Long Shot - Coffee Infused Beer Launch!

Last week, thanks to my friend Tim, I scored an invite to the launch of Matilda Bay's winter release 'Long Shot' Beer at Toby's Estate in Brunswick. It is an aromatic coffee flavoured ale. I don't drink coffee, but hey, free beer and food, who can turn that down right?

So I was expecting a big 100 person plus booze fest at the launch, little did I know, it turned out to be a 15 person sit down beer tasting session of 5 beers paired with 5 entree' servings of food (fancy!). Pairing wine and food, yes, but I had never considered selecting beer to match a meal.

Matilda Bay head brewer Scott and Toby Smith (Toby's Estate) who selected the coffee hosted us for the evening. I sit down at the table with 5 glasses in front of me and one by one we went through each beer/meal combo. By the end of the 2 hour session I was happily tipsy as our glasses continued to be topped up, I had learnt about various brewing methods and how to 'professionally' taste a beer.

As for the Long Shot, I wasnt sure if I would like it not being a coffee drinker, but it was actually a very nice beer with light chocolate and coffee undertones (see I'm using fancy words, I now consider myself a beer connoisseur, haha). I left with rosy cheeks and a gift bag full of beer and coffee.