Beer from the Motherland

CT Column 21/12/2011 : A Christmas Tale

2012-01-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

IT doesn’t seem like a whole year since I wrote last year’s Christmas column. It has now become a tradition at this time each year for me to write about what I will eat and drink on Christmas Day.This year the hills of Brooklyn will again host a long day of gastronomic and fermented fun for the Haslett-Moore family and associated clans.Our day will start with the family tradition of smoked salmon and eggs hollandaise. This year breakfast will be matched with a champagne flute of tart dry, funky 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze. Geuze is a type of Lambic beer, a very old fashioned family of beers that are fermented with wild yeasts that are carried into the brewery from the surrounding apple orchards on the wind. The resulting beer is sour, fresh and dry with a tangy hint of lime cordial, dry sherry and wild gamy notes. It has more than enough tart ‘cut’ to handle the rich oiliness of the salmon and buttery palate coating hollandaise.Then it will be on to a light lunch of mussels barbequed in garlic butter, prawns cooked with lemon grass and chilli, Chicken satay kebabs and a noodle salad. Here the newly released imperial pilsner Epic Larger will make an appearance. Epic Larger is a supercharged new world pilsner taking the hop accented new world pilsner style and turning up the alcohol, body, and hop character together resulting in a zesty, fruity, perilously drinkable 8.5%abv beer. The zesty fruity hop notes of the Larger will complement the zesty South East Asian flavours of the prawns, rich heat of the satay and the pungent garlic hit of the mussels while the crisp refreshing quality of the beer will help cool the palate ready for the next mouthful.By mid afternoon the Christmas mince pies, eccles cakes and aged cheddar will come out. To accompany this I will break out a bottle of Fullers Past Masters XX Strong Ale. XX Strong has aged beautifully through the year with its pronounced fruity hop character melding perfectly with the beer’s rich rounded soothing malt body and marmalade accented yeast profile. The rich sweet orange accented beer should complement the richness of the spiced fruit mince perfectly.By early evening our blended family will be filling the house ready for the evening meal. A ham glazed in a Jamaican jerk glaze will adorn the table alongside a range of salads, roast potatoes, crusty bread and cheeses. This will be accompanied by the classic English pale ale Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. With its fresh zesty heathery hop character and firm cracker like malt backbone Landlord will stand up to the spicy ham and the fresh salads. Importantly considering the toll that the day’s proceedings will have had by this point Landlord is very moderate in the alcohol stakes clocking in at a very seasonable 4.1%abv.After a dessert course where the booze will come with a trifle around it, it will be time to end the day with a slice of Christmas cake and a glass of the indulgently rich Rochefort 10. Rochefort 10 is brewed by monks at the Abby of St Remy in Belgium. It’s rich, dark and deeply fruity with a soothing warming character that will no doubt ease me off to bed. Merry Christmas.

RSB Brew Day 2011

2011-12-17T12:56:00.001-08:00

CT Column 14/12/2011 : Rex Revisited

2011-12-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

IN July I wrote about the launch of Yeastie boys Rex Attitude, the world’s first beer to be brewed with 100% peated distilling malt. I thought the beer would change significantly as it aged. I suggested that the volatile peaty character would meld and develop in the bottle.
As I wrote that column I decided I would put some of that first batch into the cellar and compare it with a younger example later in the year. A few weeks ago I used the return of a friend who has been living in Liverpool as an excuse to open the two examples and compare the golden peaty contents. The first batch poured a hazy gold with healthy head, while the younger example poured a brilliant much clearer gold with the same white fluffy head.
Aromatically the older example offered up Rex Attitude’s characteristic heathery smoked kipper character, autumnal bonfire notes and a suggestion of charred timber. The newer example displayed the same heathery smoked note but also an earthy, raw, gamy character and a medicinal note and a spike of ashen flavour.
Tasting Rex Attitude is always a complex experience. Many are put off by the first taste and never let their palates acclimatise to the peat and pick up the complex range of flavours that are present in the beer. The older example presented sweet malt, mellow smoke and a hint of earthiness while the younger example was much rawer and bolder with medicinal notes, earthy smoke and tropical fruit hop flavour all vying for attention. The aged version had mellowed significantly with the peat character maturing and rounding out much as it does in the single malt whiskeys that usually slumber for years in wooden casks before being sold. The compromise has been that the wonderful tropical fruit hop character that features in the younger version has been lost as the beer ages.
Last week the Yeastie Boys released an imperial version of Rex Attitude which they brewed to celebrate the Morton Coutts Award for Brewing innovation that they won at the Beer Awards this year. Named xeRRex (pronounced x-rex, as far as I can work out) this 10%abv version of Rex is ironically a far more drinkable beast than its smaller brother. Sweet malt, earthy smoke, and warm bonfire aromas give way to rich rounded sweet malt, complex smoke and a hint of tropical fruit. xeRRex strikes perhaps the perfect balance between complexity and drinkability. There are also rumours that there is a chardonnay barrel filled with some of the first batch of Rex Attitude slowly aging up. This may at some point come out as a super limited edition beer although I have also heard from a reliable source that it may be destined to become a ‘Directors Reserve’ and all be consumed by the Yeastie Boys themselves.
Cheers.

Golden Pints 2011

2011-12-16T14:35:00.000-08:00

I used to get intothe British blogging scene end of year wrap ups, (the pre blog days of thebeerpages.com forum seem a long time ago now) but haven’t recently. As my new year’sresolution will be to give this blog some more love and Stu has kicked offdoing it in the Antipodes I thought I should do one to.

Best Local draughtbeer: Emerson’s Brownsville Brown . An American brown ale with the perfectrounded soothing malt profile to back up the US Hops.

Runner up TownshendSutton Hoo, an awesome blend of New World Amber Ale and English Best Bitter.

I have to say thatwith conflicts of interest accepted Emerson’s RSB 2011 would be a very strong contender for me to.

Best Local packagedbeer: Twisted Hop Red Zone Enigma, great story but more importantly anoutstanding beer that most definitely did improve from its enforced conditioning.

Runner up YeastieBoys xeRRex, the perfect execution of a totally bonkers idea that will mostcertainly divide people into lovers and haters. I’m a lover.

Best Overseaspackaged: Fullers Past Masters XX Strong Ale. Rich, hoppy, fruity andfantastic. That Ron has achieved influence to get historic beers produced is proofthat there can be justice in the world.

Runner up CoronadoIslander IPA. A unique American IPA thatmanages to differentiate its self and be interesting in a style that all toooften is boring and uniform.

Best OverallBeer: Such a hard one to answer. I had a wonderful and rare bottle of Westvleteren12 and while the context perhaps has influenced me it was profoundly wonderful.Another contender would be the genius Emerson’s Tawny Mild from the handpump atAlbar, fruity, malty, complex and amber and at 3.2%abv I could drink it allnight.

BestPumpclips: My vote goes to Parrotdog who although are one of the newestand youngest brewing crews around were together enough to supply me with apumpclip as they delivered the kegs to me, brewers NEVER do this. The actualpump clip was pretty sexy to.

Best NZ Brewery:again conflicts of interest accepted I really can’t go past Emerson’s. They notonly turn out large volumes of tasty well balanced craft beer week in week outbut they also manage a range of fantastic seasonals, draught only limitedBrewers Reserves, and small pilot brew releases. They are doing exciting thingson multiple levels and the brewery does sometimes feel a little like the WillyWonker’s of beer.

Runner up for mewould have to be Yeastie Boys, interesting diverse beers, sometimes challenging, sometimes just bloody fantastic.

Best New Brewery:From a parochial stance I have to vote The Garage Project. Brewing returns tothe Wellington CBD which is cause to celebrate. Pete brings diverse experience fromBrakspear, Hepworth and James Squire to the table and the result isexperimental, unorthodox but almost always quality. I can’t wait for the fullplant to go in.

Best OverseasBrewery: Fullers. My desert island brewery. Awesome house yeast, awesomebeers, and a great diverse range. They do what many family brewers should, keepthings interesting.

Pub/Bar of theYear: Albar, if I wish I lived at Galbraith’s then I would want Albar asmy neighbour. Runner up is tie between The Hop Garden and LBQ. Both new thisyear and both have given Wellington something different in terms of places todrink craft beer.

Beer Festival ofthe Year: Beervana, bigger, different and ultimately better than ever before.

Supermarket of theYear: Island Bay New World. Maurice’s groundwork continued.

Independent Retailer of the year: I wouldhave to say Regional. I think we are doing a good job.

Online Retailer ofthe year: I would have to say Regional again. But then I would wouldn’t I? J

Best BeerBook/Mag: Amber Gold and Black Martyn Cornell. Ok so it didn’t come outthis year but I have read it several times this year.

Best Blog: Atie between Beerforayear, and Phil Cook for NZ. For the UK it has to beZythophile with Boak and Bailey as runner up.

Best tweeter: I’mto new t twitter to know.

Best Online BreweryPresence: Epic, Luke and Kelly are masters of E-Communication.

Food and BeerPairing of the Year: Emersons Pilsner and Oysters at Beervana, genius.

Best event of the Year: I reckon itwould be the Galbraith’s Great Brewer Cask Ale Series, even though I haven’t madeit to one at all. In fact I haven’t visited Mecca at all this year which is areal shame.

What I'd like to do in 2012: I have many plans ,some of them may even happen.

Podcast at the Mason's Arms

2011-12-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

Back in September Sarah was in England seeing her family, I was knocking around the Mason's with Rosie for company brewing watching DVD's and subconsciously making mess that would later get me in trouble with the returning Mrs :-). One night however Rosie and myself were joined at the bar by Phil and George from the excellent Beer Diary blog. The result was a podcast which hopefully people find entertaining. It's probibly the first time I have heard my voice recorded and not cringed, either my accent is improving or my maturing years are causing me to be happy in my skin. Check it out here or direct mp3 download here.

Cheers

CT Column 30/11/2011: They’re tasting our hops - there

2011-12-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

NEW ZEALAND hops are gaining a reputation around the world for the exotic and unique flavours and aromas. New Zealand hops have long been valued around the world because of the low levels of insecticide and fungicides used in their production and the high levels of alpha acids that they contain. Alpha acid is the element in hops which gives them bitterness. The more alpha acid a hop contains the less a brewer needs to use to achieve the desired level of bitterness.
For mainstream brewers who primarily want to inject a moderate level of balancing bitterness rather than flavour and aroma from their hops, high alpha hops are highly prized. Craft brewers on the other hand tend to value the original and exotic flavours and aromas that different hop varieties can offer.
It is this second use of hops in brewing which is really driving the demand for New Zealand hops at the moment. Craft brewers in Australia, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and North America are all waking up to what New Zealand hops can offer.
Now and then beers brewed with New Zealand hops make their way back to New Zealand. A couple of months ago I wrote of the Buxton beers from the North of England which are now available in NZ, (brewer James Kemp uses a lot of NZ hops in his beers). Occasionally we get the seasonal hoppy Southern Hop Harvest Ale from California’s Sierra Nevada Brewery which uses air freighted New Zealand hops fresh from the harvest.
Currently on the shelves around town we have Humming Ale from San Francisco’s Anchor Brewery. Humming Ale is an American Pale Ale which combines a big Nelson Sauvin hop character with a very American pale biscuity malt profile. I’m always intrigued to taste how brewers from other countries use our hops and this is a particularly good example.
Aromas of citrus, passionfruit and melon give way to a zesty palate and a lingering grassy bitter finish. Humming Ale is a seasonal beer which is brewed to commemorate the opening of Anchors current brewery which they moved into in 1979. I suggest grabbing one and comparing it with any of the locally produced beers that highlight New Zealand hops. Cheers

CT Column 23/11/2011: New Blood

2011-12-03T22:56:00.000-08:00

23/11/2011 11:14:00 a.m.

EARLIER this month Wellington hosted a Belgian brewer now based in NZ. Dave De Vylder from East Flanders in Belgium trained as an electrical engineer and served in the army before retraining as a brewer. He met and married Kiwi teacher Susan Kiener who was doing her OE in Europe. The couple lived in Switzerland until an opportunity presented itself that meant they could move to NZ.
Dave Gillies had been running Wanaka Beer Works single-handedly producing three tasty lagers for many years. He had helped to create the New Zealand Pilsner style when he launched Brewski, a pilsner beer that was packed with NZ hop varieties. Brewski went on to become the Champion beer of NZ in the year 2000, inspiring many of the other NZ hopped pilsners that have followed since. The brewery was put on the market, and the De Vylders jumped at the opportunity.
The De Vylders took over in July. The core range of Brewski, Cardrona Gold and Tall Black will be continued while Dave has drawn on his Belgian and Swiss brewing background to create a range of seasonal brews.
In Wellington earlier this month he launched the spring seasonals with a tasting. My pick of the bunch was Miere. Described as a Golden Honey Dubbel Miere is a strong golden ale that has had an addition of Lake Hawea manuka and clover honey added. The result is a full bodied golden ale with a hint of spicy honey on the nose , a hint of fruity hop and floral honey in the mouth and a crisp refreshing finish. Kauri is described as an Old Flemish Dark with an infusion of kauri wood flavour. The result is a steely dry dark ale with a hint of tannic woodiness and a long roasty finish. Finally Miner Galore is described as being a Swiss style Doppel Bock with Rosehip. The resulting beer was fruity and mellow with some lovely rich malt, bright hops and a hint floral rosebud. All three beers are interesting and although a little surprising for those of us who expected the Belgian brewer to produce some big Belgian style beers. The next three seasonals are due soon and will revolve around the wheat beer theme with spices and fruit coming into the equation! Cheers

CT Column 16/11/2011 : Stone, Wood and Wheat

2011-12-03T22:53:00.000-08:00

DESPITE being neighbours we see very little Australian beer in New Zealand. As in New Zealand, Australia has undergone a beer renaissance with independent brewers popping up all around the sandy continent. Increasingly New Zealand brewers are seeing Australia as a lucrative market for their wares. Epic, Yeastie Boys , 8 Wired , Invercargill, mikes and Renaissance are all exporting beer to Australia.
The flow of beer has been decidedly one way with until now very little Australian micro-brewed beer coming into NZ. While it’s great to see medium sized breweries like Coopers, Matilda Bay and Little Creatures in NZ, many of us in the beer world have wanted to see more small interesting independent brewed Australian beer crossing the ditch.
It seems this might be beginning to happen. Stone and Wood Pacific Ale is a new style defying brew that will soon pop up on shelves around town. Stone and Wood is a craft brewery located at Byron Bay in Northern New South Wales. Head Brewer and partner Brad Rodgers was formerly the head brewer for Matilda Bay and has been a regular judge at New Zealand beer competitions through the years. Pacific Ale is a cross between a cloudy wheat beer and a hoppy golden ale combining the dry quenching qualities of a Belgian Wit beer like Hoegaarden and the bright hop character of a pale ale like Little Creatures. The beer is clearly designed for the hot Australian climate and is extremely refreshing while also being relatively complex and flavoursome.
Also on the horizon from Australia, the core range of Little Creatures beers is due to arrive in NZ any day. Lion Nathan have imported Little Creatures Pale Ale for years but have finally been convinced to bring in the filtered Bright Ale, the sessionable amber ale Rodgers and the breweries take on the Pilsner style. All four Little Creatures brews will be at home next to the BBQ, conveniently they should be here just in time for the first steak to hit the charcoals. Cheers!

CT Column 9/11/2011: Flying Nun

2011-12-03T22:51:00.000-08:00

THIS month two beers are being released to honour the Flying Nun record label. Emerson’s Tally Ho! is making a return to taps around town after first appearing in February this year. Tally Ho! takes its name from The Clean’s debut single and forms part of the Dunedin brewer’s annual ‘Dunedin Sound Series’ of seasonal beers which first appeared last summer. Brewed in the English Golden Ale style, a type of pale fruity ale pioneered by English brewers in the 1980’s to compete with the golden lagers that were beginning to gain in popularity, Tally Ho! is fruity and complex with earthy herbaceous English hop notes, a hint of orchard fruit from a characterful fermentation and a rounded malt backbone.
Also out this month with a Flying Nun theme is the official 30 Year Ale from Epic. 30 Year Ale was brewed to be served at the Nunvember Anniversary gigs that are going on around the country throughout November. Epic brewers Luke Nicholas and Kelly Ryan set out to create a beer that would be accessible to Flying Nun fans who wouldn’t necessarily have drunk craft beer before but would still be identifiably an Epic beer. Much like the Emerson’s brew Epic have crafted a golden ale with a sweet malt backbone, however unlike Tally Ho! Epic 30 Year Ale is packed with loads of New World dry hop character. Brewed using a blend of American hops, Liberty, Cascade and Falconers Flight, and a New Australian hop called Galaxy. 30 Year Ale certainly has an assertive ‘Epic’ character to it. The aroma is full of lemon, tropical fruit and a big earthy ‘hopsack’ note. In the mouth the resiny earthy hop character dominates with some sweet malt just managing to cushion the hop attack before a resiny but not particularly bitter finish. 30 Year Ale certainly manages to identify itself as an Epic beer and will no doubt go down well with the hophead crowd, however I suspect it might prove too much for many of the non craft beer drinking music fans it’s been brewed for. I hope I am proved wrong. Tally Ho!

CT Column 2/11/2011: Pacific Flavours

2011-12-03T22:46:00.000-08:00

IN the midst of last month’s kerfuffle over the oval ball a new type of beer festival made its debut. The Pacific Beer Expo brought together a range of beers from around the Pacific rim highlighting beers from Australia, California, Japan and NZ. Organised by cult beer bar Hashigo Zake and held at The Boatshed the festival focused on the beers that Hashigo Zake import and some from their favourite local brewers. The festival had a great social vibe and presented the perfect environment to enjoy some characterful beers. My picks included the new hoppy amber ale from Wellington contract brewers Parrotdog, the citrus scented Islander IPA from San Diego’s Coronado Brewing Co and the sessionable vanilla flavoured porter from Hamilton’s Brewaucracy Brewery. Launched at the festival was a new barley wine from Renaissance Brewing Co called Tribute. Word has it that the beer narrowly avoided having its name changed after a misguided official took issue with a beer displaying the word wine. History has a way of repeating itself as American brewers across the Pacific faced the same petty objections when they first started to brew the style of beer 35 years ago. In America a compromise was achieved that resulted in the clumsy term ‘barleywine style ale’ being adopted. Here in NZ it seems a more sensible approach has been taken. The beer in question clocks in at a warming 10.8%abv with rich sweet malt character, with hints of toasty nut and treacle, a fruity orchard fruit note from the fermentation and a firm bitter finish. Tribute Barley Wine will age well and I think it might hit its straps in three or four years time, that said, it’s drinking well now and would make a great accompaniment to a nice wedge of Stilton cheese. I recommend grabbing a few for the cellar and one to drink now, when you toast calling a spade a spade! Cheers

CT Column 19/10/2011 : Ale from Adversity

2011-12-03T22:43:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago a very special beer found its way onto the market. Most beers pass through the production process smoothly with the result more or less as the brewer intended. Under normal circumstances the worst a beer might face would be an equipment malfunction proving a hassle for the brewer and the possibility of being detrimental to the finished beer. However the February earthquake in Christchurch has created some very extraordinary circumstances for the city’s brewers. When the quake hit, the staff and customers of Christchurch’s legendary brewpub The Twisted Hop, had to flee the building. The kitchen staff left with their pizza ovens still roaring, the punters left their pints unfinished on the tables, and the brewing staff left this year’s vintage of Enigma barley wine conditioning in a tank. It would be months before the staff and owners would be able to return to The Twisted Hop as it was stranded within the red zone. On May the 8th owners Martin Bennett and Stephen Hardman managed to return to the bar for an hour after gaining entry via the boudoirs of a neighbouring brothel. It took until August before they were able to access the brewhouse conditioning tanks and get the barley wine out. The beer was taken to Harrington’s Brewery where it was bottled and distributed around the country under the name Red Zone Enigma Barley Wine. Barley Wine is a strong malt accented style of beer that tends to benefit from age. The enforced ‘cordon aging’ has given the beer an rich smoothness and integration that I have never found in Engma before. The hop character has mellowed into a lovely marmalade character while the rich malt profile has increased in complexity. The label bears the line “Christchurch and The Twisted Hop will rise again, of that we’re certain. So if you need something to raise a glass to we hope that will suffice.” I can’t think of a better beer to toast Christchurch’s future, get some while you can as it won’t last long! Cheers

CT Column 12/10/2011: Beers from the Peak

2011-12-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

NEW Zealand brewers have played a part in two of the most exciting and innovative English breweries to emerge in the past five years.
First Kelly Ryan helped build the Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire up to become one of the most innovative and high profile breweries in the UK. Kelly was then joined at Thornbridge by long time New Zealand resident James Kemp. James is a classic ‘ping pong pom’ having been born in the UK and then raised in New Zealand before returning to England in his 20’s where he had the enviable job of Quality Control at Fullers Brewery in London. He then returned to NZ where he became the Champion Homebrewer of NZ at the S.O.B.A National Homebrew Competition. He moved back again to the UK where he joined Kelly at Thornbridge, although now he is working as head brewer at a small Peak District brewery called Buxton. Since James’ arrival Buxton has earned itself a reputation as a brewery to watch with many English bloggers and commentators expecting big things.
Last month my partner Sarah returned to her native Sussex in the south of England to visit friends and family and brought home several of the Buxton beers that James had packaged specially for me.
Buxton is part of a new wave of English brewers who are increasingly looking to America, and New Zealand for inspiration, brewing hop accented beers with big new world hop characters, restrained malt characters and clean neutral yeast profiles. James skilfully uses primarily NZ, continental and English hops to create big unique hop characters that grab you by the nose as soon as you open the bottle. Interestingly James does not use a lot of American hops despite the obvious American influence on his beers.
My picks from the range would be the hoppy golden ale SPA, the robust India Pale Ale Wild Boar and the rich rounded Imperial Stout Tsar.
SPA combines a zesty clean exotic tropical hop aroma with a lean supporting malt body and a zesty fruity finish. Wild Boar presents with a big tropical fruit bowl aroma, some lightly nutty malt notes and a firm bitter finish. Finally Tsar is a dangerously drinkable Imperial Stout with a complex aroma of chocolate, espresso, berry fruit and caramel , a restrained balanced palate and a long smooth finish.
A range of Buxton beers are available in NZ but James warns that they have travelled down the globe in less than ideal conditions and are not likely to be the best representation of his work. The best way to experience them would be in a Peak District pubs. Keep it in mind next time you are up that way!
Cheers

CT Column 5/10/2011: Does it matter who owns a brewery?

2011-12-03T22:39:00.000-08:00

A fortnight ago it was announced that the Australian brewing giant Fosters was to be sold to London based South African Brewing giant SABMiller.
This has caused considerable consternation across the Tasman where it is being heralded by some as a sign of ebbing national identity. Here in NZ our two major brewing companies are both internationally owned, Lion by the Japanese Brewing company Kirin who is in turn owned by Mitsubishi Motors, and DB which is owned by the Singaporean Asia Pacific Breweries who are in turn owned by the Dutch brewer Heineken. When ever one of these companies is sold there is always a lot of nationalistic toned hyperbole and wringing of hands. There are local brewers who seem to think that the nationality of ownership is important with customers with some stressing their local credentials. For me the beer in the glass is always more important than any surrounding issues and inordinate talk of ownership sets alarm bells off in my head in the same way as brewers who talk more about their water than beer. However that’s not to say that ownership doesn’t matter. At an independent craft brewery level a sale to a major brewer often results in a dumbing down of the beer and an increasing reliance of style over substance. There are exceptions. A prime example being the Mac’s beers which I would argue have increased in character under Lion Nathan ownership. For me the most important thing is what influence the owner exerts on the beer being produced rather than their nationality.
This latest sale does form what is becoming a concerning trend towards larger and larger brewing giants. There are already plans by the world’s largest brewer AB InBev to purchase SABMiller something that would mark the biggest cash take over in history and result in one company controlling a huge percentage of the world’s beer production.
As far as the Fosters sale goes it doesn’t look like there will be much in the way of practical change as far as we are concerned. Of the Fosters beers imported into New Zealand the lightly hoppy Matilda Bay Fat Yak would be my pick. I would love it if the change meant the introduction of the more characterful Matilda Bay Alpha Male Pale Ale but I won’t be holding my breath. Cheers.

CT Column 28/09/2011: Tower brewery empty

2011-12-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

HERE in New Zealand there is precious little of our brewing history left to see.
New Zealand was once littered with breweries many of them grand and ornate. Before rail and road networks made distribution of beer easy every town and many villages had their own brewery.
In Dunedin the Lion Nathan owned Speights Brewery still operates in an impressive pre World War One building. In Mangatainoka a 1930’s tower brewery sits empty and somewhat forlornly over the modern Tui production brewery. In Wellington the grand old Staples Beehive Brewery can still be visited, however these days it sells a range of beers alongside the veges, baked beans and bacon trading as Thorndon New World, it was once the main regional brewery for Wellington producing the fondly remembered Red Band Beer.
The situation is rather different in England where many historic breweries are not only still there to be seen but are still actively brewing beer and in some cases they still use equipment that dates back 100 or more years. The Hook Norton Brewery in the village of Hook Norton, Oxfordshire is a classic example. Late Victorian breweries like Hook Norton are often known as Tower breweries because they were built high using gravity instead of pumps to transport beer around the brew plant. The Hook Norton beers are available in New Zealand and represent a slice of traditional English brewing. Old Hooky is a 4.6%abv best bitter combining rich complex caramel and toffee accented malt with a fruity fermentation note and a hint of earthy hop flavour. Flagship is a classic English IPA combining a pale nutty malt character and a vibrant zesty English hop character. My third pick from the range is the roasty fruity Double Stout that combines flavours of espresso, chocolate and toast with a tangy stone fruit character. Cheers

CT Column 21/09/2011 : Craft Beer Capital

2011-12-03T22:35:00.000-08:00

OUT of conflict arises creativity, well at least that’s what happens when the world works the way we would like it to. Earlier this year a group of Nelson brewers, hop growers and publicans decided to join forces and promote Nelson as a beer destination. They decided to call themselves Craft Beer Capital of New Zealand, and started working towards trade marking the term. With the Radler verdict fresh in people’s minds the prospect of another controversial trademark led to many in the beer world, myself included, raising concerns. For us Wellingtonians the prospect of Nelson having a monopoly on a term that clearly better suited our own fair city didn’t sit well. As a result of the negative reaction the Nelson group renamed themselves Craft Brewing Capital referring to the fact that Nelson has the highest number of breweries per capita in the country. Craft Brewing Capital of New Zealand launched several weeks ago with pamphlets being produced in order to attract visitors to Nelson during the Rugby World Cup.
The debate had however sparked the imaginations of several Wellington beer businessmen. A plan was hatched in conjunction with the Wellington City Council to take the lead from Nelson. A collective of beer retailers and bars was set up to promote all the fantastic beer related stuff that goes on in our little capital. Craft Beer Capital stickers will start to appear in the windows local beer bars and retailers, the website www.craftbeercapital.com has been launched and an advertising campaign has started on radio stations around the country. You can also check out Nelson’s Craft Brewing Capital at www.craftbrewingcapital.co.nz .
One of the outlets on the Wellington Craft Beer Capital map is the newly opened Fork and Brewer in Bond Street. The very originally decked out bar is open however the brewery is still on the water coming from China. Former Mac’s brewer Lester Dunn has been employed and the beer should be pouring by Christmas.

CT Column 7/09/2011: Smokin Pioneer

2011-12-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

BACK in 2008 Invercargill brewer Steve Nally made history by releasing New Zealand’s first ever widely available smoked beer. At the time Smokin Bishop was truly revolutionary and in some ways ushered in the era of boundary pushing extreme brewing that has since brought us smoked, coffee infused, shellfish flavoured, spirit barrel aged and most famously 100% peated malt beers.
Smokin Bishop is a New Zealand take on the traditional Rauchbier style that originates in Bamberg Germany. Rachbiers are made with malt that is cured over wood fires creating a complex blend of smoky campfire bacon like notes in the beer. Smokin Bishop takes this concept and gives it an NZ twist by using manuka to smoke the malt rather than the German beech wood.
What we didn’t know back in 2008 was that Steve was already preparing another move that would be equally pioneering. Six hundred litres of the 2008 vintage of Smokin Bishop were run into a tank and tucked away at the back of the brewery. Steve had read about how the Alaskan Brewery holds vertical tastings of their famous Alaskan Smoked Porter and thought he would really like to see how the smoke changed through the years. This year the 2008 vintage Smokin Bishop was bottled and has been released alongside the new 2011 vintage giving drinkers the perfect opportunity to see exactly how cellaring effects the beer.
Today the cellaring of beer by brewers is almost unheard of and I am sure this is the first time a New Zealand brewer has released two vintages of the same beer at the same time. This is a fantastic opportunity for those who lack the will power to run a beer cellar to experience a cellared beer.
The 2008 vintage has been notably smoothed its long slumber in the world’s southernmost brewery. The smoke character has mellowed and integrated with the rich complex malt character of the beer. The lightly fruity hops that usually share the aroma with the earthy smoke have retreated leaving a very rounded highly drinkable beer. The 2011 vintage on the other hand has a much more pronounced earthy heathery smoke aroma, alongside berry fruit hop notes, and some rich malt. In the mouth the beer is notably lighter in body, with fruity hop flavour vying with smoke for attention. As is always the way for small artisan producers the differences between the two beers are not just due to age. The process of smoking the malt is far from standardised and variations occur every year, also Steve tweaks the recipe every year in his pursuit of perfection. This year the malt bill was altered slightly to lighten the body a touch, something that I think has ended up emphasising the hop character. Both beers will make a fantastic accompaniment to salty antipasto foods, or if you want to compare the differences just try a glass of each with a little water in between to clear your palate. Cheers!

CT Column 31/08/2011:Wellington Revolution

2011-12-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

IN a former life I played bass in a hardcore band. During the late 90’s early 2000’s Wellington was home to a thriving underground punk, ska, hardcore music scene with Thistle Hall on the corner of upper Cuba St and what was then Arthur St, playing host to many legendary gigs. The scene was about music but it was also about left leaning politics and social justice. I bring this anecdote up not because of the beer we used to drink at gigs, which was certainly not of the sort that I would usually write about in this column, but because a new Wellington beer has just been launched that brought these memories flooding back.
Wellington homebrewer and beer writer Brendon Mackenzie has just launched Wellington’s newest contract brewing company, Revolution Brewing and has named his first beer @ntifa. @ntifa refers to the antifascist movement and was a patch that would often adorn leather jackets at the gigs I attended. @ntifa is a diverse mash up of a beer that takes the malt character of a malty red Vienna lager, the yeast profile of a clean crisp Altbier and the hop character of a fruity American amber ale. The end result is a clean fruity red ale that combines a rich malt backbone with a big hop aroma and clean balanced finish. A perfect beer for spring and one which will pair beautifully with barbequed meat from the first intrepid BBQ’s of the season.
Naturally Revolution Brewing have a manifesto which sets out what they are aiming to achieve and what form future beers might take, check out http://revolutionbrewing.co.nz/ to read it.
Cheers

CT Column 24/08/2011: Winter Warmers

2011-12-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

THE rather wonderful cold blast of the past fortnight has got me thinking about winter warmers. Winter warmers are not a style of beer, or a category that has any defined boundaries but when we talk about them we know what is meant. Winter Warmers tend to be accented towards rich malt character rather than aggressively hopped, they tend to be relatively high in alcohol to provide a fortifying warmth and also often have a comforting quality that encourages sipping by a fireside rather than session drinking.
Through the worst of the cold snap I enjoyed several beers that I would class as winter warmers. New from 8 Wired, The Sultan is a Belgian style Quadruplel with a difference. Quadrupels are an abbey style of beer made in the tradition of the beers made by Trappist monks. A Quadrupel is a strong amber coloured ale with a spicy Belgian yeast character and a warming note from the high alcohol. The Sultan takes this style and gives it a twist by incorporating a large dose of sultanas. The Sultan is truly the tawny port of the beer world.
From Mike’s this year’s vintage of Whiskey Porter has been released and is less spirity than past years with a fantastic balance of oak, alcoholic warmth and chocolaty porter.
Finally I have been enjoying the classic strong dark wheat beer from Germany, Schneider Aventinus. It is a warming cocktail of clove, banana , caramel and mocha that turns most peoples idea of a wheat beer on its head.
The winter warmer concept can be taken a step further by mulling beer. There are several traditions of mulling beer around the world. In the midlands of England ‘Poker Ale’ was a traditional winter tipple where rich malty old ale was heated with a poker from the fire. Try it with Marston’s Owd Rodger if it’s your game. In Belgium the Liefmans Brewery used to produce a spiced fruit beer called Gluhkriek that was designed to be heated gently before drinking.
I recommend blending the very sweet Liefmans Fruitesse with the slightly tart Duchesse De Bourgogne and heating gently with a little cinnamon and anis. Cheers!

CT Column 17/08/2011: Old Foghorn

2011-12-03T22:26:00.000-08:00

TRADITIONALLY America has been known for producing incredibly light bodied, pale, scantily flavoured lagers. More recently beers like Epic Pale Ale and Tuatara APA have introduced the American Pale Ale style to NZ drinkers and the realisation has dawned that America is responsible for some seriously hoppy full flavoured pale ales. Imported American beers are increasingly available in bars, bottle stores and supermarkets around town. Terms like American Pale Ale, American India Pale Ale, and Imperial India Pale Ale have entered the New Zealand drinker’s lexicon.
America has, however, given the beer world more than just highly hopped pale ales. In 1975 the iconic Anchor brewery in San Francisco produced a strong rich malt accented beer with a notably American hop character based on the barley wines that owner Fritz Maytag had tasted in England. Maytag took the English style of barleywine, which tends to be rich and malty with a notable vinous fruity character from the use of character English yeast strains and supercharged it with a healthy dose of grapefruit accented American hops. Old Foghorn used a more neutral yeast strain to allow the fruitiness of the hops to shine through. A new style was born. Old Foghorn was followed by Sierra Nevada Bigfoot in the 1980’s and thousands of others since. Old Foghorn combines rich toasted caramel malt flavours with an aroma of stone fruit and citrus and a long rich complex balanced finish. If you want to compare it with a more traditional English style barleywine try Fullers Golden Pride which showcases Fullers distinctive marmalade accented yeast strain alongside a rich English malt profile. Both make an ideal accompaniment to strong crumbly blue cheese. Cheers

CT Column 10/08/2011: 8 Wired a champion

2011-12-03T22:24:00.000-08:00

LAST week on the eve of Beervana the brewing industry gathered at the town hall to celebrate excellence in brewing. In the week leading up to the event a judging panel made up of Australasian brewers, and the odd beer specialist like myself, judged our way through 468 beers from around New Zealand and the world. Notable results this year included trophies going to Tuatara for Ardennes and Hefe, Emerson’s for Oreti Red and their festive brew Black Op, Harrington’s for Pig & Whistle, Three Boys for Oyster Stout, McCashins for Stoke Amber, Epic for Armageddon and 8 Wired for The Big Smoke, and Barrel Aged Big Smoke.
I had my own success achieving a Silver medal for Emerson’s Regional Special Bitter.
Champion Brewer this year was a very close call with 8 Wired just edging out Emerson’s Brewing Co to take out the over all trophy. This is a huge achievement for 8 Wired Brewer Søren Eriksen who was a home brewer three years ago and has since built up an impressive range of intense and flavourful beers that he contract brews at his employer Renaissance in Blenheim. Søren was visibly stunned and later posted on twitter that winning was surreal and that words failed him.
This years results show a New Zealand brewing scene that is rich in diversity both in the beers brewed and the types of companies that are producing them. I for one will be raising a glass to that. Cheers!
Full results can be found at http://brewersguild.org.nz/

CT Column 27/07/2011: Radler shouldn’t be a trademark

2011-12-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

Radler is a style of German beer. It is Germany’s answer to the English shandy, and was originally a blend of lemonade and lager developed for German cyclists who didn’t want to drink full strength beer for fear of falling off their bikes. In 2003 DB was granted a trademark on the term Radler by the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, known as IPONZ. The beer that is sold under the Monteith’s Radler name is in fact a full strength lager with a dose of lime flavouring rather than a diluted low strength beer. New Zealand was left in a situation where the only beer that could be sold as a Radler was in fact not true to the Radler style! In 2008 the Green Man Brewery launched a beer called Radler and DB protected its trademark and forced the beer to be renamed. The next year consumer group the Society of Beer Advocates, known as SOBA, launched an action to have the trademark revoked on the basis that it was a beer style, and that IPONZ had been incorrect to register the trademark in the first place.
A fortnight ago IPONZ ruled that IPONZ was correct in granting Dominion Breweries the Radler trademark as there was insufficient evidence that Kiwis knew what a Radler was in 2003. A cynic might say that a case where the judge, jury and defendant are one and the same has a predetermined outcome!
I think that the trade marking of beer styles is not only wrong morally but is also potentially counterproductive to the industry as a whole. Imagine if one winery had owned the exclusive rights to the word Sauvignon Blanc for the last 35 years? Would Kiwi’s have known what a Sauvignon Blanc was in the mid 1970’s? Where would that industry be now?
It’s not only Kiwi consumers and intellectual property lawyers who are up in arms about the ruling, the Federation of German Brewers are up in arms as well. NZ Beer Blogger Martin Craig summed it up when he wrote that it is the equivalent of a German company trade marking the word Hangi because German’s don’t know what a Hangi is, and then using it to sell Kangaroo Burgers. That would be wrong, just as IPONZ ruling was wrong.
Kieran Haslett-Moore is a founding member of SOBA and a former committee member, writing his own opinion.

CT Column 20/07/2011: Season for the Saison

2011-12-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

IT seems like this year is the year of the Saison. Saison is a tart dry spicy type of Belgian farmhouse ale that was originally brewed by farmers to preserve grain and pay farm workers. So far this year we have seen Invercargill Brewing Co’s interpretation, several classics from Belgium, and now a characteristically original take on the style from the Yeastie Boys and a characteristically hoppy one from 8 Wired. This is definitely a case of feast after famine as there have been precious few examples of the style around town.
The Yeastie Boys take on Saison comes in the form of this year’s Her Majesty. Each year the Yeastie Boys release Her Majesty and His Majesty in 750ml wine bottles. Each vintage is a completely different beer but His Majesty always takes a more muscular approach while Her Majesty concentrates on more subtle yeast accented styles. The Yeastie Boys seldom create beers exactly to style and this year’s Her Majesty takes the malt recipe of a German Märzen Lager and blends it with a Saison yeast and a dose of Nelson hops. This year’s Her Majesty has a complex aroma with plenty of orchard fruit, citrus, exotic spice and an interesting creamy almost cheese note that I really like even if it sounds rather strange! In the mouth it is incredibly dry yet at the same time richly malty with loads of complex malt flavour, spicy fruit and a tart finish. A very clever and beguiling beer.
8 Wired’s interpretation comes in the form of Saison Sauvin named after the exotically fruity Nelson Sauvin hop variety. Saison Sauvin came from brewer Søren Eriksen’s experiments with using a Saison yeast with his popular Hopwired IPA recipe. The beer that resulted from that process is very different from those early experiments but it is definitely a good deal more hoppy than most Saison’s would be. Aromas of fresh zesty tropical fruit, lime and melon , and exotic spice give way to a fresh dry fruity palate and a dry tart finish. Both these new saisons are food friendly and make an outstanding accompaniment to fresh spicy Thai or Vietnamese food.
Also out this week is this year’s Regional Special Bitter the beer I brewed with Richard Emerson. This year’s beer is a refinement of last year’s recipe and I’m extremely pleased with it. It’s a tap only release and will be at Beervana at the start of next month.
Cheers

CT Column 13/07/2011 : Past Master

2011-09-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

I like to think that beer runs in my blood. When the Treaty of Waitangi was being signed my ancestors on my mother’s side were running a pub on the south coast of England. Over half a century later my paternal great grandfather was working as a drayman delivering beer to the pubs of London. I’m not sure whether or not there is any real connection between my family history and my passion for beer but my discovery of my family history has most definitely given me a passion for brewing history. The brewing team at London’s Fullers brewery share my passion for history and it has inspired them to embark on a series of brews that aim to recreate beers from their brewing records which document every brew the company has undertaken since the 1880’s.
The Past Masters series is a collaboration between Fullers head brewer John Keeling , brewing manager Derek Prentice and English brewing historian Ron Pattinson. Various recipes from the archive will be recreated and released as one off specials. The first beer to be released has been called XX Strong Ale and dates from 1891. XX would have been considered to be of the ‘Burton Ale’ style at the time it was released. Burton Ale is no longer a recognised style but is in essence a strong moderately dark (mid copper to dark brown) highly hopped type of beer that is at the same time rich and warming yet highly drinkable.
Fullers went to significant lengths to recreate XX. Barley and hop varieties are agricultural products which evolve through time. Fullers searched out the heirloom barley variety Plumage Archer and had it malted in an antique drum malting. Parts of the now semi automated Fullers brew house had to be ‘jury rigged’ in order to brew as they would have in 1892. The beer was vatted or aged for three months before being bottled and released. XX Strong Ale was heavily hopped imparting a complex spicy fruity resinous character to the beer. However the traditional aging of the beer means that unlike modern hoppy brews the beer is rounded and complex rather than obviously bitter. XX Strong Ale has a pronounced malt loaf and candied citrus peel aroma, loads of spicy pithy hop flavour, and a lingering fruity finish.
It’s a fascinating snapshot of Victorian beer and one of the best beers I have had this year. It’s currently available around town so search it out!

CT Column 6/07/2011: Winter Warmer

2011-09-15T01:01:00.000-07:00

AT the end of June each year the New Zealand Society Of Beer Advocates holds a Matariki winter ales festival to celebrate the broad range of hearty wintry brews that are available to New Zealand beer drinkers.
Last year’s inaugural festival for the consumer group set the blue print for the event by creating a sociable environment in which conversation reigned and the safe enjoyment and appreciation of good beer with good food was the primary goal. This year the event very much continued in the same vein with a fantastic range of beers, some hearty tasty food provided by Gavin Grant the head chef from The Hop Garden and a fantastic laid back sociable vibe.
My picks of the beers included the new vintage of Yeastie Boys Her Majesty, a sneak preview of the yet to be released 8 Wired The Sultan and the Baird Dark Sky Imperial Stout. This year Her Majesty comes in the form of a pale Belgian ale that has been fermented with a Saison yeast but has a richer malt profile than would be normal for the style, spicy, fruity and incredibly drinkable!
The Sultan from 8 Wired is a yet to be released Belgian Quadruple again fermented with a Saison yeast and aged over sultanas. The Sultan was warming and strong with a definite dried fruit vinous quality that was reminiscent of a Pedro Ximenez sherry. Baird Dark Sky Imperial Stout is probably the opposite of what most people would expect from a Japanese beer, rich, dark and formidably strong. Dark Sky delivered plenty of dark cocoa and rich espresso flavours with a great full bodied malt character and a firm bitter finish.
Next year the festival will have to shed its ‘Matariki’ moniker as (astoundingly) Matariki Wines have been granted a trademark on the term. This is the equivalent of being allowed to trademark “New Years Eve”. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand has some explaining to do!
In other beer festival news, Beervana is looking to be bigger than ever. Earlier this year the Brewers Guild of NZ sold the festival to David Cryer, the former Brewers Guild chairman. The festival has moved from the town hall to the Westpac stadium. While the town hall offered fantastic aesthetics, a major downside to holding the event there was that all food had to be supplied by the contracted caterer. The stadium offers the opportunity to serve food from some of Wellington’s best chefs alongside the nation’s best beers. Tickets are on sale at www.beervana.co.nz.
Cheers

CT Column 29/06/2011: Comings and goings

2011-09-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I wrote about some of the new brewing operations that are opening in Wellington. It’s great to see these new people coming into the industry. A week later I received a phone call from Matt Duncan, the sixth generation brewer from Founders in Nelson. Matt had rung to give me a heads up that the brewery was now on the market. Founders have been operating in the historic Founders Park for over 11 years brewing a range of organic beers and continuing a family brewing tradition that started in 1843.
The sale has come after fifth generation brewer John Duncan and wife Carol made the decision to retire. Matt is keen to continue the family tradition and stay on as brewer if a new owner is open to the idea. If a new owner doesn’t require Matt’s services it will be the end of New Zealand’s oldest brewing dynasty. It’s not easy brewing characterful and varied beers from the limited and expensive range of organic ingredients vailable to organic brewers. It’s the equivalent of an artist using three shades of paint to create the same masterpieces that can be achieved with a full artist’s palette.
Founders have done a good job through the years and I hope a new owner is found.
As one chapter closes another opens. Taranaki based homebrew supplier Liberty Brewing has just moved into the brewing game. Liberty owner Joseph Wood has assembled a small brew plant and is now producing small runs of strong beers packaged in 750ml re-sealable wine bottles. My pick of the bunch would be the eccentrically named High Carb Ale which is a New Zealand strong ale that combines the newly planted NZ Chinock hop variety with floor malted English Golden Promise pale malt, and Belgian Special crystal malt. The beer is richly malty with an earthy hop character and a firm bitter finish. The name is a tongue and cheek dig at the current trend for ‘low carb-no flavour’ lagers that seems to be in vogue. For the record High Carb Ale contains 45g of carbohydrate per 750ml bottle and is all the better for it!
Also out on the taps at present is a collaboration brew between Liberty Brewing and established Taranaki brewer, mikes. Taranaki Pale Ale is a 7%abv hoppy IPA described recently on Hashigo Zake’s facebook page as being ‘catnip for hopheads’. Taranaki Pale Ale is sure to go down well with those who value flavour and don’t care about the carbs! Cheers.

CT Column 22/06/2011: Milestones

2011-09-15T00:59:00.001-07:00

IT takes a lot of work to make good beer. The day to day running of a busy brewery can sometimes obscure a brewer’s view of the bigger picture and so miss marking the achievements and milestones that other businesses would celebrate.
Back in 2005 I visited Emerson’s Brewery for the first time. At that point they were looking forward to brewing their millionth litre, a significant achievement. Several years later they realised after the fact that they had already passed the two millionth litre mark and had been so busy they hadn’t even noticed at the time! In April this year Emerson’s brewed their three millionth litre and while this time they certainly noticed they were too busy to mark the occasion. A party is planned for later this year.
At the other end of the spectrum Marlborough craft brewer Søren Eriksen originally intended to brew something celebratory to mark the 8th batch of beer to be released under his 8 Wired label. However when it came to the 8th batch the demand for his existing beers was so great that it ended up passing without fanfare. At the end of last year the 18th Batch loomed and Søren decided he could afford to do something special. The result was Batch 18, a strong specialty Imperial Stout. Batch 18 started its life as an imperial stout crafted from seven types of malt, a special Brazilian raw sugar called Jaggery, three varieties of hop and two different yeast strains. The resulting beer fermented out to a chest thumping 12.5% ABV! The beer was then infused with fair trade organic coffee and aged in oak barrels. The resulting beer pours a viscous pitch black with a tan creamy head just as an Imperial Stout should. The aroma is huge and complex combining rich dark chocolate, warm espresso, oaky vanilla, dark berry fruit and toasty malt. In the mouth the beer is incredibly decadent and rich with some warming alcohol, dark fruit, espresso and rich malt before a slightly tannic oaky finish. Batch 18 is a rich and intense beer designed to be shared with friends, preferably at the end of a hearty meal on a cold night, a near perfect nightcap! I for one can’t wait to taste what Søren brews for his 28th Batch!
Cheers

CT Column 15/06/2011: Beer in Focus

2011-09-15T00:56:00.000-07:00

THE beer world is a multifaceted community. Brewers, drinkers, educators, activists, retailers, writers and suppliers all have a part to play. I tend to play all the roles at times. Recently another role has appeared in the form of documenters. While I have already written about Luke Nicholas and Kelly Ryan’s internet TV show NZ Craft Beer TV there is another person who is going to great lengths to capture the people who make the beers we love.
The Beer Project is the creation of photographer Jed Soane. Back in 2009 Jed accompanied a friend to the Great New Zealand Beer Festival at Waitangi Park. The festival that year was a wash out with Wellington’s weather gods making themselves unmistakably known. The wet conditions and mud however made for some great photographs. Jed decided the photos were some of the best he had ever taken and after talking with Yeastie Boy Stu McKinlay, Jed decided he would embark on a project to photograph the nation’s craft brewers. His predominantly black and white photos are not only incredibly good but will one day be of historic importance when we look back to burgeoning adolescence of our craft beer industry. Jed has travelled the country trying to photograph as many brewers as he can.You can see some of his work at http://thebeerproject.com
And on the topic of the Yeastie Boys the post modern brewers currently have two tap only releases out, Fools Gold which is a hoppy sessionable English style ale supercharged with NZ hop varieties and Rescue Red a hoppy Amber Saison brewed as a collaboration between the Yeastie Boys, 8 Wired and Renaissance to raise money for the Brewers Guild Christchurch Earthquake Fund and the Brisbane Flood Relief Fund.
Cheers

CT Column 8/06/2011: New ventures brewing

2011-09-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

WELLINGTON is already the craft beer capital of New Zealand. We have in this city a fantastic array of bars all offering a broad range of beers and a craft beer drinking population that demands that mainstream bars and restaurants are increasingly including at least one craft offering. What Wellington has up until now lacked however is a range of breweries. With the exception of Tuatara and contract brewers Yeastie Boys it has been brewers from other parts of the country that have supplied the capital. All that is about to change with a raft of new brewing operations starting to unfold around the city.
One brewer is in the process of commissioning a small brew plant in central Wellington. The Garage Project is the brain child of brewer Peter Gillespie and former video game programmer Jos Ruffell. Kiwi born Peter Gillespie has an impressive brewing resume that includes stints at the legendary Thames Valley Brakspear brewery, Hepworth’s in Sussex and finally the Lion Nathan owned James Squire brewery in Sydney. Peter’s time at James Squire taught him a lot about brewing for a big company an experience he likens to working in a dark box and one which he will not be returning to! Keep an eye on www.garageproject.co.nz for developments. Finally in Upper Hutt ex-pat American Chris Mills has converted a room on his house into a tiny commercial brewery. The company is called Keruru Brewing Co and will produce very limited amounts of traditional and gluten free craft beer. Check out http://kererubrewing.co.nz/ to see what is definitely one of the smallest commercial breweries in the world!
Colin Mallon and Sean Murrie, the men behind the Malthouse, have announced that they are to open a brew pub in the Bond Street premise that was originally home to the CBD’s last brew pub The Loaded Hog, and more recently Syn Bar and The Ruby Lounge. The premise is yet to be named and a brewer is yet to be employed however redevelopment of the site is underway. It’s planned that the brewery will host brewers from around the country and the world with a lot of collaboration and one off brews on the cards.
Cheers

CT Column 25/05/2011: Mash Up with the Hop Zombie

2011-07-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

LAST week saw the release of Hop Zombie Double IPA.
Hop Zombie is the first new Epic beer to be released since the one man brewing company doubled its workforce. Late last year it was announced that head brewer Luke Nicholas would be employing Kelly Ryan who had carved a successful brewing career in the UK where he had been the head brewer at the Thornbridge Brewery. Kelly Ryan played a key role in formulating Hop Zombie blending hop varieties that had never been blended before and combining them with an extremely pale but rich malt profile.
The resulting beer absolutely broadcasts exotic tropical fruit aromas with notes of lychee, lime, pineapple and a hint of pine. In the mouth it is dangerously balanced and drinkable for its 8.5%abv with a firm rich malt character, heaps of tropical fruit flavour and a long fruity finish.
The beer has surprised a lot of the die hard Epic fans as it isn’t just a bigger bolder version of Epic Armageddon the company’s IPA and definitely shows that two highly skilled brewers have worked together on it. To use Luke Nicolas’ term a ‘shed load of hops’ have been added to Hop Zombie, 90kg’s in 3200 litres of beer and yet the beer is incredibly balanced and drinkable.
Also new out on the market from Epic is a new beer that has arisen out of the world’s largest ever collaboration brew. Over the summer Luke and Kelly travelled the country with a film crew in tow visiting the nation’s craft brewers. An internet TV show has been produced to document the trip which culminated in a collaboration brew at Steam brewing in Auckland where brewers from around the country contributed ideas to brew a beer that would sum up the craft brewing ethos of New Zealand. The result is a 6%abv fruity New Zealand hopped golden ale called Mash Up which is also the name of the TV show. You can watch the first episode of the show at www.nzcraftbeer.tv.
Cheers

CT Column 18/05/2011: In Season

2011-07-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

IN the Belgian province of Wallonia there is a long tradition of farmhouse brewing. Wallonian farmers used to brew tart refreshing ales to sustain and pay farm labourers in the same way that English farms used to ferment cider. These beers were traditionally brewed in spring before the high temperatures of summer spoiled the fermenting beer and were laid down to be drunk at the end of summer during the harvest. The seasonal nature of these brews lead to them being referred to as Saison which is French for season.
As a result of its farmhouse origins the saison style is a very broad church with a range of different interpretations being brewed. What all good Saisons have in common is a citric, tart, peppery refreshing quality created by the special yeasts used to ferment them, relatively heavy hopping, and sometimes the use of spices.
The classic Saison producer is commonly believed to be Brasserie Dupont, a sizable producer that is still located on a farm. There are currently 2 beers from Dupont imported into New Zealand, the zesty dry somewhat austere Saison Dupont and the stronger more fruity Moinette Blonde. Both are outstanding beers that make wonderful accompaniments to a wide range of foods particularly spicy dishes such as Thai curries where the peppery sharpness of the beer can balance the spicy richness of the food.
The Invercargill Brewery has just released their interpretation of the style. Named SA!SON as a reference to the fact that Dominion Breweries until recently held the trademark to Saison, the Invercargill brew is appropriately fruity and zesty with a big tangerine citrus character, some exotic tropical fruit notes and a dry tart finish. It’s a limited autumn release so get some while you can!
Meanwhile the beer world is currently holding its breath as we await the result of the IPONZ hearing into the trademarking of the word Radler, a style of German shandy. Consumer Group the Society of Beer Advocates, of which I am a member, have challenged the trademark as they contend that beer styles shouldn’t be trademarked. The judgement should be out in the next month.

Lost in Translation

2011-06-04T01:54:00.000-07:00

The number of handpumps in NZ seems to be constantly growing although the numbers are still low. For someone like myself who loves cask beer this is great. Of course the vast majority of beer that passes through these handpumps is not cask conditioned but degassed keg beer or unconditioned bright beer. There is nothing wrong with this and it’s a great ½ way house between keg and cask. It is in my opinion not as good as cask at its best but it is a realistic product for a nation of pubs and bars without cellars or staff with the knowledge to condition and care for cask beer. So far so good. There is however a growing trend for putting seriously strong beers through the handpump which I do find strange. For me drinking from a handpump is all about session drinking preferably by the pint. When I see 10%abv Imperial Stouts and 8%abv strong porters being served on the hand pump it makes me think that we are missing the point a little.

Monday Night at the Albar

2011-05-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

I stand at the end of the bar, sipping my pint of mild and nibbling on a piece of crunchy home baked pork rind. The pub has a warm cosy vibe tonight, a refuge from the darkening winters night outside and a bustle of workers making their way home. Richard enthuses about his handiwork and quite right to, the mild is 3%abv, tawny and absolutely bursting with flavour and body, I could drink it all night. I watch down the bar , the handpumps are working hard, May is Handpump Festival at Albar, the pump closest to me is dispensing my creation. I watch as punters order pints, real pints imperial pints not like the ones up north, sniff the voluminous sparkler driven white foam (that will not adorn my pint when I get to ordering it) and then sip deep. They seem to like it, I like it, all is well.

Women and Homebrewing

2011-05-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

I was recently interviewed for an article on homebrewing for the Domion Post . One of the questions put to me was whether I thought homebrewing was an inherently male preoccupation or if I thought the rising numbers of Female beer drinkers, and female professional brewers would result in the more female homebrewers. The question got me thinking, I had already been mulling over some similar concepts after reading Claire Monk’s blog about the sexism she faces in the UK being a female brewer (I hope things are different here in our more enlightened corner of the south pacific for our female pro brewers) . I said I thought the numbers of female homebrewers would increase even though I currently know of less female homebrewers than I have fingers. The reporter said how another local beer personality had described homebrewing as baking for blokes implying that it’s a male past time. There certainly is an element of blokes pottering in sheds about homebrewing. I would love to hear opinions from any female homebrewers out there.

CT Column 11/05/2011: The Rex Attitude

2011-05-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

Kiwi’s are always incredibly keen to achieve world firsts. We flew first, we climbed Mt Everest first, we stepped onto Antarctica first, we gave women the vote first, we made the first commercial bungee jump and now we have brewed Rex Attitude, the world’s first 100% peated malt beer. With some of these acts we were just way ahead of our time; with some of the others we were riding the line between recklessness and bravery. Time will tell which category Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude will fall into. Either way everyone who tries Rex is left with the very definite impression that they have tried something unique.

Last year Yeastie Boy head brewer Stu McKinlay came up with the idea of brewing a beer with the peated malt that many Scottish whiskey distillers use to make whiskey. Peated malt is cured or kilned over peat fires which impart all sorts of smoky, earthy, spicy characters to the malt. Peated Malts are occasionally used in beers but usually in very small amounts. When Stu was told that 5% was the absolute maximum amount he should consider using he decided he would in his own words “ignore the wowsers” and start with 100% and scale it back from there if he felt the need. Stu combined the peated malt with Willamette hops and a clean subtle American ale yeast. Upon tasting the beer Stu was convinced it was the best thing he had ever brewed, 2 tonnes of peated malt were ordered from Scotland and a full production batch of the beer was produced.
Last week the beer hit the market. The real test came at the launch party when the first unsuspecting member of the public came into contact with one of the most ‘out there’ beers ever produced anywhere. Local beer photographer Jed Soane was in attendance to capture what he calls The Rex Attitude, the moment when people put the glass to their lips and are totally shocked-surprised-delighted by what they encounter.

So what does this totally unique beer taste like?
Rex Pours a light shade of gold with a tight white head and positively broadcasts aromas of deep earthy smoke, some light heathery kipper notes, and a spicy slightly ashen note. In the mouth light fruity citrus tinged hops make an appearance before big earthy smoky slightly medicinal peat character kicks in and slowly fades. Rex Attitude is a hugely complex beer that will change significantly as it ages, it has already changed a lot over the fortnight I have been tasting it.
Rex Attitude is available at Thorndon and Island Bay New World, Rumbles, Moore Wilson’s, Regional Wines, Hashigo Zake, The Hop Garden, and The Malthouse.

Note: unedited version.

CT Column 4/05/2011:A Right Royal Snub

2011-05-16T22:02:00.001-07:00

LAST Friday’s Royal wedding should really have been a celebration of everything that England does well. Unfortunately instead it turned into a shining example of how the English can denigrate and disregard the very things they excel at.
A week before Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding it was announced that beer would be banned from the reception. An insider was quoted as saying, “Let’s face it, it isn’t really an appropriate drink to be serving in the Queen’s presence at such an occasion.” So apparently despite the fact that beer is Britain’s national drink, one of it’s few surviving manufacturing industries, one of the icons that people think about when they think of Mother England (the Royal family being another!) and an industry that has a long and proud association with the Royal family, it is not appropriate for it to be consumed in the Queen’s presence. There is of course no evidence that the Queen holds these views. Her mother was an enthusiastic drinker and was often photographed pulling and drinking pints of ale at ceremonial occasions, Prince Charles has his own brand of beer that uses organic barley from his own estate and one of the ways the Royal family marked the birth of William was to brew a celebratory ale! In 1982 Earl Spencer , William’s uncle travelled to Burton Upon Trent to brew Princes Ale to mark the birth of the new heir to the throne. So what has happened? I suspect as so often happens with the Royal family, the spin doctors have got it terribly wrong. It would have been bad enough for Britain’s national drink to have been omitted from proceedings but they have gone further than that by describing beer as being inappropriate for the occasion, a huge slap in the face to the English brewing community and one that comes after breweries throughout the UK have been brewing Royal Wedding Ales to mark the occasion and wish the couple well. English beer writer Pete Brown called on those brewers to re-brand their wedding ales with republican motifs and for pubs to not play the wedding coverage. A sad state of affairs and one that as a self professed anglophile makes me cringe. On a more positive note closer to home the world’s first 100% peated malt beer, Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude was released with much Scottish fanfare last Saturday. More on that next week! Cheers.

CT Column 27/04/2011: Fit for an Empress

2011-05-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

WITH winter on its way it’s now the season when many brewers start to release their big rich winter seasonal brews.
It’s now an understood convention that the biggest most intense example of a beer style gets labelled ‘imperial’. The term comes from the strong intensely roasty and hoppy stouts that were exported from the UK to the Russian empire in the 18th century. The myth goes that Catherine the II of Imperial Russia took such a liking to these strong export stouts that she imported them for consumption in her royal court and accordingly they became know as Imperial Stouts. Whatever the truth it makes for a good story.
Right now we have two locally produced beers that broadly sit in the Imperial stout family. Out as a very limited tap only release from Taranaki’s mike’s (small m) brewery we have Imperial Porter. Clocking in at 8%abv mike’s Imperial Porter is the base beer that goes into whiskey barrels to make mike’s Whiskey Porter. With a complex aroma of milk chocolate, toasty malt and a hint of savoury meatiness and a smooth rich rounded cocoa tinged palate mike’s Imperial Porter is the perfect antidote to a southerly blast on a chilly autumn night.
From Blenheim’s 8 Wired we have the 2011 vintage of i-Stout at the appropriately warming 10%abv. Pouring a rich viscous black hue with a voluminous tan head, i-Stout offers up a complex aroma of hop driven stonefruit, light espresso, and chocolate caramel. In the mouth the beer is warming, with more stonefruit, cocoa, roasted malt flavours and a long dry finish. Both these beers will make a great accompaniment to berry based deserts, and sharp aged cheeses.
Cheers

CT Column 20/04/2011: Take note!

2011-05-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

CALL me jaded, call me spoilt, call me hard to please, but it’s not often that a new beer comes along and really gets me excited.
Last week I tried a beer that truly got me going, Such was the intensity of the aroma I knew it was going to before I even got the glass to my nose, and then once I had sipped it I knew I was going to have to tell everyone about it.
The beer in question is fittingly called Nota Bene which is roughly Latin for ‘take note’ , and take note I did. Nota Bene is a rich golden coloured Belgian style abbey ale that treads a similar path to the Trappist classic Orval although controversially I think it does a better job, achieving a deft balancing act that leaves the beer both complex, challenging and incredibly drinkable. The beer combines a firm malt character with some spicy hop notes, and a dazzlingly complex range of fermentation derived flavours and aromas from the special range of yeasts that are used to ferment the beer to its 8.7%abv strength. One of the yeasts is a wild strain called brettanomyces which most brewers go to great lengths to keep out of their beers. Brettanomyces gives the beer a slightly tangy, funky, aniseed tinged, wild character that adds a huge amount of depth and complexity to the beer, if it was a wine it would be described as being ‘rustic’.
Nota Bene is brewed by veteran New Zealand brewer Ben Middlemiss. Back in the late 1990’s Ben brewed a very similar beer called Australis Benediction that captured the imagination of the beer writer Michael Jackson. Jackson ended up selecting it to feature at his World Beer Showcase at the University of Philadelphia in the year 2000 and included it in his influential Great Beer Guide. At the time this was a huge achievement and one which means Benediction is still in high demand in the United States. Benediction ceased to be when the Australis Brewing Co closed down. Now Nota Bene is here to continue the theme.
The funky Belgian rustic character of Nota Bene makes it a perfect match to pungent washed rind cheeses, which is exactly how I intend to enjoy my next bottle!
Ben Middlemiss Nota Bene is available from Hashigo Zake, The Malthouse , Regional Wines and online retailer The Beer Store.

CT Column13/04/2011: Full Circle

2011-05-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Modern New Zealand history is a most finite commodity. While in the UK there are breweries that can trace their history back hundreds of years, here, brewers who date from the 1980’s are seen as the old guard.
There is one New Zealand brewing dynasty however that can trace its history all the way back to the 1850’s.
The Duncan family are currently the driving force behind the Founders Brewery. Founders was formed in 1999 but various generations of the family have been brewing in Nelson since 1854 when Duncan family ancestor Joseph Dodson, bought into the Hooper & Co Brewery.
Hooper & Co was eventually renamed J R Dodson and Sons, then Nelson Breweries, before being sold to Dominion Breweries in the 1960’s.
As a mark of respect for where they have come from, Founders have just released the first two of a new range of revolving seasonal beers called J R Duncan and Sons.
First up Nelson Pilsner is a fruity and zesty New Zealand Pilsner late hopped with NZ Cascade, and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin to create a big aroma of tropical fruit with a hint of grassiness.
Also under the J R Duncan and Sons banner we have the excessively named ‘Surprise Me AKA AK 4.7’ or AK4.7 for short. AK 4.7 is a hoppy amber ale which was brewed for the Marchfest that happens in Nelson’s Founders Park each March.
Now that the festival is over the beer has been released into the Wellington market.
AK 4.7offers up a big fresh New Zealand hop character, alongside a firm toasty malt body and is perfect for the cooler nights of autumn.
As AK4.7 was brewing John Duncan came across a label in the provincial museum from 1945 for a beer brewed by his ancestor called J R Dodson & Son A.K. Brilliant Ale.
A coincidence? Or blessing from the ancestors?
Cheers.

CT Column 6/04/2011: A sanctuary for beer lovers

2011-05-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

Craft brewing and craft beer consumption is at an all time high and happens in places you would never have found it a year or two ago. Last week I attended a Tuatara beer and food matching evening held at the Zealandia Wildlife sanctuary. The evening was held to celebrate the birthday of the first Tuataras to be born on mainland New Zealand in over 200 years and to raise money for the sanctuary’s 500 year vision. It goes to show how far things have come that what until recently would have certainly been a wine tasting is now a beer and food event. The evening was hosted by former Tuatara brewer Dion Page and Zealandia Ranger Russ Drewry. After an explanation of what beer is and how it is made plates of food and Tuatara beers were brought out. Rata Café Chef Craig Dunshea had crafted a menu to match the Tuatara beers and managed extremely well considering it was his first attempt. For me two matches stood head and shoulders above the others. Vietnamese summer rolls with coconut marinated fish were matched with Tuatara Pilsner. The assertive fruity hop character of the Pilsner blended seamlessly with the fresh mint of the summer rolls while it cut the richness of the marinated fish as well as any lime or lemon could hope to.
Herb crepes stuffed with warmed Chevre goats cheese matched with Tuatara Hefe was another winner. The tangy richness of the Chevre was perfectly cut by the overt fruit and spice notes that stem from the yeast strain that Tuatara use to ferment the Hefe, while the assertive carbonation of the beer cleaned the mouth coating richness of the dish.
The event attracted a crowd not normally seen at beer tasting events and served as a great introduction to craft beer for the uninitiated. The evening closed with a promise that while it was the first Zealandia beer and food matching it would certainly not be the last. I will certainly drink to that!
Cheers

CT Column 30/03/2011: Give a man a beer

2011-05-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

‘Give a man a beer and he will waste an hour, teach him to brew and he will waste a lifetime’ or so the saying goes.
However for some of us learning to brew beer at home, it has been anything but a waste with many of the craft brewing industries key players having started out as amateurs. Luke Nicholas of Epic originally started homebrewing while at University in 1989.Invercargill Brewing’s Steve Nally gave homebrewing a go after reading about it in the Listener. Richard Emerson still counts a homebrewed batch of beer, the majority of which he tipped down the drain before it had matured, as his best batch ever. More recently, contract brewers like Yeastie Boys and 8 Wired have blurred the lines between amateurs and pros.
The one thing that all of these brewers, and incidentally myself, have in common is that we all started out our brewing careers using canned homebrew kits of the sort that you see on the shelves in supermarkets and homebrew stores around the country.
These cans of hopped malt extract present a very simple way for a homebrewer to create beer of moderate quality. One of the downsides to these kits is that the evaporation process that allows 20 litres of beer to fit in a small can ends up knocking out many of the volatile flavour and aroma elements resulting in a dull but convenient product.
Last year Jim Matranga of Mapua’s Golden Bear Brewing came up with an idea that could help his small brewpub use its brewing capacity and help entry and intermediate level homebrewers to brew better beer. The result has been coined “wort in a bag” and consists of a box and bladder much like a cardboard wine cask that holds unfermented beer, or wort as brewers call it, from the Golden Bear brew house. The homebrewer then pours the wort into a fermenting bucket and adds yeast to ferment the beer at home. More experienced brewers can add extra hops, spices and select particular yeast strains to ‘make the brew their own’. Because the wort is not evaporated it retains much more flavour and complexity than traditional homebrew from a can.
I recently tried out the wort in a bag system and the results were fantastic with the resulting keg of fruity pale ale disappearing rather quickly. Time will only tell how many of tomorrow’s professional brewers will start out using Jim’s invention.
Golden Bear Fresh Wort Kits are available from online retailer Liberty Brewing and from the Golden Bear brewpub itself at Port Mapua, Tasman Bay. Cheers.

CT Column 23/03/2011: Autumn's Calling

2011-05-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

AUTUMN in Wellington tends to arrive first with a thud in the form of an icy southerly front followed by a relapse into ‘Indian summer’ and then an inevitable descent into winter. Unlike the majority of the population I relish autumn as it marks the start of the cooler months which I far prefer to the muggy heat of summer and the windy fury of spring.
For me the start of autumn is always marked by the release of Emerson’s Taieri George. Taieri George is brewed by Richard Emerson each year to honour his father George who helped to set up the historic Taieri Gorge railway which stretches into Otago from Dunedin. Taieri George is a spiced dark ale that combines cinnamon, nutmeg and organic clover honey with a range of dark biscuity malts and the Emerson’s house yeast to create a distinctly spicy and complex beer that is often compared to hot cross buns. This year’s vintage is particularly floral, a character that perhaps stems from the honey, with a well integrated spiced character and a suggestion of cola alongside the characteristic hot cross bun effect. The beer matches well with hot cross buns but is excellent alongside a spicy Moroccan Tagine, a perfect match for cool autumnal nights.
Another beer that I often find myself drinking as the weather turns is Fullers 1845. Fullers brew a range of fruity and malt accented ales on the road to Heathrow airport in London. 1845 is a rich tangy strong ale that combines toasty caramel malt flavours and a ‘sherbety’ marmalade accented yeast note with an earthy English hop character. The result makes a fantastic accompaniment to roast lamb, slow cooked beef, or a nice sharp traditional English cheddar.
And finally on the topic of autumn beers Founders will have a limited release autumn ale available on the taps around town at the start of next month.

Return to the brewhouse

2011-03-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well it has been awhile since I have done an actual blog post rather than just reproducing my Capital Times columns. A lot has been happening over the last few months. We have bought a piece of land, a bach and an imitation railway caboose sleep out up the coast at Waikanae which will hopefully at some point include a small cider orchard, but for now will make for a fantastic venue to drink beer. The decision has been made to brew R.S.B. again. This year my collaboration with Richard Emerson will be a 1200 litre batch and will again be an ESB with a few tweaks to the recipe. Last Sunday I brewed the home pilot batch. I invited photographer Jed Soane around to document the brew and in true sods law fashion managed to sleep through my 5.30am alarm call, something that never happens on brew days! And left him waiting on the doorstep for 20minutes. Regardless the brew day went well and the beer is currently cold conditioning.
I have also embarked on a new series of articles for SOBA’s Pursuit of Hoppyness. Following the end of my beer and cheese series I am now doing a series on beer styles beginning with some of the New Zealand styles that have developed before our eyes.
Hopefully it won’t be as long till the next blog! Cheers

CT Column16/03/2011: Tastes like communal spirit

2011-03-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

IN the wake of the Christchurch earthquake many of us have been scratching our heads about what exactly we can do to help.
A week ago those of us in the craft beer community came together to do what we could. A series of fundraising events around New Zealand and Australia were organised by consumer group the Society of Beer Advocates and the Brewers Guild. In Wellington, the local beer community gathered at Bar Edward in Newtown to hold a charity auction and drink from a charity bar. Brewers from around the country donated beer that was sold across the bar while other items were auctioned off with all takings going to the Red Cross appeal. There were some fantastic items donated including a day brewing with Carl Vasta at Tuatara, a beer matched bistro lunch at Logan Brown, tickets to Nelson’s Marchfest, rare bottles of beer, and most poignantly a bottle of Three Boys Aftershock.
Aftershock came about after last year’s 7.1 quake when that one knocked out power to Three Boys Woolston brewery. Brewer Ralph Bungard saved a brew of Three Boys Golden Ale but after being interrupted by the power cut he decided to change the beer and release it as an earthquake themed one off release. Aftershock sold like hot cakes and is now very rare.
The silver lining to this disaster has been the way the community has pulled together and it was great to see that this was true of the beer community just as it has been true of the wider community. The single 330ml bottle of Three Boys Aftershock fetched a staggering $325 while the event as a whole raised over $6300.
While Christchurch brewed beers may be scarce over the next few weeks the best way you can support these businesses is to keep buying their beers. Cheers.

CT Column 9/03/2011 : Underwired

2011-03-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

BREWERS often set themselves technical challenges. Sometimes this takes the form of nursing their yeasts to achieve high alcohol levels, sometimes it consists of using unusual ingredients, and in several cases I know of it has involved creating a beer with a very low carbohydrate level, a dubious if highly marketable goal.
Last year 8 Wired brewer Søren Erikson decided he wanted to take up the challenge of brewing an aromatic and highly flavourful beer but at an alcoholic strength that would allow it to fit the legal definition of ‘low alcohol beer’. To hold a liquor license in New Zealand a bar or restaurant must provide a beer with 2.5% alcohol by volume or less. Søren decided he wanted to brew a low alcohol version of a hoppy American style India pale ale, a style that usually uses a relatively high alcohol level to deliver big flavours.
Brewing lower alcohol beers usually means adding less malt, Søren decided to take a different tack by adding a large percentage of an unfermentable type of malt called Crystal Malt. Crystal Malt tends to give the beer it is used in nutty, caramel flavours and helps to give body. Usually brewers use 10 to 20 percent, Søren decided to use 66% meaning that the resulting beer did not ferment out to a high alcohol level but did retain enough body and malt character to balance out the big hop flavours and aromas that Søren packed into the beer.
The result was named Underwired as a humorous reference to Søren’s 7.3%abv assertively hopped IPA Hopwired. The resulting beer offers up a big fruity aroma with some floral notes and a distinct whiff of grapefruit. In the mouth Underwired is fruity and hop accented with just enough body and caramel malt character to balance the hops. While the beer is definitely on the thin end of the spectrum it’s highly drinkable and infinitely more satisfying and characterful than the other low alcohol beers on the market. Cheers!

CT Column 2/03/2011: The quiet revolution

2011-03-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

RECENTLY, I have been lucky enough to dine at several restaurants which have put substantial thought into the beers they serve.
Beer advocates sometimes labour the point about beer and food matching. We do this in part as a reaction to the prejudices shown in certain sections of the food writing world that says wine is the only drink worthy of the dinner table, and as a reaction to the incredibly limited range of beers that have traditionally been offered in our restaurants. However the real process of change seems to have been led by customers demanding better beer and restaurateurs responding to the demand. It wasn’t so long ago that almost any expensive restaurant offered multiple varieties of wine but beer was represented by the one generic ubiquitous golden style of lager.
Ambeli in Mt Victoria has recently opened for lunch and I was lucky enough to sample some seriously tasty well crafted food alongside the best craft beer NZ has to offer. I tried charcuterie, chilled almond soup, smoked paprika ceviche and marinated olives accompanied by a glass of the extravagantly hopped 8 Hopwired IPA; then battered Medjool Date, Cumin Goats Cheese & pickled orange salad with a glass of Mussel Inn Captain Cooker; Sherry braised free range pork belly, roasted pear and fennel salad with a glass of Three Boys Wheat; and finally sauteed prawns feta risotto and lemon sauce with Emerson’s Weiss beer. Each dish was as expertly crafted as the beer that it was matched with. I should add that my partner Sarah was accompanying me lest the reputation for gluttony that my Christmas columns have earned me grows.
Another place to find the best of beer alongside the best of food is Wellington’s newest beer outlet The Hop Garden. I was one of the first customers to dine in the newly opened restaurant which successfully straddles the line between restaurant and pub. Here pork belly and smoked potato was accompanied by the fruity yeasty Coopers Sparkling; citrus-spiced zucchini bruschetta with crumbled goat’s cheese found a zesty companion in Twisted Hop Sauvin Pilsner, and salmon and caper berry croquettes with a fennel citrus salad was accompanied by the fruity rounded Three Boys Golden Ale.
Finally towards the end of last year I dined at the Ortega Fish Shack. I must declare an interest here as I helped Davey McDonald formulate the beer list when they launched a little over a year ago, we can’t have done too bad a job as Ortega won the Beer and Brewer award for best beer friendly restaurant. Ortega’s list has four descriptive sections, Light and Crisp, Zesty and Full, Dark and Roasty, and Rich and Rounded. These descriptors help diners choose the beer that will suit the food they order and with 30 beers across a broad range of styles there definitely is something for every dish.
These are a few Wellington restaurants with serious beer lists and we should count ourselves lucky for that. It has been said that the best beer and food match is the one in front of you and with options like the ones available at these restaurants that is certainly true.
On a more sobering note, as I write this the aftermath of the second Christchurch earth quake is slowly becoming clear. This time it seems the city’s craft breweries have been extensively damaged with expletives used to describe the state of some of them. Thankfully, at this point, the brewers and their families all seem to have survived.

CT Column 9/02/2011 :Flaming beer from the other capital

2011-03-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

HERE in Wellington we like to think of ourselves as the beer capital of NZ. We have some pretty good evidence to back this up.
Not only does our city boast an excellent range of dedicated craft beer bars and quality retailers but increasingly our ‘middle of the road’ restaurants, cafes and bars are stocking a craft beer option and often a wide selection. We also, of course, have one large regional craft brewery Tuatara, and one contract brewer Yeastie Boys. The Wellington craft beer market is lucrative and many breweries from around the country do a large amount of their business in this town.
There are however pretenders to the throne. Nelson has a claim. The town is poised on the edge of the hop growing fields with a large number of breweries and a handful of lovely bars and pubs in which to drink. Nelson is a lovely place but the word capital really doesn’t spring to mind when you visit. I would describe it more as the ‘workshop’ of New Zealand Craft beer.
Further south Christchurch also has a claim. The town is home to a number of important New Zealand craft breweries, in large part due to the untreated artesian water that runs free through its municipal water system and the abundance of affordable industrial real estate. In addition to some of the big names of NZ Craft brewing like Three Boys, Twisted Hop and Harrington’s counting Christchurch as home there are a whole raft of new start up breweries.
One of these breweries is Cassels and Sons. Located in Woolston, a stone’s throw from the Three Boys Brewery, Cassels and Sons is a brewery with a very unique piece of kit. Modern breweries use electricity or gas to heat the kettle that boils the extracted malt sugars with the hops. At Cassels and Sons they have decided to heat their kettle with a log fire much as breweries would have before the industrial revolution. While many in the brewing world have met this news with raised eye brows, brewing is hard enough with out adding an un-necessary variable into the mix being the common sentiment, everyone I have talked to has been dying to see it in action!
The brewery is currently brewing a pale lager, a New Zealand Pilsner, a dark Dunkel Lager, a fruit beer and my favourite an Extra Special Bitter. The beers are currently only available in Christchurch and the brewery is attempting to work out how they can increase distribution without over extending themselves. There will however be a chance to try one of the Cassels and Sons beers along side a whole host of other beers from Christchurch brewers both new and established at a tasting I am arranging at Regional Wines on the 24th and 25th of this month.
As for where exactly the beer capital of NZ lies, for me it’s pretty clearly our own fair city, but then I’m biased. Cheers!

CT Column 2/02/2011 :Europa, Rapture and Tally Ho!

2011-02-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

GOLDEN ales are a relatively young style of beer dating from the early 1980’s. Independent English Ale brewers decided they needed a style of beer to compete with the pale lagers that were becoming increasingly popular with the masses. They devised a beer that was pale, and hoppy with a rounded fruity note from the ale yeasts they employed. These beers were ultimately a far more interesting and satisfying proposition than the mass produced lagers they were trying to rival. Today, both in the UK and here in the Antipodes, golden ales are increasingly being seen as a crucial element of the perfect summer, or at least they are a crucial element of my perfect summer! Over the next few weeks there will be three seasonal golden ales hitting the local taps.
Never ones to do things by halves, Wellington’s own Yeastie Boys are releasing two golden ales. The beers will be identical apart from the yeast that has been used to ferment them. Both beers comprise a very simple recipe of pale malt, wheat malt, and Nelson Sauvin and NZ Cascade hops. The first of the two beers is called Europa after a Blondie song although there have been whispers that it may in fact also be a reference to New Zealand’s local and now defunct oil company. As descendent of a former Europa employee I side with this far less likely theory! Europa has been fermented with a clean crisp Kolsch yeast which has highlighted the subtle malt flavours and lightly fruity hop aromas. At 4.2%abv it makes for a fantastic session beer offering just enough fruity hop character and nutty malt flavour to keep the drinker interested. Rapture which is most definitely named after a Blondie song has been fermented with the Belgian Abbey Ale yeast strain that originated at the Chimay brewery. It will be released early Feb, and is sure to be an altogether spicier more peppery proposition than Europa.
The new Emerson’s Brewers Reserve has been named ‘Tally Ho!’ after The Clean’s 1981 single. Tally Ho! is a golden ale that has been brewed with NZ pale malt, caramalt, English grown Challenger and East Kent Golding Hops and a fruity English yeast strain. At 4.9% Tally Ho! is a little stronger than the Yeastie Boy offerings but I’m sure it will be equally drinkable.
All these beers are sure to start popping up at the now considerable range of good beer outlets that Wellington is blessed with. Keep an eye out for all three at Hashigo Zake, Malthouse, The Hop Garden, Bar Edward and Regional Wines and Spirits.

CT Column 26/01/2011 :Sacred vows

2011-02-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Last week I was very kindly given two very rare bottles of beer from the Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren Abbey in Belgium. In the low lands of Europe there are seven beer brewing Benedictine abbeys where the monks are known as Trappists. While at first the image of monks brewing beer might seem somewhat strange, Benedictine Monks are in fact expected to support themselves and their charitable activities ‘by the works of their hands’, and this tends to take the form of brewing, wine making, liqueur production or cheese making.
While some of the Trappist beers such as Chimay and La Trappe are well known and readily available at supermarkets at this end of the globe, the Westvleteren beers from Saint Sixtus are intentionally produced in very limited amounts and their commercial availability is actively discouraged by the Monks that brew them. The beers are only officially available from a serving hatch in the wall of the abbey on certain days through the month with only one type of beer being available at a time and a limit on how many cases each customer can take. If all that doesn’t sound un-commercial enough customers are required to book in to purchase the beer by phone prior to queuing at the Abbey wall. The beers themselves have no labels and are identified by different coloured caps. All these discouraging practices are aimed at limiting the production of the brewery so that it serves the Monks needs but does not impact upon their monastic way of life. Despite all customers to the Abbey being told that the beer is not to be resold a healthy black market has developed around the world no doubt fuelled by the fact that the beers are so hard to come by and thankfully taste fantastic. The beers are identified by a number that refers to an old way of calculating strength. All the brewery’s beers are brewed from pale malt, and northern brewer variety hops with the dark beers that I tasted having a healthy dose of Belgian ‘candi sugar’ added to provide colour and flavour. Westvleteren 8 was exceptionally fruity and warming with a suggestion of plum brandy, toffee and a long dry hoppy finish. Westvleteren 12 offered up a rich complex aroma that reminded me of a fine ruby port, with a rich velvety malt character and a smooth rounded finish. Both beers scream out for a cheese board of pungent washed rind cheeses and dried fruit. While a certain NZ beer retailer does have black market Westvleteren 12 for sale at a black market price those wanting to respect the Monk’s wishes and try something similar should try the Rochefort beers from the only slightly less reclusive Trappist Abbey of St Remy. St Remy Abbey survived pillage and plunder during the Eighty Years War, The French Revolution, and a large fire in December of last year. Rochefort 10 offers up a whole range of ripe fortified fruit and rich malt aromas and flavours and is available with the Monk’s blessings from Regional Wines and Spirits

CT Column 19/01/2011 : Beer from the wilderness

2011-02-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

I’ve become reacquainted with a beer that has been out forging its own stylistic path for the best part of the last decade. Moa Methode is a very original beer which starts its life as a zesty fruity New Zealand style pilsner before it is bottled with an addition of priming sugar and champagne yeast, the alchemy that then occurs in the bottle turns it into something completely unique. When champagne yeasts are used in beers and ciders they create spicy fruity aromas and flavours that are reminiscent of the character you might expect to find in Belgian ales. When young, Moa Methode is brimming with aromas of tropical fruit with a hint of Christmas spice and rich nutty malt, as the beer ages it becomes drier and more peppery and spicy.
The Moa brewery was developed by Josh Scott, son of Marlborough winery owner Allan Scott, and has always used wine making methods in the production of its beers. It’s easy to see where the inspiration came for using the champagne style bottle conditioning process on the Moa beers. While the brewery has long used the contacts of its sister wine company to gain access to export markets a recent investment of both money and expertise from Geoff Ross, the man originally behind 42 Below Vodka, is sure to catapult the brand to a new level.
Moa Methode is available in both its bottle fermented incarnation and in a champagne yeast free keg version offering the drinker to opportunity to compare the two and taste exactly what effect the yeast has. Look out for keg Moa Methode at Bar Edward, Pollux, Regional Wines and Wellington’s newest beer outlet The Hop Garden. The Hop Garden is the latest venture of James Henderson, the man who brought good beer to Newtown in the form of Bar Edward. Situated in the funky premises that used to house the Greek Taverna in Pirie St, The Hop Garden will be offering a great range of local and imported craft beers, a relaxed atmosphere and some great beer friendly food. Most importantly to me it will be exactly 350m from my office. The Hop Garden will be open from Friday 21 January.
See you there!

CT Column 5/01/11 : The Crystal Ball

2011-01-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

At the end of each year beer writers like to reflect on the year that has been and wax lyrical about the beers that have excited them through the months: I did that back in December. Now that it’s January and the New Year headaches have eased I thought perhaps it would be worth writing a little about the year to come. In the interests of transparency I should add that I actually asked NZ craft brewers what they would be doing over the next year and I don’t in fact own a crystal ball!

Many of the brewers I talked to were incredibly loose lipped, far more so than I expected them to be. So in many ways you can view this first column of the year as a gossip column for Kiwi Craft Brewing!

First up Wellington based Yeastie Boys have some big things on the agenda this year. The most exciting is the establishment of a second permanent bottled beer to sit on the shelves next to Pot Kettle Black. Last year I was privileged to taste a test batch of what will be called Rex Attitude and it absolutely blew me away. Brewed against all brewing advice with 100% peated Islay distilling malt of the sort used to make single malt whiskey, most brewers will tell you that 15% should be an absolute maximum, fruity New Zealand hops and an American yeast strain ,its one of the most beguilingly complex yet approachable smoked beers I have ever had. There will definitely be a column devoted to this beer when it gets released.

Across the Cook Strait to Blenheim and 8 Wired’s Søren Erikson has some big plans for the coming year. He has inherited the oak barrels that Epic’s Luke Nicholas used to produce the Barrel Aged Armageddon and Thornbridge Stout. He currently has some Big Smoke Porter and a 13% Russian Imperial Stout aging in them which will be released this year. He also has plans for a 2%abv flavor packed session beer.

Also in Blenheim Renaissance have plans for a barleywine which will be a welcome addition to the New Zealand beer scene as it’s a style we have precious few examples of.

In Auckland Epic has provided a home to one of our most skilled and highly respected young brewers. When Kelly Ryan succumbed to the siren call of a Kiwi summer while brewing at the Thornbridge brewery in the north of England he didn’t have a job to come home to. There were concerns that perhaps he would end up brewing at one of the large breweries and his skills would be lost to craft brewing. Luckily Luke has found room for him at Epic and I’m sure there will be some awesome beers that will come from the partnership.

The Emerson’s crew have a whole host of exciting beers lined up which will be released as Brewers Reserves through the year however Richard Emerson just turned his hearing aid off when I asked for details! However one bit of news is that Emerson’s Pilsner, one of the nation’s biggest selling craft beers, will no longer be organic from mid January on. The supply of Organic Riwaka hops became finite while the beers growth seems to be most definitely infinite!

Things are looking good for an exciting year of beer, I can’t wait!

Cheers

CT Column 22/12/2010 : Christmas beer

2011-01-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

LAST December I wrote a column on what I would be drinking and eating on Christmas Day. That column obviously captured the imagination of the drinking public as many people approached my family wanting to know if we really eat and drink that well at Christmas: we do.
This Christmas Sarah and myself will start the day with a Haslett-Moore family tradition, salmon, hollandaise and croissants accompanied by a glass of 3 Mont Bier de Flandres , a golden spritzy malt accented ale from the north of France. 3 Mont has a hint of earthy tangy cellar character and a high level of carbonation, which helps it cut the richness of the salmon perfectly.
At midday we will break out the Christmas mince pies and cream with a champagne flute of Three Boys Wild Plum. Wild Plum is a very individualistic fruit beer that uses wild plums from the Three Boys family farm in North Otago to create striking aromas and flavours of tart stone fruit and a prune note. With the mince pies Wild Plum taste dry and even more fruity with the prune character adding complexity to the fruit mince.
Late afternoon our families will arrive and the barbeque will be fired up. On the menu will be a boned out lamb leg marinated in cumin, coriander, paprika and peach and habanero sauce accompanied by a glass of the classic dry spicy Saison from Dupont, Paua fritters packed with garlic and coriander with a touch of chilli with the extravagantly hopped aromatic 8 Wired Tall Poppy, a garden herb marinated split chicken with the fruity hoppy rounded Emerson’s JP2010, and porterhouse steaks rubbed down in Richard Emerson’s own spicy beef rub accompanied by a glass of Yeastie Boys His Majesty 2010.
Then if we have any room left it will be time for a slice of Christmas cake with a nip of Fullers Vintage Ale 2009 a beer that absolutely bursts with marmelady orange fruit and rich fortified malt flavours.
After all that I think it will most definitely be time for a cup of tea!
Cheers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

CT Column15/12/2010 : A year in beer

2010-12-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

LAST year I wrote that choosing a list of favourite beers for the year was like “choosing a favourite child, difficult, dangerous and sure to end in controversy!”.
As that statement is no less true a year later, I have decided to review the year that was by writing about the themes that have characterised craft beer this year rather than picking favourites.
This year the craze for big aromatic hoppy India Pale Ales developed to encompass a range of highly hopped but also richly malty amber ales. These ‘India Red Ales’ were particularly popular through the winter where their bigger body seemed to suit the cooler weather. Emerson’s carried out a comprehensive investigation of the style by releasing three different Brewers Reserves on the theme. Hoppiest Indian, Oreti Red and Last of the Mohicans were all incredibly well received and hopefully we see something along those lines again next year. 8 Wired’s Søren Erikson has just released his interpretation of the style, named Tall Poppy. It’s sure to be as big a success as his other beers have been.
Another theme from 2010 has been the emergence of collaboration brews where a brewer from one brewery has travelled to another to brew a beer with them. Epic’s Luke Nicholas started the trend by brewing with Kelly Ryan at the Thornbridge brewery in the UK in 2009. In February this year Kelly returned the favour by travelling here and brewing the Epic Thornbridge Stout. Later this year Luke travelled to Delaware in the US and brewed a festive brew with Sam Calagione at the Dogfish Head Brewery for BrewNZ. A second batch named Portamarillo was brewed in Auckland just before Beervana. Discovery Channel filmed both brew days, and Beervana and will screen the Brewmasters series here next year sometime. I made my own foray into collaboration brewing by brewing a beer with Richard Emerson in Dunedin.
This trend seems set to continue next year. We might even see collaboration between the Yeastie Boys and 8 Wired, a union that is sure to create something wonderful.
Finally, we have seen a number of beers that have taken conventional styles and have fused them together. The Yeastie Boys have led this charge by taking Belgian yeasts and using them on other styles of beer. Return to Magenta took the hoppy amber ale style and gave it a spicy yeasty twist, Her Majesty 2010 gave the same treatment to a strong brown porter and any day now His Majesty 2010 will be released blending the fruity rounded English strong ale style with the piny citrus like hop character of an American IPA. Richard Emerson also got into the style bending mood by making this year’s Belgian JP release an American double IPA fermented with a tart fruity Belgian Golden Ale yeast.
All in all it’s been a great year for interesting beer and next year promises to be even better. Cheers

CT Column 1/12/2010 : Seeing the light

2010-12-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

I FIRST met Kirsten Taylor while judging at BrewNZ in 2009. At that point she was helping Lion Breweries to formulate the malt extract homebrew kits produced at their Christchurch Brewery. By the time we judged together again this year Kirsten was working on something much more interesting. Having decided that she wanted to move into the craft brewing part of the industry Kirsten teamed up with Richard Fife, a brewer with over 20 years experience. They formed a company called KJD Brewing and released a dry crisp cider called Eves NV. Now they have come up with their first beer.
KJD Chocolate Cherry Porter is a very grown up, original and complex fruit beer. It’s a beer that combines the complex smooth richness of a porter with the deep fruitiness of cherry brandy. The beer starts its life as a rich smooth chocolaty beer brewed broadly in the Baltic porter style, a branch of the porter family that developed in the Baltic States using smooth lager yeasts rather than fruity ale strains. On the second day of fermentation 80kgs of Marlborough cherries were added to the fermentor adding their own complex ‘red’ fruity character. Chocolate Cherry Porter offers up aromas of caramel, toffee, dried berry fruit and a hint of Christmas spice, in the mouth the beer offers up loads of sweet malt, toffee, chocolate, dried fruit and cherry fruit flavours with a surprisingly lean mouth feel. At 6% the beer is robust enough to match with food. Kirsten recommends serving it with Christmas Cake, beef and cranberry stew, and Maasdam or blue cheese. I think it’s a perfect match with traditional northern hemisphere Christmas fare, try it with a slice of rich fruitcake and a generous wedge of Stilton cheese. Both Eves NV Cider and Chocolate Cherry Porter are available from Regional Wines and Spirits, while the Porter might be making an appearance at Hashigo Zake sometime soon.
Cheers.

http://www.capitaltimes.co.nz/article/3636/Seeingthelight.html

CT Column 24/11/2010 :The whole package

2010-11-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

I DON’T usually write about the packaging beer comes in; brewery marketing departments do more than enough of that for everyone. For big mainstream brands, innovation is often a new brightly coloured label or a slightly longer bottleneck. I like to use the opportunities that I get to write about beer to talk about what’s in the bottle rather than the bottle itself.
However, packaging does have a level of importance. As a beer retailer I know that the way a beer is presented can drastically influence its sales, and as a drinker I know the size of the bottle that a beer is sold in affects the situations it gets drunk in. There are many arguments for and against various sized bottles that retailers and brewers make, but really all that should concern you, the consumer, is what you like buying. For me personally, the 500ml bottle is optimum bottle size for ‘session strength’ beer while smaller bottles are better suited to high strength brews.
But recently there has been a move towards an even larger bottle for high strength beer. I recently realised that New Zealand craft beer had achieved a small record when I noticed I had six different New Zealand craft beers for sale packaged in 750ml sparkling wine bottles. Yeastie Boys, Hallertau, Moa, Golden Bear and mikes all have taken up the 750ml format for their strong special releases. Moa have actually gone one better and you can buy 1.5 litre magnums of their St Joseph Tripel. Yeastie Boys has adopted the 750ml bottle for its His and Her Majesty releases and the forthcoming PKB Remix.
Yeastie Boy Stu says that they chose the bottle because the size encourages sharing, and that the wine bottle makes them more likely to be put on the table with food. Another plus for the coming festive season is that beer packaged this way makes great gifts. I think the increasing numbers of beers packaged this way and the fact that they are selling is a sign that our craft beer culture is maturing and I will certainly drink to that!
Cheers.

CT Column 17/11/2010 :Weekend warriors

2010-11-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

AT THE end of last month I travelled to Hamilton to judge the 2010 SOBA National Homebrew Competition. Organised and run by beer consumer group the Society Of Beer Advocates, the NHC is run each year to celebrate and improve the New Zealand home brewing community.
Home brewing in New Zealand is currently in vibrant good health with many home brewed beers rivalling the quality of those commercially produced. Gone are the ‘bad old days’ when most home brewing revolved around saving money by producing cheap beer from malt extract - many home brewers now brew to create striking characterful beers full of aroma and flavour. Home brewers now have access to all the raw ingredients that our professional brewers do. As a result, the division between home and pro brewing is increasingly blurring with brewers like the Yeastie Boys and 8 Wired scaling up home brew recipes and producing them commercially.
This year’s competition received 294 entries with beers entered in 68 of the 77 different style categories with 84 of them earning medals. For the second year in a row Dunedin’s Richard Pettinger took out the Champion Brewer Trophy as well as the Best Lager ward, Nelson’s Dale Holland took out Champion Beer with a Belgian Pale Ale while the Best Ale Award went to Richard Sherrit. Every year the prize for the Champion beer is that the recipe is brewed commercially at the Hallertau Brewbar in Auckland’s rural hinterland. Look out for an incredibly complex and well balanced Belgian Pale Ale under the name of Dale’s BPA that should briefly feature on the taps next year sometime.
Many medals headed back to the capital. Of particular interest was Hashigo Zake barman David Wood who took three bronze, three silver medals, and a best in class trophy for some very idiosyncratic beers that included a beetroot infused IPA and a fantastic intense chipotle chilli infused porter. Check out www.soba.org.nz for the full results. Cheers!

CT Column3/11/2010 :The New Vintage

2010-11-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

IF YOU ask someone what beer is made of chances are they will answer ‘hops’.
While in reality malt, yeast, water and the processes the brewer uses are equally important to the herbaceous flowers of the Humulus lupulus vine, it’s the hop that has won the PR battle.
To the casual observer it might not seem it but in many ways hops are very similar to grapes. They both grow on vines, they both are susceptible to variations in climate, and they both get harvested as a vintage each year. As with grapes, hops will vary each year depending on how much rain and sun there has been. They also change their character as the vines mature.
This year the hop that has displayed the biggest change is the Nelson Sauvin variety. Nelson Sauvin was developed in the late 1990s by HortResearch and was named for its distinctive gooseberry and passionfruit aromas, which were likened to the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety. Nelson Sauvin is gaining a serious reputation amongst craft beer drinkers around the world. Brewers in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, America, Australia, Japan and of course New Zealand have leapt at the chance to use this hop to create striking aromas and flavours in their beers.
This year’s vintage has seen a bit of a change in the Nelson Sauvin character. The variety has always been pungent with huge bold exotic fruit characters, but this year they seem extra tangy, with an over ripeness to the fruit character and even a hint of savoury green onion creeping in alongside the fruit salad! While this might sound odd we often talk of picking up herbal notes, asparagus, green pepper and perhaps even onion in Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, so it’s perhaps not so surprising to pick it up in the Nelson Sauvin hop variety.
If you want to experience this year’s vintage, 8 Wired Hop Wired IPA, Twisted Hop Sauvin Pilsner, and Three Boys Golden Ale are all showcasing the 2010 Sauvin character well.

CT Column 27/10/2010 :Coals to Newcastle

2010-11-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

HOPS are a vintage crop, which is harvested once a year in the autumn. Increasingly brewers are producing beers that highlight the harvest by producing green hopped beers, which use fresh un-kilned hops to create striking fresh hop aromas. Here in NZ we have several examples. Brewjolais from Macs has been the most high profile but there have also been examples from Emerson’s in Dunedin, Nelson’s Sprig and Fern and from Galbraith’s in Auckland. We will have to wait till next year to see whether the now Christchurch based Macs brews Brewjolais again after the closure of the Wellington Brewery.
Harvest ales are big in America. On the periphery of Americas west coast hop fields brewers seize the opportunity to pack the zesty pithy resinous character of green hops into their beers.
America’s largest craft brewery Sierra Nevada releases three harvest ales each year. Two of these beers are produced using un-kilned American hops. Northern Hemisphere Harvest is brewed using un-kilned American hops from Washington, Estate Harvest is brewed using hops from Sierra Nevada’s own hop garden situated in the grounds of its brewery in Chico California. The third Harvest beer Sierra Nevada brews uses New Zealand hops that are quickly flown from the hop fields of Motueka to California. Southern Hemisphere Harvest uses whole flower Motueka and Southern Cross hops. The hops are dried as un-kilned hops would not survive the trip across the Pacific without perishing however they are extremely fresh meaning they retain a lot of their ‘green’ character. Southern Hemisphere Harvest pours a golden red hue with an enthusiastic white head. The aroma features a good amount of tangy slightly grassy citrus, tangerine and mandarin along with a good dose of biscuity malt. In the mouth there is more fresh citrus, nutty malt flavour and a long tangy finish. In a classic case of sending coals to Newcastle Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest is now available in New Zealand at Regional Wines and Spirits and The Malthouse.
For those planning a traditional Christmas now is the time to make your Christmas pudding. Iconic English foodie Delia Smith has a fantastic recipe on her website www.deliaonline.com that uses barleywine, stout and rum instead of brandy. If you’re keen to try the recipe I suggest using Fullers Golden Pride and Invercargill Pitch Black. I have already sold my first bottle of Golden Pride this year for just this purpose. Cheers!

CT Column 20/10/2010 : The Taste of Spring

2010-11-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

A FORTNIGHT ago I wrote about the beer writer Michael Jackson and the memorial of his life. Jackson’s writing was a huge influence on me as I learnt about beer. Michael always stressed how different types of beer suited different situations and different seasons. For spring Michael always recommended drinking the Doppelbock style as this is what the Germans would often drink in their beer gardens when they first opened after the worst of the winter frost had thawed but the warmth of summer was yet to arrive. Doppelbocks are a style of dark lager that combines a big rich bready, toasty malt character with warming alcohol and a smooth rounded note from a long cold conditioning period. These beers are warming, rich, hearty and smooth, making them the perfect style for drinking during the spring when the weather is uncertain. In fact, the Germans have a special name for the Doppelbocks they release in spring; Maibock named for May when the northern spring arrives. While down here in NZ we certainly have the uncertain weather, there is a distinct shortage of Doppelbocks. There are a couple of local examples including an unusually hoppy example from Christchurch’s Harrington’s Brewery and a roasty chocolaty interpretation from Nelson’s Spring and Fern. Tragically there are currently no regularly imported German Doppelbocks; however there is a very good one from the north of Italy.
Moretti La Rossa pours a reddish amber with a thick white head. Aromas of bready toasty malt and caramel blend with a hint of dark fruit and a hint of herbal hop. In the mouth the beer is rich and toasty with a sweet bready malt flavour and a warming rounded smooth finish. This style makes a fantastic accompaniment to aged Gouda cheese and muscatel raisins. I have served La Rossa with Meyer Old Gouda at tastings and the combination is absolutely stunning, Mr Jackson however mused that La Rossa might just be the perfect pizza beer, and that combination is pretty good too.

CT Column 13/10/2010 :Living the dream

2010-11-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

BACK in 2004 I entered my first beer competition. That year the BrewNZ Festival included an amateur brewer section where homebrewers like myself could enter our beers and get feedback and, if we made the cut, the glory of medals. That year I didn’t win anything, but a gentleman called Paul Croucher from Rotorua took out the top prize with a Pilsner recipe. Buoyed on by his success, Paul decided to make his dream a reality and set about starting a new business and buying in the equipment required to brew commercially. Croucher Brewing was born.
Croucher has built up a strong following over the past six years but, like many small breweries, its beers have varied a lot with some batches being absolutely stunning and others missing the mark. When they are good they are fantastic and this was underlined when Croucher Pilsner took a Gold Medal and Best in Class Trophy at BrewNZ this year.
With demand for this medal-winning beer sky rocketing and new overseas markets beckoning, the Croucher team has, in its own tongue-in-cheek words, decided to ‘sell out’. From this month onwards the main Croucher beers Pilsner and Pale Ale are being produced at Auckland’s Steam Brewery. Croucher Hef will now become a seasonal beer.
Steam has a great track record for producing award-winning top notch beers, with the Epic and Cock and Bull beers being shining examples. The Croucher beers are still being brewed to the same recipes and under Paul’s supervision, while the increased batch sizes and the big shinny automated Steam bottling plant will add some much-needed consistency and extra capacity.
The original Croucher 600l brewery in Rotorua will still be busy brewing seasonal and special one-off beers that will show up on taps around town. A Black IPA under the name of Patriot is currently popping up at places such as Regional and Hashigo Zake.
The first beers from Auckland hit the shelves last week in new look 500ml bottles. The Pilsner is an indigenous interpretation of the style with a big aromatic NZ hop character. Aromas of melon fruit and mango give way to a palate that perfectly balances fruity hop and nutty pale malt flavours. The Pale Ale follows the American Pale Ale model but again uses New Zealand hops. Pouring a light shade of amber, the Pale Ale displays aromas of tropical fruit, a hint of nutty malt and a dry citrus tinged finish. Both will make a fantastic accompaniment to the barbeque this summer.
Cheers.

CT Column 6/10/2010 :One white glove

2010-11-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

AT the end of last month along with Geoff Griggs I helped present a tasting that commemorates the life of one of the worlds most influential beer and whiskey writers. In the late 1970s Michael Jackson sparked the modern age of beer writing by writing about beer with respect to how it is made, its social context, and always with a good dose of humour. This humour often referenced his more famous American namesake; in his 1990 TV series The Beer Hunter Michael started the first episode with a piece to camera wearing one white glove.
Michael suffered from Parkinsons for 10 year up until his death in 2007. Every year since his passing Regional Wines runs a series of Michael Jackson memorial tastings during September and presents some of Michael’s favourite beers. The line up is always amazing and this year we came up with eight fantastic beers. At the end of each tasting those in attendance vote for their two favourite beers, when we do our job right it’s often very hard for people to choose.
In first place this year came Alaskan Smoked Porter. Brewed in Juno Alaska, Alaskan Smoked Porter is a remarkable beer in many ways. Juno is extremely isolated with all the raw ingredients for the brewery having to be shipped in by barge and then the packaged beer being ‘exported’ south to the mainland United States on barges. The beer is a strong rich velvety porter that is produced with Alder smoked malt giving the beer a delicious blend of smoky camp fire flavours and rich dark chocolate and caramel.
In a three-way-split for second was Orval, a hoppy slightly tart and wild Trappist beer brewed by Monks in Belgium, 3 Monts, a classic Biere de Garde from the North of France, and one of my all-time favourites the strong vintage dated Thomas Hardy’s Ale from the south of England.
During the tasting some exciting news was revealed. There is currently a feature film documentary on Michael’s life in production. The film isn’t due for release until next year but plans are already under way for a New Zealand screening that will hopefully raise money for the New Zealand Parkinson’s Society.

CT Column 29/09/2010 :Prodigal son returns

2010-11-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

BACK in May I wrote about attending a tasting at The Malthouse hosted by Kelly Ryan, the New Zealand brewer at Thornbridge - one of England’s most exciting breweries. Thornbridge Brewery produces an exciting and varied range of beers including three, which are now available here.
Jaipur is a pale golden India Pale Ale that offers up an aroma of light mandarin-like hop with a hint of spicy vanilla. The beer has a rich, moderately sweet malt backbone that supports a range of spicy citrus hop flavour and a dry finish. Jaipur is the breweries’ flagship, quite remarkable considering it weighs in at 5.9 percent in a country where 4 percent is the norm. Halcyon is a stronger take on the India Pale Ale style that uses green un-kilned hops much like Mac’s Brewjolais did. Green hopped beers usually come from the new world and accordingly they usually use American or New Zealand hops. Naturally the Thornbridge team used English hops. Target hops from Mr Capper’s Herefordshire farm were overnight couriered up to the Thornbridge brewery in Derbyshire where they were used to hop the beer in the conditioning tank. The target hops give Halcyon a distinctive pineapple aroma that gives way to a slightly piney, tangy tropical fruit-laced palate and a long, smooth and expertly balanced finish.
The last of the three beers to make it down under is St Petersburg, Thornbridge’s take on the Imperial Stout style. At 7.7 percent, St Petersburg is relatively modest in alcohol for the Imperial Stout style that more often covers the 10 to 12 percent range. But as Ryan points out, the brewery sells most of this beer on tap in a country where people drink beer by the pint and 7.7 percent is about as high as they feel they can make it. St Petersburg offers up a hint of bubblegum fruitiness, a leathery note and some nice chocolate caramel aroma before giving way to a rich chocolate toffee palate. All three beers are available from The Malthouse and from Regional Wines and Spirits.
Last week Ryan announced that he is going to return to New Zealand to live and hopefully to brew, having been away since 2002. This is no doubt great news for his family but it’s also fantastic news for New Zealand beer drinkers as his skills may soon be producing something special to fill our glasses.

CT Column 22/09/2010 : Pint Sized Platinum

2010-11-23T13:13:00.000-08:00

In 1979 progressive rock musician Mike Oldfield released the Platinum album with a track called Punkadiddle. The song was an anti-anti-establishment statement lashing out at the punk bands that Oldfield felt were robbing record company investment from the more serious releases from artists like him.
Taking some influence from this, the Yeastie Boys have released a seasonal beer called Punkadiddle that is designed to be everything that the big alcoholic, highly hopped beers currently in vogue are not.
Yeastie Boy Stu McKinlay says he brewed the beer because he got bored with all the super-strength, über-hop beers that have hit the taps this winter. Of course, a cynic might point out that the Yeastie Boys were partially responsible for this trend with the tap release before Punkadiddle coming in the form of the massively hoppy Yakima and Motueka Monster beers. It’s very much in the post-modern avant-garde nature of the Yeastie Boys to set up a scene and then rip it down. Some might even say it’s rather punk!
Regardless of the context Punkadiddle is a really tasty session beer. At a modest 3.7% alcohol volume, Punkadiddle is brewed in the English bitter style. The beer is highly drinkable, has a subtle flavour and is really well balanced. The English Maris Otter malt has given the beer a nutty cereal malt character with some caramel and biscuit notes, English East Kent Golding Hops have leant a wonderful tangy citrus hop flavour and the yeast culture that originated at London’s Fuller’s Griffin Brewery has given the beer a rounded marmalade note.
This is a style that definitely needs to be enjoyed at about 13C with some of the carbonation released; drinking it cold and fizzy straight from the keg will mask everything that is going on in this beer. Punkadiddle is available on the fill-your-own at Regional Wines and Spirits and you might just catch it on the hand pump at Hashigo Zake, Bar Edward and Pollux.
Cheers.

CT Column 15/09/2010 :Tiger Balm and oysters

2010-11-23T13:12:00.000-08:00

LIKE any cultural movement or scene the craft beer industry has gone through a number of phases over the years.
Much like music historians can trace the lineage of modern rock back through punk, garage rock and 60s Brit pop to delta blues, blue grass and traditional British folk music, people like me can look back across the considerably shorter history of New Zealand craft beer and identify the ancestry.
The first wave of craft brewing started in 1981 when Terry McCashin set up MacCashin’s Brewery in Stoke. Through the 1980s other pioneers followed with Gisborne’s Sunshine Brewery and Taranaki’s White Cliff Brewery being among the few from that period that are still around.
The second wave of craft breweries took off from the mid 90s to the early 2000s and the list of names includes some of the biggest in the industry. Emerson’s, Tuatara, Invercargill Brewing Co and Founders all date from this period.
In fact Tuatara, Invercargill and Founders all celebrate their 10th birthday this year: a considerable achievement for any small business. Since then we have had Americans bring big beers to Blenheim (Renaissance), Brits bring real ale to Christchurch (The Twisted Hop), contract brewers bring art house concept brewing to everyone (Yeastie Boys) and a “mad” academic who decided oysters could be brewed (Three Boys Oyster Stout).
Founders have been brewing since 1999 although the Duncan family who own the brewery have been brewing in New Zealand since 1854. To mark the 10 year milestone they have brewed their first barrel aged beer.
Anniversary Stout is a 6%abv sweet stout that’s been partially aged in whiskey seasoned pinot barrels. The resulting beer has a big rich soft mocha backbone, Juicy Fruit (chewing gum) fruitiness and a hint of spice that reminded me of Tiger Balm.
The beer has a level of balance seldom seen in barrel aged beers and is perfect for an anniversary toast. It’s available from Regional Wines and Spirits.
Fans of Three Boys, Harrington’s and The Twisted Hop will be relieved to hear that the Christchurch brewers sustained minimal damage in the big earthquake.
Luck or divine intervention? Either way I think we can all drink to that.
Cheers.

CT Column 8/09/2010 : The Best?

2010-11-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

EVERY year I spend a lot of time after BrewNZ explaining how beer judging works.
People often struggle to understand the results and what they mean. With mainstream brewer DB being crowned champion this year there is more misunderstanding than ever. When beers are entered into competition they are entered in one of 95 different style categories.
The beers are then served blind to a panel of judges and are evaluated for their technical merit and for how accurately they adhere to style. The beers are evaluated once as to whether they are medal worthy, and then those that are medal beers are judged again by a second panel and awarded gold, silver or bronze.
The trophy is then awarded to the highest ranked beer in each category that is commercially available in New Zealand. This system means that beers are always evaluated for what they are rather than according to the subjective tastes of the judges.
There are styles to cover every type of beer imaginable from low alcohol, Gluten Free and New Zealand Draught right through to super strength barleywines, highly hopped double IPA’s and beers spiced with Manuka.
In short the most mundane of beers can achieve gold medal status when brewed well and entered in the correct style category just as the most flavoursome boundary pushing beers can.
This year, for the third time, BrewNZ awarded the Champion Brewer Trophy to the brewery with the highest scoring top three beers. For the last two years craft brewers have taken the trophy with Tuatara being followed by Emerson’s last year.
This year DB performed very well taking gold medals in the New Zealand Lager and Low Carbohydrate Categories and a Silver in the New Zealand Draught Category, the picture is of a mainstream brewer doing what it does well but is hardly an advert for imaginative or character full brewing.
Luckily there were plenty of other results to get excited about. Hot on DB’s heels was Christchurch’s Three Boys Brewery. Three Boys managed a stunning comeback from last year when they defied many expectations and earned no medals to this year where they took Gold and Best in Class Trophies for both Oyster Stout and their festive brew Pineapple Lump Porter, Silver for Golden Ale and bronze for Wheat.
Emerson’s kept up their enviable record with nine medals including the wheat beer trophy for Dunkelweiss.
Blenheim’s 8 Wired took a Trophy and Gold Medal for The Big Smoke Porter, Yeastie Boys took a Silver for Yakima Monster and a Bronze for Her Majesty, and Christchurch’s Twisted Hop took out the newly created Cask Ale trophy.
Go to www.brewnz.co.nz to see the full results.
Cheers!

CT Column 25/08/2010 :From Mild to massive

2010-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

WHEN Michael Jackson the famous beer writer (not the moon walking one) toured New Zealand in the 1990s, one of the beers that captured his imagination was Mikes Mild Ale from the Organic White Cliffs Brewery in Urenui on the Taranaki Coast.
White Cliffs was founded in 1989 by Mike Johnson, since then it has passed through several owners and now is in the safe hands of the Trigg Family who emigrated from Zimbabwe.
The flagship product, Mikes Mild, has been rechristened Mikes Ale. Whatever the name the beer is a malt accented 4%abv session beer with a biscuit, lightly cocoa flavoured malt profile and a dry smooth finish that can be found around town in bars like Liquidate, Hashigo Zake or Plum Cafe (poured from Mikes own ingenious bar mounted mini keg dispensers).
The Triggs have expanded the White Cliff range which now includes a Helles lager, a Pilsner, a whisky barrel aged Porter and now perhaps one of the least “mild” beers in the country, a strong Imperial India Pale Ale.
Imperial India Pale Ale is the ultimate “hop head” style packing in as much fruity new world hop character as possible.
Mikes India Pale Ale is a 9%abv golden hued ale that packs in a considerable amount of resinous fruity hop flavour and aroma over a lightly biscuit and nutty malt body with a long fruity but not overly bitter finish.
Striking aromas of lychee, pineapple, citrus, passionfruit and melon give way to a tangy fruity cocktail of tropical flavours on the palate and a smooth finish.
Mike’s India Pale Ale is available on tap at Hashigo Zake, and in 750ml bottles from the Malthouse and Regional Wines and Spirits.
Cheers

CT Column 18/08/2010 : A drop of Majesty

2010-11-23T13:08:00.000-08:00

LAST year Wellington’s Yeastie Boys Brewing Co released their first bottled beer.
Named His Majesty, it was the first of two annually released bottled beers presented in 750ml champagne bottles. Last year His Majesty took the form of a strong hoppy India Pale Ale. This month sees the launch of the second part to the annual release, named Her Majesty, it forms a malty ying to His Majesty’s Hoppy yang.
Each year His and Her Majesty will be different, although His Majesty will always be a hoppy style while Her Majesty will delve into richer, softer more malt accented territory. This brand of “concept brewing” is exactly what we have come to expect from the Yeastie Boys who often take influence from the world of music for their names and branding.
Her Majesty is in fact the name of an album by one of Yeastie Boy Brewer, Stu McKinlay’s favourite bands The Decemberists.
Her Majesty 2010 is a style bending beer that combines the soft earthy toasted malt character of a brown porter with a Belgian yeast and the strength of a Belgian Dubbel. By my reckoning that makes it a Belgian Imperial Brown Porter or in other words unique.
Pouring a very dark brown with a creamy tan head, Her Majesty 2010 offers up aromas of earthy chocolate, orchard fruit and a subtle underpinning of spicy incense. In the mouth there is a prominent malty sweetness with a cocoa tinge, red apple fruit and a hint of Christmas spice.
Her Majesty is gloriously rich and soft making for a refreshing alternative to the massively hopped beers that are currently all the rage. In fact Stu jokes it is so “lightly hopped that I’ve advised some hopheads to seek medical advice before trying it!”
As a lover of rich malt accented beers I’ll drink to that.
Cheers

CT Column 11/08/2010 : Let’s get festive

2010-11-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

AT the end of this month Wellington will play host to Beervana: the biggest event in the New Zealand beer calendar.
On August 27 and 28 the Town Hall will be a bustling hub of activity as the country’s finest brewers, publicans and retailers combine to showcase everything that is fantastic about beer. Over 160 different beers will be on offer which you can either buy by the “tasting sized” sample or by the full glass.
Highlights will include special beers from overseas that may never be seen again in New Zealand, beers that seldom find their way to Wellington from breweries in far flung parts of the country and festive brews that have been brewed specially for the event.
This year the festive brew theme is “Lets go Native”. Brewers have been encouraged to use native or identifiably “Kiwi” ingredients that are not usually found in beer. Roll on the feijoa, Kiwi fruit and kumara ales!
The festival isn’t just about tasting, it will feature workshops on everything from beer matching with chocolate or cheese through to seminars about beer for women. This year Beervana will play host to Sam Calagione, one of the “stars” of the American craft brewing scene.
Sam is famous for having built up his Dogfish Head Brewing Company from an initial batch size of 50litres to the point where it now brews over 12 million litres a year. Sam is a proponent of beer and food matching and brewing with unusual techniques and ingredients. He will be running a seminar covering some of his history and looking at where craft beer is going in the future.
As a somewhat lesser attraction I will be manning the Regional Wines stand serving up my own beer, R.S.B. along side some rare beers from the cellar and some special imports. See you there.
Cheers

CT Column 4/08/2010 : A Cup of Old Stingo

2010-11-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

FOR the last 18 months contract brewing has been the leading trend in New Zealand craft brewing.
With the release of their first beer “Stingo”, the Malthouse has now entered the beer brewing game.
To modern ears Stingo might seem an unusual name for a beer however it’s a very traditional Northern English term for strong ale.
What is unusual about this particular Stingo is that it’s not all that strong. Malthouse proprietor Colin Mallon decided he wanted the first Malthouse brew to be in the style of the beers he remembered from his youth in Scotland.
Stingo is a malt accented light golden coloured session beer brewed in a Scottish style known as 80 Shilling. Colin says many people were surprised that he chose such a malt accented subtle style when big hoppy beers are all the rage at the moment.
Colin says he wanted to provide something different from his suppliers, the sort of beer he could drink all day.
Stingo has a nutty malt aroma with a hint of spicy hop. In the mouth there’s light caramel, sweet whole grain malt flavours and a firm drying finish. Stingo is limited release that only available from the Malthouse. Get a round in while you can.

CT Column 28/07/2010 : Great culinary experience

2010-11-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

LAST week there were two events that celebrated how beer can have a place at the table. On Tuesday night I was involved in The Emerson’s Degustation Dinner at Logan Brown.
The event showcased just how well fine food and craft beer can work together. Logan Brown Head Chef Shaun Clouston, and brewer Richard Emerson worked together to match six of Shaun’s courses to six of Richard’s beers.
We happily eat and drunk our way through Oysters and Pilsner, Sauté Paua sweet braised Pork and Old 95, Maltose Roasted Duck Game Sausage and 1812, Porter Braised Lamb Shoulder Rack and London Porter, Black Pepper & Walnut Meringues Gorgonzola Cream and Taieri George, and Blackboy Peach Cobbler Salted Caramel Ice Cream and JP 2009.
The very first match, Marlborough Tio Point Oysters served in the ½ shell with Sherry Mignonette served with Emerson’s Pilsner proved to be one of the most amazing culinary experiences I have ever had.
This match was incredibly simple and yet so effective that Richard said he dreamed of it later that night.
The oysters were almost as fresh as if we were eating them on the wharf. The fruity passion fruit and citrus notes in the pilsner found a perfect zesty harmony with the fresh briny character of the oysters.
The other match that really stood out for me was the Sauté Paua with sweet braised Pork and Old 95, all the more amazing considering I don’t like pork!
The rich malt character of the Old 95 worked with the oily richness of the pork while the spicy Chinese sautéed paua found harmony with the bright orangey hop character of the beer.
The next day I continued the culinary theme. Richard, Geoff Griggs and I ran a Beer and Food matching master class for members of the Wellington hospitality trade at Crazyhorse in Willis Street.
We presented six courses each matched with one of Richard’s beers, and a wine that would typically be recommended as a good match.
The event sparked a lot of debate and got those in attendance thinking about how beer works with food in different ways to wine.
Many of those in attendance were not beer drinkers which made it all the more surprising and for me satisfying, that the final vote proved a landslide to beer as the better match to the food on offer. Cheers

http://www.capitaltimes.co.nz

SOBA NHC 2010

2010-10-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

This weekend the judging of the 2010 SOBA National Homebrew Competition takes place. I will be flying to Hamilton to help judge over 300 beers in two days. This is a pretty staggering task, at the pro brewing competitions I have judged at we would usually do 60-80 beers a day , even with three tables working independently we will have to be knocking off far more than that a day.
I always look forward to judging the NHC (even if I didn’t really want to this year as I wanted to enter!) as the range of beers on offer is always far more interesting than in pro comps. The overall standard might be lower but the standard rises each year. Several years ago the most common fault was bacterial infection with some absolutely intense infections still featuring in some judges nightmares, however more recently it has been the more subtle faults of the sort you find at commercial competition. The best beers are always absolutely fantastic and a tribute to the standard of homebrewing culture that is developing in this country.

Good luck to all who have entered and wish us judges luck in the task ahead!

Pub Jukebox

2010-10-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

Ok this is revolutionary stuff, after posting nothing since September now I’m going to deliver two on the same day as I’m laid up with a chest cold on a cold stormy Spring Monday. This one os vastly less serious than the one before.

So here I go jumping on the current beer blog band wagon. Firstly I would like to say that I am sceptical about pub juke boxes. I don’t trust my brother man and sister woman to select music that won’t put me off my pint that said this is all about my ultimate listing so I can certainly live with my own choices!

The Pogues "The Sick Bed of Cúchulainn"

For me The Pogues exemplify everything that is exciting and appealing about setting out on a session with friends. Yes in reality the band (including Shane himself) ended up glamorising the hopeless alcoholism of MacGowan but the music is fantastic and booze soaked nature just seems right with a pint in your hand.

Tom Waits "Goin' Out West"

Hell yeah! The soundtrack to that single malt at the end of the night that you will regret tomorrow! Mr Waits is a musical genius, and stars in the best jukebox scene ever in jim jarmusch’s “Coffee and Cigarettes”

Nick Cave “Cannibals Hymn”

A stomping crooning solid catchy glorious crescendo of a song. I remember playing this at O-Street during Thursday Night drinks.

Nick Cave “Rainy Night in Soho”

MacGowen meets Cave , beautiful.

The Dubliners “Finnegan’s Wake”

Takes me back to a wonderful night at the Mean Fiddler in Nelson. Great drinking music and when you find an Irish pub that goes past the plastic paddy bollocks and captures something of the essence of a proper community boozer (and when you can find one with something better than the blackstuff to drink! ) it’s a very good thing.

Grinderman “No Pussy Blues”

Not exactly PC but pure genius and incredibly good. Yep another Cave track, hell why bother with the Juke Box let’s just put all his albums on the CD player on shuffle! (Ipod, what is that?)

Johnny Cash “Wayfaring Stranger”

I’m a sucker for a fiddle played right, and on this it’s played perfect.

Jack White “Great High Mountain”

I guess I am ‘meant’ to be embarrassed about liking blue grass but I’m not. I like Mild to. At least others in the pub might recognise this one from the movie.

Alison Krauss “Down to the River to Pray”

Another film track. It’s always good to take in some salvation as you sin, I find it saves time that way.

Black Sabbath “NIB”

The greatest rock band on earth, no question, and very much where my musical roots lie. I started out drinking beer to this and it still sends shivers down my spine. Classic.

Are we importing the wrong beers? - IPA not really a traveller

2010-10-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

With the current big thing in the NZ craft beer scene being heavy use of hops it’s hardly surprising that imports of big hopped craft beers from overseas are on the rise. Big hopped IPA’s and Double IPA’s from America, England, Scotland, Denmark, Norway and Japan are increasingly popping up around Wellington. I’m as involved as anyone in the import of these beers through my position at Regional where I range these sorts of beers and direct importers to source them. However recently in private I have started to wonder if these sorts of beers are really the best ones to ship the length of the earth.

What’s that I hear you say? But IPA is historically a travelling beer style?

Well there are two issues here. Firstly while the IPA’s of the India trade used to make the arduous journey to India they most likely bear precious little resemblance to the beers we call IPA today. While Martyn Cornell and Ron Pattinson are better qualified to talk about what historic IPA’s were like, I think I can safely say that the beers we call IPA today, heavily late hopped with modern resinous hop varieties, are a far cry from the IPA’s of the colonial era.
Late hop characters (i.e. flameout, whirlpool, and dry hopping) create striking aromas and flavours which are wonderful when experienced fresh, however these un-isomerised hop characters are moments in time. These beers fade really fast, they fall out of balance quickly as the stabilised hop compounds fall away and the considerable malt that was required to balance the hops is left sitting bold and prominent, the hop compounds oxidise and turn minerally leaving acrid unpleasant flavours.
The second consideration when thinking about IPA’s being a travelling style is that once the beers of old reached their harsh tropical destination the expectations were probably significantly low, any ale that didn’t resemble vinegar was probably hailed as a success and worthy of fetching a premium price. Today in an environment where we have some very good fresh locally produced options and are paying a premium price for these beers our standards are and should be higher than the ‘doesnt resemble vinegar’ threshold.
So often when I taste these modern imported IPA’s they are either heavily oxidised, or pleasant enough but obviously shadows of their former selves when compared with reports of them from their countries of origin.

What’s the solution?

I don’t know. I’m not suggesting we stop bringing these beers into the country, there is a market and it will be supplied one way or another. There are brewers who attempt to prevent their beers from being exported, Stones Greg Koch for example but to little effect considering despite his best efforts I could buy 7 of his beer brands right now if I wanted to. Small scale imports that will move through quickly are also a good idea but this often prevents the economy of scale that helps these imports work financially.

Hhmm.

The New Kit

2010-09-12T01:55:00.000-07:00

As payment for catering the SOBA Winter Ales Festival I received a sexy new 80 litre stainless steel kettle. Dion formerly brewer at Tuatara and currently full time dad and casual welder fitted a ball lock tap and suddenly my brew set up is a dam sight more professional.

This morning I christened the new kettle with a 40 litre batch of Somerset, my golden ale recipe. It went better than I could have hoped for, usually new bits of kit cause all sorts of unexpected problems but today went smoothly with the brew being completed in record time.

I used the kettle as a hot liquor tank for the strike. It was a luxury being able to mash in with hosed in boiling water rather than the usual ladling. The kettle was set up on my electric hot plate that was connected to a timer so the strike liquor was boiling away when I woke at 5am.

For the boil the kettle was set above 2 gas burners. This worked so well that I had a rolling boil 20mins after the end of the run off. I whirl pooled for the first time and it worked just like it did at Emerson’s which I must admit surprised me.
I used to cool my old small kettles by giving them a water bath, the new kettle posed the problem of finding a new form of wort cooling. In the end I decided to carefully run the wort off hot into corny kegs and place them in barrels of circulating cold water. I had the wort down to 18c in 60min. I then used co2 to pump the wort out of the cornys through a hose into the fermentor cornys making sure to aerate the cooled wort as I went.

With a forty litre batch under my belt next I will have a crack at a 60 litre batch of something. There is also this year’s batch of Merchant and Alfred’s Audit to brew.

R.S.B. Homebrewed vs Probrewed

2010-09-12T00:36:00.000-07:00

The last rigger of Regional Special Bitter is about to go to a good home so I thought it was about time to talk about how the home brewed version and the probrewed versions differed.

Probrewed R.S.B.
Aroma : light fruit esters, a slight berry fruit hop aroma, some citrus (David Wood described it as grapfruity) and a hint of nutty slightly mocha malt.
Palate: A rich malt body, caramel flavours and moderate orangy hop flavour, before a great big assertive bitter finish.

Homebrewed R.S.B. (aka Brooklyn Bulldog ESB)
Aroma: Red apple esters, light citrus and berry fruit , warm caramel malt. More integrated, hoppy and fruity than the probrewed version.
Palate: Rich malt with hints of toffee and caramel, red apple fruitiness, tangy earthy lightly citrus hop flavour and a long moderately bitter finish. Rounded, rich and integrated .

The two beers are identifiably similar, the biggest difference being that the English yeast culture in the home brewed one gives a much fruitier rounded character and the Belgian Special B crystal malt gives slightly chocolaty lightly roasty notes to the probrewed version. Also the bitterness in the probrewed version is significantly higher than the homebrewed one.

BrewNZ Judging 2010 - part one

2010-08-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

It’s the first day of beer judging for BrewNZ. Judges from around the world and NZ have assembled in the grandiose surroundings of the Edwardian/Art Deco masterpiece that was once Wellington’s Museum. There are many familiar faces, Derek Walsh the passionate beer style specialist from the Netherlands, Swedish brewer Jessica Heidrich, Brad Rodgers from Stone and Wood, and the quietly considered Mark Goldman from Lion among others. There are some new faces to and new stewards. From the gloriously misnamed Tea Garden I can look out south to the hills behind my family home where I first drank beer as a teen, I can also look to the hills that my house and home brewery is nestled between and I reflect on how far things have come. The stewards are mostly new, nervous and hesitant, they are put through their paces as we warm up our palates with doctored sensory samples, V.D.K, D.M.S , Amyl Acetate, they sound like prescriptions to the uninitiated. And then it’s on, the first beer of 460. The job has begun.

Always the Bridesmaid never the Bride...

2010-07-29T01:35:00.000-07:00

It’s early July and Greig from SOBA contacts me asking if I would be interested in judging the National Homebrew comp. I have been looking forward to the competition being held in Hamilton this year as I was sure this would mean that unlike the past two years I would be excused from the judging table and able to enter my own beers. I have been brewing away furiously and unusually I have been going through the rigours of bottling so that I have beers to enter. I say ‘put me on the back up list I want to compete.’ A month later and the ominous email comes , a judge has stepped down and I’m off the bench. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride...at least I will be able to check out the two beer bars of Hamilton.

The Rise of the Umper Lumpa Brewer

2010-07-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

Luke Nicholas is known as the ‘impish brewer’, writer Neil Miller as the ‘Minister of Hops’, publican Collin Mallon as the ‘Handsome Yet Softly Spoken Scottish Proprietor’ and now beer blogger and consumer affairs writer Martin Craig has christened me the Umper Lumpa brewer.
Martin has an extremely dry old school New Zealand sense of humour and while the comment might not sound altogether charitable I take it in the spirit in which it was meant.

Last nights R.S.B. launch went well with only a few negative comments, one of which came from a guy who would like New Zealand beer to taste more like Grolsch so I’m not too worried. Most people were really positive, the beer was tasting great through the beer engine with its fruity hop flavour really coming out amongst the rich malt profile.

R.S.B. Launch

2010-07-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight I launch my beer instore at Regional. I will be degassing some of it and serving it through a handpump to the public. I’m excited and also a little hesitant; it will be interesting to see what the punters think of it. It has got off to a good start with it featuring at last night Emerson’s Masterclass , the first of three, and scoring a third equal placing in the public vote, remarkable considering the calibre of the beers it was up against. I’m pretty rapped with the beer, it has a lovely complex malt character and some nice orangey hop flavour, although it is a lot less aromatic than my home brewed version. I made the decision not to dry hop the beer but in hindsight I think it could use some more hop aroma, and would have been better with the Fullers strain rather than the American one. Still it's a good beer and it's my beer.
I have loaded my beer here on ratebeer, the beer nerd in me is extremely proud. Let me know what you think.

Grandiose Filmatic Beer Content

2010-07-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

~~It seems if you want to see the full screen you will have to go here damn technology~~

R.S.B. - Day Three

2010-07-14T00:41:00.000-07:00

Up at the 5am again, tea in bed in front of more football, off alone for breakfast this morning , a night on the beers and curry has left Jed worse for wear, I don’t order coffee this time.
Richard appears double eager to get the job done today, we have a flight to catch, he has responsibilities. Action brewer wear is donned before the organised chaos ensues. A quick taste of yesterdays fermenting brew to check we are on the right track, big fruity hops, citrus and berry fruit, orange sweet yeasty malt, young beer in all its glory. No Special B today a pale brew will bring yesterdays dark one down in the blend. We nail our mash temp, coffee, and then its time to run off. Today I do it almost totally solo, again I am reminded that the fundamentals remain the same, it’s all a case of scale. Today the malt gods have smiled and we have a high extract demanding we dilute slightly in the kettle to hit the right specs. Again we singe the hairs on our arms as we control the kettle, we up the hops, there is no point leaving Richard with odds and ends of NZ Goldings which he doesn’t use. Everything goes like clock work and soon I find myself shovelling out grain into sacks, when I do this in the kitchen at home the dog forms a scrum at my feet jostling for her share of the sweet nutty spent grain, here what spills is hosed off the wet floor into the drains.
We pump the last batch of wort into the vessel that is already ½ full of fermenting beer and return her to the warm room. We change and in moments find ourselves in the convivial surroundings of Maori Hill at a restaurant that cooks it’s steaks over open wood fires. Richard, Father, Jed and myself trade tales over good beer and wine, the food is out of this world. A long cab ride to the airport and we fly out amongst the fog and sleet, bound for home, mission accomplished. Fun with stainless was great but both Jed and I have Sarahs to get home to.

Thanks to Jed Soane for the Picture, All rights remain with him.

R.S.B. - Day Two

2010-07-07T01:30:00.000-07:00

The Alarm goes off, I was awake any way. World Cup Football plays on my motel room TV as I pull my clothes on, lots of them as the wind is not long from the Antarctic and set off for breakfast. The options are limited. I settle for a Steak and Mushroom Pie, a sandwich and a terrible cup of coffee at the bakery next to the legendary Inch Bar. Five years ago I drank copious pints of Emerson’s strong American style brown ale from the handpump there, so much so that our night met oblivion, yesterdays visit was much more genteel. The same regulars were in the courtyard. An hour later Richard is parked outside the Motel, excited and ready to go. So am I. At the brewery we change back into ‘action brewer’ overalls and gum boots, the Fullers Yeast hasn’t woken up so it’s an American strain to the rescue. We heat the mash tun, and Richard presents me with the smallest mashing paddle I have ever seen. The one I use at home on my 60 litre plant is about three times as big, perhaps I’m compensating. We mash in , its all action, sacks of malt are tipped in, alternating with me stirring like mad, Richard looks on intently plunging a thermometer into the grain bed every now and then and adding more hot liquor as he sees fit, Jed is snapping away with his camera, Bob the Operations manager, enthusiastic sensory analyst and all round top chap is filming it on the HD camera. We nail the temp we want. Lay a blanket of hot water over the grain and cover her up. Its time for coffee. The whirl pool and kettle are cleaned, then the run off begins, it’s not so different to the South Star Brewery in Brooklyn, more knobs and buttons. The wort is dark and a little weak, we substituted Belgian Special B for English Dark Crystal, it’s different.

The kettle is full enough to start the burner, or as Richard puts it the ‘Rocket engine’, its seriously loud, the other brewers hate it, they cant play their music, Richard loves it he can turn off his hearing aid. The kettle is full and we have a boil, the kettle sits up on the main brewery gantry and great care has to be taken that it doesn’t boil over as people could be working below, also the gas bottle and burner are below. We weigh out the hops, and boil for 90 minutes to increase the strength. Every time we adjust the burners we lose the hairs from our arms on the side of the intensely hot kettle, this is a lot like homebrewing!

The boil come to an end and we release the beer into the whirlpool , it magically and perfectly dispenses the hops in the middle of the vessel, this is nothing like homebrewing!

As the whirlpool works its magic we scrub the kettle, my arse high in the air as I scrub the bottom of the vessel, overalls prevent builders crack.

We run the brew through the heat exchanger and onto the yeast. I shovel out the mash tun, just in time to watch a farmer collect it for his livestock, I need neighbours with chickens.

The fermentor is fork lifted into the warm room, we change, action stations are over its time for the pub. After lunch its back to taste some bits and pieces with the boys, then Tonic, many beers including a fantastic Westmalle Dubbel. An Indian Restaurant, Vindaloo and 1812, a refreshing walk to the motel and sleep, we do it all again tomorrow.

Thanks to Jed Soane for the Picture, All rights remain with him.

R.S.B. - Day One

2010-07-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

I step off the plane to an icy Dunedin morning. It’s the shortest day and I’m excited, not only because of the 3 days of fun with stainless that lies ahead of us but also because I love this city in the winter. Richard Emerson is there to pick me and Jed the photographer up. As always he is positively bubbling over with enthusiasm. As we drive through the rural hinterland that divides Dunedin from its airport Richard chats about other brewers, the weather, and how quickly the provincial airport is growing. We quickly find ourselves at the brewery , the warm smells of fresh bready malt fill the air as we sip coffee from large mugs and chat with Production Manager Chris O’Leary or Father for short. Then it’s into overalls, and gumboots and the weighing of grain begins, the old mill is started and we crush the grain, cleaning, cleaning and some more cleaning, yeast is fed and stainless tanks are doused in caustic before we head off to a prolonged lunch and several pubs. Japanese Restaurant for dinner another pub, degassed Fullers London Porter from the handpump divine, a refreshing walk to the motel, talk made easy by drink, alarm set for 5 and a good night’s sleep.

The Village Drunk

2010-07-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

I’m hosting a brewer from out of town at a local bar, punters have gathered to try the brewers new Dunkelwiezen and tank samples of stout, all is going well until up to bar he lumbers, wild eyed unsteady on his feet , in one hand a pint of double IPA the other flailing around like a drunk cowboys revolver. Through squinty eyes he demands to know what the brewer does, ‘brew’ he replies , I step in and take the fall as the brewer moves on to more reasonable punters. It begins

“they need more beer like this in London,” He says motioning to the nearly empty ‘pint’ of 8.5% American hopped ale.

“its all like DB and Lion over there , cept its Greene King and Fullers, biggest brewers in UK you know, all crap like Waikato draught, no hint of malt or barley or hops, nothing like this” The bar staff serve him another, I wish they wouldn’t.

He has hit his stride now, sentences are repeated verbatim directly after they have been spoken.

“London Pride , its just like Tui” I bite my tongue , many are looking on, my sacrifice noted. I make my escape there are tank samples of stout to dispense, by the time I have returned to the front of the bar he has swaggered off into the rear room to impart his wisdom on someone else. The night continues.

SOBA Matariki Winter Ales Festival 2010

2010-06-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

The last fortnight has been intense with my first pro brew experience, a trip to Dunedin and catering for 3 different events and hosting 2 tutored beer tastings. Things have calmed sufficiently to do a bit of writing.
I will start with SOBA’s first pro beer festival. On Saturday we managed to pull off a winter ales festival without a hitch. 250 punters managed to get through 650 litres of 20 different beers. I catered the event cooking up a Beef Mushroom and Ale Stew, a Chicken Vindaloo and a Aloo Gobi curry. This was undoubtedly the biggest catering gig I have ever undertaken .
The festival had an awesome vibe everyone in really good form, the two security guards we hired had nothing to do all day.
There were some fantastic beers on offer, My picks of the festival would have been the Golden Bear Winter Ale (tasting like a NZ hopped slightly toned down version of Sierra Nevada Celebration) Townshend Dubloon (rich malt accented strong bitter with a good hoppy finish) and the Rogue John John barrel aged Dead Guy. There were a lot of beers I missed as I was in the kitchen for most of the day keeping the rice supply going and heating the currys and stew to keep the bain marie full.
I think the festival offered something unique to the NZ beer scene. Hopefully this model for SOBA festivals continues and prospers because it offers the opportunity to take great beer experiences around the country rather than having everything based in Wellington.