Saint Kilda Brew at Veludo

As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, I was offered media (who's media? oh me, why thank you :-)) accreditation to the Saint Kilda Brew event at Veludo. The event was billed as a beer and belly event. Those are two of my favourite things, and combining them is even better than the sum of its parts. The belly in question is pork belly, while the beer is Saint Kilda Brew.


The story of the origins of Saint Kilda Brew is not new or unique. Two mates, Troy and Jamie, were sitting around watching the footy grand final between the Saints and the Cats and drinking beer when they decided they wanted to make their own beer. Here is where the story steers away from the usual script, where that idea never happens and everyone goes back to their normal lives. Instead, Troy and Jamie have actually turned that idea into reality. They describe themselves as "beerologist", which means that they don't make their own beers, but instead mix various types of beers to create their unique Saint Kilda blend. The Saint Kilda brew is actually a Belgian Blonde with added hops. Their current selling locations are obviously in Saint Kilda, or as Jamie says, anywhere within walking distance of their houses. I personally thought the beer was very good. It was a very easy drinking beer and has a nice hint of hops in it. You can try it for yourself at one of 70 venues around the St Kilda area. You can also buy a carton by ringing the boys on the number off their website.

Onto the food from that night, we started with a nice Antipasto platter. I really liked all the items on the plate. The chorizo were very good, fried polenta croquettes really nice and I loved the cheese that was served with the quince paste.


For the pork belly dish, a large piece of belly was served on a smooth mash and mushrooms. I really liked this dish and the skin, which is crucial for me, was super crispy.


Finally, I loved this billboard of Ciderman, the offshoot apple cider creation from the Saint Kilda Brew guys. The cider is made from pink lady apples and it's really crisp and beautiful, without the sickly sweet taste of some commercial ciders.


I had a great time at the event, met some great people, learned some things about beer and cider making, ate some good food and drank some good beer. Thanks to Troy & Jamie for giving up their time and talking to me, and thanks to the team at Veludo for the great food.

I dined and drank courtesy of Saint Kilda Brew and Veludo.