Beer Appreciation Thread

[COVENS]

For any Brisbane area peeps, I went for a random bike ride today and went past this place which I didn't know existed. I'll be checking out. Looks great.

Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co. | Scarborough Marina | Home

Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co. is a waterfront craft brewery, poised perfectly at the tip of the Redcliffe Peninsula, with views stretching over the Scarborough marina and silhouetted by the stunning Glass House Mountains.

www.scarboroughharbourbc.com.au

Nice. Just moved to Newport, will have to check this out

 

[CrittaMagic69]

I've been to the one in the Valley in Brisbane. I wasn't a fan. Your right, it did look like a food court, very souless and corporate. I couldn't finish my beer. It was rubbish. I walked round the corner to Soapbox Beer. Much much better.

It wasn't great

 

[Philistine]

Does anyone on here like cider? I have been making home brew off and on for years, and a couple of weeks ago I had a lash at cider for the first time. It was really easy and cheap and I road tested a couple of bottles last night. It was indistinguishable from store-bought cider!

If anybody is interested I can post instructions.

 

[flamebouyant]

Does anyone on here like cider? I have been making home brew off and on for years, and a couple of weeks ago I had a lash at cider for the first time. It was really easy and cheap and I road tested a couple of bottles last night. It was indistinguishable from store-bought cider!

If anybody is interested I can post instructions.

Id love to get into home brew one of these days.

 

[Philistine]

Id love to get into home brew one of these days.

There are two big drawbacks to home brew. Until you become very good at it, your product tastes of yeast. Once you do become very good at it, you can tailor it to your specific taste - more malt, more hops, more alcohol, different kinds of malt, etc. You can make it so good and so cheap that you end up drinking more than is good for you.

 

[Philistine]

I bought a 5 litre pail with lid from the cheap shop for $3.00, drilled a hole in the lid and fitted a fermentation lock (buy from brew shop or jury rig a water seal to let the carbon dioxide out without letting the air in).

Ingredients:

2 x 2 litre apple juice (Aldi $1.95 each).
20 gms bakers yeast ($4.20 for 280 gms from grocery store).
10 gms Diammonium Phosphate ($ dunno – had some lying about, you could use a tablespoonful of tomato paste).

Ferment with lock until fermentation has finished (only 1 or 2 days).

Dissolve 1 gm of gelatin (grocery store) in 50 ml hot water. Allow to cool then gently mix in.

Leave for 48 hours to clear. Siphon off clear liquid then stir in 5 tablespoons non-sugar sweetener (Equal).

Bottle as is for still cider or add a teaspoonful of sugar to each large (750 ml) bottle and seal to get a head.

If you did a good job with the siphoning, liquid will be clear. Adding sugar won’t make any immediate difference but it will gradually go cloudy again. Over the next few days it will clear again and a precipitate (yeast) will appear at the bottom. Once you have your clear liquid back it is ready to drink. Pour carefully into a glass to avoid disturbing the yeast.

 

[Natboy]

There are two big drawbacks to home brew. Until you become very good at it, your product tastes of yeast. Once you do become very good at it, you can tailor it to your specific taste - more malt, more hops, more alcohol, different kinds of malt, etc. You can make it so good and so cheap that you end up drinking more than is good for you.

My mates been making home brew for 20 years and swears by it but his beers tastes like crap so I’m thinking if he’s had 20 years practice I won’t bother starting out. I don’t really drink at home much I guess anyway

 

[CroydonDog]

There are two big drawbacks to home brew. Until you become very good at it, your product tastes of yeast. Once you do become very good at it, you can tailor it to your specific taste - more malt, more hops, more alcohol, different kinds of malt, etc. You can make it so good and so cheap that you end up drinking more than is good for you.

Like any hobby, you need to have passion and practice, but even that won't guarantee success.

A few of my mates and i dabbled in it when living together at uni all those years ago. Being lazy cheapskates, we just did the coopers tins (admittedly back then homebrewing wasn't as popular as it is now). The results, er, varied. A few explosions. But we were like 19-21 years old and piss is piss. I think a lot of the variation in quality also was down to how diligently we washed/sterilised our bottles.

I only know one person at our age now that still gets into it. He seems to enjoy it, but its also a matter of personal taste. I tend to leave these things to the experts these days

 

[Shire Dog]

My mates been making home brew for 20 years and swears by it but his beers tastes like crap so I’m thinking if he’s had 20 years practice I won’t bother starting out. I don’t really drink at home much I guess anyway

I also have a few friends that make it but tbh it’s not to my liking, I’m probably so used to drinking regular beer that anything else tastes a bit weird.
These guys are semi retired so it’s a way to kill some time mucking around with the entire process which is fair enough.
I don’t drink on my working days and basically wait till the weekend or when catching up with friends before having a couple or too many occasionally.

 

[Philistine]

"Tastes like crap" and "tastes a bit weird" are descriptive rather than critical (I'm not hatting - just observing). What I think I am hearing is "tastes of yeast". I have used Coopers tins in the past and the end result tasted just like Coopers Sparkling Ale - which is neither sparkling nor ale! Coopers Cloudy Beer doesn't have the same ring to it.

I don't mind an occasional glass of Coopers but it does taste faintly of yeast (the store-bought Coopers not just the home brew). "Faintly" is the operative word. Most beer drinkers don't mind a slight undertone of yeast, provided there is plenty of malty and hoppy flavour to round it out. Most other people's home brew I have tried has been too yeasty to enjoy.

The so-called craft breweries have exploded in popularity in the past couple of years in my neck of the woods (SW Sydney) and every one I have sampled has tasted (sometimes strongly) of yeast. This suggests the brewers have no idea what they are doing, and the punters have got more money than sense. Craft beer tastes like the stuff I used to make before I really got the hang of it.

 

[Natboy]

I also have a few friends that make it but tbh it’s not to my liking, I’m probably so used to drinking regular beer that anything else tastes a bit weird.
These guys are semi retired so it’s a way to kill some time mucking around with the entire process which is fair enough.
I don’t drink on my working days and basically wait till the weekend or when catching up with friends before having a couple or too many occasionally.

We are similar mate. I find drinking at home a bit boring and like pubs for the atmosphere (and yes perve haha). You guys had a beer this week from memory? Sorry I couldn’t make it, I’m away but next time for sure

 

[CroydonDog]

"Tastes like crap" and "tastes a bit weird" are descriptive rather than critical (I'm not hatting - just observing). What I think I am hearing is "tastes of yeast". I have used Coopers tins in the past and the end result tasted just like Coopers Sparkling Ale - which is neither sparkling nor ale! Coopers Cloudy Beer doesn't have the same ring to it.

I don't mind an occasional glass of Coopers but it does taste faintly of yeast (the store-bought Coopers not just the home brew). "Faintly" is the operative word. Most beer drinkers don't mind a slight undertone of yeast, provided there is plenty of malty and hoppy flavour to round it out. Most other people's home brew I have tried has been too yeasty to enjoy.

The so-called craft breweries have exploded in popularity in the past couple of years in my neck of the woods (SW Sydney) and every one I have sampled has tasted (sometimes strongly) of yeast. This suggests the brewers have no idea what they are doing, and the punters have got more money than sense. Craft beer tastes like the stuff I used to make before I really got the hang of it.

At least these days we have a bit more variety. We all eventually find something we like.

Hopefully smaller operators are able to compete an flourish. Its been great for the industry.

Spent a couple of weeks in Thailand recently, where locally there's a government/royal family protected duopoly and the beers are crap. My brother in law drinks Leo, which seems to give me a hangover before i've even finished the first longneck... Its almost impossible for a smaller operator to start up, but at least you can buy things like Little Creatures in some supermarkets at a fairly inflated price, and if you're prepared to pay for it, a couple of American and Canadian owned places in town have imprted stuff. It's not like Asians can't make beer, Laos and Vietnam for example do just fine - a cold lager or dark ale is the best accompaniment to Asian food IMO.

 

[Shire Dog]

We are similar mate. I find drinking at home a bit boring and like pubs for the atmosphere (and yes perve haha). You guys had a beer this week from memory? Sorry I couldn’t make it, I’m away but next time for sure

All good we are actually going out tonight should be a good laugh.
hanging out at our spiritual home so no perving on those Shire girls for a change.
We will ping you soon as the season is not too far away.

 

[Natboy]

All good we are actually going out tonight should be a good laugh.
hanging out at our spiritual home so no perving on those Shire girls for a change.
We will ping you soon as the season is not too far away.

Enjoy mate. Hahaha yep the old pokie zombies at the leagues club are ALMOST as hot as the young chicks at northies

 

[Hacky McAxe]

For any Brisbane area peeps, I went for a random bike ride today and went past this place which I didn't know existed. I'll be checking out. Looks great.

Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co. | Scarborough Marina | Home

Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co. is a waterfront craft brewery, poised perfectly at the tip of the Redcliffe Peninsula, with views stretching over the Scarborough marina and silhouetted by the stunning Glass House Mountains.

www.scarboroughharbourbc.com.au

Speaking of Brisbane beer, Ballistic Beer based in Brisbane has pretty much collapsed. They are going to keep trading for a while but they are entering administration, so they probably won't be around too much longer.

 

[Mr 95%]

We are similar mate. I find drinking at home a bit boring and like pubs for the atmosphere (and yes perve haha). You guys had a beer this week from memory? Sorry I couldn’t make it, I’m away but next time for sure

You could get on the Kennel while at home.. Few beers in you.. It’d be very interesting in the politics thread!

I’d be there to watch..

 

[CroydonDog]

Speaking of Brisbane beer, Ballistic Beer based in Brisbane has pretty much collapsed. They are going to keep trading for a while but they are entering administration, so they probably won't be around too much longer.

This is disappointing for two reasons:

1. They made good beers.
2. I didn't get appointed administrator.

 

[Natboy]

You could get on the Kennel while at home.. Few beers in you.. It’d be very interesting in the politics thread!

I’d be there to watch..

Hahaha cheers mate. There’s already two usernames I’m not even allowed to mention or leave an emoji on their posts without being banned haha

 

[Roll the Bones]

Speaking of Brisbane beer, Ballistic Beer based in Brisbane has pretty much collapsed. They are going to keep trading for a while but they are entering administration, so they probably won't be around too much longer.

That's a shame. Hope they can get through this and keep trading in the long term. My brother lives near their Salisbury location and we've been there a few times. They have a few venues in Brisbane, plus Bundaberg and The Whitsunday's. Maybe they tried to grow the business too quickly and overcooked it.

 

[Natboy]

That's a shame. Hope they can get through this and keep trading in the long term. My brother lives near their Salisbury location and we've been there a few times. They have a few venues in Brisbane, plus Bundaberg and The Whitsunday's. Maybe they tried to grow the business too quickly and overcooked it.

True. Some of these businesses have good products and sell a lot but can’t manage their finances, stock etc

My only experience with them was when their website and google info said they were now open at Airlie Beach. They even had a review or two. We got a taxi there and it wasn’t open yet.

I finally got in contact with someone the next week and they said 2-4 weeks until they open. Maybe a bit hopeless