Saturday 10 December 2011

Black Heart Brewey

Hmmm, been a while.  I ran off to Belgium with dreams of becoming a Trappist Monk, everything was going well until I discovered the whole celibacy thing.  Suck it Melbourne, you’re stuck with me.  Without further ado...

Sometimes you meet people whom make you really question what you’ve done with your life, for example, I have immense difficulty maintaining a more than mediocre level of engagement with my balls-numbingly tedious service industry job while updating this blog more than once every few weeks.  I am wearing socks that have not been washed in a month and my kitchen looks like the aftermath of a suicide bomber's spaghetti eating contest...
 
Then you have the guys whom run Black Heart Brewery, a new operation based in the rather imaginatively named sea-side suburb of Brighton.  How a surgeon and perfusionist (go have cardiac surgery if you wish to find out what this involves, if you come out of it not dead then you know he’s done his job well) have the time to run a microbrewery and craft ales of such quality is beyond my understanding.  I can’t imagine their output is very high so if you see any of these attractively bottled beers on offer then don’t hesitate.

There are five beers on offer, three of which I’ll detail here.  The first is the Belgian blonde ale, which in taste, aroma and appearance is quite similar to an example of a Belgian strong golden ale, although at 6.8% it is not quite as fearsome as some of its forebears such as Duvel.  Cracking the bottle is like wandering into the witch’s house from Hansel and Gretel, your nose is immediately welcomed by sweet aromas of candied banana and marshmallow with just a hint of gingerbread and strawberry.  The head quickly vanishes like sea foam leaving a perfectly clear light golden body.  The taste is spot on, although a little more subdued than a strong golden ale, sweet candied banana is to the fore, followed by some spicy notes of cinnamon and coriander before a dry and peppery finish.

Next up to the plate is the American Pale Ale, which I had from a newly tapped keg at the Local.  Very different from the legion of garden variety APA’s out there, for starters it poured looking a bit like an iced coffee with a dense, almost milky body.  The hops come through as fresh cut grass and crushed, wet vegetation on the nose, accompanied by a yeasty, fresh bread aroma and just a hint of varnished wood.  Far more malt driven than many of its brethren, the flavour begins an almost slatey, chalky mineral character, faint hints of ginger and caramel on the mid palate and finishing with a touch of aniseed.  This is a very thick and creamy beer with very little carbonation which finishes with a slight, although not unpleasant burning sensation.  This may not be to everyone’s tastes but I welcome the change from the norm...

Finally, I’ve just polished off a bottle of the Dunkelweizen, a style not many micros in this country seem to want to tackle, which is a shame as a well made Dunkelweizen is a thing of joy and yes, Black Heart’s version is very well made and is my favourite amongst their line up.  An attractive ruddy caramel body with a smallish, off white head the aroma is typical wheat beer estery and phenolic notes of banana, clove and vanilla, as the beer warms the dark malts shine through with a distinct caramel and toffee character.  The flavour holds a single note for nearly the duration of the swallow, banana and toffee with a short bready flavour on the finish.  The mouth-feel is excellent, I don’t wish to sound like a twat but this beer’s light body dances across the tongue.  

The common theme throughout all these beers is just how well they are put together, nothing seems to be out of place, drinking one of these is akin to driving a German built car, created with a cold, calculating efficiency with not a thing out of place, truly they are crafted with a surgical skill.  Beers of this calibre should not be thoughtlessly chugged down, but need to be reserved for the dinner table, slowly enjoyed with a well matched dish.  The classy bottles would not look out of place on even the most anally retentive of table settings and are of a good size to heft if things turn ugly with the wine fascists...