Beer you're enjoying

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smithcorp
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by smithcorp »

Well, I learnt something pretty amazing on Tuesday night. I went along to the Young Henrys / Spiegelau beer glass tasting event (part of Craft Beer Week), which "looks specifically at the role that glassware plays in your enjoyment of beer."

The setup was you sat at long tables with 4 Spiegelau beer glasses in front of you, plus two standard middie glasses. The deal was you drank the beer and kept the glasses. Neat I thought - 4 glasses and a bunch of beer, worth it!

Anyway what I learnt was that the shape and nature of the beer glass makes a huge difference to the beer you drink! For each beer (and as you can see in the image, the beer glasses had quite different designs with each intended fro a style of beer - left to right is IPA, Pilsner, Wheat Beer, Lager) you poured a portion into the Spiegelau glass and a portion into the standard beer glass and compared things like bouquet, head retention, temperature and taste. The differences were remarkable. In the middy glass the heads would deteriorate quickly (and the head is important in beer because it concentrates and delivers the smells that are an essential part of taste), the beer would taste thinner and flatter compared to the same one from the Spiegelau glass, the beer would get warmer in the middy, and even the shape of the glass's rim was important, with the rounded rim of the middy glass delivering the beer to the back of your tongue, while the thinner edges of the Spiegelau glasses put the beer towards the front.

Sounds a bit like bullshit, but the difference was real! Take the IPA glass for instance - its the one with the sort of ridged stem. Apparently it was designed with the assistance of two IPA brewers in the US and the ridges act to re-aerate the beer as you tilt the glasses while drinking, and this recharges the head. IPA styles are all about lots of hops and the delicious Young Henrys Hop Ale from the Spiegelau glass was much nicer than from the middy glass and the ridges worked.

Anyway, I'm a convert. Never more beer from the bottle and I will now think more about the shape of glass I drink my beer from. Interestingly, the Spiegelau folk didn't do the hard sell - they put on a show, supplied the glasses but then left without spruiking where to get the glasses from, or even trying to sell more there. If they had them for sale, I would have bought a bunch that night!

Anyone else got contributions in this vein? And PS - Craft Beer Week is on in Sydney, there's some great events, get out there! I'll be with the family at the Peakhurst Inn on Saturday - 70 beers, plus burgers and ribs in the car park!

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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by Exar Kun »

No huge surprise for me that it'd taste different. I don't drink alcohol but do drink far too much Coke and even something as simple and lowly as that tastes totally different whether it's coming out of glass or plastic or a can. Pretty cool that you got to compare them side by side.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by Vilante »

Very interesting Smiss, very interesting. I drink out of bottles all the time or just schooner glasses.

Everywhere we went in Europe they had shapes more consistent with your image though. That says something in itself.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by norbs »

Well, here I was thinking Smiss had taken another blow to the head, but after speaking to my beer Yoda (Pix), he says there is something to it. Well I'll be fucked.

We agreed that a tasting weekend on the South coast would be the go. Oysters, prawns and beers.

Who is in? :)
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by smithcorp »

Oh yeah!
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by 9ra55h0ppaH »

Has everyone that wanted to tried the new Little Creatures IPA?

Stuff's sending me broke, why you so good! :(
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by Vilante »

norbs wrote:Well, here I was thinking Smiss had taken another blow to the head, but after speaking to my beer Yoda (Pix), he says there is something to it. Well I'll be fucked.

We agreed that a tasting weekend on the South coast would be the go. Oysters, prawns and beers.

Who is in? :)
Sounds pretty good to me!!
9ra55h0ppaH wrote:Has everyone that wanted to tried the new Little Creatures IPA?

Stuff's sending me broke, why you so good! :(
Crap, I totally forgot. Tomorrow night, we drink!
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by pixelboy »

Oysters and beer with norbs? I think I've died and gone to heaven!

Speaking of heavenly drinks I've not been able to source the Little Creatures IPA since I had 5 or 6 on the house at the Taphouse. I need to extend my search radius.

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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by smithcorp »

9ra55h0ppaH wrote:Has everyone that wanted to tried the new Little Creatures IPA?

Stuff's sending me broke, why you so good! :(
Just tried it tonight. I was having no luck finding it anywhere, so had to order a case from here: https://www.beercartel.com.au/epages/Be ... ts/956-SNG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Next day delivery, and I agree, it is lovely, especially out of my whippy new IPA glass!
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by norbs »

Anyone tried this lot?

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... MP=soc_568" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by pixelboy »

Funny you should say that.. I'm enjoying a Burleigh Brewing 28 Pale Ale..

Image

I've had most of those on that list and they all deserve a tasting!
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by ysu »

so what exactly is a "pale ale"?
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by pixelboy »

It's a beer brewed with ale yeast but lighter in colour (pale) and body than a traditional ale.

Recently (the past 20yrs) it has also often represented heavily hopped ales like Little Creatures.

Lagers and Pilsner use different yeast and are fermented at lower temperatures and good examples are "lagered" at just above freezing temperatures for a maturation period.

And as the Germans decreed in 17something, beer should only have three ingredients, malted barley, water and hops. At the time the role of yeast was still not fully understood.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by ysu »

alright, thanks, I'll just have to try one at some point, I guess. :)
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by smithcorp »

Necro!

I just had a bottle of Stone IPA - lovely! Highly recommended. I got 18 bottles of assorted IPAs for Fathers Day and have been working through them. I rank this one at 3 or 4.

http://www.stonebrewing.com/ipa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by pixelboy »

mmmm IPA's...

I just went through a case of the latest Hop Thief.. very tasty but not as good as previous years..

http://www.jamessquire.com.au/beer/jame ... /hop-thief" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by mofodoobs »

Hawthorn Pale Ale is excellent. Not an IPA, but it's a very nice beer.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by ysu »

I love hope thief. But the latest I'm enjoying is the Beez Neez.
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Beer you're enjoying

Post by DexterPunk »

Loving my Hawthorn Pilsner of late.


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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by c.j »

This is me. This is the entire reason I have to train 25hrs a week :faint:

http://www.goatbeer.com.au/the-beer/steam-ale/
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by Dr. Pain »

I was enjoying some ice cold Corona's but I cant have another for 12 weeks now. But at end of that time I will buy one and enjoy it :yummy:
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by Vilante »

mofodoobs wrote:Hawthorn Pale Ale is excellent. Not an IPA, but it's a very nice beer.
c.j wrote:This is me. This is the entire reason I have to train 25hrs a week :faint:

http://www.goatbeer.com.au/the-beer/steam-ale/
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I don't think I've tried either of those. Will rectify that.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by ysu »

Grolsch swing top. Bloody good.

Apparently you need to buy the swing top to get the real deal - the regular bottles are made here.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by Cursed »

Lord Nelson Brewery Three Sheets.

It's been probably 15 years or more since I occasionally visited the pub and imbibed many a pint of this stuff before staggering to the other end of the city for some Chinese. It's not exactly the same, but all the essential flavours were instantly recognisable to me.
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Re: Beer you're enjoying

Post by pixelboy »

It's good stuff the Three Sheets.

I'm enjoying Little Creatures Rogers at the moment as a daily drinker with lower alcohol but still a good malt colour and taste! I alternate that and Atomic Pale Ale.
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