Pah

Dave2pular

A year ago, the Local’s first SpecTapular was held. Life has prevented me from attending subsequent days, though the weaker summer ales on offer didn’t make me try too hard. This Fourth of July, I finally sallied forth with Andrew Lee for the fifth.

We rocked up about 1.30pm. There were noticeably less people this time round, but perhaps that was because they distributed themselves more evenly throughout the day, now that the novelty had passed—and with it the worry that the beer would run out early. We positioned ourselves on the ground floor under the stairs. Upstairs is more “bar”, downstairs is more “pub”.

This time there were 20 beers on tap, including six American beers. A gold coin donation bought entry and the nice booklet with tasting notes. Beers were on individual sale for $1 per 60mL sample ($1.50 for the American brews). Once we got going, we each put a $20 refundable deposit down for a five sample tasting paddle to hold our purchases. Food options included a vegetarian hotdog.

Here’s the St Kilda Local’s account of the day.

Here’s Andrew Lee’s account of the day.

This is what I had, in order:

Unlike Andrew, I had a hop happy day, though my favourite beer of the day was the XS Imperial Stout.

Rogue XS Imperial Stout (imperial stout, 10.4% alc, 88IBU) “Rich in texture, broad, soft and creamy.” This was a meal of a beer, with an oily mouthfeel, and an alcoholic punch.

(I finally managed to get hold of some Red Hill Imperial Stout (bottled) a few days before… and I thought it was better than the Rogue which was on tap! The Red Hill was richer and more complex, and didn’t need as much alcohol (8.1%) to give it heft. In any case, I could easily drink nothing but imperial stout from now on; it’s a bit like drinking a Christmas cake iced in dark chocolate and spiked with vodka.)

Runner up was another from the same brewer: Rogue Dry Hopped St Rogue Red (red ale, 5.2%, 44IBU) “Reddish copper in colour, a roasty malty flavour, with a hoppy-spruce finish.” This was a complex beer that, as a red ale (a style I usually find underpowered), took me completely by surprise.

(Also, given the Hunter Beer Company’s good showing, with their Smoked American Pale Ale last year, and now the Cranky Pants IPA, I really must drop in to the Potters Hotel & Brewery the next time I’m near Nulkaba.)

The only downside to the day, which was pretty disappointing, was the forty minutes I waited for a hotdog, during which no beer was consumed, and I started to go starvation crazy. I mean, really. I could’ve ordered out for pizza in that time—and gotten some kind of apology if the delivery was late. Poor showing for a St Kilda venue.

But in the end, the beer and atmosphere worked its magic, and it was another spectacular SpecTapular.

PS
There is a fully armed and operational Local in Darlinghurst, but our Sydney correspondant hasn’t been!