Thursday 6 June, 6.30pm. Bookings via The Villager.

These days we hear so much about the US craft brewing industry, the number of breweries and the mind-blowing quality of their beers.

While there are certainly jewels in the US crown, the torrent of beers washing up on our shores hasn’t always lived up to the hype. But, in our quest to let no stone go unturned, our next Hump Day gives the US another crack with a selection of beers from San Diego’s Coronado Brewing.

From my first sample of the beers, the Hoppy Daze Begian IPA, this is a brewery well-worth introducing to a Hump Day crowd, with maybe even a little gushy praise thrown in…we’ll see!

So, Hump Day will feature five beers from Coronado Brewing Company to see if they will all live up to that first sample. We will be sampling a cross section of styles from Coronado, all newly arrived:

• Golden Pilser
• Mermaid’s Red
• Islander IPA
• Hoppy Days Belgian IPA
• Blue Bridge Coffee Stout

The usual deal: sample five interesting and flavoursome beers with Matt, all while enjoying great company, light nibbles and getting over that mid-week hump. Tickets are limited, get in quick!

VENUE: Kerbside, Constance Street (Ann Street End) Fortitude Valley
WHEN: 29 May 2013, 5.30pm for 6pm
COST: $35, includes five samples and food. The fun is free.
TIME: 5.30pm for 6pm start, until 7.30 (or later)

These two-hour, mid-week classes are designed to be short, sharp & punchy while being fun and informative. Most importantly, they are great value.

Acclaimed chef Katrina Ryan, cuts the boring bits out of cooking and each class will each focus on an ingredient, dish or cooking style to give you some insight to the techniques involved. We then do the old, “here’s one we prepared earlier” and Matt Kirkegaard takes over and matches the dish to a couple of great craft beers, which he explains, and you get to sample. 

The classes start at 6.30 and run for about two hours. So you get an education, a meal and beer tasting all for $49, not to mention great fun. There’s a craft beer on arrival too.

The next class will feature Beef Rendang. 

Details

Where: The Golden Pig, 38 Ross Street, Newstead. (Directions)
When: 17 April, 2013
Starts: 6.30pm – Finishes: 8.30pm – 9.00pm.
Price: $49

Bookings via The Golden Pig.

But are all strutting rock gods the same?

This Hump Day puts hops where the lead singer belongs, front and centre, with a tasting of seven IPAs from Danish brewer Mikkeller, each brewed with a different single hop.

We will be sampling India Pale Ales featuring the following hops:

• Galena
• Magnum
• Simcoe
• Tettnanger
• Cascade
• Saaz
• Amarillo

Get a sense for the different flavours that hops can bring to a beer, all while enjoying great company, light nibbles and getting over that mid-week hump.

VENUE: Kerbside, Constance Street (Ann Street End) Fortitude Valley
COST: $35, includes seven samples and food. The fun is free.
TIME: 5.30pm for 6pm start, until 7.30 (or later)

Bookings via TryBooking.

So, the first Hump Day for 2013 will feature five beers that really highlighted for me what’s happening overseas. There will be craft beers from Italy, Denmark, UK and Belgium. Please note – no slides will be shown!

There will also be some very exciting one-off lucky door prizes offered as well. I filled a suitcase with beers to  bring back from my travels – not enough to share for a Hump Day, but enough to make for a very, very special prize cupboard. The highlight will be a bottle of Westvleteren 12, rated the best beer in the world on RateBeer.com.

Tickets for this one are limited. As a special one-off you can even claim the number you would like for your lucky door prize entry. When you book and pay, just email me (matt@beermatt.com) with your TryBooking receipt and tell me the number you would like to claim (between 1 and 50). First in, first choice of your number.

Date: 13 March 2013
Time: 5.30pm for 6pm start (til 7.30pm)
Cost: $35, includes beer samples and light snacks

Bookings

Despite my best intentions, this will be the last Hump Day for 2012 so we’re going to make it a little bit special.

Saison is a cracking style for summer, refreshing but still satisfying and with plenty of flavour to chew on. Even better, it goes beautifully with a range of cheeses and charcuterie.

So, the last Hump Day tasting for 2012 will feature a selection of Australian and imported saisons paired with some cheese and charcuterie from Fino Food & Wine. To keep the beers a little diverse we will include one or two Biere de Gardes, another farmhouse style.

The beer list will feature:

• Bridge Road Chevalier Saison
• Bridge Road Chevalier Biere de Garde
• Silly Saison
• Trois Monts (Biere de Garde)
• Temple Saison

We will also have a special beer on arrival included in the price, regular finger food in addition to the charcuterie and cheese and loads of give aways and prizes.

Tickets will obviously be limited, so get in quick.

When: Wednesday, 14 Novermber at 5.30pm for 6pm
Where: Kerbside, Constance Street, Fortitude Valley
Cost: $49, includes beer and arrival,five samples, cheese and charcuterie and finger food

I hope to see you there…

To book.

For those who haven’t joined us for a Hump Day tasting, these are very informal tastings in which we sample a selection of new or interesting (or new andinteresting) beers in the comfort of the lounge room-like Kerbside Bar in the Valley. They are great fun and very relaxed and feature five beer samples, some finger food and some good beer chat. There’s also plenty of lucky door prizes.

They are an easy way to sample a range of beers and get a feel for the styles of beer that are available, and to see what you like. We kick off at about 5.30-5.45pm and, for those keen to get home, generally finish by 7.15pm. (Or not if you wanted to become more familiar with Kerbside’s extensive bottled beer list).

The next Hump Day will see us head off to Denmark for some beers from Danish craft breweries, Beer Here and Norrebro.

We will be trying the following:

Beer Here

• Wicked Wheat  4.7%
  This is a wheat beer, but not your average yeasty mess. This kitten’s got claws. Boldly hopped with Citra
• Dead Cat – Single Hop Amber Ale             4.7%
  Hopped exclusively with American Simcoe – giving pine needles, melon and catty notes to the caramel base
• Executioner IPA                7.0%
  Flavoursome, yet thirst quenching . Light caramel backbone with a grapefruit and citrus edge
• Sod – Baltic Porter 7.5%
  A pitch-black porter brewed with a dash of smoked malt. Roasty bitterness, cocoa and smoke highlights

Norrebro

• Kings County Brown Ale 5.5%
  A deliciously dark, medium body, fruity ale with the scent and taste of nuts, chocolate and dried fruits.

I hope to see you there.

When: Wednesday, 10 October at 5.30pm for 6pm
Where: Kerbside, Constance Street, Fortitude Valley
Cost:$30, includes five samples and finger food

I was lucky enough to be invited to present at the Bavarian Bier Cafe’s Oktoberfest launch at Brisbane and the Gold Coast, including tapping the first keg at Brisbane. This was a big honour, performed in Munich by the mayor. As you can see from the photo on the link Munich Mayor, Christian Nagy, was photographed before the tapping started. I wonder whether his tapping was as spectacular as mine however!

Anyway, however inelegantly it was done, O’zapft (The keg is tapped!) Head along to the Bavarian Eagle Street or Broadbeach to check it out. I will be hosting a dinner at the Eagle Street Pier BBC on 18th October from 6pm if you’d like to come along and join us. Details and booking info below.

Media Release

Unleash your inner Bavarian this Oktoberfest at Bavarian Bier Cafe

It’s time to release your lederhosen-wearing, pretzel-loving, stein-swigging, yodeling inner Bavarian because Oktoberfest is coming to town!

Oktoberfest will be officially launched at Bavarian Bier Café – Eagle Street Pier on Saturday, 22 September, and gives you the chance to join in the world’s biggest festival, which first began in Munich in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

Throughout its six-week long Oktoberfest celebration, Bavarian Bier Café will bring the best of Bavaria to you with hearty menu specials, fun and family-friendly events, entertainment, and a range of authentic Oktoberfestbiers imported directly from Munich.

“We are absolutely passionate about all things Bavarian and want our guests to have the chance to celebrate the world’s greatest festival in true style,” said Dom Dighton, Bavarian Bier Café’s bier professor.

“That means simply choosing your venue, gathering a group of friends and being prepared to celebrate Oktoberfest properly in our contemporary settings.”

Here’s the lowdown on what to expect at Oktoberfest’s ‘home away from home’:

The Bier

• Each week of Oktoberfest, one of five exclusive Oktoberfest biers will be highlighted for patrons to enjoy – Spaten, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, or Lowenbräu.
• Bavarian Bier Café’s Bier Meisters will also host impromptu mini bier academies and educate bier lovers in the best way possible – tastings!

The Food

• Bavarian Bier Café will continue its reputation for perfecting Pure Bier and Pure Food matches with an authentic Oktoberfest menu of a la carte specialties all the way from Munich, and Bier Meisters available to recommend the perfect bier to complement a meal.

The Parties

• Join Beer Expert Matt Kirkegaard for a sit down 3 course Bavarian dinner perfectly matched with PURE Bavarian Oktoberfest bier and learn the secrets to brewing and tasting, Bavarian Style! $50 a ticket, Thursday 18th October from 6pm.
• Get your dirndls and lederhosen on for the inaugural Alpine Party! From 6.00pm on Saturday, 29 September, the ticketed event will be THE event of Oktoberfest, with a piccolo of Henkel sparkling wine on arrival, Bavarian canapés, and party tunes set to amp up the Alpine-themed atmosphere. Tickets are $20. Tickets to both events can be purchased by telephoning 3339 09 00.

The Family-friendly fun

• Family-friendly Oktoberfest activities will ensure parents enjoy an Oktoberfest outing as much as the kids!
• Face-painting: Every Oktoberfest Sunday from 12 noon to 3pm (starting 23 September)
• Sweet pretzel making: Every Oktoberfest Sunday from 10am to 2pm (starting 30 September)
• Kinder menu: Available every day, Bavarian Bier Café’s Kinder menu offers perfect meals for little tummies – think chicken schnitzel, fish, Frankfurter sausage, Bolognese, linguine and more – and all for $7.00 or less.

For more information about Oktoberfest 2012.

Note to editor:
While each venue is distinctly different, all Bavarian Bier Cafés are united by a commitment to Pure Food, Pure Bier and Pure Passion. By sharing our passion for the very best bits of Bavaria, our guests get to experience fresh and flavoursome food, first-class beverages and the warm hospitality for which Bavaria is renowned.

If you would like to try them, they will be featured at my Hump Day tasting at Kerbside next Wednesday (19th) or as part of the Beer, Cider and Cheese tasting at Black Pearl Epicure’s cooking school on the 27th.