Monday, 7 January 2013
Friday, 4 January 2013
18. Rydges Capital Hill - Wed 14 November 2012
Just when you thought that after 17 ABC gatherings that they couldn't get any better, for our 18th gathering Winga (Craig Simpson) and his staff at Rydges Capital Hill have put together in my opinion our best one yet.
Winga gave his staff a pretty basic brief that he wanted them to use their immaginition and come up with some great beers and food for a beer night that he'll be hosting for the little beer club he's part of.
Well they went to town and prepared a six course degustation menu that was absolutely fantastic.
Rather than go on with my normal gribble, below is the menu from the night that says it all:-
This night scored a perfect 5 out 5:-
17. Gryphons Caffe & Bar - Wed 19 September 2012
For our 17th ABC gathering we called on our old mate Dan Kenny, ABC member and owner of new bar:- Gryphons Caffe & Bar in the Griffith shops.
Dan and all his staff have hosting a beer club gathering down pat after hosting 4 fantastic nights at their old pub - All Bar Nun. When All Bar Nun was forced to shut it was a big kick in the guts to the ABC as All Bar is where it all started for us and we've had some very enjoyable nights there.
As soon as we settled into Gryphons it fitted like an old boot and I'm sure we'll be having many more enjoyable nights at this fine establishment. Dan arranged for the lads from McLaren Vale Beer Company to be our beer gurus for the night. Hayden Kemp from MV Beer kicked the night off introducing himself and giving us a quick history on MV Beer and then he guided us through their fantastic brews.
Our first beef of the night was a “Vale Ale” (4.5%) an Australian Pale Ale with a refreshing balance of malt, hops and yeast characters. Hop additions of amarillo and cascade give a wonderful fresh crisp finish with lingering flavours of citrus, passionfruit and peaches. The hop flavours and aromas are matched beautifully with the sweet honey finish from crystal malt. This Ale helped us wash down some very tasty house made Dips & Bread with homemade Sausage rolls.
Our 2nd brew for the evening was “Vale IPA” (5.5%) an Australian interpretation of an American IPA, using a combination of hops from three countries. Galaxy from Australia, Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand and Citra from the United States. Malt flavours are derived from the combination of pale, wheat and crystal. Very hop forward showing strong pine and citrus notes, with stone fruit and passionfruit characters. The malt structure is beautifully matched with the dry hopping, giving this beer a refined balance. This was perfect beer for the platters of Salt & Pepper calamari, marinated pork ribs, Chili Chorizo that were brought out and smashed by all in attendance.
The 3rd beer of the evening was meant to be a “Vale Dry”, unfortunately stocks were low and Dan arranged for everyone to try the “Coopers Celebration Ale” (5.2%) which they just happened to have on tap. It incorporates three different hops varieties – Centennial from the USA, Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand and Pride of Ringwood from Australia – to produce a beer that displays strong estery characteristics. It has a rich aroma of fruity esters with a slight hint of citrus and has a warm finish on the palate. It is also slightly more bitter than other Coopers ales. We were served up some of Gryphons now famous Pepperoni, Margherita & Supreme pizzas.
Our final brew for the evening was “Vale Dark” (4.5%). Designed using pale, Munich, crystal and Carafa roasted malt. A filtered beer with brilliant clarity, dark brown in colour with ruby and garnet highlights. It has a strong malt backbone with hints of coffee, chocolate and cocoa that balance the use of falconer’s flight hops, giving rise to citrus, pine and vanilla flavours and aromas. The combination of dark malt and hops with lager yeast delivering a crisp, clean dark beer. I can’t think of better food match with this beer than Chocolate mud cake and ice cream. Special..
Gryphons scored a massive: - 4.8
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