It’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and that’s definitely what we had at our 8th ABC gathering held at the George Harcourt Inn for the first time.
Ray Ballantyne from Lion Nathan was our beer guru/host for the evening and for someone that said he was no expert on beer, he certainly had all of us fooled. We were accommodated outside in the George’s new very nicely done out-door area, it was a little chilly but we soon warmed up after a couple of beers.
Our 1st beer for the evening was a “Heikeken” (5%), this is a beer that most of us would have come across once or twice over the years, but it doubt many of us would have ever taken notice of the tasting notes, That’s the beauty of having a beer guru to give us a run down. Heineken is a refined, easy drinking pilsner. A slightly yeasty first impression underlies a unique fruity character with refreshingly mild bitterness; rounded off by a smooth honey palate and a clean, crisp finish. Ray did make special note that the Harcourt would be endeavouring to match the beers with food that complemented each beer. They did a fantastic job first up serving us up mini beef mingions - seared eye fillet of beef on toasted croute with basil pesto brushed with clarified butter & coconut prawn with coriander, lime and ginger dipping sauce - lightly coated with shredded coconut, fried until golden brown, served with Lime, ginger and coriander dipping sauce
The 2nd beer was the “Summer Bright Larger” (4.2%) by XXXX. An ultra refreshing, low carb, full strength beer – free from artificial additives and preservatives. This beer has been specifically designed as an easy drinking beer - perfect for a hot Australian summer’s day. Its fruity aroma and smooth hop character balance its light malt flavour to make this a seriously refreshing beer. This beer was accompanied with sticky orange glazed chicken tenderloin - lightly coated in tempura batter finished with a sticky orange anglaize which really suited the fruity characteristics of the Summer Bright Larger.
The 3rd beer was a “Boag’s Draught” (4.7%). Beer guru made us try and guess what this beer was. No one picked it as Boag’s, even though many of us have downed 10,000 of these at the Brumbies over the years. Brewed to a century old recipe, Boag’s Draught is a full- bodied lager with smooth hop bitterness and a crisp, refreshing aftertaste. Golden syrup in colour with a balanced aroma of fruit esters and late hop notes. We used the Boag’s to wash down a lightly spiced crumbed lamb cutlet with cracked pepper sauce - shallow fried until golden brown, finished off in oven until cooked to medium to medium well. “Beautiful”.
The final beer of the evening was the “James Squire Golden Ale” (4.5%) Golden Ale has been brewed as a real quaffing (to drink heartily) beer. Fresh toasted grains of barley and wheat give it a rich orange-amber colour, whilst new season Amarillo
The gathering was a buzz with excitement with talk of a trip to Hobart
A big thank you to all the staff at The George Harcourt Inn for their hospitality and service and a very big thank you to Ray Ballantyne from Lion Nathan for being our Beer Guru for the evening. Ray ran a very good show, he was very patient with our unruly crew and did a great job explaining each beer and food combination in a very relaxed and informative manner.
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