Aussie Beers

Yeti

It's commmiinnnggggggg....

Sunday Arvo

Sunday evening beers - Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (8/10), followed by a 2001 Samichlaus (8/10)! Both big fruity beers. Obviously the Sami had mellowed and matured. It was good, but I think the 2008 is good too - just different! Had a wedding on Saturday (see the pics below), before going to craft beer bar and finishing off at home with a Nogne Imperial Stout (8.5/10), which I found hiding in Tanakaya. I thought they were all sold out, but I found one hiding at the back hooray! Nice big example of my favourite style...

Chizuko's Wedding

Went to my former student's wedding on the weekend - and what a wedding it was! We cruised around on a ship for a few hours round okohama Bay, whilst enjoying some of the best food I have had in a long while. It was a Chinese Japanese fusion and the quality was unbelievable! Beef that melted in your mouth, smooth filling soup and even lobster! Made the Asahi Super dry I drank with it seem palatable. The service was on top of the ship, before we left harbour and it was very interesting. Lots of western imagery (Rings etc) but totally Japanese in presentation. We even let off balloons at the conclusion of the event. 

I was honoured to be invited to such an event and share my deepest respect for Chizuko and Shugo for the future. Good luck for the honeymoon!

Westy v. Berny 12 rounds (geddit?)

I had a review of the holy grail of beers - the Westvleteren 12 up the other day til blogger decided to f@#$ me around and delete the post. I haven't had the time or energy to put it up again...til now (cue eeire music). So take two - here's my ratebeer.com review...

Yes it’s a great beer. The best in the world? Debatable. It serves as the holy grail and does its job well. Poured a magnificent auburn unfiltered ruby red. A sight to behold. Nose of raisins, alcohol, toffee etc. Taste was expressive. Lots of alcohol, port, sweet dark fruit and a little coffee. mouth feel was medium to full. Left a lasting impression of alcohol and cinnamon in the mouth. Lots of yeasty sediment to this one. Glad to try it, now I can move on try a few more on my wishlist!

I have a few more so I will crack them open later for a better review. I also had a St. Bernardus ABT 12 the same night. The Berny was also very good and a little similar to the Westy. The story goes that The St.Bernard Brewery brewed Westvleteren beers for the monks up till recently. Here is the full story from 52brews.com.

"In 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of “Trappist” under contract from 1946 until 1992…

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year. Today it brews beers with no monastic influence…but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven’t changed since 1946.

Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew. "

So obviously both are great beers. There were discernible differences, such as the Westy having a more auburn colour, where as the Berny was a browny colour with better head retention. The tastes where not dissimilar, with big roasty, fruit flavours, but more like cousins than siblings. Similar profiles with notable distinctions. If I were to pick a winner it would be the Berny, just because it's 1/3 the price of the Westy and a hellava lot easier to get your hands on...just saying.

Anyone got some thoughts on these two?

Van Halen and Satriani's Love child - one night only

I think this about sums up my guitar playing ability! But I enjoy it and Koichi is always kind enough to let me play at the Thrash Zone. This pic courtesy of Chuwy's highly readable, always quotable blog.

Drank a bit too much last night. Greenflash DIPA (7/10 - their West Coast IPA kills this), Stone RIS (9/10), Minoh DIPA (6.5/10 - Don't get me started on Minoh) and West Coast IPA (9/10). Then went home and drank a Samichlaus (14%!) and whisky...but I was still able to perform my duty at the end of the night;)...As you can guess I'm a bit under the weather today...

paid in full

Pumping on the stereo - 

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (Crazy cool song). Even if it is a bit soft, the melodies are keepers. Check it out like...

P.S. remember ANYONE can leave comments so please do so (I'm looking at you anonymous reader!).