All posts filed under: Drink

Juniperlooza returns to Melbourne

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After the success of last year’s all gin festival, Juniperlooza will be returning to Federation Wharf for another fun-filled gin weekend. Sip on gin from the very best independent Australian and international gin producers while enjoying delicious food, entertainment and music by the river.  There’ll be a total of twenty-four local and international producers  showcasing their gin, so you’ll never go dry. For the extra  gin obsessed you’ll want to make sure you  secure a spot in the intimate Talk + Taste sessions. Finally leave the cash at home, as this year’s festival will have it’s own currency and you can pre-book and includes a discount when purchased with an entry ticket.  Read our review of last year’s Juniperlooza here.  When: 19 Nov – 20 Nov Where: Federation Wharf Visit the website here. 

Interview with Ben Portet – Dominique Portet Winery

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Ben Portet was always destined to be a winemaker. Growing up in the vineyards of his father, Dominique Portet, their long family tradition of winemaking dates all the way back to 1720 in Cognac France. Completing four vintages while still at university, Ben has lived and worked all over the world before returning to Melbourne to head up the winemaking team at Dominique Portet Winery in Coldstream, continuing on the family legacy for years to come.  As a 10th generation winemaker, how have you seen the wine industry change over time?   Well I guess the easiest analogy is that we work within a fashion industry so styles and regions come in and out of trend. Recently in Australia we have seen wines being produced that are made to drink now, they can be easy to drink at a young age and most importantly are fun to drink. Classics are always in style so that will never change but I  still see no match to opening an old bottle that you have aged yourself over many …

Barossa Butcher’s Cellar

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No it’s not a murder mystery or serial crime thriller you’ll spend months trying to solve – a Barossa Butcher’s Cellar is coming to Left Bank on Melbourne’s Southbank for one month only, and it will be a serious crime to miss out! Starting September 26, Left Bank will transform the north-west corner of its iconic venue into a 1940s themed Barossa Butchery, bringing to life a long history of red wine and red meat for St Hallett. The concept is a celebration of the winery’s history as one of the Barossa’s first butcheries, established over 50 years before the iconic winery was founded. Left Bank Melbourne will provide the perfect atmosphere for St Hallett’s celebratory Butcher’s Cellar, with Executive Chef Stan Delimitrou producing a list of creations that will pair with St Hallett Shiraz. “Every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday we will be serving a different Butcher’s Cellar inspired menu,” Stan said. “We tasted through all of the St Hallett wines and crafted a menu to perfectly match them.” “It’s a varied menu with everything …

Pinot Palooza

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A touring Pinot Noir festival, Pinot Palooza is all your pinot dreams come true. Now in it’s fifth year, the festival will bring some of the best pinots from Australia & New Zealand to Melbourne.  Throughout the day, wine drinkers can soak up the music, taste some delicious food from free range rotisserie, Bird on a Wire and cast their vote in the People’s Choice. Tickets cost $60 and include unlimited wine tasting  or if you want to go all out, we recommend the VIP option ($95)  where you can access the festival early access from 11am, plus Burgundy Bar tasting of 3 wines, time with the Sommeliers who will personally curate your experience at the Burgundy Bar and a food voucher. When: 1pm -6pm, October 15, 2016 Where: Town Square Pavilion, Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Visit the Pinot Palooza website here.   

Oktoberfest in the Gardens

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This October, Oktoberfest in the Gardens will take over Melbourne’s Birrarung Marr for a giant, beer garden party.  Now in it’s sixth year, the party will feature two massive beer halls with a large selection of imported German beers, cider and wine, plus authentic German food stalls. Entertainment wise, there’ll be roving performers, sideshow alley, silent disco and an eclectic mix of entertainment and competitions across multiple stages throughout the afternoon and evening. Inspired by their love of the traditional Bavarian festival and great beer, Oktoberfest in the Gardens has sold out the past two years, and is already sold out on Saturday, with limited tickets left on Sunday. Rocktoberfest  are a Melbourne-based business selling Oktoberfest outfits. Started by two guys out of Melbourne who knew how difficult (and costly) it was to buy lederhosen for festivals, Rocktoberfest now offers Oktoberfest goers, costumes that won’t cost a fortune, which means more money to spend on beer! Their Lederhosen and dirndls are great value at less than $50 each. The competition closed 12pm, 6th October 2016. Winner was Sharon, …

Interview: Ze’ev Meltzer of Once Bitter

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Once Bitter is a story that begins years ago in boarding school. Ze’ev Meltzer showed a passion for beer but his school didn’t. So like a rebel without a cause, Ze’ev would sneak into the kitchen to work on secret beer experiments. Fast forward to years later, Ze’ev had fallen into the corporate world and was working in the finance sector, but he knew deep down it wasn’t for him. That’s why 3 years, he decided to chase his dreams again and quit his job to launch Collins Street Brewing Company and his flagship beer Once Bitter. With a philosophy of creating high quality flavourful craft beer that is thirst quenching, the beer is a celebration of our great city. We caught up with Ze’ev to talk about his beer and the inspiration behind it. Melbourne and Australia in general, have experienced a revolution in the beer market regarding to the availability and demand for local craft beer. In your opinion, what would you suggest was the catalyst for this change?   I think it’s …

Melbourne’s Newest Rooftop Bar

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Melbourne loves a rooftop bar, and this September, we’re getting another one in Hawthorn! Named nineteenforty, the bar pays homage to the heritage-listed venue’s opening back on October 11, 1940.  Perched above Rivoli Cinemas, expect a garden inspired fit-out with festoon lighting, succulent potted plants and timber cladding. Offering panoramic views of Camberwell & Hawthorn, the venue is perfect for sipping champagne in summer, or curling up under umbrellas and heaters in the winter. Enjoy a  selection of bar food and a bespoke drinks menu with a specially curated list of drinks designed to amplify the setting or for the real gin enthusiasts, a premium G&T experience matches Star of Bombay with tonic water and a selection of botanicals. Rivoli Site Manager James Zwack looks forward to introducing a cocktail menu to compliment the Rivoli cinema experience. “We’ve always been enamored by the history of the cinema. The rooftop bar seems like the perfect way to invite guests to enjoy the space as much as we do.” This will be the place to be this summer!  Where: Rivoli …

Oktoberfest in Melbourne

Say Prost to Oktoberfest!

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We love any good excuse for a party, and there’s no better time to sink a few ales than the next couple of months when Oktoberfest takes over Melbourne. With so many spots to celebrate this Bavarian tradition, you’ll never be short of parties to get into the festive spirit. Here’s our top picks of where you can say Prost and  join in on the Oktoberfest fun: Oktoberfest St Kilda at St Kilda Foreshore Dress up and have a few cold ones at St Kilda’s Biggest Oktoberfest at St Kilda Beach. With food trucks, beer halls, multiple stages, amusement rides, Oompah Band, Melbourne’s favourite DJs & plenty of Australian acts including Shannon Noel, this is going to be one giant beachside party! When: Saturday 15 October, 12pm Hoptoberfest at Hophaus Bier Grill Southgate Kicking off the celebrations early, Hophaus Bier Grill will bring Munich to Melbourne this September. The Official Opening Party is on  September 17 with the traditional tapping of the keg at midday with free bier whilst the keg lasts and the whole …

Beer

Meet Legendary Brewmaster, Chuck Hahn

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This week, our We Know Melbourne writer, Nick Phillips sat down with legendary brewmaster Chuck Hahn ahead of The Swanston Hotel’s, For the Love of Beer event on September 15. I used to work on the production line at CUB’s Abbotsford brewery before it all became automated. The ‘old timers’ there would always sneak us a few bottles of beer before it went through the pasteuriser. In my memory it tasted much better than the unpasteurised beer.  Is my memory playing tricks on me or do you think pasteurising changes the taste? Fresh beer is best.   Properly managed, tunnel or flash pasteurisation should not be detrimental to final beer flavour.  However, if the beer contains too much oxygen due to improper processing, when it is heated up, it will become slightly oxidised with stale (almost papery) flavours. At Hahn Brewing Company, we pioneered the process called “cold sterile filtration”.  The beer was filtered through a sterile filter at cold temperatures in the final process to stabilise the beer.   However, a number of years ago, we went …