3 Ravens & A Duck!

3 Ravens White:

Many, many non German brewers have tryed witbier. (Witbier is the fermentation of malt extracted from wheat grain, not barly). Almost all of these brewers given time have fallen by the way side. This is because the German product is of an incredable quality. One reason could be that there are breweries there that have been in continual operation for more than seven hundred years! Those are just the ones makeing beer from wheat. Don't get me started on older brewers useing oats, barley, random wild seeds, horse shit, and who knows what else lost to antiquity.
Infact archaeologists have shown that in Germany the formalised production of beer predates the cultivation of crops. Clay tablets found in Germany containing among other things recipes for makeing beer have been dated at around 60,000 BC. Historians have since recreated these beers. They contained wild oats, grasses, peat moss, even horse dung. It was reported that the resulting beer tasted like shit. (True)!
Importantly though, after 60,000+ years of development you end up with such astounding biers as the revered Hoe Garden Grand Cru, and Shofferhoffer Heifervizen. These witbiers alone are good enough to blast all new comers out of taste contention. Hard task for an Australian beer to master. Bloody oath!

Heres what 3 Ravens brewery said:
"Engineered by hand, this beer is the product of a craft brewing process in whitch traditional methods meet exacting standards. We take care to emphasise quality over quantity and to use only the finest natural ingredents."
To describe the beer they add:
"3 Ravens White is an exotic ale, Based on traditional Belgain witbier. Sweet barley malt is balanced with tart wheat and spiced with coriander and citrus peel, resulting in a rich yet quenching brew. Traditional bottle conditioning naturally carbonates this beer and helps add to it's complexity."
To witch I reply with this:
If this beer was based on a traditional Belgain witbier, by definition there would be no mention of barley malt what so ever. Further the german beer prurity law of 1610 states that beer may only contain water, malt, hops, and yeast. Sublte varients in the frementation process of these ingredents give rise to flavor profiles such as coriander and citrus peel. To force these profiles on a beer by adding coriander and citrus peel violates the beer pruirty law and further removes it from the style of wheat beer. In short 3 Ravens White can not be called a witbier.
However. As a beer: This is one of the better micro brewer beers I've tryed in a while. Anice wheaty golden colour. Revealing a small fine and slow bead. Head was fluffy at first but subsided to quickly. The unfermented malts contribute a plesant sweetness. While the citrus and coriander hop flavors are refreshing and well balanced.
Not boring, worth a try, but no witbier.

Soy Marinated Grilled Breast Of Duck.

Breast of duck can be a bitch to cook well. What I did here was to marinate the flesh in soy and rice wine for about 1 hour. Then after patting dry it was placed onto a super hot grill skin side down for about 1 minute then into a pre heated oven at 250c for a further 15 minutes before being rested, carved, and served on a cous cous salad. Worked well with the beer...

Red Duck.

Micro breweries in the last ten years have exploded like a dodgy home brew all across Australia. Hand crafted specialty beers are makeing significant inroads into the mainstream beer drinking market. This, I belive, is a direct result of the gentrifcation of young suburbain males coupled with higher levels of education/ income.
While young Aussi blokes might be starting to wake up to a few beer facts....The Red Duck Brewing Co, doesn't quiet have all the jig saw peices yet. All natural ingredence, yes. Hand crafted, good. Unfiltered, keeping it real! The key aspect lacking here is expertease born of experence. I have no idea how long Purrumbete Brewing company (Makers of Red Duck) has been operating for. My feeling is not a very long time in beer terms. The stagering difference in the two reveiwed beers below may help explain what the hell I'm on about:
Red Duck Amber Ale:

The colour of watered down chocolate, not amber. With an upfrount rancid malt fragrence and flavor that appalls the palet leaveing a lingering grimace. With the shocking mouldy and cut grass taste of the hops it's not so much of a slap in the face as it could have been. Only because it is well balanced with the malt. With the remnence of a head clinging to the side of the glass, and a coarse rapid bead. I am reminded of infected home brew. Sorry Red duck for the grilling, but one of the worst hand crafted beers that I've ever had...

Red Duck Pale Ale:

Pale and golden in colour. With a small but consistant head formed by a medium to fine bead. The first sip afart from being a revelation, was a simultanious combination of extra floral and fruity hops, (guesing Pride Of Rosewood), with a perfectly balanced smattering of lightly roasted malt. A well rounded after taste showing off the first hopping that imparts bitterness in just the right measure. A unique taste, unfrogetable, jaw dropping. One of the best beers I have ever tasted. A must try!

Finn Give Me Trout Pout!

I allways crap on about the freshness of fish. My best suggestion to date is: Go get your own!

So this time my two sons, myself, and a pair of friends, get a spot of sunrise fishing in. ( Trout are best fished at sunrise or sunset, thats when they are most active.) So I cast, and cast, and cast. Finn says can I have a go. Sure, here's a rod... Cast;) Bang. Bang. Bang! Mind you, this is Finns first time ever fishing. Final score is: Jem= 6(2ib). Finn= 3(2ib). Roters=1(2ib). Archer=0. Brock=big fat zero!

After all that we got em home and cooked them:

Fresh rainbow trout. Stuffed with dill, parsley, onion, garlic, lime, salt, and pepper. Befor stuffing I patted down the skin with paper towl and sprinkled some salt flakes over the skin to remove excess moisture. Kitchen twine was used to secure the stuffing.

To cook the trout: 1 kg of heat beads were used in a kettle BBQ. With the coals well alight the lid was placed on with vents at half way closed. Leaveing the BBQ to heat for five minutes, the trout was placed on the grill head towards the coals. A small handfull of dryed Hickory chips were sprinkled over the heat beads and the lid placed on top^. After 40 minutes another small handfull of wood chips were placed on the coals. 1 hour and 10 minutes was enough to cook four trout weighing in at around 2.5 pounds. *

* I know your thinking that 1:10 is a long time to cook a 2 pound trout. Whats writen above describes a method of cooking known as 'hot smokeing'. To cook in this way is like useing a very slow oven. (150c). With added smoke.
^Because the trout was very, very fresh, not over smokeing is importaint. Give a big blast of smoke at the beginning to get the flavor going. Then once the flesh has cooked and contracted abit, another blast of smoke can penertrate deeper into the meat without over powering the taste of delicate fish.

The end result being an evenly and lightly smoked trout carrying the subtle flavors of the stuffing throughout the fish.

To serve: The meat was pulled (easly) from the bone and rested on a bed of: Fennel and grilled zuccini, with parsley and torn buffalo mozzarella. Lighly seasoned, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and juice of lime.

Well done fishing Finn!