James Squire 150 Lashes

Thanks to Brews News for this heads up.

The James Squire range is about to be augmented, with One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale.

The quote from Chief Brewer, Tony Jones, goes:

“One Fifty Lashes is a refreshing Australian-style cloudy pale ale with restrained bitterness and a clean, smooth finish. It’s an easier-drinking beer than others in the James Squire range and a familiar style that Australian beer drinkers will recognise. The use of malted wheat also adds to its refreshing character delivering a beer with a fruity nose and hints of passionfruit, grapefruit and citrus,”

I'm all for the evolution of the Aussie pale ale. In this instance it may be more aligned with the "Pacific Ale" direction, as per the fruity descriptors above.

Also of interest is whether it's based upon some previous releases, such as the Brewhouse-only Governor King Pale Ale.   The Governor, however, had more honey and apple fruit notes, more in touch with the Cooper's pale ale genre than the Pacific Ale.

Released nationally on tap and in the bottle August 2011.

Best Sydney microbreweries ?

My good friend Barney points us towards a recent Fairfax article: Finding Sydney's best microbreweries.

For the click-averse, here's the list:

• Redoak  (24%)
• Lord Nelson  (50%)
• Schwartz  (6%)
• James Squire Brewhouse (8%)
• Harts Pub (12%)

All up, a reasonable list. What interests me is the reader survey attached to this article: "Which do you think is Sydney's best microbrewery ?" The percentages are those shown above.

The Lord Nelson is arguably Sydney's most handsome pub; sandstone, wood & brass, local ales. But as a 'microbrewery', the Lord's ales have never quite met expectation. "Best pub" for sure.... "Best microbrewery" not likely.....

For Schwartz to lose to James Squire is merely an indication of the former's relative obscurity. Squires successfully showcases the range of Malt Shovel beers, plus a couple of other local niceties, but does not have the edge that Schwartz has.  If the 1,959 survey respondents had visited all establishments (which I'm sure they haven't), the results would be different.

Although glad to see Harts on the list, it's not technically a microbrewey. But as a bona fide, local-focused-and-committed pub, there is none better.

And Redoak ? Again, not technically an onsite microbrewery.  Yes, there may be a couple of conditioning tanks in situ, but you won't find a mash-tun for at least a mile.... and that will be at Schwartz.....

What the journalist fails to consider (and this may be a result of editorial bias) is the possibility of microbreweries in Sydney that exist OUTSIDE the CBD.

Consider 4 Pines at Manly, or Paddy's at Flemington, or the new Australian Brewery at Rouse Hill.

Probably worth an update tour in itself. Anyone interested ?

Lion Nathan - no reply

Oh well, a week's gone by and I have heard not a peep out of Lion Nathan regarding my objections to their trademark protection actions.

In the interim, I have been researching exactly what it would mean to boycott this company's products. According to the website http://lion-nathan.com.au/brands/ it is quite extensive, and not just for beer.

Australian brands: Tooheys, XXXX, Hahn, James Boag, West End, Emu, James Squire, Knappstein, Bare Cove, Southwark

NZ brands: Steinlager, Speight's, Mac's, Lion Red, Waikato, Canterbury

International brands: Heinken, Becks, Birra Moretti, Budweiser (US), Kirin, Amstel

Maybe I would probably miss the occasional visit to Squire's brewhouse on King Street wharf, although I haven't been there for many months. As for the rest of the brands, I can't say I regularly consume any of them, so no great dramas there.

But, in looking around the website, Lion Nathan has quite a portfolio of wine. I think this is where a boycott would hurt (me, that is, not Lion Nathan)

For example:

Croser, Petaluma, Pikes, Mitchelton, St Hallett, Tatachilla, Stonier, Bridgewater Mill, Henschke.... among others.

Quite a few of these have a representation in my cellar....... hmmmm

OK, Lion Nathan, I'll give you one more chance..... but after that I'll have to start commencing to think about considering the clarification of the prospect of proposing the discussion of further steps towards a tactical response to the existent issues pertaining the aforementioned actionable parameters.

I'm not going to drink your beer, though.  And Squires Brewhouses are off the agenda, henceforth.

Long weekend beer tasting

Well, Paul and I got through 4 of the 5 beers. For some mysterious reason a bottle of Tanqueray 10 appeared on the kitchen table, so martinis were in order.  You can forget about even-handed judgement after that..... And then we had pinot noir with the duck, so things got away from us a bit....

Our opinions were pretty much in alignment.  The Cascade First Harvest is overrated & overpriced. The Ekim Viking IPA and the 4 Pines Pale Ale were both excellent.  I'll review these formally soon, after having a couple of more tasters, just to be sure.......   The James Squire Malt Runner was, well, hard to pin down. Quite thinner than anticipated, and dryer too. Definite chocolate and cherry, but altogether a bit confused.

But the definite finds were Ekim and 4 Pines.  To paraphrase Ferris, If you have the means, I highly recommend picking some up.