A summer Bring Beer session unleashes eight very different beers, all with their own chutzpah, BILL WATT reports
When I was a kid, any time I went to a milk bar (back then they were as common as McDonald's today) I was the odd one out. Nearly every kid ordered strawberry or chocolate milk shakes. On the other hand, I used to love caramel malt shakes. What a weirdo!
I'd forgotten that disturbing issue until last weekend when the first beer produced by my mate David at one of our regular Bring Beer sessions was Running With Thieves Caramel Stout.
It was part of a pretty eclectic selection of beers offered up on the day: Belhaven McCallum's Sweet Scottish Stout (Scotland); Riegele Commerzienrat Riegele Privatlager (Germany); Bent Spoke Red Nut (Canberra); Yulli's Brews Amanda Mandarin IPA (Alexandria, Sydney); Gouden Carolus Whisky Infused Imperial Dark (Belgium); Belhaven Black Scottish Stout (Scotland); Paulaner Weissbier (Germany) and, of course, Running With Thieves Caramel Stout (Fremantle, WA).
Due to its quirkiness, it was the Caramel Stout that launched the session.
Running With Thieves Caramel Stout (Fremantle, WA) 6% alcohol:
Wondering what the hell I was getting myself into, I poured the beer with some trepidation, only to be overwhelmed by the nostalgic memory of those caramel malt milkshakes so many years ago, triggered by the aroma of this strange brew.
Yep, it had the overwhelming smell of caramel ... but I wasn't really looking forward to a sickly sweet beer that mimics a caramel shake.
Well, that wasn't the case. It was delicious and quite light to drink. You could taste the caramel clearly, but it still tasted like a real beer.
I forgot to ask David where he managed to find this classic, but I'm going to find out and try it again, that's for sure.
Belhaven McCallum's Sweet Scottish Stout (Scotland) 4.1% alcohol:
Having been born in Scotland, it's strange that I'd never tasted this beer before. I'm not sure what I expected from a "sweet stout", but probably not what I got. It was pleasant, but this brew from Dunbar in Scotland was more like a simple dark beer than a complex stout. Something like Toohey's Old (Black in the Sydney vernacular) maybe, though that might be a tad unkind.
Riegele Commerzienrat Riegele Privatlager (Germany) 5.2% alcohol:
I bought this German lager because I loved the label. The bloke with the bow tie and moustache reeked of a level of class I've never quite attained. I really enjoyed this crisp lager from Ausburg in Germany. It had a slightly more complex taste than the usual German lagers (think Becks) but I reckon it wasn't quite as classy as the bottle promised. But, obviously, I'm not the best judge. Google tells me it has won a host of awards including: Beer of the Decade; World Beer Cup; and 6 European old Star awards. Best you try some yourself.
4. Bent Spoke Red Nut (Canberra) 7% alcohol:
Bent Spoke is a fabulous Canberra brewery and, like all their beers, this red IPA is very drinkable. It is pretty hoppy with a strong malty taste. It feels very drinkable and good for a session, but be wary ... it packs a punch at 7% alcohol.
5. Yulli's Brews Amanda Mandarin IPA (Alexandria, Sydney) 6.7% alcohol:
Another fine beer, but I expected something a little more dramatic. It's made with "a lot of cold-pressed mandarins and Cointreau", so I expected the full-on mandarin experience. Instead, it delivered a nice tasting beer but with a far from over-the-top citrussy bitterness. Of course, perhaps my tastebud receptors had been numbed by previous beers and the fact that we drank this one straight after dessert.
6. Gouden Carolus Whisky Infused Imperial Dark (Belgium) 11.7% alcohol:
When in Europe last year I discovered this amazing beer at a small bar in Bruges, Belgium ... and it was the tipple of the trip. So, it was obvious, when I discovered it at the amazing Oak Barrel bottle shop in Elizabeth St, Sydney (www.oakbarrel.com.au), that a couple of very expensive bottles were coming home with me. And, yes, it is bloody delicious. You can clearly taste the single malt whisky amid a plethora of other notes and the sweetness that comes with high-alcohol beer (11.7%). Was it as enjoyable as the brew I sampled first in Bruges? The answer is, no. But, the pint I had in Bruges was draught and was served in a bar in one of the most beautiful little towns in Europe. A well-travelled bottle served on a porch in outer western Sydney was never going to match up. (NB The last three beers of this Bring Beer session were not sampled on the initial day. If you look at the alcohol levels, you will understand why.)
7. Belhaven Black Scottish Stout (Scotland) 4.2% alcohol:
What a refreshing stout this is. A brilliant little beer, very much like its more famous Celtic cousin, Guinness. Smooth and creamy, it has strong coffee/chocolate flavours coming through. I will drink this again.
8. Paulaner Weissbeer (Germany) 5.5% alcohol
This is one of the Europe's most famous beers. For many years I disliked wheat beer. Australia's Redback wheat beer became famous in the early 1990s but never really appealed to me. So, it came as a surprise last year when I started to enjoy the stuff while travelling in Austria last year. Paulaner is an excellent example of a fine German weissbeer. It has a very foamy head, is quite 'yeasty' in taste but not too challenging on the palate of those brought up on commercial Australian lagers.
My advice regarding these beers is, if your a beer lover give them all a go. But spread the tasting over a few days. Any quicker could be perilous.
Happy & responsible drinking to you all.
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