Real Ale at the Races

Never let it be said that we let a bad beer selection get in the way of a good time. This weekend I made a mad dash to Otaki for a very short weekend away for my good friend Mulchin’s 30^th Birthday. I had to be back for work on Sunday and ended up having to race the train an extra stop in order to catch it home!

On Saturday we visited the Otaki Maori Racing Club meet at the Otaki racecourse. We knew the usual suspects were on offer from bar so decided to sort our own beer out. We set up a beer engine in the back of the van and enjoyed the good stuff

To make the weekend special I had organised 3 soft packs, a concept similar to nasty cask wine but bigger and without the nasty wine, filled with bright moderately conditioned beer. So my title is a little disingenuous as it was really bright ale at the races but that didn’t have the same ring to it!

Through the weekend we enjoyed Twisted Hop Goldings Bitter, Three Boys IPA and Three Boys Oyster Stout. All were tasting absolutely fantastic. We had the IPA at the races and it certainly hit the spot.

Weekend Escape

One of the fantastic things about my new job is that I can have time off with Sarah. At Moores when one of us was away the other pretty much had to be there, a naff situation. Now we can have weekends away and shock horror, when we can afford it, actually get over to the UK. This weekend is Sarah’s Birthday so we will be off to Waikanae for the weekend. Last year we managed to get away midweek to the Wassail Brauhaus in Taranaki, we intended to go back this year but times are tough and we decided we couldn’t afford it. So this weekend it will be good beer, good cider, good cheese, good simple food, chilly dog walks, and warm fires. I cant wait!

The pictures are from a weekend we booked just after I started at Regionals. The beer was Sussex Old Ale , a low gravity old ale I brewed especially for Sarah.