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."

Brooklyn Brewery

On our second day we awoke to weather that would be better fitting to London than NYC. It was pissing down. For the missus, that means shopping! First though we had breakfast American style. This took the form of a 'Lumber Jack' which is pancakes with bacon and eggs at the uber hip venue "Good Enough to Eat". Stuffed to the gullet, I erected my umbrella and braved the weather managing to dodge the nutters while navigating from Gap to Banana Republic via Abercrombie and Finch and just about every other US high street brand you can think of! We arrived at the new Whole Foods at Columbus Circle and I decided to check the beer section out. Plenty of good beers on offer, actually an even better selection that Whole Foods in London which I have raved about before. Anyhow at this stage we decided to brave the subway and head over to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This trip was eventful with one colourful nutter working himself into a rage pacing the aisle, frothing at the mouth and then pulling a knife out. The train couldn't pull into the platform fast enough and the whole carriage surged towards the doors like a bunch of teenage girls outside Primark at the start of the Christmas sales.

We walked the three blocks to the Brooklyn Brewery in one piece but slightly shaken and I was carded once more upon arrival! Yes, apparently I look underage in the USA. We actually arrived just as a tour was starting and we joined the throng of punters into the main brewery room passing big sacks of malt, hops and empty kegs. The Brooklyn setup is quite small (about 500L or 0.5 5hL) as all of their 12 oz. bottles are brewed under licence somewhere in upstate New York. Only their seasonal kegs, one offs and cork bottled beers are brewed at the Brooklyn site. The tour was a bit token and I was a little bit disappointed that Garrett Oliver was not there, but the beer was still good. First up I had a pint of Intensified Coffee Stout (8.5% abv) which was rich and roasty with an almost over the top coffee taste. Being quite thirsty after being dragged around shopping all morning I drank it a little bit too quickly! I followed this up with a pint of the Brooklyn Winter Ale (6% abv) which was good, but nothing to really jump up and down about. This is apparently a Scottish style ale, but in reality it is a pretty robust porter. They actually had it on special and you could buy a case of it (24 bottles) for $15 - bargain. The missus had, had enough buy this stage so we left to find ourselves some massive NYC pizza.

I really like the setup they have going on at Brooklyn Brewery. Basically they have an informal 'tasting room' where you can bring board games and your own food and just sit around drinking and hanging out with your mates. A cool alternative to a pub, and I wish the licensing laws were flexible enough to allow such a venue in Australia.

Conclusion: Brooklyn Brewery make some damn fine examples of Proper Real Keg. Sausage would like it there. And no, I didn't complain about the size of the head on my Winter Ale. No need to 'Take it to the Top'...

Samuel Smith's, The Famous Taddy Porter

A post solely for the tickers out there who liked The Beer Diary circa 2008 before I became preoccupied with shooting darts at CAMRA.

Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter (5.0% abv) is a remarkably drinkable porter and was a suitable night cap last Friday after an evening in The Old Parr's Head. I won't intellectualise too much about the beer as basically I'm not very good at it, but I have embedded a video of some other chap below who seems to know his stuff.

I should point out one thing that really irks me about Smith's bottled beers. The food pairings in the label are usually utter rubbish. The Taddy Porter in particular suggests;

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"Oysters on the half shell, Rockefeller or Cajun style, clams, mussels, crab cocktail, lobster bisque and other shellfish, smoked mackerel pâté, veal with green peppercorns, porterhouse steak and of course chocolate. Serve at 55 degrees in nonik or tumbler"

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Surely these dishes are better paired with an IPA or brown ale than a porter. What are these chaps schmokin?

Anyhow for more info on Samuel Smiths just check out this website.

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Anchors Aweigh

Anchor Brewing Company has been brewing beer in San Francisco since 1896, although it emerged on the craft/micro brewing scene after Fritz Maytag acquired and subsequently saved the brewery from closure in 1965. The brewery is one of the last remaining producers of Californian Common beer, which is colloquially known as steam beer. Actually, Anchor have an appellation stating that they alone can call their product "Steam Beer".

I have had these three bottles of beer from Anchor Brewing Company sitting at home for a while since picking them up from Whole Foods, Kensington. I have enjoyed the Steam beer before on a few occasions, but had not come across the Liberty Ale or Porter.

Anchor Steam is an interesting beer. It is a lager, but is fruity and has a caramel edge like an ale. It is fermented at ale yeast temperatures which results in both lager and ale characteristics emerging in the flavour profile. I enjoy this beer, but I don't think it's for everyone. It is even better when consumed during a "Come Dine With Me" omnibus on a Sunday afternoon!

Anchor Liberty Ale is an American style IPA in a similar vein to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It is a good beer, but this beer style is becoming as common as muck these days. The Liberty Ale is a good interpretation of the style though and well worth picking up if you see it about, but I would not go hunting it down specifically. I feel the same about the Porter as well. It is a good beer and incredibly robust, but just lacks the subtle nuances that you get with a well presented cask of Fuller's London Porter. I think Fuller's really do have the best porter that is available. Maybe I am slightly biased as I live so close to the brewery, but that's my opinion none the less.

Anyhow that's all I care to say about these beer's from Anchor, although I would like to get my hands on a bottle of their "Old Foghorn" Barley Wine which I hear is a cracker.

http://anchorbrewing.com/

The wife and I are off to St Ives for an extended weekend tomorrow and I am looking forward to getting away, breathing some ocean fresh air and having a few pints of St Austells and some harder to track down beers from Sharp's (I'm over Doom Bar). If anyone can recommend any good restaurants or pubs that I 'must' visit while I am in Cornwall, I would be most grateful. I have not been out to that part of the country before and it should be fun.

Young's Winter Warmer

After Jay finally recovered a little bit, I took him to the Cabinet War rooms and the Churchill Museum and then a chaotic stroll along Regent Street. It was getting cold and late so we decide to head back west and grab a bite to eat at my former local - The Brook Green Hotel.

This is a Young's tied house that went upper class during a refurb after the smoking ban was introduced last year. Since then I have avoided the place, but I found myself in there last Saturday.

Jay was not drinking, but I got stuck into the Young's Winter Warmer (5.0% abv), the winter seasonal from Young's.

I really rate this beer - it is really nothing more than a dark special bitter but it tends to take on the character of a brown porter which I suppose suits the season well. Hopefully this is just a stepping stone in my so far unsuccessful hunt for Fullers London Porter! (Website)

Centurions Ghost

As I am basically a working tourist here in the UK, I sometimes have to do touristy activities (Ok, I do a lot such as Oktoberfest etc, but lets not get too carried away). Anyhow, my wife has been at me for ages to visit York as historically her family (ok her Grandpa) are from the area and I was only too happy to oblige. I have been keen to check out beers produced by the York brewery for a while now and saw this as the perfect opportunity to do so!

So cutting to the chase I was forced to walk around in the cold following a local guide called George and then stand in the miserable sleet to "admire" the York Minster. Upon moving into the shambles we ditched old George and sought refuge and a cup of tea before exploring the Minster. I am an expert on Churches and my rule is that they are all the same. This one charges you to get inside does not even pay homage to one of the 23 patron saints of brewing! Anyhow, I sat in the corner while the Mrs explored every nook and cranny. Time was wearing thin when I finally managed to drag her into the York Brewery tied house "The Last Drop Inn" for a late lunch and a much needed pint. I went straight for the Centurions Ghost (5.4% abv) which is a rich and velvety porter that really did hit the spot. Served under a sparkler, the head was like shaving foam from an aerosol can but the beer was still lovely. I managed to get two pints in before SWMBO dragged me back to the station for the two hour train ride back to King's Cross. I'd really like to get back at some stage to try the rest of their range and also do the Brewery tour. At least the day finished on a high note! Website

Meantime London Porter

After reading Darren from Blog'o'Beer report on Meantime London Porter (6.5% abv) the week before last, I thought I might check it out for myself. I managed to stumble across the rather expensive (£3.99) champagne style 750ml bottle in Waitrose on Kensington High Street.

The beer itself is rich and roasty and a big step up from the Midnight Sun I had the night before. I initially had chilled the beer a little bit too much which resulted in a rather acrid burnt roastiness. Letting the beer warm up let the true rich flavours from the underlying dark crystal malts come through. This balanced out the burnt roast flavours nicely and reveled a really complex beer.

The verdict, as with all the Meantime range, I just can't get enough! Although the expensive price tag does put a dampner on the experience a little bit. Website

Midnight Sun - Williams brothers

Yes - A Tesco pickup again! This beer had been sitting in Fridge for the previous two weeks beckoning me to drink it! It was tempting me with the allure and promise of a delicious velvety porter. hmmm

I opened it up and poured the black magic that is Midnight Sun (5.6% abv), it was a fraction too cold and just tasted like charcoal so I let it warm up. But it still tasted like charcoal. Not a nice roast malt flavour I was expecting - charcoal!

Here is what it is supposed to taste like!

"Midnight Sun is a black porter style beer, created from a blend of malted barley, oats, roasted barley and chocolate malt, balanced with a generous handful of hops and a wee bit of fresh root ginger. We really like it and hope you do too!"

Obviously the Scots messed something up along the line!

November is drawing nearer, that means Fullers London Porter is not very far away!

Bath Ales Barnstormer

Over the bank holiday weekend I escaped from London and headed out Bath, a town steeped in history which pre-dates the Romans. After a morning exploring the Roman Baths and an afternoon relaxing in the new thermal pools, it was time for a beer. Being a Sunday, most of the inter sting pubs were closed and after a couple of false starts (read quiet and quaint on the outside, disco boombox on the inside) we finally settled on a cosy little pub with a student like feel called "The Porter". This pub was slightly alternative and only sold vegetarian food, not really a problem as I had eaten anyway but the best part was the pub was serving up local beer. Upon inspecting the pumps I decided to go for a pint of Barnstormer (4.5% abv) from Bath Ales. Barnstormer is a fruity dark ales, which roughly falls under the style of Porter, but only just and that is a very loose interpretation. By taste it is very much a bitter, however it does have some chocolate roastiness. A well balanced and satisfying ale!

Bath Ales are actually not located in Bath itself but in Warmley, Bristol just a short hop west of Bath. Since commencing operations in 1995, the brewery has slowly expanded and commenced distribution to major supermarkets UK wide after setting up a bottling facility in 2007. You can find out more about Bath Ales, and Barnstormer in particular at this website.

Meantime Chocolate

Meantime Chocolate (6.5% abv) is a strong chocolate infused porter style ale which was on the desert menu at Brown's Bar and Restaurant, Covent Garden. Whilst this beer claims to be chocolate falvoured, it actually doesn't taste like chocolate at all - well maybe a little bit in the aftertaste which has a dark chocolate bitterness, but certainly not the velvet smooth chocolate flavour of Young's Double Chocolate Stout. The beer feels gimmicky and certainly not something that should be taken seriously. My thoughts are out on this one, I am note sure if I love it or loathe it. On one hand its a nice robust porter with enough roastiness to give it the oomph that most porters lack, however it also has a horrid dark chocolate (or even burnt chocolate) aftertaste which really off putting. It also weighs in at double strength compared to most ales, therefore session-ability is out of the question. Maybe it falls into a similar category as dessert wines? You wouldn't necessarily go for it, but sometimes its a nice way to round out an evening?

Burton Bridge Porter

The Burton on Trent region of England is famous for its Indian Pale Ales (IPA) due to to the hardness of the water in the region. The town is steeped in brewing heritage and plays host to major breweries such as Worthington, Bass and Marston with the Burton Bridge Brewery being the only remaining independent. After reading the pathetic book 'Pilgrim on the piss' by Neil Robinson I believed that beer from the Bridge Brewery was far superior to any other beer on the planet and was suprised to see several of there beers in the lineup at the Ealing Beer Festival.
Burton Bridge Porter (4.5% abv) is a really dark brown porter with not a real lot going for it. It lacks the robustness of a good porter such as Fullers London Porter and tastes under-prepared with a yeasty fruitiness and unbalanced bitter aftertaste. Overall I was more than slightly disapointed with the beer and was suitable put off other beers from the brewery. The brewers down at the Bridge brewery really need to pull there finger out and deliver a beer that actually conforms to style. If they had used a little more dark malt and gone for a roast flavour rather than just a dark colour they would have a beer that is more well balanced. For a beer style that is so easy to get right, I just don't understand beers like this one. You can find out more at the breweries website.

Buffy's Mighty Duck

Buffy's Mighty Duck is a brown porter styled beer with nice nutty tones and a unique 'mushroom' like aroma which is derived from the unusual combination of US Willamette hops with European Styrian Goldings hops. The earthy aroma gives away to a malty and not to bitter roasty finish. Although it took a few sips to get aquired to the unusual taste, the point finished well and is incredibly easy to drink. Again the Buffy's brewery is a relatively new (1993) UK microbrewery, ;ocated in a traditional old brewery called Madle Hall. I'm not sure where it is locvated, but if you stumble across it whilst travelling in the country, it is probably worth checking out. Website is available here.

Fullers London Porter - 2

Next up we decided to head up to the nearby Viaduct Tavern, named because it is close to the Holborn Viaduct. The Viaduct tavern is a Nicolson’s pub and is reputed to be the first public place in London to have electric lighting! These days the pub is pretty shabby and we ordered a pint of Fullers London Porter, excited after the previous pint at The Hook and Cleaver. This pint was an utter disappointment! We went from having a great beer which is at its peak of conditioning to having a great beer that was stale and off. This pub needs to get its act together, and as it is I won’t be going back there again.

Fullers London Porter

Next up we walked past the old St Bartholomew church down a dark lane until we came to The Butchers Hook and Cleaver, appropriately named as its across the road from Smithfield’s markets. The Hook and Cleaver is a Fullers tied house in what I assume used to be a bank?? The main bar was full of city types drinking lager and cider and generally ignoring the excellent range of Fullers beers on tap. Keeping with our winter theme we ordered Fuller’s London Porter and this beer did not disappoint. The beer is an extremely robust porter and tasted very fresh. I am going to be bold and say that this is the best example of the Fullers Porter that I have had. Robust, bitter with a smooth velvety roast taste I could drink this beer exclusively. As for all the trendy types in the pub, I really don’t think they know what they were missing out on!

Penny Black Porter

Penny Black is a 4.5% abv porter from the Hampshire Brewery, which I suppose is in Hampshire! This was the first hand pulled beer (besides the fosters, but that doesn’t count!) I have had this year and I drank it at “The Willow Walk” near Victoria train station. The beer was exceptionally tasty; however it wasn’t as robust as say a Fuller’s London porter but still exceeded itself in what has become one of my favourite beer styles. It was however a really smooth beer and definitely a good session ale that I could not find much information on. This is from the Hampshire brewery website;

Penny Black Porter
4.5% abv
Mellow and enticing aroma of black and
roasted malts, balanced by a clean bitterness and smooth full palate.
Available: December, January and February

The pub itself was nothing to comment on and was nothing more than a glorified drinking factory, but that is what you expect when you give your patronage to a J.D Wetherspoons tied house. One thing that ’spoons pubs do have going for them though is (a) they are really cheap, and (b) they have a good variety of regional ales. I lucked out last night and had a relatively fresh pint but I have had some very dodgy pints in my time from ‘spoons pubs.
The reason I was near Victoria station was that I went to see the London West End production of “Wicked” with our house guests. The production was ok as far as musicals go, so you may want to check it out.