Why we do what we do ...or, Beer Dinner at The Plough with Sam and the Sparrows

(Photo Eddie Jim from The Age)

There really is something to be said for the old adage that work is something you do when you’d rather be doing something else. Or something like that. However the saying goes it holds equally true that if you get to ‘work’ at something you really enjoy, you don’t question why it is – you just embrace it.

This version of ‘livin’ the dream’ was displayed by a handful of friends gathered around a table in a corner of an otherwise empty country pub about an hour out of Melbourne in the middle of last week. We had just shared the joys of a Beer Blokes Beer Dinner at The Plough where five very different beers had been craftily paired with five delicious courses, a tie-breaking trivia challenge, more than a little jolly banter and the addition of a very special guest.

Sam Fuss has been in the brewing caper for eleven years now (as those who had listened to her Radio Brews News podcast debut the previous week would already have known) and it seemed that her name had been mentioned more than once during the six previous dinners the Plough and Chef Mark Mills has held. So it was no surprise to see her warmly welcomed and made to feel well at home with a comfy couch by the fire and a chilled glass of amber happiness in hand by the time we were ready to roll.

Perhaps the fact that she came bearing a keg of her Red Truck Marzen explained the depth of the welcome? Sam regaled the 80-odd guests with tales of time spent with Little Creatures and Matilda Bay, of doorless delivery trucks and experimentation with ingredients like mint and cherry and coconut. All I can say is that her hand must have finished sore, so many vigorous handshakes was she subjected to as the guests left.

And here’s the point of the post. Sitting around over the last of the Red Truck – and perhaps a bottle or three of fine Australian red wine – it became apparent to me that doing what you love doing is the name of the game. Plough owner and Chef Mark Mills made the lifestyle decision to leave the hustle n’ bustle and head for the hills and plains of Myrniong, a shift that has been beneficial for his young family and for the locals as well.

Sam is the same. She is someone who is perfectly suited to talking about the passion required to make good beer and to watch her engage with the punters one-on-one is to watch someone doing just exactly what they love doing – and doing it well. There is so much of her own personality and style in her beers and in the way she approaches the challenges of brewing and you can’t help thinking that she moves a fair bit of beer just because she is able to instantly make friends. She will be the first to admit that she often has to stop and pinch herself that she actually gets paid to do all this.

Her travelling companion for the night, True South Events Manager Tanya Harrowell, was there to keep Sam company (but I have to secretly suspect she was there to see just how a beer tasting/food matching event is run by a seasoned professional). Having said that, spending some quality time with Tan made me realise a couple of things. One; True South is a definite ‘Go To’ destination for the whole hospitality and beer experience and has some pretty cluey staff on board and, two; Sam is a pretty darn good person to work with!

As to the title of the post? Let’s just say that “what happens at Beer Dinner, stays at Beer Dinner” and after a couple of late nights in Sydney, a delayed return flight and a peak-hour drive which got me to Myrniong just in time to take the mic and welcome the guests, a 4.30am finish was perhaps not what the doctor ordered.

(Photo from The Weekly Times)

But for people like Tan, Sam and Mark – I’ll always make an exception.

Cheers,

Prof Pilsner

The next Beer Dinner at The Plough Inn in Myrniong is one well worth setting time aside for. In an attempt to do a sort “Best of the Best” guests will be given two things – a scorecard and twenty beers. We will gather together as many of the beers as we have showcased over the last year and serve them one after the other with plenty of delicious finger food in order to find the People’s Choice Top 5 Beers.

Wednesday November 23^rd will see beers from around the globe, around the country and around the corner go head-to-head to see what all this beer thing fuss is about. Call Mark at The Plough to book - Phone: 03 5368 7173

Oh and Sam and Tan – can’t wait to do it all again!

Beards and Braus and goat and pie

Hopefully that heading got your attention. I suppose the fact that you have read this far suggests that it did. Thanks for that. Welcome, if this is your first visit. Welcome back if it’s not.

The reason for the heading is simple. This post is all about the latest Beer Dinner at The Plough Inn in Myrniong and, to put it frankly, I’ve run out of ‘plough puns’ to use. If you can think of some nice ones, pop them in the comments below. Cheers. Now, on with the latest chapter in the story.

That Wednesday night was cold, wet, miserable and foggy in Myrniong but this didn’t stop ‘75 locals’* from braving the elements to sample a selection of beers from Adelaide brewer, Beard & Brau, veteran of the Victorian scene, Jamieson Brewery and, for the first time, a cider. Or, if you’re a West country farmer; a coiderr.

As always, the night is not about looking for subtle flavour nuances in the beer that lap gently at the edges of the high notes in each dish or striving to find the apparent apricot note in the hops and the digestive biscuit sweetness in the malt. It’s all just about finding for yourself that beer and food actually work quite well together without looking for indicated cues.

One of the unsung joys of hosting beer dinners, tastings or ‘Beer 101s’ of any kind is the pleasant surprise you get when a ‘non beer drinker’ admits to you that “That second beer was not that bad. In fact, it was pretty good. I enjoyed it!” there is something magical in having been there when a Beer Epiphany – no matter how small – occurs.

Every dinner at The Plough seems to throw up at least one of these awakenings. On this occasion it was in the form of the Bon Chiens, Beard & Brau’s take on the French Farmhouse style and brimming with big bold flavours and more than just a little ‘funk’. Beers like this are the ones that you secretly think might be the one out of the five that might not quite hit the mark with the hearty honest folk-of-the-field out Myrniong way. This time around – more hit than miss.

The Red Tail and Golden Paw went well as expected with their level of interest for the observant and yet easy drinking and uncomplicated for the novice. As always, the food matches concocted by Chef and Plough owner Mark Mills were spot on. He would never admit it aloud but he really does owe a lot of the food success to my recommendations...

The finishing beer was paired with a rich chocolate dessert and came in the form of Jamieson Brewery Raspberry Ale. Based on Jeff Whyte’s cracking-good APA foundation and featuring something like 40 kilos of fresh Jamieson raspberries per batch, it gives a big berry hit in the aroma and beautifully balanced sweet-and-tart mouthfeel which provides little hits of flavour as it goes down the trap.

It’s fair to say that this beer split the crowd and, to be fair, that is not a situation peculiar to Myrniong. The match with the dessert was close to perfect for me and it seems by the licked clean plates that I was not the only one in that boat.

We’re back at The Plough this Wednesday for more fun and food with the inimitable Sam Fuss from True South Brewery as my very special guest. Fresh from her guest spot on Radio Brews News, Sam will introduce the locals to the Red Truck Marzen and no doubt regale them with tales of her 11 years at the forefront of the Australian brewing scene.

The night kicks off on Wednesday September 21 (Happy Birthday, Matt!) at 7 o’clock and finishes pretty much when the beer does.

I’m not making any plans for Thursday morning, either.

Cheers,

Prof Pilsner

*In this context, ‘locals’ come from Bacchus Marsh and Melton, Ballarat and Gisborne but also from further afield – showing just how highly regarded is the fare laid out by Mark Mills and his crew. Word has certainly spread that the food is worth the trip alone as his his keenness to explore the new ‘craze’ of matching food with the appropriate ales, lagers, wheat beers and less well-known styles brewed by local as well as international and ‘mainstream’ outfits.

Almost forgot ... the refernce in the title to this piece is for the magnificent goat curry which worked so well with Bon Chiens and the pie which paired up a treat with the Red Tail. Mmmmm!

Bringing a taste of Tasmania to The Plough

The Plough Inn in Myrniong, as discussed here in previous posts, is not just a watering hole in the middle of nowhere. To be fair, it’s actually off the road to the middle of nowhere and that’s part of its charm. It is very much a part of the local community in a way that many of us can only imagine pubs of old were.

It sits on a gently sweeping bend in the road and shares the local landscape with Myrniong Primary School #487. Apart from the sprawling farms and cosy houses nestled into the hills there is not much else in town but the Plough and the school. Serving dinner from Thursday to Saturday with lunch a few days a week it is rarely anything but filled with people enjoying convivial company, a wide range of beer with four taps and plenty more in the fridge and food worth travelling great distances for.

The local primary school was the grateful recipient of the Plough’s generosity and a rather large chunk of cash when it shared the spoils of the most recent Beer Dinner. Beer Blokes was on hand to host the evening of fun, food, frothies and fundraising along with Lion Nathan rep, Paul Mitchem and very special guest, Brew Team Leader Stephen Jensen from Boag’s in Launceston.

Without getting into the pros and cons of Brewery Tap Contracts here, it must be said that owner and Chef Mark Mills is doing all he can to bring a range of good beer to his country clientele. In what can be described as a fruitful partnership with Lion Nathan’s Paul Mitchem, The Plough has a commercial tap arrangement with the big brewer which sees everything from Boag’s Draught and Beck’s to James Squire Pilsner and Hahn White rotating through taps that once saw just two mainstream brands poured.

And, in what can only be described as ‘unusual’ the contract allows for Mark to swing the taps over to anything his heart desires and wallet affords in order to promote beer and food through his regular Beer Blokes-hosted Beer Dinners. How nice is that?! So, in order to present a themed dinner, Mark can tap a variety of local or international beers other than those wrapped in the contract.

On this occasion, though, the theme was ‘A Taste of Tasmania’ with five beers from James Boag’s & Son paired with five delectable courses of Taswegian inspired treats pulled fresh from the sea, plucked from the fields and reared from the pastures of The Apple Isle. As always, the locals showed their support in numbers and the dining room soon filled with eager beer lovers and expectant foodies.

Fresh sumptuous seafood featured prominently in the first few courses, as you might expect, with prawns and salmon bookending one of the most delightful oyster dishes you could imagine. Simple fresh oysters were paired with tempura battered oysters nestled back in their shells on a bed of sweet pumpkin puree. This, when combined with a crisp clean James Boag’s XXX Ale created a rare taste sensation.

For those wondering, no, the Boag’s XXX Ale is not actually available on the mainland. In fact, it is available only in Launceston and this shipment was as difficult to secure as a beer delivery can get. Brewed continuously since James Boag first commenced brewing in the Island State’s northern capital in 1883, XXX Ale is a sample of simpler times when beer was unfettered by constraints of bold bitterness or pretentious flavours.

But if you had the feeling that the logistics department at the brewery struggled with the mechanics of sending those cases across Bass Strait, it was nothing compared to the troubles connected with serving the next beer. Wizard Smith Ale is a cracking interpretation of a flavoursome English style ale named for a loyal Boag’s employee who saved the company draught horse fleet from rising flood waters and received for his efforts a lifetime tenure at the brewery. Again, it is a beer which struggled to find mainstream acceptance and was consigned to the beery scrap heap of history until the locals revolted and the company relented. Like the XXX Ale, it is now available in Launceston only and here is where the trouble begins.

It seems that sales and delivery codes were either non-existent or long forgotten by those charged with ensuring the safe delivery of orders and not once, but twice, was the Plough invoice rejected and the beer returned to the store. Once the powers-that-be were convinced that both The Plough AND the Wizard Smith did, in fact, exist, the kegs were dispatched. In rather large quantities, too, so if you would like to see just how good a local mainstream version of good honest session ale can be, head on off to The Plough in the next few months. Actually, given the vigour with which the locals took to this ale it might be gone in the next few weeks. All 9 kegs.

One of the key people responsible for brewing this and the other Boag’s beers is Stephen Jensen a brewing Team Leader and a genuinely nice bloke. (Are there any other kinds of brewers, really?) Stephen happened to be on holiday (many Tasmanians come to Melbourne during winter chasing warmer days – though not many like Stephen who hails originally from Ipswich) and was more than happy to meet and greet the folks at The Plough and to answer their brewing questions.

A sea voyage on the Spirit Of Tasmania to rival that of the original trips made by India Pale Ales saw Stephen pull up a little dusty and wanting for sleep but, true to his craft, he pushed on and did his employer proud. Having the man who brews the beers presenting the beers makes for a great value experience for the novice and expert alike and it was rather later in the night than planned when Stephen finally left the bar.

All in all, Myrniong Primary School raised enough cash to ensure that all attending the end of year concert will do so for free, several blokes proved that bidding (in some cases against themselves) for Boag’s merchandise and a case of beer is not best done towards the end of a Beer Blokes Beer Dinner, the locals got a great taste of the food and beer of some of Tasmania’s best producers and – most importantly – the role of a proper country pub in its community, was further established.

Cheers

Prof Pilsner

More beery fun at The Plough

You may recall the fun and frivolity that prevailed at the Plough Hotel in Myrniong when Beer Blokes hosted their first formal Beer Dinner back in February. 86 locals – and ‘local’ up Myrniong way means everything between Ballarat and Melton – turned out to enjoy Prof Pilsner’s ‘Introduction to Craft Beer’ with five different styles represented.

The very generous Lion Nathan rep, Paul Mitchem (no relation, slightly different spelling, top bloke, can drink a beer!) allowed Chef and Licensee Mark Mills to turn over the contracted taps to beers from Bridge Road Brewers, True South, Mountain Goat, Holgate Brewhouse and Arctic Fox. To say we challenged the punter’s perceptions of just what beer can be is an understatement.

By way of a reciprocal arrangement I was invited back by Paul to present a selection of Lion Nathan portfolio beers matched again to Mark’s simple but sophisticated country fare. Well, I assumed fairly early on that the last dinner had not dampened the enthusiasm as 102 beer lovers turned out this time around for some more small town hospitality.

And they know how to do hospitality out that way as evidenced by the fact that I was greeting people as they arrived and shaking hands with blokes who had somehow already managed to secure a schooner of the on-arrival beer, Kosciusko Pale Ale (number 52 in The Critics’ Choice) in the preceding seconds. The house rules for Beer Dinners at The Plough are quite clear and once the first keg was emptied the guests were invited to take their seats for their dinner proper.

Spicy fried calamari was paired with Knappstein Reserve Lager (number 5 for those playing at home) and the crisp richness of the beer was a pleasant partner for the bright flavours of the food. The mix of first-timers and returning guests was about fifty-fifty but fortunately the ‘regulars’ had forgotten most of my witty gags and I was able to recycle most of the really good ones as we moved into the second half of the dinner.

Before that, though, we were treated to something a little different and something many (if not most) country pub restaurants would be shocked to find on a menu. Mark had taken eight litres of James Squire Pilsner down to his sorbet/ice cream producer and returned with the most luscious, creamy but sharp pilsner sorbet you could imagine. The sorbet shone well enough as a palate cleanser on its own but then the beer just seemed to appear from nowhere as the sharpness and sweetness began to fade. Just the right level of bitterness then washed over the tongue to cleanse leaving the unmistakable memory of fine malted brew.

The Chef even matched the sorbet with jugs of the aforementioned pilsner. That’s hospitality for you.

These treats were mere precursors to the main event – or, more accurately, events – as the confit duck with braised red cabbage arrived hand-in-hand with Mac’s Sassy Red representing the New Zealand arm of Lion Nathan and therefore NOT featured in The Critics’ Choice but worthy of inclusion if a Kiwi version is commissioned. Yes, I’m available as Editor at Large as required. Contact at the usual outlets.

The MAIN main course featured Beef Bourguinon which had spent the best part of the previous day bathing in two cases of red wine before being drained, char-grilled, rested and re-heated for our dining pleasure. It matched a treat with the Mad Brewers Scribbly Gum Lager whose smoky backnotes and crisp finish mirrored the caramelised edging of the beef and cleansed the palate as well. A masterful match.

Dinner isn’t dinner without dessert and an orange and mandarin parfait (“everybody love parfait!”) sat beside the citrusy sharpness of the Hahn White Belgian styled witbier. The staunch sweetness of the beer managed a respectable partnership with the creamy sweet dessert and many were seen attracting the attention of the serving staff for extra helpings. For those wondering, a quick poll showed that the Scribbly Gum Lager was the pick of the night. Paul and I both breathed rather large sighs of relief as we had earlier pegged that as the ‘stumbling block’ beer of the night. Turns out the beer world is just full of surprises, eh?!

As the night wound down and the town taxi (that’s real, not a euphemism for any particular local) made its third round trip I sat with a handful of regulars and chatted all things beer. As one local identity remarked, “Mate, it’s not a bad effort. You got a f@#*&n’ town with a f#@*&n’ population of about 230 and you manage to get 102 of ‘em in to a pub in Shitsville on a f@#*&n’ Wednesday night for a f#@*&n’ Beer Dinner! That’s pretty f#@*&n’ good!”

His mate turned as he rested his pot on the bar and pulled him up, “Ease up, Shags. Remember, it’s actually OFF the road to Shitsville.”

I’m back again for two Beer Dinners in June, one as a fundraiser for the Myrniong Primary School which is the OTHER building in Myrniong apart from the pub and I can’t wait. Why don’t you join me? They love welcoming folk from the Big Smoke.

Cheers,

Prof Pilsner

‘Plough’-ing through some good beer

Take an unassuming little country pub in an unassuming little country town and bring in a Bloke from the Big Smoke to select a menu of five different beers of very different styles to be matched by the chef with some local produce cooked up in some very ‘cheffy’ ways and what do you get?

86 very keen locals ready to be impressed.

Prof Pilsner was invited to The Plough Hotel in Myrniong to host a beer and food matching evening this week and a bit of Google-y research gave me little more than the town’s location and access to the Community Noticeboard so expectations were minimal as the Myrniong turn off came into view.

In fact, if I had to be perfectly Francis, there was half an expectation that the pub would come into view and visions of Bob’s Country Bunker would race into my head along with both its types of music. The reality could not have been further from the expectation.

The Plough Hotel is not just a pub in Myrniong – together with the school it IS Myrniong. 80 odd clicks from Melbourne and 30 minutes from Ballarat, Myrniong sits just off the Western Highway nestled snugly into a picturesque series of plains beneath Mt Blackwood. Its community is scattered throughout the rolling hills of the region and concerns itself with little more than the business of producing beef cattle, pigs, sheep and chooks as well as crops of barley, wheat, oats and canola.

Little surprise then that the dining room at The Plough was filled with farmers and teachers and CFA volunteers and rabbit shooters and local tradies and various pub suppliers and the entire production line workforce of Westside Meats (who we shall meet in more detail later). The only question was; How would these honest hard-working ‘folk of the fields’ brought up on that well-known mainstream lager of two simple letters greet a selection of Victoria’s finest small batch brews?

The answer wasn’t long in coming as the True South Kolsch was poured on arrival and drank with some very tasty Thai prawn cakes. Seriously, these boys and girls can get a party started. Some of them had a schooner in one hand as the other hand was still closing the front door behind them! After a few curious stares at the glass and less-than-whispered comments like “Geez. Bit cloudy isn’t it?!” and “Got a fair pong on it, eh?!” the keg tapped out twenty minutes after the doors opened. Can’t get a much better recommendation than that, can you Sam?

Chef Mark Mills who, with partner Jody, revived the run-down (and at the time closed-down) Plough just over twelve months ago wanted to treat his guests to some beer styles that they had never tried before and between us we figured we should give them a few ‘challenging’ beers as well as some more approachable ones. Mark sorted out the food side of things and my task was to showcase what good beer was all about while expanding the beery horizons of the appreciative locals.

A braised rabbit and white bean cassoulet was paired with Bridge Road Brewers Hans Klopek’s Hefeweizen – if we were to scare them, may as well do it early! For most in the room this was their first experience of a wheat beer and, after a brief discussion about the style and what to expect from it, I moved around to gauge the response. While it’s fair to say that some were still to be convinced (many after the second pot, mind you) there were many for whom this beer and the food matching was a pleasant surprise. A couple of non-beer drinkers were even heard to remark; “I like that! That’s not beer!” I’ll assume they meant that it wasn’t macro-swill.

As no-one had stormed out or demanded monies back by this stage we blazed on into the third course of Steak Diane with green beans and a keg of Mountain Goat Hightail Ale. Again, a big flavoured English style Amber Ale described by its creator, Dave Bonighton, as a ‘crazy mongrel’ for its American hop bang is not something many of the crowd would naturally seek out but the third empty keg of the night justified my decision to introduce them to Goat Beer.

Hungarian spiced lamb wrapped in a tasty flaky pastry pillow with roast pumpkin garnish rounded out the main courses and the Arctic Fox American Pale Ale, while a tad hoppy for some, was well received overall. And for those with any room left, the evening was capped with a Tira Misu matched with Holgate’s Temptress Chocolate Porter. While this proved a little dark and foreboding for a few, there was little left over when the tables were cleared.

Just the fact that the guests had worked their way through a Kolsch, a Hefeweizen, and English amber and American pale ale and a porter thus far was reward enough.

The various beers’ back stories and tales of the brewers certainly helped to paint the picture for them and ease the acceptance of these strange brews, but in general, the task was pretty easy. A relaxed atmosphere with plenty of food and more than plenty of beer coupled with a friendly host chatting to each table throughout the night made their initiation into the Good Beer World a relatively painless and enjoyable one. The fact that my hand still hurts today after the volume of vigorous shaking it copped as each guest left indicates that they left having had an experience they wanted to repeat.

As I left the next morning I discovered that it was an experience I would be repeating, too with a generous offer to return in eight weeks to do it all again with another five beers – this time from the expansive portfolio of Lion Nathan, whose regional representative was among those enjoying my light-hearted repartee and very ordinary gags. Goes to show, give ‘em enough beer and they’ll commit to anything!

This is a gig I’ll happily repeat and for some pretty compelling reasons that had not before occurred to me. Firstly, it’s great to get to meet people for whom beer is pretty much cold, wet, fizzy and from Foster’s and introduce them to the flavours and colours and tastes and mouthfeels and the stories of the beers that we who are a way down the track can take for granted. It’s comforting to talk to people who have just tried something for the first time that you now feel is an ’old favourite’ and listen to them tell you how much they like it.

Or to have someone call you over to say they’d never even heard of a Kolsch before tonight – and where can I get some more?! Even to see a hardened old VB stalwart (who only ever buys stubbies and not cans and never anything BUT VB) have even a few sips of Hightail, half a glass of Hefeweizen a mere sniff of an APA made the night worthwhile. To hear that he had three pots of Kolsch had me dancing on the table!

But, for me, the most pleasing feeling came from seeing a pub as it was meant to be – a hub, a meeting point, a gathering place for its community. No pokies, no pubTAB and no piss-heads spoiling the vibe. A vibrant and living place. A destination. In addition to the entire population of Myrniong, they came from Ballarat and Gisborne and Bacchus Marsh and Melton and they promised they’d be back.

Let me know if you want to join me next time – we might have to squeeze onto a table out the back, but it’ll be worth it.

Cheers

Prof Pilsner