Floris Apple ale

What an interesting beer! The Belgians are very cleaver beer makers. I am normally ready to dislike these Lambic beers straight of the bat... Who wants to drink beer that tastes like apple?

Now i do.

I am going to plagiarise from a beer club web site because i cant say it any better my self " The aromas are at once sweet and tart, with a big burst of apple flavour and only the slightest hint of malt with apple pie spice"

I think the key is in the 'sweet and tart' really well combined and the finish is still full and dry, which makes it for me. Without the dry finish it would be too sweet.

If you want to read the story of how this beer came about go here. It is very interesting.

A little cloudy and pale yellow, goes great in the Riedel glass.

Dan

Knappstein

Sorry about this picture. The quality of the picture is a testimony to the taste of the beer.

I think this beer really suits me. Its dry. Its rich in caramel bitterness, but there is a driving, slightly sour acidity. Its fresh and crisp but heavy and thick with a stewy fruit thing going on. I think it does what so many beers want to do but can't. It has the lot!

Some people love this beer (most) but others do not. 

I have just come from the winestar.com.au site and found the quote 'goopy, sweet and dull'. I don't know what 'goopy' means but i can understand what is being said, its a big thick beer and it is a bit sweet.

A few comments on the ratebeer.com site suggest 'hopsy' and 'floral' where the key adjectives. Both good things to have in beer although i think 'floral' should be reserved for things that smell like flowers. 

The sweetness, which arrives by way of caramel on the nose, is great. It's not too over the top (like Pepper Jack) and there is a really good long finish which is bitter and sour, like it should be. I think they got the balance just right.

Not so good in the Riedel beer glass, i am not sure what a good glass would be for this drink.... 

At the end of the day this is a very frigging good beer. 

It's almost too good.

Dan

 

Cascade Green

abv - 4.5% alc/vol

Tasmania, Australia

price - about $15/6pk and $50/ctn

I'm going to start my blogging career with a style of beer that is very popular at the moment with Australian drinkers (no not Corona!) - "Low Carb" - and I surround it with " " because I don't believe low carb to be a proper category for beer (sort of like low fat mayonnaise or diet coke)

Anyway I actually think this is a very good beer and probably the best example of a low carb beer I have tasted.

Smells just like a good lager should, clean with a sweet edge, although I think they might be using saaz hops in the brew as it seems to have a slight bitter edge to the palate which is why I really like Cascade Green. It has a bit of a pilsener bite and a nice lasting finish.

Not the most inspiring beer the world has to offer but a good mid-weeker non the less.

Check out the website if you're feeling particularly green.

Graham

Meantime Pilsener

This is a new one in Australia. I am sticking with pilsener because its a style i am really enjoying at the moment.

Meantime comes from Greenwich in London (so you can appreciate the cleaver name). They do a range of other beers including an India Pale ale at 7.5% which i am sure one of us will write about very soon.

So the Pilsener is a ripper. Unlike the squire this one is quite refined. If beer was made from sand then this would be made from the finest, most pure in the world. It has all the normal character that go with pilsener, dry and full flavoured but the beed is really fine and the colour is a pale yellow. It has a lovely soft hopsy bitterness which is not at all over powering. In fact nothing in this beer is over powering, its very unintruding but absolutely beautiful.

The only down side is the price..... 330ml is going to cost around $7.50. Is it worth that much??? but it is a very good beer.

The web site is A grade check it out.

Dan

Jame Squire Pilsener

Thought i would start with an Australian classic and my choice for drinking at this time of year. Pilsener is a beautiful style and i think this is one of the best.

I know you can read this on the bottle but James Squire was the first to brew in this country. He was a convict on the first fleet. Its a great story check it out on the site.

Beautiful bright, amber colour delivers a strong, dusty dry mouth feel with hints of apricot and subtle burnt caramel, but its still fresh and dry. Its crisp enough to have when you have finished mowing the lawn but rich enough to enjoy as a stand alone brew on a cold night. 

Speaking of cold, like most beers with real flovour, the drinking temp will greatly affect the taste. I like to have a beer very cold. In fact just below freezing is what i like, however if you really want to get a grip of the complexity that beer like this has to offer, drink it slowly (not an option for some) and taste the change. The warmth allows the full fruit intensity to come out.

This is also one of the few Australian beers which goes great in a Riedel Oveture beer glass. Check out the Squire brewers blog

Dan