We have had some exciting weeks at Beer Cartel of late. Looking to increase our understanding and education of beer, we have been lucky enough to attend a couple of beer appreciation nights where the beers were matched to food.

Our first appreciation night was hosted by the Beer Diva, Kirrily Waldhorn at The Local Taphouse in Darlinghurst. The Local is a great place for any beer tasting adventure with its large and varied selection of beers on tap. On this night we got to sample a range of 8 beers moving from a Hefeweizen through to a Porter.

The beers were matched with various tasting dishes – we got to enjoy some treats with the Fransiskaner Hefeweizen perfectly paired with a salt and pepper squid, and a dessert of chocolate mousse with the Matilda Bay Dogbolter Dark. The meal and the food went down superbly as the Beer Diva built upon our knowledge, with some interesting facts and a bit of beer trivia thrown into the mix. It was a great night and worth every cent!

The next appreciation night we managed to attend was given as a birthday surprise from my very thoughtful girlfriend. We made a trip to the Redoak Beer Café in Sydney where we were treated to a four course degustation meal. Each course was excellently complemented by different Redoak beers. It was interesting watching the girls tasting the beers and seeing them become quite open to the taste of some of the heavier beers as the bitterness of the beer was reduced by the taste of the dish. The night was well hosted by Redoak’s beer sommelier Simon Beveridge (yes that’s his real name) who definitely has a passion for beer!

To top off a great night we paid another visit to The Local Taphouse and celebrated their American SpecTAPular. Fourteen different beers including a number from America meant we were in for a few treats, including getting to sample some of the great tasting Rogue beers. It was a great end to the night, and very entertaining with a bell rung each time one of the beers kegs brought in for the event was drunk dry.

It has been a tough task attending these events …… hopefully we’ll get to attend a few more in the near future!

Cheers,

Richard and Geoff