Sunday, May 16, 2010

And Whilst On The Subject Of The World Cup...

For all of you so-called 'professional' journalists out there, especially the ones who specialize in sport journalism (an oxymoron if ever there was one) - THE PLURAL OF 'STADIUM' IS 'STADIA', GODDAMIT!!!  NOT 'STADIUMS'!!!  It is driving me fucking mental here!

End of rant.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

World Cup Speziell Bock

Well, finally, it's that time of the year.  Brewing season has well and truly begun, and the World Cup is nearly upon us, so to celebrate this momentous occasion I have put together a recipe for a lager to suit.  As our first opponent in this, the greatest of all competitions, is Germany, I have decided to follow the theme with a German-style lager, or strong bock.  The World Cup Speziell Bock has a medium body, complimented with a complex, spicy hoppiness that balances well with the alcohol content.  Having only just started this brew, it's not really going to be ready in time for the great competition, but what the hell, at least we will be able to sample it around the time when Australia qualifies for the group of 16!

Brewed in the style of some of the great European strong lagers (think Paulaner, or even a strong Dortmunder), this little gem is spicy, with a little touch of citrus, with a solid, but not overpowering bitterness.  I'm not usually a fan of the super-malty lagers (the lighter ones, anyway), and even though I'm using a fair amount of malt for this recipe, I'm pretty confident that this will be balanced out with the hop/alcohol combination.

Enjoy brewing!

World Cup Speziell Bock (approx. 7.5% alc.)

Black Rock Bitter
Black Rock light malt extract 1.5kg
500g crystal malt grain
500g Munich malt grain
250g pils malt grain
500g dried light malt extract
250g glucose
250g dried corn syrup
15g Green Bullet hops @ 25 mins
10g Amarillo hops @ 10 mins
10g Belgian Saaz/Motueka hops @ 5 mins
15g Tettnanger finishing hops
11g munich yeast

Saturday, May 1, 2010

The Latest Offering From Koopsbrew.

I have put together a wheat beer today for the first time.  After racking my attempt at an American Pale Ale, I got stuck into what I call the "Freiheit Weizenbier", or "Freedom Wheat-beer".  I have decided that after I use up my three remaining malt-extract kits I am going to concentrate on making malt-grain brews only.  I have done the research, and I think ten solid years of kit-based brewing is an apprenticeship enough.  Hold my breath, count to ten, and here we go...

Freiheit Weizenbier (approx. 5.7% alc)

Black Rock Whispering Wheat hopped malt-extract kit
750g glucose
300g dried light malt extract
250g dried corn syrup
250g pils malt grain
500g Munich malt grain
5g Green Bullet hops @ 15 min
15g Hersbrucker hops @ 5 min
20g Saaz hops dry-hopped
11.5g Safbrew WB-06 wheat beer yeast

See below for method.  All grain was steeped at around 66degC for 90 minutes.

Socceroos Squad For 2010 World Cup

Just announced by Koops himself, the following is the 25-man squad Pim Verbeek should take to South Africa...

Goal  
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Michael Petkovic (Sivasspor), Brad Jones (Middlesborough).

Defenders  
Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), Sasa Ognenovski (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma), Simon Colosimo (Melbourne Heart), Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Mark Milligan (JEF United), Jade North (Tromso), Scott Chipperfield (Basel).

Midfielders  
Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Dario Vidosic (MSV Duisburg), Tim Cahill (Everton), James Troisi (Kaiserispor), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Vincenzo Grella (Blackburn), Nick Carle (Crystal Palace), Nathan Burns (Kerkyra), Rhys Williams (Middlesborough).

Forwards  
Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Joel Griffiths (Beijing Gouan), Scott MacDonald (Middlesborough), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus), Danny Allsopp (DC United).

I would also like to see a small selection of young up-and-coming players go to South Africa to train with the main squad, so that they can be part of, and gain from, the experience.  This is a kind of recognition of the young players' talents, and a consolation for not making the squad this time around.  I believe that these young players and the squad itself would benefit with them being there.

Guest Squad Players
 Bruce Djite (Diyarbakirspor), Tommy Oar (Brisbane Roar), Matthew Leckie (Adelaide United), Scott Jamieson (Adelaide United), Mitch Langerak (Melbourne Victory).

Competition for places is always stong, and the standard of players is much better than people often credit.  Apologies for anyone who didn't make the list.

World Cup prediction:  Australia to exit in the Round of 16.

Come on Aussies!!!