Beer Club Subscription Issue 113 (March 2019)

Welcome to Issue 113 of our monthly beer subscription!

This issue sees us tick over 450 different unique beers that have been sent across the country to awesome craft beer drinking folk like yourselves. Something we are so happy to be continuing after 9 years of offering the service. 

With that much beer being enjoyed we thought it was about time we rolled out our online Facebook beer community group. 

Officially launched in February 2019, and aptly named Beer Cartel Craft Beer Collective, it's a place where we want to share all things craft beer and help people along their craft beer journey from newbie to aficionado. It's a place to ask questions and learn about all the good things craft beer has to offer.

The group is 100% free and anyone that enjoys craft beer is welcome to join ( click here to join). We've created a daily theme so there is cool stuff to enjoy everyday of the week. 

Here's a list of what to expect each day...

Monday: Photo of the Week ($20 voucher giveaway)

Throughout the week we see group members posting and sharing photos of beers they are having, ideally with a little note as to what you like / dislike about the beer.

Best thing about sharing a photo to the group is that every photo goes into the running to win a $20 voucher to spend with Beer Cartel! So get out your phones, get creative and snap away. The best photo is picked by the team at Beer Cartel and announced Monday evening. 

To make your photo stand out tag it with #photooftheweek

Tuesday: Tuesday Trivia ($20 voucher giveaway)

Quickly becoming our favourite night of the week.

Each week we pick a range of beer related questions from recent topical news to brewery and beer history. 

Trivia is run using an online site which has some great features:

- the leader board is a combination of accuracy in answering the question + speed of answering. So you have to be quick AND accurate.

- after each question you'll know if you got it right or wrong with a live display of how you are tracking.

- once you're finished you can have a look at the questions you got wrong and view the correct answer.

Tuesday Trivia starts at 7PM on Tuesdays and is open for 24 hours. A $20 voucher to spend with Beer Cartel goes to the winner. To be eligible ensure you register with your full name so we know who to get in contact with!

Wednesday: How much do you think you know?

This is kind of our version of the TV game show Jeopardy.

At about 6PM Wednesday evenings we post a "Who am I..." styled description that details a brewery, beer style, beer, brewer etc and ask you to write in the comments who/what you think the answer is.

Later in the evening we reveal the answer. It's a bit of fun and a great way to learn a bit more about a range of craft beer related items.

Thursday: Meet the Brewer

This is really interesting, getting you the inside scoop directly from breweries.

The Meet The Brewer series features an Australian or International brewer which we interview on camera asking a range of questions about their brewery, the industry, new beer releases and more. 

Each video is about 5 minutes in length and provides a great insight into the people behind the beers we are drinking and what plans they have for the future.

Friday: New Beer News

Straight from Beer Cartel HQ we do a video featuring some of the latest beers to have arrived in store and online. Each week on average we receive stock of 20 new beers. From these 20 or so beers we handpick the ones we think are top notch and definitely worth trying. 

Not only does this give you the inside word on latest arrivals and releases but it's like having your own personal beer selector!

Saturday: Whats in your Fridge?

A fun way to share with others what beers are in your fridge for the weekend. Pics from this can be included in Monday's Photo of The Week competition so open the fridge door, take a quick happy snap of the beers and post it to the group.

It's also a great way to find some new beers to try based on other peoples photos. Use the hashtag #whatsinyourfridge along with your post.

Sunday: Guest Selector

On Sunday's we have a little write up by a beer fan, this could be a member of the group or someone from the wider craft beer industry. We ask them to share with us the following 3 beers:

1. Their Epiphany Beer: what go them started in craft beer.

2. Something New: a recent beer they really enjoyed

3. Something Old: a beer that's an oldie but a goodie

If you're keen to get join the group and get involved  click here or the image below.

Now for this month's tasting notes...

Beer Number 1: Stone Tangerine Express

Style: IPA

ABV: 6.7%

Colour: Golden

Serving Temp: 7˚C to 12˚C

Recommended Glass: IPA

Description: This ain't no just-add-juice approach. This one is for adults. Stone use bountiful whole tangerine purée, which brings pithy, crisp bitterness to the citrus flavour. In addition to the complexities of the tangerine, the likes of which you can only get by using the whole fruit, Stone judiciously employ just a hint of whole pineapple for a backnote (you'd likely not even pick it out of the mix if we didn't tell you it was there). 

Rated 95 out of 100 on Ratebeer.com

Beer Number 2: Hawkers Stout

Style: Stout

ABV: 5.4%

Colour: Amber

Serving Temp: 7˚C to 12˚C

Recommended Glass: Stout

Description: Featuring a beautiful tan head with coffee on the nose and hints of chocolate rounding out the roastiness on the palette. This is one very dark and enjoyable stout. Perfect for the cooler days to come.

Beer Number 3: Prancing Pony XPA

Style: Australian Pale Ale

ABV: 4.1%

Colour: Golden

Serving Temp: 7˚C to 12˚C

Recommended Glass: Pint

Description: An extremely easy drinking session Ale with loads of aromatic hops from extensive dry hopping, this is the perfect summer beer and at 4.1% ABV, you can have an extra one just to make sure you have quenched that thirsty soul.

Beer Number 4: Boatrocker Pilsner

Style: Pilsner

ABV: 4.5%

Colour: Golden

Serving Temp: 4˚C to 7˚C

Recommended Glass: Pilsner

Description: Boatrocker love classic beer styles so it's no surprise they made a classic Pilsner, but with a new world twist of Riwaka kiwi hops. Inspired by the beer gardens of northern Germany, they've crafted a Pilsner using all German Pilsner malt, which gives this beer a great malt base to hop burst with loads of choice kiwi hops. This beer was their first gold medal winning beer, and it’s oh so refreshing.