25 March 2011

Guinness & Kilkenny Draught Can

To keep on the theme of St Pats day here is my review of Guinness and Kilkenny Draught cans...
I had a quiet St Pats day this year mainly due to the terrible situation in Japan as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami...As some of you would know by reading some of my previous reviews on PROPER BEER MATE I have family and friends in Japan, all are fine and safe thank goodness.....Thanks to all my friends/colleges/family who have expressed their concern and a big GAMBATTE (GOOD LUCK!) to all the people of Japan to overcome this disaster. 
So I grabbed a couple of 4 packs of irish goodness from the shop to enjoy later on in the evening after work at home...
It's time for a Guinness!   





Pours a fantastic fizzy creamy head due to the beaut widget can setup! Tried my best to let it sit/settle in true Guinness pouring form by filling up half the glass straight after cracking the can open and letting the foamy goodness settle then topped up with the remaining black magic in the can. Really dark appearance close to night with a awesome lightly fizzed creamy white head on top!
No massive aromas on the nose apart from some good 'ol maltiness and a whiff of a quaint noble hop--goldings comes to mind.

Goes down quite smoothly the creamyness of this beer helps greatly with this and at the same time is quite thin compared to other stouts I have had including Guinness Extra Stout.
Good roasty malts flavour this famous beer making every sip quite satisfying even on a humid march night.... I chilled the can well in advance which added to it's drinkabilty.  At 4.3% ABV means it is a sessionable beer but watch out it does fill you up quite quickly though! Grilled herbed fish with lemon and salad I find is a good match with this beer which should balance out the strong malt character.

Next Kilkenny:



Again chilled well in advance for after work on St Pats day and poured in the same fashion as the Guinness Draught can. Kilkenny is a very different beast, This what my mates have at the irish pub if they are not keen on the black stuff.
Awesome red amber appearance and a creamy head follows after the beer has settled.
Not much on the nose abit of noble hops and slight maltiness.
Drinkable?.... oh you bet mate! At 4.3% ABV this bad boy goes down soooo easily very smooth and refreshing! A slight nutty taste to it..dry almonds come to mind. The ever so creamy head adds to the enjoyment of this amber wonder.
Force down a good burger and chips with this one..... it matches very well!

At the end of the day we all know these brews are so much better directly off the tap at your favie pub/irish bar.... but for enjoyment at home they are not bad at all...Enjoy! And happy St Patricks day PROPER beer lovers!

PROPERBEERMATE

14 March 2011

SCHOFFERHOFER HEFEWEIZEN!

Hi guys it's been a while and G'day to all my new readers at Beerbeer.org!  I had to start off with a beer that I always go back to when I am keen for a good Heffe! Hot summer days are the perfect setting for the wonderful brew which hails from the German city of frankfurt. I first had this beer back in 2002 when my then future wife took me out to dinner at one of Sydney's institutional restaurants Una's at Darlinghurst . While I waited for our table to be ready/available the way it goes at Una's is to wait it out at the bar upstairs where the barman takes ya name for the table and asks "what do you wanna drink?" I noticed alot of peps at the bar were holding these excessively long beer glasses filled with liquid gold...without knowing what I was in for I told the fella behind the bar "I'll 'ave one of those mate!" 
"A Schofferhoffer mate?"  "I replied yeah mate!" a couple of beaut PROPER schnitzels later and the rest is heffe history .....

You have to pour this guy real slow into a decent well chilled heffe glass or stein to enjoy this fantastic example of a heffe at its full potential. Remember to give the bottle a swill at the end of  the pour to get some of that beaut sediment that flavors this yeast driven beer.

On the nose big lolly/candy banana flavours come through as well a bit of real bubblegum....Yum!

Great creamy head on top and after a mouthful of this stuff a slight citrus twang is present. Goes down real good and smooth.Very filling....
Drink ability of a larger and the re freshness/satisfaction of an ale without the bitterness.
Pair with schnitzel, pork katsu or anything fried! Cheese goes great too!
There a alot of good heffes out there but this one I would have to say is my staple wheat beer..Mainly
'coz of its availiblity in Australia at most decent/PROPER bottleshops . Also had this bad boy on tap in Newcastle NSW at the Mary Ellen Hotel which was amazingly fresh and icy cold--the way a PROPER heffe should be..Experience it on tap if you can it really is that good! 
Hopefully next time I'm in Asia I'll be able to track down a good on tap/bottled source for this wonderful nectar....

PROPERBEERMATE