Drinking in the Sun

A friend has a new camera with a wide lens, about which he is very excited. We met for coffee and chocolate to examine the camera, and he pointed out its features.

Wide angle Koko Black

 

We went round to Mr & Mrs Lovely Bonkers and sat on the patio of their new house admiring the sunset, which grew ever-more impressive over the course of the evening.

Sunset reflection

 

They have bought some solar-powered outdoor lights so we played with them and drew pictures with light (yes, that's photography).

 

 

Several of us have been studying the BJCP guide to learn more about the different styles of ales. A couple of people were keen to take the exam at the end of the month, so we had to cram in a couple of sessions in  a week. That's a lot of beer, especially as the last two categories are Belgian strongs and specialty beers!

Leffe Blonde - smells sweet and malty; tastes of orange peel and bananas with hints of phenols and a mild, bitter finish
La Trappe Blond - orange notes and spicy yeast

La Trappe Dubbel - dried fruits and caramel malts; ruby colour; mellow, balanced alcohol. Raisins and sweet sherry characteristics; well attenuated; malt loaf
Trappistes Rochefort 6 - Floral aroma; perfume notes; light brown colour; full-bodied; smells like Turkish delight; tastes like Turkish delight; isn't Turkish delight

Westmalle Trappist Tripel - pale colour; spicy strong alcohol peppery taste; dry orange pith finish; grainy malt impression - bitey
St Bernadus Tripel - Tinned pear aroma; retentive mousse head; rhubarb and pear compote flavour; desert/ cake beer; soft fluffy mouthfeel

Duvel - The classic example of Belgian Golden Strong; earthy hop character; crisp, dry finish
La Guillotine - Caramel biscuit malt aroma; almond finger biscuit flavour

Trappistes Rochefort 10 - Belgian Dark Strong; mousse head; dark, complex and rich, fruity (figs), light vanilla aroma; moderately malty; alcohol heat; dry
St Bernadus Abt 12 - Dried fruit aroma; well-rounded full mouthfeel; damn, that alcohol is smooth - well tasty

BJCP Session #9

Prickly Moses Blueberry Hefeweizen - Not as fresh as previous bottles; lacking in fruit punch
Lost Coast Raspberry Brown - bitter chocolate notes; raspberry aroma and flavours strengthen as the beer warms/ settles

Founders Spectra Trifecta - Clean, delicate Kolsch with floral chamomile, citrus lemongrass and spicy ginger. Soft and gentle mouthfeel; great bedtime beer
Stone Mocha IPA - Chocolate and coffee in an IPA clash badly. Milky coffee taste, but it's all a bit of a mess

Renaissance Tribute Barley Wine - Like a boozy Christmas pudding tasting of sherry, dried fruits and treacle. Sensationally rich!
Ridgeway Imperial Barley Wine - 'A fusion of Russian stout and traditional barley wine'; this seems light for style with unexpected hoppy bitterness - disappointing

De Molen Bommen & Granaten - Bready and fruity armoa; malty sweet marmalade flavour; very palatable
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (2016) - Burnt toffee aroma; aggressive piney resinous hop character; bitter and hoppy

Rough Draft Freudian Sip Strong Ale - ultimate beer; caramel aroma; chewy, soft mouthfeel; bitter finish - kitchen sink beer with everything: malt; hops; sweet; bitter
Stone Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard - Slightly woody; strong and vegetal; bitter - instant heartburn

BJCP Session #10

Post-exam beers at The Durham

Scenic views and friendly brews

Things I see on my bike rides and runs...

I'll be the judge of that...

BJCP Session 4 was held at The Wig & Pen as we learned about Scottish lights, heavies and exports, Irish reds, dark milds, and British browns and strongs. Very tasty!

One of the best values for money is the soup at Bean & Grain at the Fyshwick Markets; hot and tasty and served in a cob roll for only $10. Today's offering was French Onion.

French Onion Soup

I know my friends are geeks; lovely bonkers geeks that is. Here they are in their matching t-shirts.

Calamity Sue and General Philosopher in His & Hers geek-wear

Award-winning beer

I have been cleared to jog for short intervals, so I ran around the park, happy to be able to do so without pain.

Kippax District Playing Fields

 

 

After the evening's BJCP session, I came home to enjoy a couple of fantastic Russian Imperial Stouts with Him Outdoors from Moo Brew, Sierra Nevada and (of course) Boris from Feral.

 

Him Outdoors won a gold medal for his English Bitter and a silver for his English Mild in the Canberra Brewers' Homebrew Competition. We toasted his success with his own beer, obviously. 

Hearty congratulations!

Bike rides, beer and Chester

Tony Turner (front row; fourth from the right) has been tutoring students in voice workshops for several weeks. For their final exercise, they presented excerpts from T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral on the Canberra REP stage at Theatre 3. The voices blended in perfect harmony when required, with discordance when necessary, and with solo performances for variety and punctuation. The whole class has worked wonders and the results were fantastic.

Another random photo of Chester, because I can never take too many pictures of my cat.

Chester

I am taking the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) - whether or not I eventually become a certified beer judge is questionable at this point, but after all the tastings and tutorials, I should at least know my Celtic reds from my German bocks. We had our first session this week, with style guides and serious work commencing.

And we finish with another bike ride through the hills.