So, after a little gentle coaxing and a liberal amount of (metaphorical) prodding, I have managed to cajole a good friend to get in on the act and start doing some writing for me. With a little bit of luck, we’ll get a few articles winging their way over from the far east and roosting here on ElectroKemist Cuisine, giving us some insight into some of the fantastic beers we are sadly missing out on, but may also see soon. Without further ado ladies and gents, please read on for the inaugural piece by Luke Palmer… --------------------------------- So, Summer is here in Hong Kong (it has been a little while) and that surely means it is time to enjoy oneself and participate in a local party celebrating craft beer at the picturesque Pui O beach. This venue for the CBAHK event was the recently opened, featuring delights such as the beach front bar and restaurant, Mavericks. A convivial, lively and colourful venue for the event, considering its philosophy of good drinks, food, beach life and board sports. The organisers behind the event were some of the top craft beer distributors in Hong Kong; distributors such as Americraft (Founders Brewing Co, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Lost Coast Brewery and Anchor Brewing Company), Hopleaf (Rogue Ales and Baird Brewing) and BestBev (Black Isle Brewery and Matso’s Broome Brewery) to name a few, who were there in full force. Their offering to the lucky people able to procure themselves a ticket for the event was the circulation of a selection of free tasters and to be on hand for the discussion on the beer at the event. Chef and co-founder of Mavericks, Austin Fry, was busy along with his team preparing and cooking some food to compliment the beers on offer, this meant I was able to tuck into some homemade juicy burgers and stunning hot dogs along with the other punters, washed down with a selection of great beers. The event required that a temporary bar be set up; this offered a range of bottled beers and two beers on draft, namely, the draft beers were Young Master Ales 1842 Imperial IPA and Coedo Setsugekka. The bottle beers on offer were sourced from breweries across the world, from the more familiar hoppiness of Brewdog’s Punk IPA, to Tuatara Bohemian Pilsner, Kona Long Board, Baird Single-Take Ale, Cornish Orchards Cider and the locally produced Hong Kong Beer Co Dragon’s Back Pale Ale. All varying styles available at the event and all infinitely drinkable, nonetheless. An enthusiastic crowd descended on the event on the 26th July, eager to enjoy the range of craft beers and beautiful beach surroundings. The weather was initially, not too kind to the revelries, but it did pick up in keeping with the event being held on the beach, resulting in stronger flow from the bars. The presence of Mavericks bar usual premises continuing to provide other drinks gave the event goers even more choice than that available at the temporary set-up. Notable beers included the Young Master Ales summer season offering, “Mo’ Mo’ Wit”; a light witbier, carrying the aroma and flavours of citrus, coriander and some bitter notes, perfect and refreshing for this sunny day and worked rather well with a lot of the food on offer. Alongside the offerings by Americraft and BestBev, an Italian brewery Birrifico Sant’Andrea who are just entering the Hong Kong craft beer scene, were offering tasters of their main beers. In the UK, the presence of some of their Italian counterparts has been notable; it shouldn’t be too long before they make their presence known in Blighty if they haven’t done so already. Among the beers Birrifico Sant’Andrea were providing, was their golden ale “Mozkito” which is described, somewhat amusingly, as a sexy summer beer! Luckily I was able to get a bottle to try and it was a lovely light bodied and refreshing ale, with great taste of orange peel and other citrus fruit that was indeed perfect for this hot summers day. Birrifico Sant’Andrea have four of their beers at The Globe in Central Hong Kong as I write; I am definitely looking forward to trying the rest of their range, especially their beer “Hey Ho! To Go!” as a Ramones fan (it’s close enough!) and it being an English IPA, which is still one of my preferred styles. As to why I was there, not only as lover of craft beer, I was also there working to promote one of my favourite breweries, Young Master Ales. Since the head brewer, Rohit, was unable to attended due to prior working commitments (giving people a tour of the brewery at Ap Lei Chau) I had to take up the reins. The main beer the event had on offer from Young Master was the 1842 Imperial IPA (my personal favourite, making talking about the beer much easier). The 1842 Imperial IPA is a lovely dark IPA, packed full of hoppy flavour, on the floral side with some slight citrus, pine and a touch of cut-grass paired with a solid malt backbone (as the colour would suggest) to provide some body and balance. At 8% (after all, it is an imperial!) the beer maybe could to be said to be a little on the heavy side for a summer event, but it was well received nonetheless by people at the event trying it for the first time, those already familiar to it also made a few return visits for a glass.
The outstanding beers I had at the event included Calabaza Blanca by Jolly Pumpkin, quite light on the palate for a witbier but retains a heady aroma and great sour taste with a strength of 4.8%, the Double Trouble by Tuatara was also highly enjoyable, along with the double IPA and Red Barn Ale by The Lost Abby, the latter of which is a saison with a hatful of flavour. All beers to consider on mail order or look out for should you see them in the UK. Overall this was a excellent and enjoyable event, which hopefully introduced the people of Hong Kong to new beers and showed the strength of the ever growing Craft Beer scene in Hong Kong which is enjoying a parallel to the US and Europe (in places, I understand!). I myself am looking forward to coming back to Mavericks and try the food, enjoy the beach (maybe not the surfing) and definitely take in a few more beers! The next event I will be attending (and hopefully writing about? – Pedro) in this vein will be International Beer Day on 1st August, which I am sure will involve a lot of new beers to try at venues in HK. I hope you enjoying my sideways glance at this event, stay tuned for some more from me in the future! Luke Palmer.
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