The Anatomy of a Party

Stu and Fritha's annual birthday bash... 28/06/2008, Wigtoft... 20-odd people, half a dozen curries, more rice than you can carry and two homebrewed beers on the engines (as well as four other homebrews in the bottle). The intervalometer on my camera was set up to take a picture every three minutes. It's a nice way to check whether you have spread your love (and to double-check who helped with the dishes - thanks Brendon and John).

Next year and L-shaped table, 30-odd people and more homebrew. Any suggestions on a food theme?

Yeastie Boys ' Pot Kettle Black'

Pot Kettle Black brew day, at Invercargill Brewery on 27/07/2008. Sam Possenniskie, Stu McKinlay and Invercargill's owner/brewer Steve Nally. The first beer for Yeastie Boys and we couldn't have done it with a better brewer and host.

Beer Matching Dinner, Invercargill

A democratic order of preference, from left to right, and an excellent showing from the only local beer - a Twisted Hop Epiphany (not sure if this bottle was last years vintage, now knowns as Enigma, or the first one from 2006). The two Russian Imperial Stouts weren't up to the mark - soy sauce to the left and glue to the right).

From left to right: Rogue Imperial IPA, Twisted Hop Epiphany, Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Murray's Grand Cru, Struise Pannepot Reserva, Westvleteren 12, Struise-Mikkeller Elliot Brew, Eugene City Honey Orange Wheat, Harvey's Imperial Extra Double Stout, Invercargill tap water, Durham Temptation.

The next day I brewed 1200L of my favourite recipe, with my favourite New Zealand brewer - Steve Nally of Invercargill Brewery. My ratebeer days are over, it ain't right to be brewing and rating.

Coming soon - Yeastie Boy's 'Pot Kettle Black' American-style porter...

June Beer of the Month: Downton Chimera IPA

Not a lot of notes from June. I'm not sure what I was up to but, I guess, it didn't involve much drinking. Perhaps I was brewing a bit back then, who knows...

Although I tasted some interesing Saisons (possibly the world's most disputed style), it was a classic English IPA that stood out... Downton's Chimera IPA:
Tasted 01/06/2007. 500ml bottle, Rumble’s. Left to vent for a couple of hours, after some pretty volcanic strong English ales in the past. Just on the pale side of golden. Creamy white head tries hard, but doesn’t stand at chance at this alcohol level (though that might be a different story if it wasn’t cellar temp). Citrus and stonefruit blossom hops fill the nose at first, followed by a rich pale malt character that is slightly caramelly and certainly a little minerally. Warming alcohol becomes prominent. In the mouth it’s richly malty, with a strong sappy, almost steely, hop character. More mineral notes again, with a prominent fruity ester and alcohol character. Quite warming. Intensely bitter. Lingering. Did I say lingering? Barley sugars make an appearance at this stage too, hidden amongst the tongue-scraping bitterness.. A great beer to introuduce the concept of bitterness and a classic English IPA in my opinion. If DAB is the ex-girlfriend who remains your friend, this is the mate that nobody quite appreciates. Damn it’s bitter! (4.1/5.0).

Beer geek 'Stonch' (who kindly - and unknowingly -supplied the pic) backgrounds the Downton brewery, briefly, and agrees with the overall summation of the product. Very interesting, for you kiwis, is that the Downtown brewhouse is run by a brewer with a background at Hop Back and Fuller's. Colin Paige - head brewer of iconic New Zealand brewery Mac's - comes from the exact same pedigree.

May Beer of the Month: Murray's Imperial Stout

By May we had Ted sleeping through the night and I was beggining to recatch my hankering for the fermented one.

Jacqui Thomson, our good friend and the sister of wine writer Joelle, visited with a fist full of treats (Jacqui always comes with a bunch of interesting Australian craft beers and a good wine or two). Knappstein Reserve Lager stood out - the best use of Nelson Sauvin I've come across, thus far, and the single best Australian beer I'd tasted at that point.

Our other good friend Martin Bennett, of Twisted Hop fame, came to stay also. Martin was the driving force behind BrewNZ 2007 and - as a very generous man indeed - also tends to always bring a nice bag of surprises with him. Poplar Brown was the best of many goodies.

However, two tastings of an Imperial Stout were the highlights of my tasting month. The first was at a BJCP tasting at Brendon's, and the other was an excellent Imperial Stout tasting at Kieran's. The beer, which technically shoots wide of the Imperial Stout style (probably the hottest style amongst beer geeks at present), was on of the biggest surprises of my year. An Australian beer, brewed by a New Zealand brewer. Without further ado, I present Murray's Imperial Stout:
Tasted 31/05/2007. 750ml champagne-style bottle, steward’s choice from BrewNZ. Very lively, upon opening a light tan head comes foaming out of the bottle. Almost black, probably not quite as dark as a classic Imperial Stout. Nor is it as roasty or as hoppy... but wow!.... this is a really great beer. Cherry esters and woody notes play on the nose. Winy esters and rich malt characters are very well integrated in the mouth, where it’s less roasty than you’d expect. The finish is exceptionally smooth, with lingering fruit and malt sweetness. I ended up savouring it too much to take many notes. A string quartet, perhaps even a full orchestra, next to the screeching guitar solo of Pink’s Imperious Russian Stowt. I’ve got to get my hands on more from these guys. Keep it up guys. (4.2/5.0).

April Beer of the Month: O'Hanlon's Royal Oak

Way back in April I was sleep deprived, and spending more time thinking about beer than actually tasting it. What I did taste (the likes of Kilkenny, Export Dry and a couple of Sam Adam's fruit beers) was about as appealing as getting up for Ted's midnight feeds.

One beer stood proudly - head, shoulders and beef-bellied torso above the rest: O'Hanlon's Royal Oak, a splendidly complex ESB.

I remember how tired I was in April (I'm almost that tired again now) and, frankly, I'm amazed that I had the capacity to actually string a senctence together. (note: real writers may suggest I've not quite achieved anything worthy of being called a sentence).

Anyway, here is my Royal Oak experience:
Tasted 26/04/2007. 500ml bottle from Rumble’s, Wellington. Pours an almost bright Doc Marten Cherry Red, with a very light tan airy head. Delightfully fruity nose: raisiny port notes mingle with a sweet whiff of lemonade. A hint of caramel, especially in the empty glass. Very soft in the mouth, and quite light, with just a touch of barley sweetness, more fruity esters and a toasty dry finish. Oaky notes linger on the palate, and I’m not pulling your leg here! Bitterness is very subdued, hop flavour almost non-existent besides a mild peppery spice. This one has really stood up to the travel and the shelf time. Excellent ESB, with all the complexity of a good single malt whisky. It really makes me want to have another look at their Port Stout.

I have since re-looked at the Port Stout but not yet actually got it to my lips. Sometime soon... perhaps?

March Beer of the Month: Duchesse de Bourgogne

March seems like a lifetime ago - and it was for Ted (see 8 month old Ted, in punk pose, below). It's been that long since I took time to write a Beer of the Month.

Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne, with it's classic Flemish "Golden Age" painting label that hints at something very special inside the small 25cl bottle, was the beer of that month. How I didn't head straight to the computer to tell the world, nobody knows. Not only was it the beer of the month, it is most likely my beer of the year (don't stop visiting just yet tohught, the SOBA Homebrew Championship may well come up with something to trump it).

Here's my thoughts, as posted on RateBeer:

Tasted 24/03/2007. 25cl bottle from Rumble’s, Wellington. 6.2%. Sour cherry aroma, a touch of brett mustiness and oak. Lacy light tan head sits firm atop this ruddy garnet coloured ale. Lots of fruity, cherry-like fruit sweetness and sugar up front with lovely sour and astringent balance - a touch of oaky astringency cuts through first, followed by a lingering, yet mild, 9-volt acidic fruit bite. Sourness tingles between mouthfeels. A little sweetness lingers the longest. Balanced and very drinkable. Excellent beer. Before, during or after dinner... but probably not for breakfast. Re-tasted at a Sour Ale study session on 03/05/2007. The standout beer of the evening. Outstanding beer with hints of fruitcake crusts and a sublimely complex balance of sweet, sour and tannic astringency. Upped a point each for every aspect (4.4/5.0).

As a nice confirmation of my own excitement, the Duchesse was comfortably the highest scoring beer at any session of this year's Wellington BJCP group tastings (if I remember rightly, all judges were in the high 40's out of 50).

The brewery's low-key website, here, looks informative but is hardly worth visiting unless you read Dutch.

I wrote a little more on De Bourgogne in my fortnightly piece on 'Not PC'. However, my limited writing ability and palate can't fully express how great this beer is. It is as well-crafted as any drink you could ever taste, and it's well under $10 a bottle.

If my recommendation is not enough:

• 1100 blog pages will probably recommend it almost as highly, and
• 861 beer geeks, some of whom may also be bloggers, pretty much agree

Else, try it for yourself (in stock at Regional Wines and Spirits right now).

What else did I like in March:

• Pink Elephant's Imperious Rushin' Stowt (3.9), and
• Robinson's Old Tom (3.7)

Slainte mhath

Stu

Beer Belly Debunked

Don't believe the hype. Wikipedia, the BBC and countless other websites are on my side: the "beer belly" does not exist. I drink approximately a litre of beer per day, and I've not got one. Perhaps it's something to do with all that beef and butter that other people eat, or - heaven forbid - all the wine they drink?

Milla Jovovich, and the press in general, isn't doing the cause any good. I never believe the press anyway.

From now on, I'll call it a "Beef Belly".

For a list of research pointing out all the positives I already know - that beer is good for you - visit the friendly folk at Hallertau brewpub. They've done all the leg work for you and make a few pretty decent beers on the side.


ps. anyone who knows me, and can pick what is missing in the above photo, will win a free ticket to the SOBA National Homebrew Championship Awards Party.

The Brewery at Wigtoft

The brewery gets a work out with a double-batch of birthday bitter (a Maris Otter base, a little Caramalt and Munich, with a good dose of East Kent Golding hops and a sprinkling of Willamette).

The stainless kettle on the left is where the sweet malty wort is boiled with the hops. This wort (pronounced "wert") is obtained by mixing crushed grain and hot water (67c, in this case) in the chilly bin on the right (mash tun). It sits for an hour, converting starch to fermentable dextrins.

The chilly bin in the centre, aka the hot liquor tank, holds more hot water that is showered (sparged) through the hot grainy mixture to extract fermentable sugars. This process is slow, to enable maximum extraction of fermentable sugars, and takes around 90mins.

Here's the sparge in action (plenty more room for grain, if I was planning on brewing a barley wine!):

And here is the sweet unhopped golden wort, which is running out of the mash tun:

The wort usually runs straight into the kettle, which I then lift. But seeing that this is a double-batch, and that the kettle is a bit hard to lift when it's got over 25L in it, I run the last 15L or so into jugs before transferring into the kettle.

A picture of the finished beer, a hoppy 4.5% golden bitter currently fermenting at 18c in two sepearate fermenters (one of which will be dry hopped), will follow in three to four weeks.

Last Friday

Last Friday turned into an impromptu strong ale tasting at Wigtoft. I took this photo as we sipped on a very young version of my own XXX Porter, a dark fruity 7% winter ale brewed for Kieran Haslett-Moore's solstice gig. We'd already worked our way through a 2L rigger of Twisted Hop's scrumptious new Amercian-style 'Poplar Brown Ale'.

From left to right, above: Sierra Nevada Celebration (6.8%), then four Twisted Hop ales: Epiphany (10.5%), Raspbiery (7%), Raspbiery Lambic (6%) and Plum Duff (6.66%); and, finally, two Emerson's 2006 Bourbon Porter (9.2%) and 2005 Taieri George (6.8%).

The Raspbiery Lambic has to be one of New Zealand's most interesting beers, right now. A lovely brett character that will definitely appeal to any Orval fan.

We also decided to try Brendon's Prison Apple Wine (unknown %) and my little own 'accident': the 1968 Strong Ale (8.5%).

The last thing I remember is getting out the first whisky...

February Beer of the Month: Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen

February was even quieter than January, though there were a couple of outstanding new beers amongst the few I tried. Three Boys Golden Ale was a marvellous showcase of the under-utlisied Sauvin hop. However the pick of the month, without doubt, was Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen. This was one of the most fascinating beers I've ever tasted. Big ups to Sam Bjornniskie for sending it over.

Without further ado, the sensory analysis:

Tasted 18/02/2007. 500ml bottle, from the brewery, sent from the UK (in a sock). Thanks to the TheGrandmaster. Pours a deep chestnut brown, reddish hued, with a disappearing off-white head. Strong ashy notes on the nose - Brendon calls it "a glass of smoky bacon bits" and Fritha calls it "billy tea" (campfire tea, not the dearly departed NZ comedian). Whatever you call it, and both of them are quite apt, I like it. Also has a rich background of Munich malt. In the mouth it is creamy, with med-low carbonation and a med-full weight. This allows a lovely, clean, toasty Munich richness to dominate. Lowly hopped, and the ash notes aren’t noted on the tongue. It’s pretty fresh but I can imagine it even fresher. World Class. Bamberg slips ahead of Portland in my beer holiday fantasy. I can’t believe I’ve already been there and missed all of the beer (but I do have a photo of the Rathaus in the middle of the river).

Sublime. See Schlenkerla's excellent little website for more info.

January Beer of the Month: Cantillon Gueuze

January was a super quiet month on the beer tasting front. Providing the beers for Matt and Sarah's Wedding kept me super busy. A hoppy American Pale Ale, a couple of German-styles (unfiltered Kolsch and Pilsner) and a Brown Porter kept the masses happy there. I was particularly happy with the Kolsch, which was very clean and delicate.

On the tasting front it was a mixed bag Cantillon's Organic Gueuze was the beer most worthy of a nod. It's a beer unlike any other besides the other beers in the Cantillon range...

Ratebeer notes:

Tasted 02/01/2006. Lot 2.06. 375ml corked and capped bottle from RW&S. Pours a pale rose gold, lightly hazy, with a creamy white head that disappates into a thin film. Musty dry aroma is mostly sour, quite citrus, with woody, floral and yeast hints that remind of champagne. A touch of seetness is perceived in the mouth, at first, but that’s quickly wiped out by a dry sourness, slightly tannic in the middle to finish, and then a big citric tang on the palate (reminiscent of licking 9v batteries). Slight fruity note in the lingering citric/tannic finish. Soft carbonation, which is needed to allow the prickly acidity through. Definitely reminds me of a very dry champagne, with a sour edge. Very enjoyable. (39/5o).

The Cantillon beers also have the best range of labels I've ever seen, with Rose de Gambrinus being a particular favourite.

December Beer of the Month: Salopian Entire Butt

A quiet tasting month in December had me sampling some rather average beers. The top picks were Salopian's Entire Butt Porter, the Elemental Porter from the sometimes troubled Renaissance Brewery and a very estery Ridgeway IPA.

"Entire Butt" is a reference to the Porters of old. These beers were originally a mix of three different beers and were called "Three Threads". They were served to the porters of London's docks, who loved the beer's balance of quality and economy. One smart man discovered that he could make a single beer that tasted similar, and the rest is history.

My notes on Salopian Entire Butt:

Tasted 28/12/2006. 500ml bottle-conditioned ale from the new Rumble’s shipment. Poured with the fruity yeast. Dark brown, almost black, with a brief off-white head. Complex nose of biscuit, milk, dark chocolate, espresso and fruitcake. Good in the mouth: softly carbonated and lovely malt-balance. Sturdy biscuit malt backbone with a toasty note and a nicely subtle burnt finish. Bitterness is very subdued. Undefined fruity yeast lingers with the black malt. Lovely porter, something I’d really like to try on cask - and with a bit of cheese.... though the 14 malts??? a little over the top guys. (3.7/5.0).

November Beer of the Month: Sam Adam's Octoberfest

November's beer of the month was actually tasted in October. Like finally getting this post itself written, it takes me a while to get my paper-based tasting notes in order sometimes. One of the many Sam Adam's beers that I carried home from BrewNZ, the Octoberfest was easily one of the better ones (I wish I'd got my hands on the Double Bok, which was absolutely superb).

Straight to the RateBeer notes:
Tasted 20/10/2006. 120z bottle from BrewNZ. Pours a luscious and lambent red-gold, quite bright, with an off-white head that’s tending toward light tan. Head disappears but leaves a fair amount of lacing behind. Clean rich malt aroma - freshly milled toasty pale malt - with underlying hints of fruitcake, wood smoke and lemony herbs. Off-dry in the mouth, toasty malts dominating, then the soft bite of slightly herbal hops coming through at the end. Pretty clean, though a subtle malt sweetness lingers on the palate. Medium-heavy with a medium carbonation. An absolute treat. I can only imagine what this may taste like fresh from a good tap. (4.3).

New Zealand's Vienna/Marzen/Octoberfest offerings seem so lightweight, poorly made and stale in comparison (can you believe a beer from America would seem fresher than one brewed in the South Island).

The Sam Adam's brand, from Boston Beer Co, is an interesting business model. Part of me loves the idea. Another part hates what they're doing. It's worked well and they make a few mighty fine beers, so I guess I can sleep easy... for tonight.

The only other beer of significant note, in a quietish November, was Epic Mayhem (4.0). I still suspect it was a blend of Cock and Bull Monk's Habit and Epic Pale Ale but I'm not sure I'll ever find out. I've not asked the brewer because I doubt he'd admit it.

October Beer of the Month: Twisted Hop Golding Bitter

October's beer of the month - Twisted Hop Golding Bitter - was initially tasted in September, from a bottle entered at BrewNZ. It was far from showstopping, on that first taste, but it ended up being my beer of choice on the annual Cellar-Vate crew's brewery trip (this year we hit Christchurch). That trip ended up revolving around The Twisted Hop, a brewpub which ended up being my beer highlight of 2006. Fantastic location, beautiful beer, great staff and a most generous owner in Martin Bennett.

Here's my RateBeer thoughts on Golding Bitter:

October 27/28. At the Twisted Hop. Beer engine, with and without sparkler, pint after pint. Light vibrant gold, with a creamy and persistent white head, and a lovely natural haze. Citrus and illegal-like resiny notes dominate the pungently hoppy nose. Might be a little intimidating for the uninitiated, if anything. Full creamy mouthfeel delivers a nice juicy sweet malt flavour, more of that pungent resinous hop flavour, with a subtle, fruity, lingering bitterness. Super fresh. So easy to drink that I had one too many. A touch cool from the handpump but it was good enough to never let warm up. My pick of all the beers tasted in Christchuch. Re-rated and upped from an original 2.8 out of the bottle, where and unpleasant hot astingency and lack of freshness didn’t let the beer show it’s special lively self. Forget that original comment and get down to the brewpub. (4.1/5.0)

There's more gushing about The Twisted Hop at Not PC.

Little else of note in October, where two weeks in Australia saw me tasting some of the least inspiring beers in the last few years. The only other beers of real notes were also from The Twisted Hop - the Rasbierry Lambic being an exquisitely balanced fruit lambic and the Plum Duff being a dark brown ale with nice tannic plum skin notes (neither rated at RateBeer).

September Beer of the Month: Limburg Oude Reserve

It’s been a long time coming but September’s beer of the month now coincides with that brewery’s closure. Limburg brewery has just recently closed and, although the main line-up will still be available (brewed by Steam Brewing in Auckland), special beers along the lines of Oude Reserve will not be seen again.

Here’s my thoughts:

Tasted 15/09/2006. Leftover rigger from BrewNZ. These thoughts are from myself, tyrrell and bmackenzie... Pours a burnished copper, bright, with no head at all and just a tingle of carbonation (we’re drinking this a little warm, perhaps, at about 15c). Sweet malt - almost syrup-like - on the nose, with barley sugar, marmalade, a slight meatiness and a definite sherry-like oxidation character. Tyrrell is reminded of barley being toasted for haggis at Miro Street. Tempting and quite lovely. More malt sweetness in the mouth; toffee and liquorice in the middle; a warming alcohol and spice finish, bordering on hot; and a late lingering bitterness. More meatiness and sweet toasty malts linger on the palate. Softly carbonated and a full weight. I tried this first at BrewNZ 2005 and thought it was good but needed a bit more age to mellow. This taste proves it - a truly fantastic NZ ale! Well done to the Limburg team. We opened a Chimay Bleu after this, which seemed almost bland on comparison. (4.5/5.0)

More on this beer at my “Beer O’Clock” post on Not PC: promoting capitalist acts between consenting adults.

Other top drops in September:
Emerson’s Anniversary 1812 (4.4)
Twisted Hop Golding Bitter (4.1)
Dupont La Biere de Beloeil (3.9)
Deschutes Black Butte Porter (3.6)

July Beer of the Month: Traquair House Ale

It’s been some time between the last Beer of the Month and this one, so much so that I’ve actually got a few to catch up on. There’s always the fortnightly Beer O’Clock posts on Not PC, for those of you who are missing a recommendation.

July’s beer was the smooth 7.2% House Ale from Traquair of Scotland. Not bad for a bunch of old Jacobites. Enough with the guff, here’s the low-down:

Tasted 10/06/2006. 330ml bottle from Rumble’s, Wellington.
Dark brown with ruby highlights. Tan foam rises, then diminshes to a soapy film with light lacing. Carbonation minimal. Mild port-like nose of poached plums - both sweet flesh and some sharper skin notes - with old fashioned oranges. Nicely balanced in the mouth: fruity esters, lightly tannic wood notes, toasty specialty grains, late season bitter oranges, and a sweet caramel base. The flavours come and go, mingling perfectly, getting better as I get through it - until it’s gone.... Woody notes linger, with a slight peppery note late on. Full and soft. Here’s tae us. (4.2)

Other highly recommended beers from a dark and delicious month of July:

• Emerson’s Bourbon Porter (4.3)


• Scotch Silly (4.3)


• Limburg Porter (3.5)

August Beer of the Month: Herold Cerny Lezak

August revealed something quite new and unusual: a dark Czech lager. Famous for their soft water, which helps produce the outstanding malt profiles in their pale lagers (most famously Pilsners), the Czech Republic sneaks out Pivovar’s Herold Cerny Lezak - a lovely dark Schwarzbier. Herold proved to be yet another winning beer out of leftfield from the marvellously stocked shelves at Rumble’s. Here’s the detail:

Tasted 25/08/2006. 500ml bottle from Rumble’s, Wellington.
Deep dark chestnut, near black, with a very light tan tinge to the head. Head droops but lingers and laces. Roasty malts on the nose hint at coffee, wood, rum and mollasses. Good underlying base of malt sweetness in the mouth with a woody, roasty backbone and a slight hop spice. Hops are slightly fruity on the palate and alcohol is warming in the finish. Silky smooth: softly carbonated and a lovely fullish weight. Fantastic schwarzbier. (4.3)

Other highly recommended beers from a very varied selection in August:

• Eastwood and Sanders Fireball (4.0)


• RCH Ale Mary (3.8)


• Emerson’s Weissbier Dunkel (3.8)

Slainte mhath
Stu

June Beer of the Month: Dent Ramsbottom Strong Ale

Just like the month of May, June came and went before I knew what was going on.  Looking back over my notes there are some nice beers in there but nothing much with the “wow” factor.  That’s good, in a way, because the beer that I remember enjoying the most was a nice sessional Best Bitter.  Tasted on the Devil’s day…

My notes, also posted at Ratebeer, for Dent Brewery’s Ramsbottom Strong Ale:
Tasted 06/06/2006.  500ml, bottled-conditioned, discounted at Rumble’s Wellington.
Golden-hued garnet, bright, with a light tan airy head, a venting of carbonation and light lace. Definite crushed pale and crystal grains on the nose, with a touch of roasted malt.  Some light stone fruit and vinous esters like I’ve had off the Thames Valley yeast. Mild and gorgeous. At first it’s a bit too carbonated to get the true flavour but once it’s aired it’s lovely - dry, toasty, mild chocolate malt notes and nice subtle crystal malt sweetness underneath.  Good spicy bitter finish, which lingers on with the dry roasted malt.  A bit of a hoppy mild for me.  Lovely balance and a good showpiece for the benefits of bottle-conditioning.

Re-reading it makes me want to pop in and see if they have any more bottles.

Other notables beers (marks out of 5, in brackets) from a great quality month in May:

• Eastwood & Sanders Elland Back (4.0)


• Adnams Broadside Strong Original (3.9)


• Burton Bridge Empire Ale (3.8)


• St Peters Spiced Ale (Cinnamon and Apple) (3.70)

All notes, as always, at yalnikim on Ratebeer.    

Handpumped: Extra Sherpa Porter

It doesn't get much better than this: Fresh Porter, homemade and handpumped. Brendon came across this fantastic form of beer delivery, from where I've got no idea. Good kiwi ingenuity. While it's never going to instill the kind of confidence you want in your own brewpub, it's great for friends and family. Gives you an idea whether a eer lends itslef to the handpump too.

This particular picture is Brendon's Extra Sherpa Porter. Needs some refinement but it has been the big surprise. Well balanced bitterness (even at 60 IBU's!)with a big malty backbone and a nice amount of roasty notes to take out some of the sweetness.

Brewing has been going well, with the processes getting better and better. Sampling is not too bad either, though our processes there seem to get lost after 3 or 4 pints...

So what's coming out of the Liberty pilot brewery? Here's the list so far:

• Sou'wester Steam Beer (a well hopped, fruity, California Common, 5%). Gone!
• Extra Sherpa Porter (a bitter Robust Porter, 5.7%, full of liquer like chocolatey malt). Almost gone.
• Single Sherpa Porter (an underhopped Brown Porter, 5.5%, may ferment drier but looking too sweet early on). Drinking.
• Sticklbract Steamer (herbal hopped California Common, a little lager malt cleans up the malt profile and at 4.5% it's more sessional).
• Underboiled Festivus IPA (very fruity New World IPA, 6%, gas ran out with ten minutes of the boil remaining!). Bottled.
• Festivus IPA (hugely bitter but smooth and fruity New World IPA, great malt profile, 6%, looks and tastes superb). Secondary.
• Fat Elf Ordinary Bitter (sessional ordinary bitter, 3.9%, bubbling away). Primary.

The ordinary bitter, a steam beer, an IPA and a Stout or Porter are shaping up as regulars to refine towards. After we get them going, we'll start thinking about some seasonals.