Holland Beer Brewery Bangkok Thailand!

This place is found about 20~40mins by taxi from Bangkok's main center on Rama II .I was very surprised
by the size it was massive!! And the amount of people pouring into the place! Yes I thought! The holy grail of beer in Thailand must be here!
Well it was kinda.....
This place was very Thai orientated.... fair enough I'm in Thailand!! But in terms of a beer enthusiast looking for the western microbrewery experience you won't find it here aye.. The main attraction is the big stage show with various choreographed dancing and singing shows  in Thai and also some English pop/R&B solo and duet songs are performed.... highly entertaining to be honest! The beer here is surprisingly fantastic though which is the main thing!

The place has absolutely nothing to do with Holland other than the crazy windmill out the front and the fact I assume those Dutch love their beer?! Well they made Heineken and Grolsch I spose....

The whole place is more so centered on the massive stage show and awesome food more  than the excellent beer on offer even though fermenters behind the bar themselves were clearly in view and big!


No one sitting round the bar, Just the wait staff collecting orders and filling up those incredible beer towers that you see round Thailand and Malaysia mainly in food courts...gotta love that!
So we ordered our food and I ordered the BEER! They had three brews on offer a dark Dunkel , a Weizen and a wait for it a........ Lager!!

After a week of Lagers in beaut Chiang Mai I was craving a good 'ol ale! Had a stein of the Dunkel to start off  nice roasty choc malt on the nose and a faint noble hop aroma. Wow... on the mouth full it was very malty and  caramelly in taste and smooth as! It was more like a robust porter beer than a German style Dunkle. The Weizen was very nice too! Big banana and clove notes on the nose  true to style, very cold creamy and refreshing going down as a good Weizen should be! It filled me up quite quickly though due to the wheat malts and having close to a litre of Dunkle before!  Now the Lager....Now this was a big surprise! No big hop aroma but a subtle scent of a noble hop was there along with a good fresh somewhat pilsner malt grain tone. Mmmmm....nice and cold going down  like a Lager should be with a awesome very well balanced bitter after taste! Easily the best lager I had on my Malaysia/Thailand trip! I can see why this was the most favored brew at the venue! Could of drank it all night...and almost did!

I really wanted to complement the brewer but found it hard to communicate this to the staff due to the language barrier. Oh well if you're out there mate I think you make some of the best beer in Thailand by far!! Service by the way was excellent- as always in the land of smiles : )


The food was great. If you like your fresh seafood dishes this is a good place to check out if you are ever in Bangkok. We had the crab curry and rice  as our main and it was a very good match for the Lager.  I'll definitely be going there again next time I'm in Bangers..now to find a decent hotel on Rama II.......

Holland Beer
129/9 moo 6 Rama 2 Road
Bangkhuntian
Bangkok 10150
Telephone: +66 2-4531101-10

Warners at the Bay and Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle Black growler style!

Warners at the Bay bottle shop here in Beaut Newcastle NSW Australia that currently boasts over 900 beers from both Aussie craft/macro and sweet beery nectar from around the world-My kinda place : )

When I first stumbled upon this great institution a few years back the sign out the front stated over 500 beers from around the world, it has certainly grown since then! Looking forward to when they crack 1000!

 Everything from your standard macro lagers, Fine Ales,Heffes, Belgians, Tasty Stouts,Aussie/NZ/US~Canada craft beers- to the extreme end of craft brewin' Such as Mikkeller, Brew Dog and EPIC~  Mmmmmm..... hOPS!
They also have a extensive range of PROPER glassware behind the counter mostly branded from the respective breweries. I always cave in to a impulse buy of a beaut glass on the way out with my usual case of brewed goodness and/or interesting singles.   
Mark the manager is a great bloke always willing to give advice of what to try out according to your taste, favorite style or season.
He and the staff have introduced me to some wonderful brews over the last couple of years such as Burleigh Brewing(Gold Coast), Stone & Wood (Byron Bay) and Yeastie Boys(NZ) .Cheers Mate!

They have recently brought in an awesome growler filling station where you purchase a beaut refillable 1.89 litre glass growler bottle from them for about $10AUD (yours to keep!). Then the staff will fill it up for ya with the brew of your choice/budget out of six taps which are constantly changing with local and international brews.It really is a great idea-for example a bottle of the Brew Dog/Mikkeller Colab brew "I Hardcore You" retails for about$30~40AUD for a standard 330ml stubbie where as a fresh growler fill of the good stuff was $25~32 bucks!

Check out their twitter page 'ere for the latest line up.
I was lucky enough to pick up a growler of  Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle Black IPA when it was on tap and it was sensational!

 Very aromatic & hoppy on the nose from those fantastic fresh Nelson Sauvin & Cascade NZ hops.   Massive hop hit with a big roasty malt undertones on the mouthful with a satisfying bitter twang. Really sends ya beer sensors into overload wanting more and MORE!!(ok settle down now :)  At 6.0%ABV it is very drinkable and should be paired with anything spicy and burnt to complement the roastyness and hop hit. Spicy bbq'd chicken Satay comes to mind....... YUMMO!
If you are lucky enough to be in Newcastle pop in and see the crew at Warners at the Bay- NSW's and I reckon Australia's premier bottle-o!
They are at :
320 Hillsborough Rd,Warners Bay NSW,2282 Australia
PROPERBEERMATE

BUDVAR DARK LAGER!

Hey guys here is my review of  a sensational dark lager which comes from one of my favorite breweries in the world Budweiser Budvar in the Czech Republic -established in 1895.
Budvar Dark Lager is a relatively new beer brewed by Budvar-first brewed in 2004 in fact- who are famous for their Czech Premium Lager- which is regarded by many beer enthusiasts as the benchmark pilsner/lager type beer and I totally agree. If you see Budvar  Czech Premium Lager at your local-- grab it 'an drink it! And you'll see why it is my favorite lager....!! Look out for a review!

Anyways (I got abit excited there : ) on to the review...

Pours a dark porter/slight coke tinge with a awesome creamy head smelling of a mix of yummy malts and Czech saaz hop goodness!
On the mouthful it glides down like a smooth porter while giving that zangy bite of  that again fantastic Czech saaz hop character and surprisingly the absolute re freshness of a larger on the finish. A very balanced beer at the same time at 4.7%ABV.

With its simplicity of  ingredients- good malts, local fresh hops and good water it really is an example of when a brewer can bring out the best qualities in what they have on hand-- and the skill of  what these guys/gals can do really shines through.
There has to be a lot said for tradition.... This is what balanced & drinkable beer should be all about.
A very satisfying beer. Paired it with  Japanese style char siu/chyashyu pork- tsukemen (cold-ramen) noodles and it went down a treat!
Picked this 500ml bottle  up at Warners at the bay bottle shop here in beaut Newcastle --- the holy grail of PROPERBEER in Australia!

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

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 

Brew Dog latest massive brew! 55%abv!!

Me Ol' Uncle Brian let me know about this one -Good on ya 'ol mate!
The fellas at BREWDOG have done a superb effort by trumping that pesky German brewery Schorschbräu once again with thier latest limited edition brew THE END OF HISTORY. Check out the vid below...



The End of History from BrewDog on Vimeo.


Big kudos to BREWDOG these guys just keep going from strength to strength.

Canberra trip!

Just over a week ago the Fam and I took a trip down to brilliant -5c Canberra to catch up with the oldies. After we got settled the missis and I went out on the Friday night to check out the Wig and Pen brewpub in Civic (Canberra city) ... We had to line up and wait it out with the friday night crowd in the brisk Canberra air which wasn't to long... while waiting I was thinking to myself what a great thing for a Aussie craft brewpub to have people lining up to get in there!! This is definitely a good sign of things to come as more and more people discover PROPER BEER! When we got in the place was packed of people enjoying their brews with friends and work colleges alike! What welcomed us at the bar were  traditional British style Hand Pump taps alongside (great stuff!) several regular taps... No trouble in ordering pints at all the only prob was landing a place to sit!

So we pulled up at the bar and enjoyed the following brews

Venom Pale Ale -Massive Hoppy Brew (my favorite of the night!)

Kiandra Gold Pilsner -Czech Style Pils (would be great on a hot day)

Brewers IPA - Great 'ol skool IPA

Wig and Pen Pale Ale -Off the pump tap -Magic in a Pint!

A barley wine -No pints allowed -fair enough at 9-10% ABV it knocks yer socks off!

The most interesting brew of the night though was a dark and mysterious brew called "Olde spiced ale"- which is run through the fantastic signature Wig and Pen Randall. The Randall was filled with Truffles, Star Anise,Juniper Berries, Kumquats, Nutmeg and Cinnamon.Wow!...
It was a great punchy maltly brew which perfectly suited the cold Canberra night really well. The spices really warmed me up as the liquid goodness glided down my gullet.-Fantastic stuff!

Get down,over or up to Canberra to try this amazing brew before it dries up-- it is really worth it!
The Wig and pen Randall is an awesome combination of science and brewmanship which needs to be seen to be believed(and drank from of course!) Big thanks and kudos to head brewer Richard and the crew at the Wig and Pen for creating such an amazing beer experience!!

What I really enjoy about this place and many other Craft brew pubs around the world is the universal atmosphere the people are there to enjoy good beer/good times and not mess about and cause shit-Just goes to show what great people are who enjoy PROPER BEER!

On the following Saturday Arvo I took a quick trip out to Zierholz Brewery-Restaurant in Fyshwick to pick up a souvenir Stein glass and revisit one of my favorite brews Hopmeister. An amazing brew which I believe is a beaut blend of traditional German brewmanship and big hop infused American style ales. Great balanced maltiness teamed up with a great hoppy bite at the end..I came across Zierholz when I was down in Canberra a few months back for my birthday looking for a Keg of Craft beer goodness to share with the relos.  Zerholz head brewer Christoph looked after us back then with an German style ale which was an excellent session brew didn't blow anyones hop head off at the party but was excellent in quality and just great beer! It ran out pretty darn quickly!-Great by the stein!!

Again great peps at the Zierholz establishment on a busy Saturday Arvo including Wig and Pen head brewer Richard Watkins who I got to meet and chat to for a bit while he was sampling one of Christoph's latest creations-- great bloke!
If you find yourself at Zierholz Check out their superb tasting paddle and go from there.

Hope to see a PROPER colab brew by these guys say..Venom-meister 2IPA  ; ) ??
One can only dream...

And who said Canberra was boring?? They need a good smacking around the chops with some hops!