Good discussion with DJ Kymaera (Chris) about how the Covid Lockdown is turning Australia inside out.
We discuss the rather harsh and somewhat dictatorial conditions that residents of Victoria State have had to endure during the Covid lockdown.
Check out Chris’ website
https://www.youtube.com/user/djkymaera
Way down the rabbit hole with, legendary rock journalist, Randy Rocket Cody, from the excellent blog, The Metal Den.
There is a reason that Randy has been called the “The Most Dangerous Rock N Roll Writer Alive.” as we focus on the darker aspects of the Heavy Metal genre and the music industry in general…covering a wide range of topics including the “suicides” of Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, Pizzagate, Frazzle drip, the Hidden Agenda of the “Elite”, to shapeshifting Aliens……..all good clean fun!
Check out Randy’s Websites:
The Metal Den: https://themetalden.com/
Randy Rocket Cody: http://www.randyrocketcody.com/
Twitter: @rocketmetalden
Brewed by Brauerei Locher Appenzeller bier
Style: Kölsch
Appenzell, Switzerland
Brauerei Locher AG is a Swiss based family business located in the town of Appenzell, near the Alpstein Alps. The brewery is in the hands of the Locher household, since 1886, and presently running into the fifth generation of family ownership.
Their Appenzell Beer (Quöllfrisch hell), which I found very smooth and enjoyable, is known throughout the country as one of Switzerland’s finest beers, due to the traditional methods of production and use of the local fresh spring waters that produce a lovely clean natural beer. Also the fact that the small independent brewery is standing after all these years, and still producing top quality beers is a testament to how popular the independent brewery is. Something that hasn’t changed since 1886 when Johann Christoph Locher bought the brewery over a hundred years ago.
Appenzell beers are available throughout Switzerland with the Quöllfrisch and Vollmond brands being particularly popular. Apart from the wide variety of specialty beers they also make whiskey, a beverage one doesn’t perhaps associate with Switzerland.
Tried the Gran Alpin Amber Lager which was not great at all, very dull and boring so hopefully the Perla is a bit better……….
Review: 33cl bottle of Locher Gran Alpin Perla: 5.0% vol.
Bought this beer from the local Coop supermarket here in Switzerland.
A Kölsch beer is warm fermented with top-fermenting yeast, then conditioned at cold temperatures like a lager. The taste is one of a crisp, sparkling, and slightly fruity beer, Kölsch is often described as soft or delicate. Hops are almost always of the German variety, have a place in Kölsch beers, but they’re there to accentuate flavors and provide balance to the malt rather than stimulate. As such, Kölsch beers have very little bitterness.
Apparently this is an eco and bio friendly beer with the malted barley produced by organic farmers in Grisons, the Eastern part of Switzerland, and also using natural spring water from the Alpstein, part of the Appenzell Alps.
On pour get a massive white head and a golden looking beer, with a good bit of carbonation whizzing about. Frothy white head and a golden colour, looks well decent.
Some good lacing on the glass.
Not a whole lot coming out from the bottle.
Smell is very sweet on the nose, of sweet malts and grassy and hay aromas.
Taste is …mmmmm, first impressions, have to think about this one!
It is a bit earthy, nice, yeah earthy and hay like.
Very sweet tasting, the malts definitely stand out, but manageable.
Light bitter notes, that are noticeable as they add a bit of interest to the beer giving it an earthy feel and a slight twinge to proceedings.
Beery taste but also a bit watery and not very smooth.
Overall it gets a pass, not brilliant but will do. Bit too sweet for my liking but if I was desperate I could buy it again.
Brewed by Amager Bryghus
Style: New England IPA
Kastrup, Denmark
‘SigteBroad’ is a collaboration brew with Da Amager Brewery and the Boston-based Trillium Brewing Co., which is one of the world’s leading brewery’s when it comes to the massively fruity and hazy New England IPAs.
When Jean Claude Tetreault, the main man at Trillium Brewing Co came across an old Danish type of bread called “Sigtebrød”, he decided it might be interesting to use those same ingredients in a very hoppy IPA! The Viking hard bread was widespread back in the day, not just in Scandinavia but also found as far as Ireland, Scotland and England. “Sigte” – in English is “to aim”, which means this hard bread was actually used as a bow when there was a scarcity of wood! Handy, once finished in battle, you could just eat the bow as well, those Vikings were a clever lot!
But fast forward to modern times, Danes in the new country of the USA, settled down in Minnesota and brought with them the old Viking bread, where it became very popular. It wasn’t just the bread people were enchanted with, the Danish girls who sold the bread were also gaining a fan base amongst the local Minnesotans who soon nicknamed them “sigte broads” for their good looks. In some cities, the bakery master had to arm his aiming broads with a traditional, long, Danish bread knife to ward off the most intrusive of the male admirers. True story, or so they say!
Review: 33cl bottle of Amager Bryghus, Sigtebroad: 6.8% vol.
Interesting logo of a woman cutting what looks like some bread.
Looking at the bottle I get the horrible sight of a lot of sediment lying at the bottom of the glass. Looks rank, not appetizing at all. It’s a double hopped IPA!
Sure enough, on pour it doesn’t look any better. Getting a massive white head and an orangish coloured beer. But again all that sediment floating around, large chunks of it…YUCK!
I am nearly afraid to drink this, and you know me I’d drink any fucking thing!
Other than all the floaties, the appearance is a cloudy brew with a whitish head which maintains well, and an orange coloured beer, which if it wasn’t for the sediment would look ok.
The smell, on the other hand, is nice, very hoppy on the nose, with the fruits, all good.
Ok let’s dive into the taste!
Taste is very, very sweet and very hoppy as well. A bit too sweet. But at least its not rotten what with all that sediment!
Quite a strong beer, and not too bad to sip, but very hoppy. Citrus and tropical fruits overload. Well it is a double hop but still……lol
But nothing too exciting in the style, just another IPA that’s over hopped to the hilt, not terrible but not great.
Not fun to drink as it looks terrible……..I will pass on this…….
Brewed by Birra Moretti (Heineken Italia)
Style: Doppelbock
Milano, Italy
Birra Moretti is an Italian brewing company, founded by Luigi Moretti in 1859, in the small city of Udine, in northeastern Italy, which at that time was still part of the Austrian Empire.
The Moretti family owned the brewery and business until 1989, when it was sold to a consortium of other brewers. In 1996 the company was acquired by Heineken International who also own the Birra Moretti trademark. The original factory in Udine closed in 1992, after brewing was transferred to San Giorgio di Nogaro. It was subsequently bought by a new brewing consortium called the Birra Castello group, which now owns the property.
The “Moretti” logo, of a traditional Italian countryman about to enjoy a big frothing glass of beer, stands out. The story behind the famous iconic logo is that one day in 1942, the nephew of Luigi Moretti, saw a pleasant-looking man sitting at a restaurant table in Udine. There was something unique in the man, it was though he embodied the real values of the Moretti beer: authenticity, tradition, genuineness. Eventually Mr. Moretti went up to him and asked if he could take a picture of him. When the man was asked what he wanted in return, the only thing he asked for was another Birra Moretti beer. Since that day the image of that man is on every single Birra Moretti label, a reminder to the traditions of the Province of Udine, and it’s tasty beers.
Under the Birra Moretti brand there are a collection of beers that the brewery produce, from their Birra Moretti main brand, a 4.6% abv pale lager launched in 1859, to a popular La Rossa, which is a 7.2% strong dark lager or doppelbock, to a couple of radlers, a variety of lagers and ales, to the usual non alcoholic stuff that you can find these days in the off licences.
Today Birra Moretti is exported to over 40 countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan and has won important international awards, including gold and silver medals at the World Beer Cup, the most important international competition in the industry, the only Italian brand to have achieved this.
Review: 33cl bottle of Birra Moretti La Rossa: 7.2% vol.
Not my first time trying a Birra Moretti beer, I tried their famous pale lager a while back and found it to be very pleasurable, crisp and clean and oh so smooth. I liked it, so I just know that the La Rossa won’t disappoint. This beer also has won numerous awards, including gold medals in both the 2007 and 2010 World Beer Championships.
7.2%, yes but in a small bottle no…….
Remember Bocks are bottom fermented lagers that typically spend extra time in cold storage during the winter months to smooth the intense flavors that develop during the brewing process. Stronger than a typical lager, bocks are dark amber in color with robust malt flavors and very light hoppiness. A Doppelbock, meaning “double,” is a bigger and stronger version of a bock beer. They range in alcohol from 7.5-9.5%, stronger than a typical lager. These beers are extra strong, rich and weighty lagers characterized by an intense malty sweetness, with a note of hop bitterness to balance the flavor. Doppelbocks were first brewed by the Paulaner monks in Munich. At the time, it was intended to be consumed as “liquid bread” during Lent.
On pour getting a ruby brown looking beer (La Rossa is “The Red” in Italian) with a nice frothy head. Looks good. some light carbonation going on. Appetizing on the eye.
The smell is not too bad, a light toffee and caramel kind of aroma with roasted malts, nice but faint. Typical of a bock, but not a strong smelling beer.
For the taste, initially it is hitting the spot, very nice and straight off the bat this looks and tastes good. Getting a lovely caramel flavour, with the barley malts, the hops are mild and not intrusive, and generally this is quite pleasant to drink. Flavour lingers long in the mouth.
Nice and relaxing, one to saviour and enjoy over a long evening by the sofa. Chocolate and dark fruits.
Served cold, this is good. Clean, very solid and the toffee flavours are gorgeous.
As it’s a bock can feel the alcohol, so the edge is there alright. I know if I had a few of these I’d be pretty drunk………strong.
Liked it, very relaxing, very soothing to drink and will definitely try some of these bad boys again.