Beer and wine.
Wine and beer.
Both dear to my heart, as a home brewer and a devoted wine lover.
How would a beer vs wine showdown turn out?
Round by round, head to head, five wines vs five beers with five dishes of food.
On these fun evenings, run every month, only one beverage can reign supreme!
Where does this monthly epic battle take place?
Barossa Valley Brewing, in Tanunda, with stunning surrounds and an enviable outdoor area for warmer times of the year.
To start proceedings, an opening punch by the brewery, with a welcoming glass of the very unique (do get in touch if you have heard of anything similar) 3Some Hefeweisen.
This is the peace offering as it is a German Hefewiesen wheat beer that is then blended with 5% Viognier wine from Barossa Valley winery Torbreck, and Semillon from Barossa Valley winery Peter Lehman.
With aromas of bannana & cloves,. To drink it is a refreshing wheat beer with acidity from the wine adding mid palate complexity, and a hint of bubblegum flavours. It is a cracker as a base for beer cocktails, such as this beer cocktail I created.
The brewery has her best frock on for the evening, which is decorated with fresh flowers and crisp white linens.
Down in the brewery we are introduced to the two heavyweight title holders for the evening.
Representing the brewery, Founder Denham d’Silva.
On the other side of the ring, Turkey Flat vineyards, represented by Emily Hay.
But, hark! An interloper!
We are also joined by Steve Davis and Nigel Dobson-Keeffe from the renowned podcast “The Adelaide Show” who film the whole evening’s proceedings – download The Adelaide Show’s Beer vs Wine Podcast here.
I was lucky enough to be awarded an “Adelaide Visa” from the show last year – cheers gents!

Denham (BVB), Steve Davis (The Adelaide Show Podcast) and Emily Hay (Turkey Flat WInes). Photo: Willunga Wino
Ask any brewer and they will tell you that making wine is a cake-walk compared to brewing beer.
Click here to read about the beer making process, as explained by Denham.
On to the proceedings!
Round 1: Bee Sting Beer vs Turkey Flat Rose
Paired to Prawns, Green Olives and White Anchovy Butter
& For the Vegetarian (that’s me), Caponata with Pan Fried Potatoes and Rocket
Bee Sting is not at all sweet, but still has the aroma of honey. Double hopped so there is bitterness and the end has dry flowers. It is delicious, refreshing, and a really enjoyable brew.
Turkey Flat Rose and seafood are a perfect match. This is a dry style rose. On the nose are ripe raspberry, flinty minerals, and a hint of florals. This leads into a nice mouth coating palate, with fresh strawberry flavours.
The prawns were beautifully cooked and sweet with the buttery, salty anchovy sauce.
The slight sweetness from the Rose complemented the sweetness of the prawns and contrasted the saltiness of the dish. The hoppiness in the Bee Sting was an interesting additional flavour and the honey aromas made a nice contrast to the seafood. Tight contest!
For me, the vegetarian option was a caponata with potatoes, it had sweetness and acidity from the Italian veggies.
Winner Round 1: WINE
Smiling staff refill our glasses ready for Round 2.
Round 2: BVB Hop Heaven Beer vs Turkey Flat Butcher’s Block
Paired to Oven Roasted Pear, Barossa Valley Cheese Company Gorgonzola, with Home Grown Rosemary, Wrapped in Serrano Ham
& For the Vegetarian (that’s me), same as the above minus the ham!
Turkey Flat Butchers Block White 2014 is a blend of marsanne, roussane, viognier blend. The marsanne and rousanne were oaked before blending. This has resulted in fine tannin and acidity from the rousanne, which serves to contrast and cut creaminess in food.

BVB Hop Heaven. Image: Supplied by BVB
Organic Ale has been re-named as the Hop Heaven, and is brewed with 8kg hops that give it aromas of passionfruit and lots of lemon. Developed via a tasting panel of winemakers and chefs, it was perfected by re-brewing 30 times. Oil and saltiness should go well with the palate cleansing Hop Heaven.
By itself, the beer is a fantastic beverage. It has an amazing balance of malt and hops. But paired with the salty, rich Gorganzola and the fresh, sweet, crisp pear, plus added complexity from the peppery rocket, the soft mouthfeel and vanillan cedary oak in the MRV win this round for me.
Round 2 – WINE!
Round 3: BVB Smoked Red vs Turkey Flat Grenache
Paired to Baked Pork Cutlet, Pan-Fried Chat Potatoes & Maple Mustard Sauce
& For the Vegetarian (that’s me) Deluxe Mac & Cheese with Baby Spinach
The story goes, that the seasonal Barossa Smoke. a smoked red ale, smells so much like metwurst – that vegetarians refuse to believe there’s no bacon!!
I give it a sniff – exactly like the Mushroom Man’s Bacon Spice!! It was delicious, but I found that the hoppiness was strong against the creamy mac & cheese.
The Turkey Flat Grenache 2013 match for this dish is an herbal, savoury style on the palate. The nose still has some varietal red fruit, giving it a nice balance.
With bite, tang and sweetness from the baked pork, peppery rocket, and crispy potato there was plenty going on with this course.
My meal was undoubtedly the best mac & cheese I have had the pleasure of eating. Intensely cheesy, a hint of spice from black pepper and with baby spinach for added goodness. It was comforting and delicious.
Winner: Wine!
Round 4: BVB Canis Majoris vs Turkey Flat Mataro 2014
Paired to Hutton Vale Moroccan Lamb with Pomegranate and Mint CousCous
& For the Vegetarian (that’s me) Spicy Herbed Asian Vermicelli Noodle Bowl
Back in the day, IPA’s were invented to make sure, with the preserving power of bitter hops and alcohol, that beer would make it on the oversea journeys from England to the Subcontinent. n
This is a double IPA. 25kg of hops is added per batch.
It was matched tothis dish to soothe the palate and match spice. Hot & cold! It is a cracking beer.
Mataro is a dark grape with super thick skin. To tame this beast, it has had less skin contact and only 8 months oak.
For me there was a vibrant, spicy, herbed Asian slaw with a tangy sweet dressing and vermicelli noodles. It was crunchy, smooth, fresh and delicious.
Round 4 Winner: Beer!
Round 5: BVB Imperial Milk Stout vs Turkey Flat NV Pedro Ximenez
The BVB Imperial Milk Stout has soft lactose mouth-feel and dark caramel, coffee and chocolate flavours with a nice crisp hop finish.
The Pedro Ximenez is liquid fruit cake with spice and sweetness that finishes into sultanas.
The dark 85% chocolate parfait is rich and delicious with just a little raspberry coulis and nice roasted hazelnuts.
Winner of Round 5 and overall – WINE!
I was mightily impressed by the beers though. Particularly their variety and the diversity of styles. It’s little wonder that Barossa Valley Brewing have picked up a swag of beer awards.
What a great concept, exploring both wine and beer matching at the same time.
We had a ball – many thanks to Denham and Emily!
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