Canberra Brewers

Feast of the beast

By Sam Highley

Over at 666 ABC Canberra they've been running a series known as Feast, where they're looking at the culinary aspects of life in Canberra and the region. The series covers everything from growing, buying, cooking and consuming food and drink, and back in September they focussed on brewing. Of course, no focus on brewing would be complete without delving into beer, and Canberra Brewers member Chris De La Rue showed Jo Laverty from 666 around his garage with a tour of his equipment and process.

 

 

 

Nationals success!

By Patrick Baggoley 

Canberra can once-again lay claim to being the beer-brewing capital of Australia after the ACT successfully defended its title as champion state at last month's Australian Amateur Brewing Championships in Melbourne.

Canberra brewer Craig Webber also took out the champion brewer title with two first-placed entries (for his American pale ale and Irish red ale) and one second place.

The ACT had 17 beers place in the top three across 18 categories to win the title with 37 points, a solid margin ahead of second-placed Victoria on 20 points. It was the third time the ACT has won the state title in the five years it has been awarded.

Across the six state-based competitions, brewers submitted a total 1586, with 280 entries from 146 brewers qualifying for the national competition.

Other ACT first-place winners were: Brendan Linton-Smith (pale ale category); Craig Stokes (amber and dark lager); Dan Rayner (strong stout); Chris De La Rue (India pale ale); Ross Mitchell (specialty beer).

Take a look at some photos from the event over at Sarah Anderson Photography.

Photo credit: Sarah Anderson Photography

Bamberg — part three (the end)

By Stuart Whytcross

Brauerei Keesman

Quite similar to the other brauhaus in layout, with a schwemm and several drinking rooms and restaurants on either side, and a small courtyard out the back. The only main difference is the more modern and bright decore, although they have still managed to fit a truckload of deer antlers on the wall.

The nose knows

By Patrick Baggoley

Never has a taste of the Wig and Pen’s normally crisp, clean Kolsch elicited so many dramatic facial expressions. But that was before our club prez Darryl Barbour was let loose with a keg of Richard Watkins' popular Kemberry ale and a chemistry set. Richard was kind enough to donate the keg so club members, several of whom are about to sit the BJCP exam, could hone their palates to pick off flavours.

Seventeen club members, including some of the 12 due to sit the upcoming exam, packed into Dicko's shed a few weeks back, as Darryl spiked the beer with 24 different flavours from the Siebel Institute Sensory Kit.

Bamberg — part two (the beers)

By Stuart Whytcross

Bamberg is best known for its Rauchbier or ‘Smoke Bier’. This should not be confused with ‘smoked bier’, as the beer isn’t smoked at all, the grains are. However, only two of Bamberg's breweries actually produce rauchbier: Aecht Schlenkerla and Spezial.

Both of these breweries produce their own smoked malt, called rauchmalz. This is made by smoking malt over an open beechwood fire, rather than the traditional method of using a kiln. The intense flavour of this malt means that only a small amount needs to be used to impart that distinctly smoky flavour and aroma to the beer.

No-Sparge Low-Gravity Brewing

By Mark Bilbrough

OK, I admit it, I like low gravity session beers. I can avoid the guilt of having a beer most nights, without feeling like I have a drinking problem. After spending a couple of years in Scotland, and another in England, I’ve developed a taste for Scottish Ales and Bitters.

The problem is my brew system does not work well with low gravity beers. Mashing in (even) at a very generous three litres/kg on a small beer leads to around ten litres of strike water, which is way too small in my 55-litre mash tun.

Bamberg — part one

By Stuart Whytcross

Bamberg, unlike most German cities, managed to escape obliteration during the Second World War. Because of this, its architecture reflects around 1000 years of history, and this brings many tourists to the town. In 1993 UNESCO declared Bamberg to be a World Heritage City, and in 2006 the European Beer Consumers Union declared Bamberg to be a World Beer Heritage City.

With nine breweries producing over 60 different beers, two large malting facilities in Weyermann Malz and Bamberger Mälzerei, the world’s oldest manufacturer of brewing systems, Kaspar Schulz, and the Franconian Brewery Museum, it’s a title that this town rightfully deserves. And all in a geographic area smaller than Bendigo!

Bavaria and Weizen

By Stuart Whytcross

Hefeweizen would probably be one of my all time favourite beer styles, and on my last trip overseas, it was my goal to find the best one. This of course took me to Bavaria, which is the largest German state and is located in South-Eastern Germany. Although Munich and Bamberg are both in Bavaria, I decided to write two separate articles on these places, and include the rest of Bavaria and hefeweizens in this article.

It's no wonder Bavaria is noted for its exceptional quality wheat beers, after all they have spent the past 2800 years perfecting it! However, they weren’t the first, with evidence dating back to the Stone age (8 to 10 thousand years ago) of the Sumerians brewing with wheat along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in what is now Iraq.

Dusseldorf’s Alt Bier

By Stuart Whytcross

History

Situated beside the Rhine river, Düsseldorf is the capital of North Rhineland. It is an important international business and financial centre, and is also renowned for its fashion, trade fairs and, of course, Alt Bier. Alt bier (pronounced 'ullt bier') is said to be one of the oldest beer styles still in existence, and it's going strong in Germany.

Düsseldorf is the centre of one of the most interesting beer regions of Germany, because the pre-19th Century top-fermenting tradition has been kept alive. Traditionally in southern Germany, brewing beer was restricted to the cooler months, as fermentation temperatures during the summer months were too warm to produce quality beer. This winter-brewed beer was stored in Kellers in the sides of the mountains, at cooler temperatures for the warmer summer months. These biers were known as lagers, as 'lager' means 'to store' in Germany. In the late 1800’s, refrigeration meant that brewers could now control the temperatures of their beer all year round. This was when Europe’s lager revolution began.

Kölsch Bier in Cologne

By Stuart Whytcross

When in Germany, time must be put aside to visit Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Cologne, all of which are literally next door to each other. These cities are steeped in a proud brewing tradition, and when it comes to beer, they are as passionate as anyone.

The rivalry between Cologne and Düsseldorf is fierce and goes back hundreds of years. There are no road signs in either direction that will tell you how to get from one city to another, and apparently asking for a Kölsch bier in Düsseldorf, or an Alt bier in Cologne is enough to have you immediately escorted from the premises.