13. The Pork Barrel Cafe & Bar - Wed 30 November 2011

The number 13 is often called an unlucky number, well I think that all the ABC members will beg to differ as we certainly got lucky with “The Pork Barrel Café & Bar” as the venue for our 13^th ABC Gathering.

While we weren’t supplied with a beer guru for the night, all the staff at the Pork Barrel were most helpful and did their best to answer any questions from ABC members and guests.

Our 1^st beer for the evening was “1842” (4.9%).  1842 is a little bit different to the traditional pilsner. It is fermented 50% longer than normal pilsners - allowing the barley malts to blend together for a smoother finish and a finer natural carbonation. As well as the noble Saaz hops, they also use some hop varieties that are normally found only in IPAs. When first trying 1842, the first thing you we noticed was the perfect golden colour and clearness of the beer. The beer was clear and cloudless and the head was thick, fluffy and pure white.  We were served up some very tasty Tempura Tiger prawns with aioli and lemon, which were a perfect match for the 1842.

The 2nd beer was a “WARSTEIRN PREMIUM GERMAN BEER”  (4.8%). Premium Verum, a pilsener style beer, is Warsteiner's most popular beer, and is exported to over 60 countries. The ingredients are forest spring water, two-row malted summer barley and all German hops.  Transparent light gold in colour when poured. Aroma of pilsner malts and light hops. Taste is clean, crisp, and slightly bitter.  Provolone Arancini (risotto balls) were served with this beer and they were absolutely beautiful.  They were followed by Mini Peking Duck Pancakes, which were fantastic.

The 3^rd beer was a “SCHARERS LAGER”  (4.9%). From Scharers Little Brewery in Picton.  A traditional all malt beer, fermented in the traditional German method with a long cold storage.  Quite full-bodied with a big malt start, balanced with quite a high bitterness and hop flavour and a dry finish.  The Lager has a hoppy, aromatic, and sometimes honeyish nose.   We sat down and ate our main course of Pork Barrel Pizzas;                  each table was served a selection of 3 different Pizzas: Pesto – Sliced Tomato, Bocconcini and Pesto

Continental – Pepperoni, Eggplant, Artichokes, Olives and Feta & Provincial – Olives, Anchovies, Roast Capsicum, Basil, Chili and Garlic.  As a big Pizza lover, these Pizzas got a big tick from me.

The 4^th beer of the evening was a “WHITE RABBIT – DARK ALE” (4.9%).  Rich dark and flavoursome but at the same time ever refreshing....malt driven but with the aromatic lift of generous doses of hops. Raisin like ester characters derived through its open fermentation bind a balancing act of flavour with a malt bill that rewards the parched palette with a rich, dark colour without losing any sessionabilty qualities.  A perfect desert beer and again the Pork Barrel didn’t disappoint, serving up a delightful Bitter sweet chocolate tart with praline mascarpone and cherry compote.

As usual a raffle was held on the night, we raised a $150 and this was donated to Paddy Gallagher’s Movember cause. 

The four letter word for grape juice continues to be a good money spinner for the fine bucket.

A big thank you to all the staff from the “The Pork Barrel Café & Bar” for their hospitality and fantastic service.