you may have heard of him or seen him at a local Sydney breweries and tap houses chumming it up with the craft scene, not to make money but to make friends who share a passion in the pursuit of great beer. Jim is on a world beer quest to sample a brew from every country, which is no easy feat, there are 196 of them and this Brew Dog shareholder is almost there.
In the pursuit of unique and delicious
beers he’s learned so much about the stuff that he has literally taught brewers
a few things and become a go-to guy. He’s not just
ticking off the list of places but looking for the best everywhere, an international beer taste quest. Epic.
Epic Taste Quest: So how many countries have you found beers from so far and
what region is really winning on epic taste beer-wise?
Jim: 116 countries, and I do count places that are
self-governing territories among that. I’ve had better beers than I’ve graded
on my blog, but it’d be a full-time job to keep updating it with the new best find. Europe makes the best – obviously the
classics Belgium and Germany, but they’re being eclipsed by Denmark, Norway, and
Scotland. You don’t really think of them as brewing countries – probably good for
them because they can be more innovative with what they make whereas somewhere
like Germany with the reinheitsgebot have challenges in the beer creative space.
"Oh shit ... I think I left my hat in Hong Kong."
ETQ: How have you been sourcing all these beers, what are the hardest to get, and do you have any tips
for those on this quest who can’t travel?
 |
| There's a North Korean craft beer scene. Who would have guessed? |
Jim: One of the tricks I’ve used is going to a local restaurant of that
region's cuisine and asking staff if they have beers from the country. Even
if it’s not on the menu sometimes the owners will have a beer around. There are a lot of good Australian distributors and importers, you can ship anything from around the world if you’re willing to pay –
drop to a US local post box, ship to Australia and pay duties. The third option
is to have a lot of friends and hope they travel! (laughs) I got Myanmar, Switzerland, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands among others from mates who have traveled.
[pause] Oh
shit ... I think I left my hat in Hong Kong.
The hardest to get... North Korea – everyone has trade embargoes against them except China, and even China don’t legally import Taedonggang. Monte Carlo – I had to go
there to get it, at the only brewery in an area with pretty much nothing else
in it. Places like Algeria, dry countries, there’s only one brew pub in
Algeria and I don’t know how I’ll ever get there. I’m not saying never, I’m
hoping rapid deescalation of hostilities in the Middle-East, but at this stage
getting Algeria is not looking good. The real challenges are Africa and the
Middle-East.
"The term ‘craft beer’ isn’t always interpreted correctly. It means it’s made for love of the beer, not the want of money. Big commercial brands come at it from a market share perspective as opposed to a customer experience perspective so when they try to make a ‘craft beer’ they're doing it wrong."
ETQ: Being honest, how does Australian beer measure up so
far?
Jim: We’re doing well. Like I said, I don’t review every
beer I have, especially Australian because I’ve had over 2000 unique beers in
the last 2 years, but we, Sydney specifically, are getting good. Honorable
mentions to Ekim’s Bezerker pale ale and all the stuff that Modus Operandi and
Shenanigans are doing, I could list 20+ brands that are doing something great,
something innovative right here.
ETQ: If you could only drink beers from three breweries in
the world, which would they be?
Jim:
Brew Dog, what they do is amazing – they’ve
revolutionised craft beer in the United Kingdom. They really care about beer,
they only make beers they’d drink themselves – they make it because they love
beer. It’s not about money for them.
Stone Brewing probably revolutionised
the west coast IPA and produce some of the hoppiest beers in the world, plus
now they have a Berlin site I’m visiting in August and really hoping they
inject their ideas into that scene.
Number three…. This is a hard one, I really
have to think about.
Bacchus brewing co. in Queensland make some really crazy
stuff.
Good stouts from Brewdog, good IPA’s from Stone, and a mix of everything else from Bacchaus with the weird and crazy stuff named after cakes. That’s a good
variety.
"Apparently it’s got a serve of vegetables in each glass so I could supplement them in my diet with beer!"
ETQ: If you could only drink three different beers, one from each of those breweries for the rest of your life which would those be?
 |
| Tokyo* from Brew Dog |
Jim: That, is difficult. Punk IPA is where I’d start. It’s just so drinkable, not expensive and what you’d want Christmas Day in Australia. In total
contrast is Tokyo* from Brew Dog. A huge massive Russian imperial stout, 16% alcohol, thick and
chocolaty and delicious... oh I can only have one from each?
 |
| "Enjoy By" IPA from Stone |
From Stone I’d want Enjoy By IPA, made fresh designed to be drunk by a
certain date, and so juicy and fruity it’s unbelievable. When they come to Australia they come in cold cargo containers and we get them about 2 weeks after bottling. I’d
love to have one fresh tapped in Escondido out of San Diego.
(Choosing) One beer from
Bacchus is just torture, he makes so much… I’ve chosen a Stout and IPA, I’d
have to choose a Sour. I really liked their spirulina. Apparently it’s got a
serve of vegetables in each glass so I could supplement them in my diet with beer! (laughs). Enchantment Under the Saison, it’s a spirulina saison they made as a one-off for
a Back to the Future event. And that’s how you get your vegetables.
"I love making beer, I love being creative and trying new things but when you marry out the cost versus the time and actual challenge of doing it, if you just want beer you’re better off buying it. "
 |
| Home brewed "Hopsolo Cluster" |
ETQ: What’s involved in home brewing, do you have any tips
for anyone starting out?
Jim: (Groans) It’s so much work. It’s way harder than you think
it’s going to be.
Tips? Sterilize everything repeatedly,
temperature control is key – during the mash rests and protein rests the
flavour of beer can go from amazing to rubbish with a variance of 3 to 4 degrees.
Bottling is part of the brewing process and unless you’ve got a keg system it
takes just as long as brewing.
I love making beer, I love being creative and trying new
things but when you marry out the cost versus the time and actual challenge of
doing it, if you just want beer you’re better off buying it. If you’re doing it
as a creative venture and brewing it to challenge yourself to make interesting
and different things then it’s tons of fun, and by all means do it.
ETQ: So, there are different types of beers. Stouts, pale
ales, saisons, etc. Which do you find the most appealing and why?
Jim: Number one is IPA’s, small variances in hops schedule be it
time or quantity you can change everything about the beer. While the malt
profile is important for balance the hops are what give you bitterness and
aroma. IPA’s are heavily hopped so different brewers doing slightly different
things you get vastly different results. They tend to be the more bitter and
more aroma packed beers –those “that smells like passion fruit” or “That smells
like butts!” a lot of aroma comes from dry hopping, when the hops is added
after or during fermentation but not the boil.
Then Stouts. Big. Fat. Russian. Stouts. That’s where you get
your chocolate and coffee, huge flavours with biscuit and caramel and all that
good stuff. It’s like cakes in beer. Most people only know Tooheys old and Guinness
but they’re not really indicative of the style. They’re commercial takes on
what’s really a beautiful roasted coffee and chocolate beer.
"IPA’s are heavily hopped so different brewers doing slightly different things you get vastly different results."
ETQ: Some people say that all beer tastes the same, either
drinking VB and Tooheys thinking it’s the pinnacle of beer experiences or think it’s
just sewage water so all beer is sewage water. When did you first realise beer
was more than just shelf big brand?
Jim: As a teen and young adult I drank horrible beers
as well, Carlton at any pub, it didn’t matter, up until about 7 or
8 years ago. Every Friday night I started going to the Rose (his local) and they’d do
Monteith's winter ale, and (discovering that) I realised that beer wasn’t all Lagers. Monteith’s summer is better by the way. Stone and Wood pacific ale was
probably a gateway for me, and a lot of people. It was probably my first time drinking a true ale (..The difference between lagers and ales is a
whole other interview). It used a unique hop profile, it was small on the market and became really popular. Over the last few year there’s been an explosion of
availability of craft beer. I still really enjoy APA (Australian pale ales) and
pacific ales.
"No-one can drink a Garage Project beer and tell me it tastes like XXXX, it’s like telling me tomato and barbecue sauce are the same."
ETQ: For all those people who believe there are
no good beers, mostly because they're under the impression that all of them are the same, what would you recommend they try?
Jim: Stone and Wood will get them started, then maybe some
of the Garage Project beers coming out of New Zealand. The term ‘craft beer’ isn’t
always interpreted correctly. It means it’s made for love of the beer, not the
want of money. Big commercial brands come at it from a market share
perspective as opposed to a customer experience perspective so when they try to make a ‘craft
beer’ they're doing it wrong. No-one can drink a Garage Project beer and tell me it
tastes like XXXX, it’s like telling me tomato and barbecue sauce are the same.
ETQ: Any parting words, plans for the future?
Jim: I’ll pick up 4 more countries if I can this year, keep
hitting USA, Asia, and Europe up for great craft beers. If anyone (of our readers) comes up
with a great craft brewery coming up out of Africa I’d be very interested to
know!
Oh, and if you're curious, the price tag on these beers have been between 75c to $250 per drink. If you can help The Hops Whisperer on his quest with a Taedonggang, or have your own world beer adventure on the go, let us know! You can follow Jim's tasty adventures at World Beer Experience.
Noms, Nibbles and No Regrets
- Rebecca
No comments:
Post a Comment