Monday, April 13, 2015

Back at the Albert

I've noticed that Aussie and Kiwi IPAs tend to be darker and more malty than their British or American cousins. Not much darker, maybe a couple of shades. If you had them side by side you'd see a difference. With masses of Antipodean hops used as standard, they are far more fragrant with more pronounced tropical and citrus notes.

Evidence of the tap takeover was was nearly non-existent. With only one Black Dog Brewery beer on. Most had been replaced with the usual ones plus a couple of guests. I saw a Berliner Weiss which I couldn't ignore. Then I got an IPA just to see what it was like, how it compared to the others I've had here. Both from 'Hargreaves Hill' a brewery hailing from the Yarra Valley in Victoria.

The IPA was around standard, hoppy, dark but with well rounded bitterness and well balanced. The Berliner Weiss or 'Small Beer' as the brewer or whoever had decided to call it was good, really good. Exactly what I was after, an ice cold tart and refreshing beer that happens to be incredible and go down exceptionally well on a blisteringly hot summer (in this case early autumn) afternoon.

It was a shame the pub was so busy. With it being the Thursday before the long Easter weekend, people used it as an excuse to get smashed an party. Good Friday had some stupid, bizarre and archaic laws still governed by the Church. A ridiculous law stating that no takeaway alcohol was allowed to be purchased and that all licences premises had to stop serving alcohol at 10pm. Like serving alcohol after 10pm and allowing takeaways is going to stop people finding Satan and give themselves over to God whole heartedly... Bollocks it is. For such a secular country, that is an incredibly stupid law.
However, it does explain why Thursday evening/night was so busy.


We were due to have dinner soon so after finishing off my 'Small Beer'. I could have and wanted to stay for longer, perhaps I should have.


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