A little bit about.....Porters

With the temperature dropping it’s time to start thinking about what
beers to drink during winter. What will I be drinking?

Well, for me it’s time to start hitting up some Porters. The name Porter originates from the hardworking and thirsty porters who drank this beer in large quantities. Porters are perfect on winter days with their roast aroma, coffee and chocolate flavours shining through. 

Porters can vary from dark brown to black in colour and can range from being quite session able to drink through to a rich luxurious beer to sit on and nip away at in front of the fire. Most porters range from about 4-7% ABV but can start pushing the 8% ABV and higher, which are classified as Baltic Porters. The original purpose of the higher alcohol content in the Baltic Porter was to enable them to travel long distances by ship to the Baltic ports.

Porters are also great match with food such as oysters, stews, roasts, chocolate desserts and even salmon. Porters also go really well with Indian and Mexican dishes.

We've got a great selection of Porters at The Local B&P - two of my favourite Porters are Amager Bryghus, Rugporter ($15.50, 500ml)  and Mornington Penninsula Brewery, Porter ($5.35, 330ml).

Happy Drinking from Nitun!

Moo Brew Tasting this Thursday from 5-7pm

Moo Brew is in the house this Thursday (tomorrow!) from 5-7pm! Stop by and sample their great range of beers, including the new Belgo. 

See you there!

Merchandise Sale!

Fantastic merchandise sale on now! 50% off shirts & hats from Stone & Wood, Feral, Bridge Rd, Brooklyn Brewery & more! Limited sizes and quantities - get 'em quick before they're gone!

The Gypsy, the Goat & The Quiet American...among other things

Lots of great stock has arrived in store and more to come!

The highly anticipated Mountain Goat and Mikkeller collaboration - Cross Breed, The Gypsy and the Goat Black Pepperberry IPA - does not disappoint. We've got loads in stock, but it won't last - get yourself some!

Another Mikkeller collaboration with Bridge Road - the Dark Harvest - has arrived. Perfect for autumn and winter drinking.

BrewDog - Paradox Jura  (imperial stout matured in jura whisky casks).

We've still got some AB:05's  on sale at 15% OFF with a bonus Pint Glass

Also from Bridge Road is the Harvest - a hop forward pale ale with loads of aromatics.

Little Creature's Single Batch -  The Quiet American - an American IPA blended with a Belgium tripel with that classic Little Creature's character.

Stone & Wood's Jasper Ale is very popular and we'll have it back in stock from tomorrow!

Other mentions include:


The NZ Mash Up
St. Ambroise - Pale Ale & Scotch Ale
Holgate Brewery - Temptress - an old favourite is back!
Mornington Imperial IPA and Porter are both in the house
Moo brew - Pale, Dark and Handsome (i.e. the Pilsner)
New Holland Australian Dubbel - Red Duck and Vic Brewer Champion collaboration

Lots to try - hope this inspires some cold weather drinking!

Beer and Cheese Night - Monday, May 14th Autumn around the Globe

A little over three weeks till all the Good Beer Weeks events start - and first up is our Cheese & Beer Experience - Autumn around the Globe!

Come experience some fantastic autumn beers and matched cheeses from all over the world on Monday, May 14th at 7pm.

The beer line up is as follows:
Steen Brugge - Dubbel Bruin (BEL)
Coedo - Beniaka (JPN) - sweet potato lager
Rodenbach Grand Cru - Flemish Red Ale (BEL)
St. Ambroise - Scotch Ale (CAN)
Amager - Sundby Stout (DNK)
Moylan's Barleywine (USA)

The matched cheeses will be a flavoursome mixture from France, Spain, Italy, England and Australia.

Delicious!

There are still spaces and tickets available. Click HERE to sign up and enjoy the flavours of the autumn season.

See you there!!

Anders Kissmeyer in-store this Thursday!

Renowned Danish Brewer, Anders Kissmeyer of “Norrebro Bryghus” will be in store this Thursday from 5-7pm to discuss his new personal, gypsy brewery, Kissmeyer Brewery. We will be tasting the Kissmeyer Red IPA (7% ABV) and the Kissmeyer PilNZer (5.0% ABV). Please make sure to pop in-store and meet this master brewer and sample his new selections.

Skål!

MOA tasting tonight. Trumer & Moritz tomorrow night!

Feel like tasting some brews, well we've packed in some tastings for the end of this week.

Tonight we have MOA's awesome range on tasting from 5pm-7pm.

Tomorrow night we have Trumer Pils (Austria) and Moritz (ESP) on tasting from 5:30pm-7:30pm.

So if you want to try some beer for free, we've got it covered!

Doctor's Orders Iron Lung now pouring on Growlers

Doctor's Orders (NSW) 'Iron Lung' (Black Imperial Pilsner) is now filling, Growlers $26.50 and Squealers $13.25.

New arrivals!

We have some killer new beers in stock from Sierra Nevada, Kiuchi Brewey, Lindemans and of course Mornington Peninsula Brewery.

From Sierra Nevada:
Ruthless Rye IPA 6.6% ABV

From Kiuchi Brewery:
Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew 7% ABV
Hitachino Nest Extra High(XH) 8% ABV

From Lindemans:
Cassis(A blackcurrant fruit Lambic)3.5% ABV

From Mornington Peninsula Brewery:
Imperial IPA 8.5%ABV

Mornington Peninsula Brewery Imperial IPA has arrived

After much anticipation, Mornington Peninsula Brewery's Imperial IPA has arrived. You'll need to get in quick as we only have two cases at the moment and it's sure to sell out fast.

Beer Here was Here!

Another successful Beer & Cheese night this past Tuesday with a very special guest - Christian Andersen from Beer Here (Denmark). Christian was in town for a week as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and thanks to Adam Betts from Northdown Craft Beer Movement we secured him and his delicious beers for our tasting night. Christian entertained us with his brewing stories and the ideas behind his controversial labels. Delicious cheese pairings were organised by Ashley Church from Cheese Culture. A great night was had by all - we can't wait for the next one!

Awesome new arrivals coming soon.

Arriving late this week (or early next week) we have some awesome new beers from the USA.

Through some very hard wheeling an dealing by one of our suppliers, we will be getting the following beers:

From Sly Fox Brewery in Pennsylvania we have:

Phoenix Pale Ale (Cans!) & Route 113 India Pale Ale (Cans!)

From Weyerbacher Brewery also from Pennsylvania we have:

Double Simcoe Imperial India Pale Ale, Blithering Idiot Barkeywine, Old Heathen Imperial Stout & Hops Infusion India Pale Ale.

From Clown Shoes in Massachusetts:

Lubrication Black India Pale Ale.

There are a few others which I will confirm on arrival (so, you know, watch this space).

Pretty exciting right? All of this stuff is very limited, so get in quick or you might miss out!

Cheese and Beer tasting with special guest Christian Andersen of Beer Here

If another Cheese and Beer Tasting wasn't already exciting enough, we have just been given the good news that Christian Andersen, of Beer Here brewery in Denmark will be coming down to showcase his wonderful range of craft beer alongside some fantastic cheeses from all over the world.

The line up is yet to be finalised (don't worry though, Ashley and I will work tirelessly matching delicious cheese to Christians broad and awesome range of beers - it's tough work, but someone has got to do it), however, those who would like to ensure their spot can book here.

The Cheese and Beer evening will be held on Tuesday, 6th of March 2012 at The Local BottleStore & Provisions starting at 6.30pm sharp.

Cost is $45 per person, and places are strictly limited.

If you would like to book, click here

Black Heart Brewery Pale Ale now filling Growlers and Squealers

Black Heart American Pale Ale from Black Heart Brewery, one of Australia's newest breweries, s now filling Growlers ($20.00) and Squealers ($10.00).

To find out more about Black Heart Brewery, visit their website here.

Totally Bodacious New Arrivals

What a day, so many exciting new beers have arrived. So in no particular order:

Green Flash and Bear Republic have finally hit our shores.

From Green Flash we have West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red Ale, Le Freak, Imperial IPA, Double Stout and Barley Wine.

Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA and Red Rocket Ale. Unfortunately due a packing error Hop Rod Rye Ale, Special XP Pale Ale, Pete Brown Tribute Ale and Big Bear Black Stout won't arrive till Monday.

Mikkeller's Single Hop IPA range (Tomahawk, Amarillo, Summit, Nelson Sauvin, Soarchi Ace, Centennial, Simcoe, Citra & Apollo), Texas Ranger, Sur Monk and It's Alive

Red Duck's Hoppy Amber Ale, Pale Rider and Overland Kolsch

Moylon's Orange and Black IPA, we also have Irish Red Ale, Tippery Pale Ale and Chelsea Porter back on the shelves.

So, heaps of exciting new beers, but get in quick, as they won't last.

Stop the press, some Epic new beers have just arrived

Ahh, it's all pun and games down here at The Local BottleStore & Provisions today, but seriously, we have had some great new beers from Epic Brewing (NZ) arrive today.

Epic Larger - Imperial Pilsener 8.5% - Larger, get it, like lager, but bigger, and using a common misspelling....... it's a pun!

Epic Fig and Coffee Imperial Oatmeal Stout - Imperial Stout 8% - Brewed with foodies in mind, those of you who read.... Epic-cure.

Epic Barrel Aged Armageddon - India Pale Ale 7.25% - So earth shatteringly hoppy, it had to be locked in a barrel.

Epic Flying Nun 30th Anniversary Beer - American Pale Ale 5.5% - Since the arrival of the first Gramophone to New Zealand in 1981 Flying Nun have been pumping out records - in honour of this, Epic have brewed a super hoppy pale ale.

Well, I crammed just about as many puns in as I could. Stay tuned for more awesome arrivals.

New Store Manager wanted. And what a time to take the reins... read on!

The founding LB&P manager, James Smith, is heading back to university to complete his studies (which were interrupted when he began working at The Local Taphouse almost four years ago!). Fortunately for us, James will still be involved on a casual basis with beery stuff across all the businesses.

So we're now looking for a new full-time Store manager!

What's make this especially exciting is that the successful candidate will be joining at a very exciting time as we proceed with the planned second stage of the Store's development.

Over the next few months, we will be significantly increasing the "provisions" element of the Store. We will still provide all the great things we offer now but we will be ramping up the gourmet food store/providore side so it becomes a more complete eating and drinking destination in the neighbourhood.

The Taphouse's new Head Chef, Jeff Simpson (ex Sapore, Richmond Hill & Larder) is joining us in a couple of weeks to create many delectable delights to complement all the other new foodie items we will be cramming the shelves with.

We will also be extending our already impressive bottled beer and cider range AND increasing the number of growler/squealer taps over time.

But wait, there's more! Subject to permits and licensing applications being finalised, customers will soon be able to drink any bottle of any beer/wine/cider on the shelf or fridge and enjoy something to eat while seated in the Store.

To find out more about the plans and what the job of Store Manager entails, click here. To apply, email your resume to jobs@thelocal.com.au.

Do you have a passionate friend who loves great food and drink and would love this role? If so, please help us spread the word!

Above: The ad to appear in Epicure next week.

2 new Beers on Hank today

2 new beers on Hank today.

From Moon Dog Craft Brewery in Abbotsford, Victoria we have - Gingerbread Brown Ale 7.5%, $15 for a Squealer or $30 for a Growler.

From Bridge Road Brewery in Beechworth, Victoria we have - Beechworth Pale ale 4.8%, $11 for a Squealer or $22 for a Growler.

Some super special new arrivals.

Just in today, rare and limited;

Cantillon Fou' Fonne - Just 6 Bottles, limit of 1 per customer. First in, best dressed.

Cantillon Marmouche - Just 12 bottles, limit of 1 per customer.

We also have a sneaky keg of Moon Dog Gingerbread Brown ale which will be filling Growlers and Squealers this evening.

The Squealer has landed.

Yesterday afternoon, The Local BottleStore and Provision received a special (and much needed) delivery - 180 olde world medicine bottles, known as Squealers. Squealers are designed to fill that void when a Growler is just too much, but you still need to satisfy a hankering for some fresh craft beer.

946ml of delicious craft beer can be yours, now for just $10 (1 off cost for the empty Squealer).