Australian National Homebrewing Conference

Well, somebody had to do it. It might as well be me. Though in fairness I managed to wrangle another bottle so it makes sense that I be a guinea pig.

So how was it? It was nice, but... I think it will get better. So the advice at this point is to hold on to your bottles.

It looks fantastic - beautiful bright red, with an excellent creamy head.

The malt character is also excellent - really bright, clear and glassy if that makes sense. Soft, juicy golden syrup character with a relatively light body for the style. It's like a cool-climate Shiraz where the Old Crustacean I had the other night is old vine Barossa. Bitterness is pretty light and clean, but it dries out nicely in the finish. It's certainly a very drinkable barleywine.

The aroma is what makes me think it needs a bit more time. There's a bit of a sulfury yeasty edge to it still, which I presume the yeast will eventually clean up. The rest of the beer certainly gives the impression it'll hold together for quite some time whilst the yeast catches up.

I'm about as tired of writing tasting notes as I'm sure you all are of reading them. But it's a lot easier than finishing my Yarra Valley epic so you're stuck. Sorry. Maybe one day I'll think of something a bit more interesting to write about.

First up is Merck toch hoe Sterck, brewed by the Scheldebrouwerij in the Netherlands. I'd cellared this for a little while - it had a best before date of December 2007.

Buggered if I can figure out what "Merck toch hoe sterck" means - "Mark of the nevertheless how strong"? Yeah, OK, my Dutch sucks. I can translate this line from their website though: "niet meer in productie". No longer in production. Didn't know that.

Anyway it's held up to the aging quite well, and I'd say it had a fair bit longer left in it too. Definite but very subtle coriander mixed with subtle dark Belgian-style maltiness and a touch of tomato juice. It starts rich and round and sugary but dries out in the finish very well.

But... it really tasted and smelled like Parmesan! I'd had some Grana Padano on my risotto for dinner and the experience came flooding back with this beer. Weird. Lucky I love Parmesan.

Anyway, it kinda tasted like Rochefort 8 with some Parmesan and chocolate milkshake mixed in. I like all of those things, so the verdict is "tasty".

Sadly this beer's appearance seems to have been a one-off. But being the intelligent (not to mention beautiful, and modest) guy that I am I had the foresight to horde a few bottles. Though at $14 a bottle I didn't horde that many.

Now I'm reaping the rewards. It's a damn good beer. Let's face it, most American micro imperial stouts taste more-or-less the same. Piney hop aroma, loads of roast and blistering bitterness - but the more I drink the more I'm coming around to liking them. It turns out grapefruit and coffee are a good breakfast combo.

This one smells like pinecones, milk chocolate, sabayon (why do so many American beers smell like sabayon???) and minty/basily hops. The mouthfeel really sets it apart, it's quite light but really compact if such a thing makes sense. There are hints of honeycomb and Nutri Grain before blistering bitterness and assertive roast.

It's just got a great balance of intensity and drinkability.

Heel erg lekker, as they say on half of the island of St Maarten/St Martin.

The winter seasonal from Murray's is, unsurprisingly, another winner.

It's not especially dark, and it doesn't really taste that dark either.

The aroma is big and malty, with plenty of sultanas and cookie dough and perhaps a vague hint of piney hop as well. It's rich, sweet and plummy - reminding me of Rochefort - with barely any roast malt presence though perhaps some vague coffee in the finish. There's no particular bitterness of note, though it dries out alright with a fair bit of alcohol warming.

It seemed a bit Belgian actually - kind of like Hercule Stout without the tarry roastiness. Very tasty stuff - it gets the ANHC tick of approval™.

Details:

Murray's Best Extra Porter: 330mL bottle, $5.50 at Cloudwine