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Thus Let Us Drink Beer – La Sirène

Every now and then, just when you thought you’ve got the terrain covered, you come across a brewery that stands out with a philosophy and recommitment to philosophies that honour traditional brewing methods and deliberately refrain from entering novelty territory in the ever expanding cosmos of craft beers.

Enter La Sirène.

Having started in 2010 and with a dedication to Farmhouse brewing, i.e. a focus on sourcing local ingredients, open vat and bottle (re)fermentation as well as the alignment with the seasons, La Sirène established itself firmly on the firmament of the local scene by making brews that ripened in carefully curated oak barrels and redefined what could be achieved in terms of complexity in wild ales.

It all started with the creation of Saison-style beers, a sophisticated style that originally emanated in Southern Belgium, where beer served more as a sustaining snack than a beverage, and was than further refined to create La Sirène’s artisanal DNA, which not just in terms of provenance is not dissimilar to regional wine making with site specific air-borne yeasts and bacteria infusing the liquid emissions with idiosyncratic flavours.

Needless to say, that La Sirène approach to craft and artisanal ethos does not merely culminate in its ales but also extends to the elegant belle époque art on the hand-bottled Champagne bottles and is does not lack a conscience as sustainability plays a major role in all facets of their operations.

Cracking open a chilled bottle of La Sirène’s brews is a bit of an event and something that should be savoured and dedicated time to, especially when you indulge in expressions like the Praline: A decadent Belgian stout comprised of a mélange of cocoa, vanilla. It does not come as a surprise that it became an accolade decorated crowd favourite at beer festivals.

Their core line started with La Sirène Saison, a refreshing, well-carbonated textured hay coloured classic saison style with a savoury, malty and peppery yeasty body, with crispy tart-citrus nuances.

However, my favourite of the range must be the collaboration with Jester King, i.e.  Beer with Jeff.

Clocking in at 7.2 % ABV, the joint venture with Jester King Brewery from the Texas Hill Country is one of two beers that is the best of both worlds – beer brewing excellence and refined artisanal crafting of Farmhouse style wild ales.

I recently paired it as part of a Boilermaker with Bakery Hill’s Sovereign Smoke and the combination was divine as the wonderfully calibrated oaky and citrussy character of Beer with Jeff is accentuated with a subtle tardiness that culminates in marzipan highlights.

Given that the expertise and passion that has gone into the refinement of La Sirène’s liquid emissions is not merely about process but materializes in exquisite ways on the palate, the brewery from Melbourne, Victoria should find itself on the bucket list of brews to try no matter if you are a cognoscenti or not.

Water of Life – Islay Mist

If you have delved a tad further into the world of whisky than the fringes of offerings your local frat bar has on its shelves, you would know that blended varieties do not necessarily have to be less sophisticated than their single malt counterparts – au contraire -  as we have covered quite a few blends as part of this series that proved to be quite complex and not diluted to cater to the lowest common denominator of the mainstream palate.

Islay Mist – a blend that has been around for nearly a century – is no exception and with both “peat” and “Islay” gracing the label, it should not be surprising that it caught my attention straight away. While I felt intrigued ever since laying eyes on it on the shelves of Whisky & Alement in Melbourne, it was not until recently that I got to sample it.

The aromas of the original core expression are reminiscent of caramel, toasted almonds, cigar smoke and a sweetness that is pervaded by leafy notes. The creaminess that materializes on the top of the roof is heavy on barley, grains with peat building up in the background before taking on a prominent role. I specifically like the medicinal and turmeric flavours that hint at the DNA of Laphroaig, before they seamlessly transition into a medium-length finish that leaves one lusting for more as it reverberates in a smoky, oaky, dark chocolatey and spirited manner.

Islay Mist’s original version is a light bodied and well-priced entry level blend for the peat-curious interested in venturing into peat territory but not looking to be overwhelmed by smoke, or for passionate peatheads in search for an affordable, not overly complex Islay everyday sipper.

Let’s go ahead in a vertical manner and shed light on the Islay Mist 10-Year-Old next, shall we?

What delicately stings the nostrils gives me goosebumps straight away as what greets me on the nose is a melange of subdued cigar smoke, walnuts, dark chocolate and sultanas, which elicits a Pavlovian response.

On the palate, things get interesting as the 10-Year-Old takes a welcome detour and unveils a fruity and honey tinged sweetness reminiscent of Highland single malts that rests on a foundation of oak and smoke, which again reminds one of the accessible Laphroaig Select as hints of brine make an appearance.

The 10-Year-Old is a significant, incredibly easy to drink step up from the standard version and as an Islay fanatic, the hints of Laphroaig that start the elongated finish off before it descends in swirls of smoke and buttery peat make me want to place the bottle on the shelf in the “L” section next to the Quarter Cask.

Change of gear?

Islay Mist 21-Year-Old is another league altogether and the latest expression of its kind to hit the market. The subtlety with which peaty and smoky nuances are interweaved with the essence of characteristics such as malts and grains is superb and rare to be found in blended whiskies.

The aromas that combine smoke of different grades of intensity with seemingly contradictive highlights of grass, nuts, leather and honey that in combination make perfect sense.

On the palate, characteristic of oak and wood become interestingly more dominant before the elongated finish “endtroduces” what the nose promised, accompanied by brine, bitter fruits and buttery peat.

An excellent drop that qualifies itself to be savoured and saved for the finer moments in life.

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image from company website

Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Holgate Brewing

Word around the campfire has that genesis for the founding of Holgate Brewing can be traced back to the founders’ trips to the old and new world, which inspired them to commence brewing beers in both traditional British and North American fashion. Having started as a small home endeavour, operations organically evolved and eventually grew via a brewpub to a full-sized brewery that not only keeps producing its well-established classic core range but enriches its offerings with seasonal, experimental and barrel-aged brews that are refined in what has become recognized as one of the more technologically advanced sites and took Holgate to new heights.

Being a dedicated hophead, what seems to have become Holgate’s annual tribute to Star Wars just in time for the 4th of July, has entered and firmly established itself in my IPA top 5: While the name “empirial” Millennium Falcon might have you think that it is a brew rooted in novelty territory, it is a big beer in every sense of the word. However, the way the flavour nuances are calibrated could not be more sophisticated as it hits the sweet spot between the coordinates of caramelly maltiness, juicy sweetness reminiscent of citrus fruits that is accentuated by the relatively high ABV of 9% and a bitterness of 100+ IBU that keeps things on an even keel. A beautiful beer that is being refined further year after year and reigns supreme in a galaxy of its own.

Another experimental brew that showcases Holgate’s variety is its Brewhouse Empress 2020. In a world where finding a section dedicated to a range of pastry stouts at the beer dealership of your choice, the concept of an imperial mocha porter does not surprise anymore. However, hardly any of the brews from the category that I have tried made me go back for seconds.

The Brewhouse Empress is a voluptuous and lustful diva amongst beers that has seen various incarnations since its inception in 2011: For a start, it has been brewed with coffee and the denseness of the beer is pervaded by syrupy highlights, dominating dark chocolate and mocha flavours as well as nuances of vanilla and hints of core fruits and it not only sounds like it could be a dedicated course of a meal – it is, and desserty one at that. With the bitterness having been dialled back to 50 IBU and a bullish alcohol content of 10% ABV, the focus is firmly set on bold mocha flavours that make it an ideal hoppy malt beverage to have in front of a campfire during a cold winter evening.

Holgate Brewing is one to watch and should be on the radar of any beer enthusiast.

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image from company website

The Formative Years – Pogar Records and Vinyl Boogie

As part of this series, I will cover quite a few labels that have had an impact on my socialisation with punk rock, however, the releases of Pogar Records have had an unrivalled influence that reverberates to this day.

Vinyl Boogie was the physical storefront and mail-order based in what back in the day was one of the more adventurous parts of West-Berlin, i.e. Kreuzberg, which was affiliated through the owner to a label that coined German punk rock, especially during the first half of the 1980s. An epicentre and source for exciting and interesting punk and hardcore. The fact that the local clientele looked the part, i.e. studs and spikes galore and everything else that would be depicted in a dictionary to illustrate in a visual manner the concept of a cliché laden stereotypical punker.

Pogar Records had its focus firmly set on releasing 7”s, except for a singular 12”, and I dare you to find a sub-par release in their back catalogue.

It was not until the earlier 1990ies that I first got to hear Harnröhrer through an older comrade who recorded their “Manchmal hab ichs satt” EP on a mixtape for me. Originally released in 1982, the songs epitomized exactly what I would hope for from a punk band from West Berlin. It got me hooked after the first spin and sent me on a determined mission to find out more about the band, the label it was released on as well as its other releases.

It set me on a path that rewarded me with findings of some of the bands that have remained favourites to this day, e.g. the fantastic Honkas, whose 7” I was able to find in the same year in mint condition for 6,- Deutschmarks.

Every song on the Honkas debut was quoteworthy and congruent with how I perceived punk rock had to be, i.e. obnoxious, minimalistic, rebellious, snotty and lyrically with teenage musings on how life starts at the age of thirteen  and effectively ends with 20 and righteously claiming that anyone who considers living past that age, is an idiot. The fact that the band never got the recognition it deserved only added to the appeal.

Next up was Malinheads “Probegepogt in Spandau”, a release that was musically quite advanced as it entered hardcore territory without falling prey to copy the disharmonic trash contemporary Finnish hardcore bands emitted.

Their second 7” was also Pogar Record’s last release in 1987 and in-between the two, one of my favourite records of all time was released: Vorkriegsjugend’s “Heute Spass – morgen Tod”. To this day I literally everything about this release – the format (double 7”), the artwork, the lyrics, the brutal vocals and the quite advanced, fast paced musical aggression along with the underlying authentic anger that fuelled it.

The band spawned an array of epigones and established Pogar Records on international terrain, which explains why Vorkriegsjugend’s debut was re-released in South America as a 12” as well.

What followed were releases of other young hopefuls of Germanic descent who either debuted on the label or released their highlights there, e.g. Maniacs, the fantastic Brazilians from Olho Seco and what is still considered to be Germany’s first skate punk band (whatever that means – at least musically heavily influenced by West Coast melody core bands of the mid-80s)  Disaster Area, who teamed up with the idiosyncratic Schlimmen Finger, who established themselves by bringing a bit of humour to illuminate the grim, and doggedly dogmatic hardcore punk scene.

After the release of the Disaster Area / Schlimmen Finger split I lost a bit of interest as American and Japanese hardcore became more appealing, but the label continued to release records by Marplots, Vellocet (ex-Vorkriegsjugend) and the final release by Malinheads, who bookended their own and Pogar’s career with their “Medical fame‘ 7” in 1987.

While there are a range of illegitimate re-releases and bootlegs popping up, I would recommend the official “Alter! Das Album” compilation LP from 1991 to anyone interested in checking out the highlights from the hey days of one of the most eclectic German punk labels, before delving deeper.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Mountain Culture Beer Co

If you ever descend on terra australis and happen to find yourself on the East coast, a visit to the Blue Mountains is mandatory. Apart from scenic lookouts and fantastic trails around the National Park, the region has established itself on the radar of connoisseurs for all kinds of crafty emissions and Mountain Culture Beer Co is no exception.

Inspired by their beautiful surroundings, the colour palette of which also manifests itself in the décor of their liquid emissions, Mountain Culture made quite an entry on the ever expanding Australian craft beer scene as their portfolio ranging from session ales made to lagers and especially their much sought after one-off limited releases have been of a consistently high standard.

Having originally come to Australia to head the launch of another great Australian brewery, i.e. Modus Operandi, DJ and Harriet McCready fell in love with the Blue Mountains and eventually opened a brewpub.

Now, we have covered Modus Operandi before and if you are vaguely familiar with their exquisite brews, it should not come as a surprise that with how Mountain Culture channels its alchemy, you are in for a treat.

A personal favourite and discovery of 2020 has been their Double Red IPA, which takes hoppy awesomeness to the next level: Double dry hopped with the cream of the crop  of American hops, the beer is immensely  flavourful without falling prey to venturing out into novelty territory like to many of its contemporaries. At the core, a dominating fruitiness based on passionfruit and mangos accentuates the foundation of dry hops, pervaded by citrusy highlights and a savory malt foundation that elevates the perfectly calibrated finish. The fact that the fairly high alcohol content of 8% ABV hardly registers, should give you an indication of its flavourfulness.

Having paired it with an Ardbeg Corrywreckan, it has redefined the joy that a well paired boilermaker brings.

While I find the Double Red IPA hard to be topped, Mountain Culture’s line-up has a range of interesting brews, of which the Moon Dust Stout stands out with its subtle melange of cocoa and coffee notes, the nuances of which soar high before descending with a creamy bitterness that ticks all the boxes of what a Stout should be, yet it less heavy and much more sessionable than other variants.

Summa summarum: Mountain Culture Brewing is one to watch for anyone remotely into liquid hoppy treats and I hope to be able to shed light on their future releases.

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image from company website