AHB,s Canning Line - Sneak Peak

While at the Australian Hotel and Brewery the other day we looked in on the brewery and saw that the canning line has finally started to be installed.

It looks like the empty cans will be loaded into a staging area at the top of the photo near the hand railing. before being sent down a chute on the right hand side into the filling station (The big stainless box in the middle with all the air lines coming out of it).  As it comes out of there, a lid drops down a wire slide and lands on top of the can.

Moving to the left again, the can and lid are rotated while rollers press the edges of the lid on to the can, sealing it. It looks like the cans are then washed before being packed.

Hopefully I will be able to bring you footage soon of the line in operation.

Mead Making Made Easy

We are making today a standard Dry Show Mead.  By standard I mean that there is no fuss -  no extra bits and pieces - just the pure honey.

The ingredients needed are - wait for it - honey, water, yeast and yeast nutrient.  We only need to add the yeast nutrient as honey is lacking in all the key nutrients that yeast needs to perform properly.

The equipment needed:  one 5L fermenter with bung and airlock, funnel, barmix machine or blender, a 3L jug or bowl for mixing and a hydrometer.

The process:  
After sterilising everything needed, pour the yeast into ½ a cup of warm water and set aside. Into your jug pour half your honey and about 1.5L of water. Using the barmix blend the honey and water together (Start with the barmix about 1/3 of the way down and allow the honey to come up to it,  then slowly work the barmix down to the bottom.) Once this is done pour off into the fermenter and repeat with the rest of the honey and the yeast nutrient.

Top up the fermenter to about 4.5L then take a sample and test the specific gravity (SG). Make a note of your SG so you can calculate your alcohol percentage later.  Pour in the yeast, insert bung and airlock and leave to ferment.

Fermentation will take 2 – 3 months and you will need to rack off the mead every 2 weeks after the first month to help it clear.

Once fermentation is complete it’s time to bottle.  But before bottling we need to take a sample for our final SG reading and also to taste. Do not be surprised if your mead smells like paint stripper at this stage, it will probably be about 11 – 15% alcohol and will need to be aged for a least a year before it’s drinkable (I know, it’s a long time but it is worth it).

We have used single source Leatherwood Honey for this mead and I would encourage you to find single source honey where you can, but in saying that we have also used Beechworth honey from the local supermarket to good effect.

This basic recipe can be jazzed up by adding strawberries, blueberries or most fruits by adding them to the fermenter.  Technically they then become melomel but we wont worry about that.

Now grab some honey and get making.

4 Pines new Brewery

You know you’re on to a good thing when demand for your product, both bottled and draught, forces you down the path of expansion. This is just what has happened to 4 Pines Brewing in Manly.

With their highly successful brew pub a by- word of the local craft scene 4 Pines took the next logical choice to retail their bottled beers through such outlets as Dan Murphy’s etc. Up till now to help keep up with this demand, contract breweries have been employed – but with distribution now going national the choice was made to construct a purpose built large scale brewery of their own.

In an unassuming industrial unit in Brookvale, we met up with Jaron Mitchell, the general manager of 4 Pines, and his dedicated team of brewers. While Jaron was a home brewer in the past, in which he learn about styles, malts and hops he actually came to the brewery through the hospitality and business side of things - which has given him a love of good craft beer and an excellent knowledge of how to run a great venue.

From left, Chris - Garrett - Jaron and Andrew

The Brewers

Chris - Chief Brewer

With a background in science, Chris started as a keen home brewer and before joining 4 Pines brewed with Bluetongue Brewing.

Andrew – Head Brewer

Andrew's background is in hospitality. He spent 2 years in Europe serving behind a bar before coming home and working with AIB for 3 years as a brewer.

Garrett – Brewer

A Canadian race mechanic before coming to Australia and starting to home brew, he has since completed both the short and long courses at Ballarat University in Brewing.

The Brewery

The brewery works in 50hL (5000L) batches and has 6 -50hL and 2 - 100hL fermentation tanks, as well as a 100hL bright beer tank which feeds both the kegging line and the bottling line. On the day of our visit the bottling line and labelling machine were being set up prior to their first run the next day. As with most breweries we visit, the spent grain is collected by a farmer to be feed to his livestock.

Up Coming Brews

-         A Scottish Wee Heavy 9.5% will be available for St Andrews Day 30^th November

-         A Christmas Saison

-         Single Hop Series with – Aramis – Galaxy – Amarillo

These will all be available from the Keller Door to have there or take home in growlers.

We finished up the day with lunch at the brew pub with a recommendation to try the Choc – Seaweed – Mandarin Porter, still on tap after the beer mimics food series. In a word it’s FANTASTIC – VELVETY – SMOOTH. Yes I know that’s 3 words I can count. It held it’s own against the open faced steak sandwich I had, while the wife enjoyed the Hefe (which is one of our favourites) with the Mega Manly Burger.

Our thanks to Jaron and the team for taking the time to chat with us and show us around. We look forward to enjoying more 4 Pines brews in the future.

Road Test - Finest Round Hefeweizen

The Finest Round range of beer kits are made and distributed by ES Brewing, and have achieved quite a following in the homebrew community. This Hefeweizen is the latest in the range for me to review and I’m sure it will soon develop a cult following of it's own.

As with the others; making it is dead easy. Pour in the kit, add water to make up 22L, add the yeast (Munich Ale) and the finishing hops (Hallertau). Then sit back and watch it ferment.

Made up to 22L, we achieved a starting gravity of 1.046, and 1.012 when fermentation was complete giving us a 4.9% alc beer after priming.

We split this Hefeweizen into two batches. One with the Munich Ale yeast, and the other with some WLP300 repitched from an earlier Hefeweizen of our own. This allowed us to compare the flavours imparted by the different yeasts. The Munich Ale yeast kept the bannana and clove flavour so often associated with Hefeweizens to a minimum and let the malts dominate, whereas the WLP300 accentuated the bannana and clove helping to balance the malts.

The malt profile in this Hefeweizen at first seems to be too sweet and coats the mouth with a slightly tart finishing flavour and quite a big body. The Hallertau finishing hops are hard to pick up, with just a hint of aromatics coming through.

I would match this beer with a steak or fish and chips - something to have as the sun goes down on a summers evening.

Colour – a light amber and crystal clear. Well done ESB.

Now to the nitty gritty:

Time – 10 min to sterilise the fermenter and tools, 10 min to make up the batch and 5 min to clean up. Priming and bottling took 30min and clean up took 15min.

Total Time – 70min plus 15 days fermenting and conditioning.

Cost – kit $34 (includes the Munich ale yeast and a 12gm packet of Hallertau finishing hops)        Bottles $32 (you need 32 650ml bottles)
Total Cost $34    (or $70.75 with bottles)

Brew Day, Is it a Foreign Extra Stout or an Imperial Stout?

 Is it a Foreign Extra Stout or an Imperial Stout?

This is a question that has been plaguing me since we set the brew day in action, the recipe calls it a Russian Imperial Stout, but we used extra mash and sparge water to bring the gravity and the alcohol levels down.

So techinically it might be a Foreign Extra Stout.

Now looking at the figures from the brew day -       

O.G = 1.066
F.G = not available yet
IBU's = 50
SRM = ? ( I'm not that anal to work them out)
ABV = not known yet but I'm predicting 6.5 - 7%

So when you match these figures up with the style guidelines it would seem that we have a Foreign Extra Stout.

You may notice we don't have an airlock fitted, well the brew went mental throwing 9L worth of krausen (foam) so we had to fitt the blow off tube.

13D. Foreign Extra Stout

Aroma: Roasted grain aromas moderate to high, and can have coffee, chocolate and/or lightly burnt notes. Fruitiness medium to high. Some versions may have a sweet aroma, or molasses, licorice, dried fruit, and/or vinous aromatics. Stronger versions can have the aroma of alcohol. Hop aroma low to none. Diacetyl low to none.
Appearance: Very deep brown to black in color. Clarity usually obscured by deep color (if not opaque, should be clear). Large tan to brown head with good retention.
Flavor: Tropical versions can be quite sweet, while export versions can be moderately dry (reflecting impression of a scaled-up version of either sweet stout or dry stout). Roasted grain and malt character can be moderate to high, although sharpness of dry stout will not be present in any example. Tropical versions can have high fruity esters, smooth dark grain flavors, and moderate bitterness. Export versions tend to have lower esters, more assertive roast flavors, and higher bitterness. The roasted flavors of either version may taste of coffee, chocolate, or lightly burnt grain. Little to no hop flavor. Very low to no diacetyl.
Mouthfeel: Medium-full to full body, often with a smooth, creamy character. May give a warming impression from alcohol presence. Moderate to moderately-high carbonation.
Overall Impression: A very dark, moderately strong, roasty ale. Tropical varieties can be quite sweet, while export versions can be drier and fairly robust.
History: Originally high-gravity stouts brewed for tropical markets (and hence, sometimes known as "Tropical Stouts"). Some bottled export (i.e. stronger) versions of dry or sweet stout also fit this profile. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout has been made since the early 1800s.
Comments: A rather broad class of stouts, these can be either fruity and sweet, dry and bitter, or even tinged with Brettanomyces (e.g., Guinness Foreign Extra Stout; this type of beer is best entered as a Specialty or Experimental beer). Think of the style as either a scaled-up dry and/or sweet stout, or a scaled-down Imperial stout without the late hops. Highly bitter and hoppy versions are best entered as American-style Stouts.
Ingredients: Similar to dry or sweet stout, but with more gravity. Pale and dark roasted malts and grains. Hops mostly for bitterness. May use adjuncts and sugar to boost gravity. Ale yeast (although some tropical stouts are brewed with lager yeast).

Vital Statistics:

OG	FG	IBUs	SRM	ABV
1.056 - 1.075	1.010 - 1.018	30 - 70	30 - 40+	5.5 - 8%

Commercial Examples: Lion Stout (Sri Lanka), ABC Stout, Dragon Stout, Royal Extra "The Lion Stout" (Trinidad), Jamaica Stout, Guinness Extra Stout (bottled US product), Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (bottled, not sold in the US), Coopers Best Extra Stout, Freeminer Deep Shaft Stout, Sheaf Stout, Bell's Double Cream Stout

13F. Russian Imperial Stout

Aroma: Rich and complex, with variable amounts of roasted grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hops, and alcohol. The roasted malt character can take on coffee, dark chocolate, or slightly burnt tones and can be light to moderately strong. The malt aroma can be subtle to rich and barleywine-like, depending on the gravity and grain bill. May optionally show a slight specialty malt character (e.g., caramel), but this should only add complexity and not dominate. Fruity esters may be low to moderately strong, and may take on a complex, dark fruit (e.g., plums, prunes, raisins) character. Hop aroma can be very low to quite aggressive, and may contain any hop variety. An alcohol character may be present, but shouldn't be sharp, hot or solventy. Aged versions may have a slight vinous or port-like quality, but shouldn't be sour. No diacetyl. The balance can vary with any of the aroma elements taking center stage. Not all possible aromas described need be present; many interpretations are possible. Aging affects the intensity, balance and smoothness of aromatics.
Appearance: Color may range from very dark reddish-brown to jet black. Opaque. Deep tan to dark brown head. Generally has a well-formed head, although head retention may be low to moderate. High alcohol and viscosity may be visible in "legs" when beer is swirled in a glass.
Flavor: Rich, deep, complex and frequently quite intense, with variable amounts of roasted malt/grains, maltiness, fruity esters, hop bitterness and flavor, and alcohol. Medium to aggressively high bitterness. Medium-low to high hop flavor (any variety). Moderate to aggressively high roasted malt/grain flavors can suggest bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, and/or strong coffee. A slightly burnt grain, burnt currant or tarry character may be evident. Fruity esters may be low to intense, and can take on a dark fruit character (raisins, plums, or prunes). Malt backbone can be balanced and supportive to rich and barleywine-like, and may optionally show some supporting caramel, bready or toasty flavors. Alcohol strength should be evident, but not hot, sharp, or solventy. No diacetyl. The palate and finish can vary from relatively dry to moderately sweet, usually with some lingering roastiness, hop bitterness and warming character. The balance and intensity of flavors can be affected by aging, with some flavors becoming more subdued over time and some aged, vinous or port-like qualities developing.
Mouthfeel: Full to very full-bodied and chewy, with a velvety, luscious texture (although the body may decline with long conditioning). Gentle smooth warmth from alcohol should be present and noticeable. Should not be syrupy and under-attenuated. Carbonation may be low to moderate, depending on age and conditioning.
Overall Impression: An intensely flavored, big, dark ale. Roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play.
History: Brewed to high gravity and hopping level in England for export to the Baltic States and Russia. Said to be popular with the Russian Imperial Court. Today is even more popular with American craft brewers, who have extended the style with unique American characteristics.
Comments: Variations exist, with English and American interpretations (predictably, the American versions have more bitterness, roasted character, and finishing hops, while the English varieties reflect a more complex specialty malt character and a more forward ester profile). The wide range of allowable characteristics allow for maximum brewer creativity.
Ingredients: Well-modified pale malt, with generous quantities of roasted malts and/or grain. May have a complex grain bill using virtually any variety of malt. Any type of hops may be used. Alkaline water balances the abundance of acidic roasted grain in the grist. American or English ale yeast.

Vital Statistics:

OG	FG	IBUs	SRM	ABV
1.075 - 1.095+	1.018 - 1.030+	50 - 90+	30 - 40+	8 - 12+%

Commercial Examples: Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, Courage Imperial Stout, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Rogue Imperial Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, Victory Storm King, Bell's Expedition Stout, Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, Thirsty Dog Siberian Night, Stone Imperial Stout, Avery The Czar, Founders Imperial Stout, Newport Beach John Wayne Imperial Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout

Thanks to the BJCP for the Style Guidelines.

Hop Update

With the days lengthening all our hop plants have decided it's time to grow.

These 4 hops (Golding back left, Fuggles back right and front right, Nugget front left) were all planted at the same time. They are all first year hops and the only difference is that the rhizomes on the front 2 were only about 100mm and as thick as a pencil, compared to the back ones which were 175 - 200mm long and as thick as your thumb. I don't expect to get anything off the front 2 this year but hopefully next year they will be big enough to crop, and needless to say - I won't be using that seller again.

These are 2nd year Cascades and each bed has at least 20 shoots.

These are 1st year Hallertau and Saaz.

So it all seems to be looking good for a reasonable crop this year, so long as we can keep the water and fertiliser up to them.

Finest Round - Celtic Amber Ale

The Finest Round range of beer kits are made and distributed by ES Brewing, and have achieved quite a following in the homebrew community. This Celtic Amber Ale was the next in the range for me to review and I’m sure it will soon develop a cult following.

As with the Irish Stout; making it is dead easy. Pour in the kit, add water to make up 22L, add the yeast (Windsor Ale) and the finishing hops (Challenger), then sit back and watch it ferment.

In making it up to 22L we achieved a starting gravity of 1.040, and after fermentation was complete a finishing gravity of 1.012 giving us a 4.2% alc beer after priming.

Now for the tasting: we tried this Celtic Amber Ale both straight out of the fridge and a second one which had been out for the fridge for 10mins, and found that the second one (the slightly warmer one) gave us better malt flavours and hop aromas.

Packed with flavour this Celtic Amber Ale contains much more than just the usual caramel and pale malt. Although they are there, they play a background role to a balanced  savoury taste with the odd hint of roasted grain and the Challenger finishing hops.

I would match this beer with a thick vegetable soup or hearty stew - something to have in the winter time as I don’t think it’s really a session-able beer. It’s just got too big a taste and your palate will fatigue after 2 glasses. Don’t get me wrong this is a great beer, it’s just not one to drink all night.

Colour – a great ruby red and crystal clear, well done ESB.

Ok now down to the nitty gritty:

Time – 10 min to sterilise the fermenter and tools, 10 min to make up the batch and 5 min to clean up. Priming and bottling took 30min and clean up took 15min.

Total Time – 70min plus 15 days fermenting and conditioning.

Cost – kit $34 (includes the Windsor ale yeast and 2 12gm packets of Challenger finishing hops)        Bottles $32 (you need 32 650ml bottles)
Total Cost $34    (or $70.75 with bottles)

Brew Mountains Craft Beer Festival Wrap up

Well, it's over and done for another year (unfortunately), but on the bright side it was a really enjoyable day at the Fairmont Hotel. It's a bit different having a craft beer festival in a swanky hotel, mind you I was glad to be inside as the Blue Mountains had returned to winter mode with cold weather, thick fog and rain. This did not deter the beer enthusiasts, with a steady stream of couples, families and groups of mates all through the day.

Hosted by the guys from Sydney Brewery (formally Dr Schwartz) the festival was a great success, and with over 150 presale tickets we look forward to hearing what the final attendance numbers are.  No doubt the dreary weather will have kept some away - but thats their loss!

My Beer of the day was Paddo Ale from Sydney Brewery.

Wife's Pick of the day for beer is still in contention between Paddo Ale from Sydney Brewery, and Pacific Ale from Stone & Wood.  But Bilpin Cider took the day cider-wise.

Held in one of the Fairmont's spacious conference rooms, the set up was excellent with plenty of room between exhibitors, along with tables and chairs and stand up bars to savour your beer at. There was also plenty of water jugs around to keep you hydrated.

James Squire had Hop Thief, Unfiltered stowaway Ipa and Fifty Lashes.

Little Creatures had White Rabbit Light Ale and Dark Ale, Pipsqueak Cider and Pale Ale. 

 

 Bilpin had Bilpin Cider

 Tilse had Tilse Cider

Stone and Wood had Pacific Ale, Jasper Ale and a Lager.

Two Birds had "boobies" (they said it, not me), as well as Sunset Ale and Golden Ale.

Rocks Brewing had The Convict Lager, The Pickpocket Cider, The Hangman Pale Ale and later in the day brought out The Governor Golden Ale and The Boxer RedAle. 

Mudgee Brewing had a Porter, a Spring Ale and an IPA.

Beer appreciation classes were also held throughout the day, showcasing different beers each session, what they were made from, and some choices of what to pair them with.

This one is being run by Mike and his team of brewers from Sydney Brewery.

We would like to thank Mike and his team from Sydney Brewery for a great day with great beers and we look forward to coming back next year.

MALE - Macarthur Ale and Lager Enthusiasts

Based in the Macarthur area of Sydney, MALE (Macarthur Ale and Lager Enthusiasts) are a group of mates who share a common interest in - yep- you guessed it Ale and Lager. They meet on the first thursday of each month at a pizza shop in either Picton or Narrelan.

                                                                                               

With everyone being a homebrewer, there's always loads of styles to try. This last thursday just happened to be the Cerny Pivo challenge night, so along with the normal beers there was 14 Pivo's to try and rank.

               And the WINNER is .......  Mark

and Marks secret........ a fresh wort kit from Pat Casey's shop Absolute Homebrew in St Mary's.

Drinking beer and eating pizza was not all that happened.  We were given a demonstration of the latest innovation in bottle capping by Rene, (See photo below.)

Unfortunately the photo's not real clear, but if you look closely you will see the green bottle is capped with I'm sorry to say .....  cling wrap.  Hey, when needs' must.

Take your sense of humour with you, along with any beer or brewing questions as all the guys are more than willing to lend a hand.

Thanks for a great night out guys and we see you next time.

N.B : Cerny Pivo is a Czech style black Lager

Australian Example : PinchGut's Black PLZ

4C. Schwarzbier (Black Beer)
Aroma: Low to moderate malt, with low aromatic sweetness and/or hints of roast malt often apparent. The malt can be clean and neutral or rich and Munich-like, and may have a hint of caramel. The roast can be coffee-like but should never be burnt. A low noble hop aroma is optional. Clean lager yeast character (light sulfur possible) with no fruity esters or diacetyl.
Appearance: Medium to very dark brown in color, often with deep ruby to garnet highlights, yet almost never truly black. Very clear. Large, persistent, tan-colored head.
Flavor: Light to moderate malt flavor, which can have a clean, neutral character to a rich, sweet, Munich-like intensity. Light to moderate roasted malt flavors can give a bitter-chocolate palate that lasts into the finish, but which are never burnt. Medium-low to medium bitterness, which can last into the finish. Light to moderate noble hop flavor. Clean lager character with no fruity esters or diacetyl. Aftertaste tends to dry out slowly and linger, featuring hop bitterness with a complementary but subtle roastiness in the background. Some residual
sweetness is acceptable but not required.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body. Moderate to moderately high carbonation. Smooth. No harshness or astringency, despite the use of dark, roasted malts.
Overall Impression: A dark German lager that balances roasted yet smooth malt flavors with moderate hop bitterness.
History: A regional specialty from southern Thuringen and northern Franconia in Germany, and probably a variant of the Munich Dunkel style.
Comments: In comparison with a Munich Dunkel, usually darker in color, drier on the palate and with a noticeable (but not high) roasted malt edge to balance the malt base. While sometimes called a “black Pils,” the beer is rarely that dark; don’t expect strongly roasted, porter-like flavors.
Ingredients: German Munich malt and Pilsner malts for the base, supplemented by a small amount of roasted malts (such as Carafa) for the dark color and subtle roast flavors. Nobletype German hop varieties and clean German lager yeasts are preferred.
Vital Statistics:
OG:     1.046 – 1.052
IBUs:   22 – 32
FG:      1.010 – 1.016
SRM:   17 – 30
ABV:   4.4 – 5.4%
Commercial Examples: Köstritzer Schwarzbier, Kulmbacher Mönchshof Premium Schwarzbier, Samuel Adams Black Lager, Krušovice Cerne, Original Badebier, Einbecker Schwarzbier, Gordon Biersch Schwarzbier, Weeping Radish Black Radish Dark Lager, Sprecher Black Bavarian

Courtesy of Beer Judging Certificate Program (BJCP) guidelines

P.S : Here you go "Pumpy", thats there just for you!)

Australian Hotel and Brewery - Beer in Cans

The Australian Hotel and Brewery have come to terms with ALH and Woolies liquor to stock their soon to be released canned beers. Based on the Red Bull can shape, the cans feel quite small in the hand but are actually 355ml - meaning they hold slightly more than most bottled craft beers (330ml) and will be sold in 16 packs.

I cannot bring you pictures of the artwork for the cans, but you will soon see them on another on line beer reporting blog.  I can say; if you check out the logos on the taps when you buy your next Steam Ale you will get a fairly good idea as to what they will look like.

Talking with Neal Cameron (head brewer) as to why cans and not bottles?  Turns out there are many good reasons.

Firstly, canned craft beer is making big inroads in the US markets "with more than 200 craft brewers  canning 600 different beers this year, Craftcans.com says. And last year, nearly 53 percent of beer consumed in the U.S. was served in an aluminium can, according to the Beer Institute. " (Consumer Nation 29 Aug  2012).

There is a large niche market here for canned craft beer, and no-one else in Australia is offering it.

Then; there is a growing export market for Australian craft beer in China and Japan. Cans ship with less risk and cost than glass.

Now add this: according to Neal it's cheaper to set up a canning line than a bottling line.  Sweet.

So all that's left to say is good luck,  and we will be keeping an eye out for the cans in the next few months.

Brew Mountains Beer and Cider Festival

Gold Medal for Our Bilge Pump Saison

We just got the results for the NSW Amateur Brewing Championships 2012, and our Bilge Pump Saison got a gold medal...finishing second to a Fruit Lambic.

Unfortunately this has caused all sorts problems, as we had run out of Bilge Pump Saison!  And with entries needing to be in Melbourne by the 13th of October - we needed to get cracking brewing another batch. An emergency trip to Peakhurst was made - and -  as I refused to waste the starter I had already made for this weeks brew, our Escape To Saftey Hefeweizen, it meant brewing twice in one day.  Not something I want to do every day.  But we have prevailed, and I am about to pitch the yeast in both the Saison and the Hefeweizen  - and call it a day.

Illawarra Brewing Co

Refurbished and re-launched in 2010, the Illawarra Brewing Co ( formerly Five Islands Brewing ) has hit the ground running. Winning a silver medal at the Australian International Beer Awards 2011, 1 gold  and 4 bronze at the Australian International Beer Awards 2012, and 2 gold medals at the Royal Sydney Beer Awards 2012.

We met up with the guys behind this success; Shaun, Ashur and Dave at the brewery in north Wollongong to talk about beer and breweries. With no formal brewing qualifications behind him, Shaun has shown just how successful you can be when you have the passion and the opportunity to live your dreams.

In their new brewery the guys have 8 - 2500L fermenters, fed from a 1250L boiler and mash tun which are heated with a 1979 steam generator of which the guys are justly proud. With demand for their beers at a record high and contract brewing for some of the biggest names in the craft beer industry as well as some of the newest, the guys are kept pretty busy brewing upwards of 6 batches a week. Think of these blokes when you are having one of their beers, as all the grain is hand carried from the crusher to the mash tun - about 200kg per batch - and hand stirred.  Not much fun there...and even less when shovelling it out again. ( The spent grain is sent to a beef farmer )

Ashur (left) and Shaun

Upstairs from the brewery the tasting room is being finalised ( they hope within the next 2 months ). With 8 taps and a growler filling station, it will be the perfect place to learn about these beers. Currently the only way to buy them is on tap through the bar under the WIN Entertainment Centre, or from the brewery you can pick up a 19L keg for about $100. If your having a party you can hire a 50L keg with tapcoupler, gas and magic box for about $250 - $280.


The next seasonal coming up will be a Spiced Pumpkin Ale ( possibly called Smashing Rumpkins ), which is fermented normally and then aged in ex - rum oak barrels.

From the brewery we made our way to the WIN Entertainment Centre for more beer and some lunch.  We were pleased to see that all seven of the Illawarra Beers were available on tap, and as a bonus, a Mountain Goat and a HopDog for good measure. We met up with Zak the bar manager, who has a passion for craft beer and knowledge of how they are crafted.

So thanks to Shaun, Ashur, Dave and Zak for an excellent time with Illawarra Brewing.

Mead Glorious Mead

We have been experimenting for some time now with various different honeys, trying to perfect our Meads.

We have used many different honeys, ranging from commercial Beechworth honey to single source regional honeys. These include Iron Bark, Stringy Bark and Yellow Box from the gum family, and most recently Orange Blossom, Clover, Salvation Jane ( Pattersons Curse ) and Leatherwood honeys.

Now while the 3 are still brewing we have received some interesting interim results and feedback.

We put together ( well I say we, it was really one of my sisters with her contacts in the medieval society ) a, ( for want of a better word ) "focus group",  with the idea of getting outside opinions about our Meads.

Some of the results were -

Honey from gum trees, which is very fermentable, generally produced 12 - 14.5% alcochol in our batch sizes.  They will need a long maturation time ( over a year ), to let the sharpness from the alcohol and the honey taste itself mellow.

Stringy Bark honey can give you Vegemite aromas. Who'd have thought that?

Orange Blossom honey is not very fermentable, generally producing 6 - 7.5% alcohol in our batch's. This makes it quite sweet but also very drinkable straight after bottling.

We tried several recipes as well -

Joe's Ancient Orange Mead, is a bugger to do in 5L carboys.  You have to cut the oranges up really small and you get a lot less out due to all the leftover yeast / fruit, not to mention the extra sharpness from the orange peel.

Blueberry Melomel, with 500gm of blueberrys - needed a lot more fruit as the taste was a bit washed out.

Sweet Mead needs a really long maturation time, as to make it you need to take the yeast to it's alcohol limit, making it very strong.

So all of this has given us lots of ideas to work with and changes to make.

We would like to thank our "focus group", and especially my sister for putting it all together and being such a great hostess. 

Craft Beer - Definition

                                           Craft Beer.

                          Beer made by a brewer. Not an advertising agency.
                          They’re small. Not like Mark Zuckerberg’s bank balance.
                          Independent.  Not like your local politician.
                          Traditional. Like the Norwegian hammer dance.

                          By Todd  from Sydney Craft Beer Week

TinRoof IPA - What happens when you mess with a recipe

We started out with the recipe we designed earlier, and decided to bring it down to 21L instead of 25L and at the same time cut back the crystal malt from 0.95kg to 0.5kg and the vienna malt from 0.65kg to 0.5kg. This would give us a lighter malt load and hopefully still be balanced.

                                                                                                                                                                                                             

This is the first time we are using our new wort pump, we were able to set it up to recirculate the wort through the mash

Adding the grain to the mash water, 6kg is easy, I have done this with 55kg and you know you've had a work out then.

We weighed and bagged the hop additions for the day, all 7 of them.

After the boil we ended up with 16L, so somewhere in our measurements we really messed up. We have still got a very nice beer but it's ended up at 101 IBU's instead of the 62 we were planning on and once everything has settled only about 15L of beer. 

I think we will just have to call it a limited release. 

TrainWorks Beer Fest date for 2013

The organisers of TrainWorks Winter Beer Festival have released the date for next year,

24th August 2013.

Get it on your calanders now.

TrainWorks Winter Beer Fest - Wrap Up

Well what can I say, it was an overwhelming success. Blue sky,warm day, excellent location and enough beer to keep you drinking all day. For an entry fee of $35 you got entry to the beer fest, tasting glass, 5 beer tokens and entry to the train museum.

With plenty of room to move between brewers and/or spread out on the grass, it made for a very relaxed atmosphere.

Our pick for the Ale of the show, 2 Birds Brewing Summer Ale - a light and refreshing Ale that allowing a glimpse of the crystal malt to come through the hops.

This shot is looking back to the new indoor part of the train museum and the James Squire tent

Our pick for dark beer of the show is Holgate's Temptress - a chocolate porter made with vanilla beans and a texture so smooth it will be gone before you know it.

The crowds built up after lunch, but the early birds found some seriously good tucker down in the food tents.

The first shout out goes to the organisers for having these guys and a few more around to make sure nothing got out of hand.

The second shout out goes to The Hills Cider Co for coming all the way from the Adelaide Hills to make the event.

Cheers to the organisers for putting on such a spectacular event and we look forward to next year.