Beer & Brewer Magazine

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

In case you haven’t heard  there is a regular magazine publication that’s all about the golden liquid and it’s called Beer & Brewer.

Beer & Brewer magazine was launched back in 2007 and is currently celebrating its 3rd birthday with the current issue.  Included in this publication are many interesting articles and amongst them this magazine will (source : www.beerandbrewer.com):

• Help you plan a weekend away involving beer
• Tell you about upcoming events/festivals
• Feature the latest recipes to match to beers & cook with beer
• Show you how to get started in home brewing with tips, how to’s and recipes
• Feature local breweries
• Introduce you to new beers and where to try/buy them
• List all the latest industry news and awards

It also aims to increase the public’s knowledge and awareness of micro/speciality beers.  I only recently picked up my first copy of this loaded publication and it made me wish I had done so sooner.  It has everything a beer lover could want regardless of what you may or may not know about beer.  Unfortunately Beer & Brewer is a seasonal publication, so you can expect only 4 issues a year, but remember this makes them worth the wait.  The current issue is #13 and is the winter 2010 edition.  A copy of this mag will cost you $7.95 ($9.95 for New Zealand) from your local newsagent but that’s if you can find it!  I had to try about four different locations before I did.  Another way to get your hands on a copy is to subscribe to it online at www.beerandbrewer.com I did this myself today, as it works out a lot cheaper than opposed to buying it in store.  There are currently three Australian subscription options with two of them getting you free beer.  Yes, I said free beer:

1 Year Australian Subscription $24.99

2 Year Australian Subscription $52.99 plus two FREE six-packs of Kirin beer

3 Year Australian Subscription $69.99 plus a FREE carton of Kirin beer.

To take advantage of this free Kirin offer you need to subscribe before 10th August 2010.  The 3 year subscription is the best value in my opinion, plus it comes with a free case of Kirin so why not.

So if you’re after an interesting read or just after a new recipe to go with your latest brew get yourself a copy of this fantastic mag.  There’s certainly no better time to do so!

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Beer Stew

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Here’s a completely new category for BeerAdvice and it’s just in time for the colder months.

Beer Stew is an extremely easy meal to prepare and costs very little when feeding a family.  The recipe below should comfortably feed 8 people.  You can use whatever beer you fancy with this recipe.  I chose to use an imported lager for mine, Royal Dutch Post Horn.  There are many ways this meal can be cooked but I highly recommend you use a slow cooker to get the best out of it.  Below is our twist on this classic recipe so feel free to make use of it where you like and alter it where you think necessary.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg chuck steak (cubed)
  • ½ cup plain flour (optional, use to increase thickness)
  • 4 large potatoes (peeled and thickly sliced)
  • 3 large onions (sliced)
  • 2 large carrots (thickly sliced)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper corns (crushed)
  • 3 cups of beer – don’t be stingy on it!
  • 2 cups beef stock (2 cubes)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 bay leaves
  • salt to taste

Method

  1. Trim chuck meat of excess fat and cut into 2cm cubes.
  2. Prepare all vegetables as mentioned above.
  3. Add potatoes to base of slow cooker followed by meat, onions and carrots.
  4. Sprinkle on crushed pepper and salt.
  5. Pour in beer, beef stock, soy sauce and add bay leave.
  6. Allow to slow cook for at least 7 hours and stir once every so often.  Add flour well into the slow cooking process only if stew has not thickened enough.
  7. Plate up and serve with fresh crusty bread (French sticks are ideal).

The end product is a warming meal that is full of taste and character.  Provided you have used a slow cooker to prepare this stew and allowed it to cook for at least 7 hours, the meat should melt in your mouth like it did mine.  For those worried about the beer taste being overwhelming I wouldn’t.  My stew had more of a beer smell to it than it did a beer taste – either way is a winner in my books.  So put that beer to good use and go get cooking.  Masterchief eat your heart out!

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Royal Dutch Post Horn

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Royal Dutch Post Horn is premium full strength lager that is fully imported from Holland.

It is brewed by the Posthoorn Brewery which is located in the Dutch city of Breada, Holland.  Post Horn is the English translation of the word Posthoorn and hence is the name of this brew.   Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of information as to the history of this lager but I will give you what information I do know.  Royal Dutch Post Horn comes in a six-pack of green 330ml bottles, each having an alcohol content of 4.7% per volume.  The standard green bottles have ordinary labelling, with white, green, gold and red blended together to try and catch your eye.   You can expect to pay $16 for a six-pack as I did at my local independent bottle store.  It is imported into Australia by ALM Imports in NSW and I have yet to see this beer being sold at 1st Choice or Dan Murphy’s, so be sure to find your local independent bottle store if you’d like to try it.

This imported lager pours a fluffy white head that leaves small amounts of lacing on the glass.  It has a clear golden yellow hue with plenty of carbonation, some may think it has too much.  There’s a sweet malty aroma but is quite faint.  The mouth feel is creamy while also being a tad watery.  As for the taste  ̶̶̶  it is clean, crisp and dry and on a summer’s day I can see it being rather refreshing.  I found the taste diminished substantially after I had consumed three bottles for some reason and this made me call it quits for the night.

Overall, Royal Dutch Post Horn is not an outstanding  lager by any means, but it is certainly not the worst.  Personally I think this beer is better suited to the hotter, summer months so if you want to give it a try do so then.

Rating (out of five):

Quick Facts : 4.7% alcohol – 330ml green bottle – Pop top

| Posted in Beer Reviews, Lager | No Comments »

Kwak

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

A unique Belgian ale with an even more unique drinking glass.

Kwak was created by Pauwel Kawk back in the days of Napoleon.  Pauwel was a brewer that lived in Dendermonde Belgium and owner of the ‘De Hoorne’ inn.  The inn was regularly frequented by mail coaches and used as a base of refreshment for them.   At the time, coachmen were not allowed to physically leave their coach or horses,  probably due to theft.  With this mind the ingenious Mr Kwak created the distinctive beer glass you see pictured above.  It enabled the coachmen to carry their Kwak by hanging the glass on the coach while quenching their thirst.  This glass is without a doubt the most unique drinking  vessel I have ever used.  At first glance it reminded me of something I used back in my high school science class but this time round I was actually enjoying using it.  The glass is 25cm in height and has a round bulbous bottom to it.  It sits snugly inside a timber holder and can only be removed by  lifting it upwards and to the left making it a rather sturdy drinking device.  The genuine Kwak glass also has a noticeable glugging noise to it when it’s in use.  I was lucky enough to have a loan of the glass from a fellow beer lover, but if you’d like to purchase one for yourself you may have to do some intense searching around – Ebay might be a good starting point.

Now enough about the glass, let’s get to the beer itself.   The smell has a malty sweetness to it along with fruity undertones and overall is pleasant.  Kwak ale has a cloudy, honey-like appearance with a good amount of carbonation.  It pours a fantastic off-white head that quickly disperses but it doesn’t seem to leave any lacing on the glass.  There’s definite Belgian stylings when it comes to the taste and I noticed some apple flavours in the brew.  Unfortunately there’s one significant downside (or upside in some peoples opinion) to this Belgian ale and that is it doesn’t do particularly well to hide the considerable 8.4% alcohol content and therefore I recommend it to be consumed slowly and in small quantities.  The first bottle I had really knocked me around, in a good way mind you.

Kwak ale makes for an interesting taste experience but unfortunately its inability to hide the alcohol content may be a big turn off for some.   I highly recommend giving this brew a go for yourself and if possible get yourself the unique Kwak glass and I promise it will make for a great talking point at your next drinking event.

Rating (out of five):

Quick Facts : 8.4% alcohol – 330ml amber bottle – Pop top

| Posted in Ale, Beer Reviews | No Comments »

Coffee infused beers are here and ready to wake up the market!

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Like most people I really enjoy a good coffee in the morning to get me going and ready for what the day holds ahead.  Until recently it had never even crossed my mind to mix coffee with beer, but as per usual the clever brewers at Matilda Bay and Burleigh Brewing are one step ahead.

Matilda Bay have gotten the head start in this coffee infused race with the recent release of Longshot, a coffee-infused dark ale pictured above.  I recently had the pleasure of trying this brew after buying a 4-pack from Dan Murphy’s.   It was an impressive dark ale to say the least, so expect a full review of it shortly.  The other contender for this niche market is the soon to be released Black Giraffe by Burleigh Brewing Co.  Black Giraffe is a black coffee lager that is due for release this July.   Burleigh Brewing have been expertly assisted in creating this brew by the team at Zarraffa’s Coffee and I for one can’t wait to try it.

With all these new infusions being released of late who knows what the future has in store for beer,  but going off what the market is showcasing now it looks like stimulating times ahead especially for the coffee lovers out there.

| Posted in Beer News | 3 Comments »

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