack of balance I didn't really enjoy this one - too hardcore my session drinking sensibilities. To make matters worse, I followed it with a bottle of Port Brewing 2nd Anniversary which is a 9.5% abv American Barleywine. This over the top hop monster was bordering on the point of undrinkable. It was thick, chewy and cloying and tasted like I had been chewing on a bunch of pine needles. I guess for some that would be ideal, but it's not really my cup of tea.
Anyhow that's pretty much the story of my drinking for the last week. Kind of lame really, but some interesting ticks there if you get excited by that sort of thing.
The next instalment of ticker Tuesday will be in a fortnights time (that's two weeks for you Yank's). It should be a good one as I am off to New York on Friday morning. I have a list of things I want to do while there (including Blind Tiger and Brooklyn Brewery) but can anyone fill me in on any other must do attractions that have to be on my list?

Battle of the IPA's: AUS vs USA. The results are in....

Over the weekend there was a showdown. Little Creatures Pale Ale (LCPA) from Australia in the green and gold corner, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (SNPA) from the USA in the red, white and blue corner. Allies in Afghanistan and Iraq meet to slog it out over the neutral ground of my flat in Brook Green, London. I should not big this up as a competition as really both these beers are awesome, but there is national pride at stake here. While they are extremely similar beers and probably made with almost the same grain bill and hopping regime, the experiences of the two beers are completely different.
I won't intellectualize each beer individually but concentrate on their differences.

Colour: They are both amber, but the LCPA seems to be slightly lighter in colour.
Carbonation: The LCPA has only very mild carbonation, although this could be a consistency issue. Bottles I have had in the past have been more carbonated. The SNPA was strongly carbonated at a level similar to US mega lager.
Aroma: Both had a similar citrus aroma, however the LCPA's was stronger and contained a pineapple/passionfruit note which was absent from the SNPA. I think LC uses chinook hops as well as cascade.
Body/mouthfeel/taste: I am lumping all these together. Overall they taste different. SNPA is very malty and has a chalk like bite. I think they use water that is a lot harder than the water used in LCPA. SNPA tastes a lot more bitter (perceived bitterness) because of this as well, but I bet these beers have very similar IBU levels. The LCPA tastes thinner, but more refreshing. You could drink more of it.

Which beer is better? Well they are both awesome beers, but different animals in the glass. If I was only having one beer and sipping on it, I would choose the SNPA. If I was drinking all day long in the Australian sun, then I would choose LCPA.

I should also note that I have deliberately called these beers IPA's rather than APA's. Although both of these beers appear to use American hops and would fall within the style guidelines for an APA - they are basically IPA's. Style guidelines are stupid - keep it simple.

India Pale Ale

Another IPA (5.5% abv) I picked up in M&S. This one is apparently brewed with Burton-on-Trent water.

It was ok, but not as good as the Cornish IPA.

I have just dug a little deeper on the web and I have decided I do not like this beer. I have copied an excerpt from Roger Protz below. See if you can guess why I am not a fan!

"Marstons, (for Marks & Spencer) India Pale Ale (England) Brewed for M&S by marstons of Burton-on-Trent using Optic pale malt and Fuggles, Goldings and Cascade hops. It pours a rich toffee colour with a thick, creamy and persistent head. On the nose it is very appealing, with caramel and nutty notes, but plenty of zesty grapefruit, orange and leafy, hoppy notes. On the palate it is rich and smooth, with a full-bodied, creamy and warming cappuccino texture, and nice balance between quite bitter, punchy hop flavours and racy, citrussy fruit. The malt is subtle and just fills out the finish, in a lovely, quite complex beer. Almost worth four stars. 5.5% ABV, 50cl, £1.99, Marks & Spencer. "

Arghhhhhhhhhhh!

Cornish IPA

Changing the supermarket tone a little bit, I was poshing it up in M&S and came across Cornish IPA (5% abv) which is brewed by teh lovely folks at the St Austell brewery.

I was very impressed with this Real Ale in a Bottle and I now wish I had picked up another bottle. The beer is very clear (even after being carried a couple of miles in a plastic bag) and is towards the American end of the IPA spectrum. Nice citrus taste and an aftertaste of bitter marmalade. A tidy beer!

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA

I picked up this Scottish IPA (6.1% abv) whilst out shopping recently. I cannot recall where I actually got it, but it is most likely Tesco or Morrisons.

This beer is a strong and flavorsome IPA, which is hopped with Challenger and Cascade hops. It tastes quite restrained initially but the bitterness really kicks in with the aftertaste and leaves you wanting more.

Overall a nice beer!

http://www.belhaven.co.uk/

Tesco Select IPA

When the new Tesco beer selection hit the shelves the week before last, one of the new additions was Tesco Select IPA (5% abv). I bought it and gave it a go!

The label does not really carry much information on the beer, so I have no idea who made it, or where it was brewed.

Now the beer, ok it was bitter and had all the tastes an IPA should have, although it did tend to border on a boring interpretation of the style. if it was a great beer I would be raving about it, but when compared to such awesome beers as Brew Dog's Punk IPA, or Sharp's Atlantic IPA it just doesn't stack up. But then again it is better than Tesco Value lager!

Brew Dog Punk IPA

Yes, another 'Tesco pick up', the cool looking graphics and alternative anti-marketing on the label of this beer sealed teh deal and it made its way past the disapproving gaze of my wife and into the trolley.

For the uninitiated, Brew Dog are a relatively new brewery located in Fraserburgh on the north east coast of Scotland. They have a few simple rules and basically they brew for taste and flavour rather than to what the market wants, a bold game but one that seems to be paying dividends for them.

Their simple rules;

- To only use the finest fresh natural ingredients.
- To put no preservatives, additives or any other junk in your beer!
- To always make amazing quality premium beers and promote them in a way which makes people smile!
- Not to try and pass off gift tags as ‘special mini Christmas cards’

Punk IPA (6% abv) seems to be their most 'standard' offering. Its pretty much a stock standard American pale ale with strong tropical hop flavours and an intense and lingering bitterness. I really rate this beer so if you come across it in your local Tesco, do yourself a favour and check it out. Even better if you find it on cask!

An awesome beer: website

Sharp's Atlantic IPA

Recently I was dragged along to Vinopolis by SWMBO as well, she wanted to go, and I felt obliged as I drag her to all manner of "old man pubs". For those who have never been, as you leave, you have to walk through a big majestic wine warehouse, which retails the wines you can sample in the exhibition. Anyhow, I got mine back when I picked up a bottle of Sharp's IPA (4.8% abv). The immediate concern regarding this beer is the clear glass bottle, surely a heavily hopped IPA is more susceptible to skunking than a regular bitter. Anyhow, with my bottle upon tasting this was not the case.

The beer is very flavorsome, with tropical and citrus like hop aroma with initial malt followed by a gentle, firm but in no way astringent bitterness. I even made SWMBO have a taste and expecting the usual "ahh, it tastes like beer", I got the pleasant reply of "I think I could actually drink that", a response that is usually reserved for tasteless beer such as Corona.

Overall, I am highly impressed with this beer. Its not for the faint as it is highly perfumed, however it is a flavorsome IPA, which is not too strong in alcohol (lower limit if the style), but is still a capable session beer. Top stuff, I just need to track it down in cask form now. Website here.

Nethergate IPA 2

Next up on the East end crawl was a pub called "The Florist".Now upon walking into here I should have known better than to order a Real Ale, however I couldnt resist and ordered a pint of Nethergate IPA (3.5% abv). Needless to say the condition of the beer was terrible and basically I will not be heading back to the Florist in a hurry! The pub itself is kind of substandard with a too cool for school crowd.

St Peters IPA

The last of my 6 Nations Rugby - St Peters Bonanza! The India Pale Ale (5.5% abv) surely was one IPA that actually fits into the IPA style category! The beer was a nice golden colour with intense bitterness which left my hop starved mouth in a pucker. This beer actually reminded me of somne of my initial home brewing attempts where I 'overdid' the hops a little. I poured the 500ml bottle into my favourite pint glass. The aroma is a very nice pilsener smell spiked with spicy green hops. The flavor is curiously muted from what my expectations from the aroma. It is smooth if you get a good mouthful of head otherwise it’s a bit harsh. It is quite hoppy, just short of an IPA. The flavor is earthy and solid. There is a minute sweetness that adds a bit of class to the otherwise mainly hoppy brew. This beer is medium-bodied but thicker than most beers in the medium colored spectrum. I could go on all day..........ahhh

Nethergate IPA

This was the last stop from my mini pub crawl last Thursday night and we headed to the Fox and Anchor which is where I have previously enjoyed the Nethergate Umbel Ale. The Fox and Anchor is a nice and cosy pub with inadequate WC facilities and not enough room to move. The top of the bar is solid pewter and the beer is served in pewter tankards in keeping with the theme. The Nethergate IPA is one of the new school ‘weak’ IPA’s weighing in at 3.5% abv. Through the glass bottom of the pewter glass I could ascertain that it’s a rich amber colour, it had a moderate bitterness and was generally ok. Much better than Greene king IPA or Well’s Eagle IPA which also fall into this emerging beer style. Its really just a session bitter and in this role it does the job. Well a lot better than the breweries Umbel Ale anyway!

Deuchars IPA

Deuchars IPA is a fabulous beer. A brilliant blend of malt and hopcharacter and above all a drink with enormous drinkability.

Roger Protz, Editor of the Good Beer Guide.

A quick cheeky lunchtime pint last Friday at "Ye Olde Mitre" resulted in a pint of Deuchars IPA (4.4% abv) a Scottish IPA which is rather tasty. Again not a proper super bitter, over hopped IPA, but a good hoppy bitter; the IPA is definetely a good compromise which suits the cheeky lunchtime pint, or can form the backbone of a much larger session. The most remarkable thing about this beer is the pub I was drinking in. A real olde worlde gem the pub dates back to 1546 and serves a selection of good real ales, some cheap and nasty lagers and Guinness, plus a tasty selection of traditional bar snacks. This is definetely a pub to check out: http://fancyapint.com/pubs/pub92.html

Well's Eagle IPA

Well's Eagle IPA (cask 3.6% abv) is another ordinary bitter marketed incorrectly as an IPA to create interest in the beer. The beer itself is nothing extrodinary, but is a decent pint none the less. I enjoyed this one during a Sunday lunch at "The Roebuck" a gastropub in Chiswick, W4 and it complimented the pork roast I was eating nicely!

From the website which i have linked to below, I get the impression that Eagle IPA is a brand as much as an individual beer as you can get the beer in bottle, can, cask or nitrokeg and each of these offers a different abv (ie the can has an abv of 5% and the cask is 3.6%).

Anyhow this is a beer that you should check out if you see it on cask at the pub, but I wouldnt make any special effort to search it out.

Website:http://www.eaglebitter.co.uk/

Young's Bitter

Next up was ‘The Hope’ a Young’s tied house just up the street from Farringdon Station. We decided to head to this pub based upon a recommendation in a CAMRA book however, the only two real ales on offer where the perpetually boring Youngs Bitter (3.7 %abv) and the equally uninspiring Greene King IPA (which ironically is just a regular bitter). As we were in the Youngs house we decided to opt for the house bitter of which a fresh cask had just been plumbed in. The verdict?? I will be honest that it was one of the best pints of Youngs Bitter I have had the privilege of consuming.. even if it was slightly boring after the St Peters Stout.

Here is what Youngs have to say about their beer.

Bursting with taste, Young's Bitter is an easy to drink, refreshing cask ale with a fresh, fruity aroma that leaves a long, satisfying bitter finish. It is traditionally brewed to deliver a clean taste and is light and dry in flavour with a subtle taste of hops. 100% malt brew: Maris Otter and crystal malt with Fuggle and Golding hops.Enjoy on draught in all Young's pubs (subject to availability).
Note from the Head Brewer:"Number one selling beer, an ideal session pint."
Brewery AwardsGold medal and Championship Trophy at Brewing Industry International Awards 2000