11 March 2010

RiotACT Rugby Review Podcast – 2010, Episode 05

| johnboy
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Worst beer in the world - Mad Brewer's Orchard Ale

Tim and I mix up the rugby ideas in All Bar Nun and expound on the weeks come and gone for your tipping success.

The music for this episode is from the from Fun Machine’s new “More is more!” album and the beer for review is the Mad Brewer’s Orchard Ale (You want to know the truth about this one, and to find out I’m afraid you have to listen).

You can download it now.

The podcast feed for future episodes is:

http://the-riotact.com/?feed=rss2&cat=7379

Our tips this week are:

John: Crusaders, ‘Tahs, Brumbies, Bulls, ‘Canes, Reds
Tim: Chiefs, ‘Tahs, Brumbies, Bulls, Stormers, Reds
Rob: Crusaders, Waratahs, Brumbies, Bulls, Stormers, Reds

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Actually we werent expecting anything. Have been trying to go into each beer tasting with no expectations and given we’ve now drunk every single beer that All Bar Nun have stocked in the last 5 years we’ve sampled a fair few styles.

Interesting to hear more about its origins and your impressions of it, as they somewhat match mine. Very sweet with a big whack of fruit up front (although I didnt pick it as apple) & then left with a somewhat unpleasant aftertaste.. Almost as if it was trying too hard. IMO very uncharacteristic from james squire.

Thoroughly Smashed6:38 pm 10 Mar 10

Dazzlar said :

Ugh, not Rugby. Only interested in the beer!

Thanks for the review Thoroughly Smashed, what is a Saison?

A Saison is a traditional Belgian pale ale brewed for farm labourers to drink for purposes of refreshment during the harvest. Due to the high fermentation temperatures (sometimes over 30°C) and Belgian yeasts they develop very estery (fruity, spicy and acidic) flavour profiles. To be honest I was surprised when I read the Mad Brewers Orchard Ale had apple cider added to it, as this really shouldn’t be necessary in a Saison.

I found a bottle at George’s Liquor Stable in Phillip. Typical estery Belgian aroma. It is very sweet which is a bit disappointing, and the enforced apple flavour certainly is funny, and overpowers any of the other fruit characteristics that might have been there, but it does fit the Saison brief of “refreshing”. I have to concede that it’s not brilliant and I won’t be seeking it out again, but I can’t agree with “worst beer in the world”, even if it is just a figure of speech. Anybody who says that without tongue in cheek surely hasn’t tried Corona without the lime.

So, unsurprisingly given that it’s from an Australian industrial brewer (Lion Nathan), it’s not up to the standards of the European and American craft brewers, or even the Australian microbreweries (the Bridge Road Chevalier Saison is reportedly quite good). Nevertheless, this kind of thing should be applauded, and they should be encouraged to do better next time. Get the reputation of beer out of the gutter etc. etc.

Interestingly there was a very positive review by Chris Shanahan in the Canberra Times Food & Wine section this morning of the new Zierholz seasonal… a Saison.

Ugh, not Rugby. Only interested in the beer!

Thanks for the review Thoroughly Smashed, what is a Saison?

Thoroughly Smashed11:16 am 09 Mar 10

I can’t listen to the podcast right now, though the alt text on the image says it all. To be fair, Mad Brewers Orchard Ale is a Saison, which (without presuming to know anything about your beer drinking history) if you weren’t expecting at the time you might not appreciate. Australian brewers typically have a bit of trouble successfully replicating Belgian beer styles in general, but that makes them merely below average in most cases. I’m intrigued to see what it tastes like now…

Out of interest, what were you expecting, and what did you actually get?

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