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Luke

Happenings at the Hop

Normally when I am in Christchurch I absolutely always visit the Dux de Lux and the Twisted Hop. However, during a lightning visit last week I had to choose between them and ended up going to the Hop.

The official reason was to conclude my research for an article I am working on - the real reason is that I just love the place.

Certainly there are plenty of developments worthy of note.

There is a new beer on tap - Yale an American Pale Ale. It was most pleasant and I am assured it is getting better and better. I was so focused on the standard taps when I came in that I almost missed it. That would have been very poor form.

Also on line now is a raspberry wheat beer called Raspbiery. I didn't think my suggested name of Berry St Edmunds stood much of a chance. It was just too subtle - that is always my problem.

On the other taps, Three Boys Pilsner has joined its stablemate on tap and jugs are available. This just could not have been better timing. When I walked in I had got a message from my friend Doink gloating about how he was enjoying a bottle of Three Boys Pilsner from Regional. I was able to reply saying that was all very nice but I was having a jug of it fresh off the tap. Advantage - me.

The only downside was self inflicted. I forgot to use my Hop Club card again. I carried it all the way to Christchurch and at the crucial moment of payment I forgot to use it.

Plans for southern whiskey distillery

Warren Preston, of the Bay of Plenty's Mills Reef winery, has lodged a resource consent application to build a $5 million boutique distillery on the banks of the Kawarau River, near Queenstown.

Barley would be sourced from throughout Otago and Southland to be distilled at the site before it is bottled, matured and distributed through his Oamaru restaurant.

Full Story

Rotorua-U-Brew For Sale AGAIN

This ad has been in the NZ Herald Business for sale section for the last couple of weeks. It is the old Rotorua U Brew, and more recently Crater Brewing.

Bar & Brewery (Rotorua) - manuf and retail, will train.. $100k. Ad ID 5517

Ad From www.nzbizbuysell.com

Bar and Brewery. Fantastic plant with new bar setup selling commercial beers plus own brews. Will teach new owner all brewing operations. Be quick for this...

Business Description:
Fantastic Plant. Value over $150,000. New bar setup selling commercial beers plus own brew beers. Full ON/OFF licence. Has late licence until 1 am Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Bar has good stereo sound: outside tables and a BBQ which is popular. Is
really set to take off. All the hard work has been done. Present owner will teach new owner all brewing operations. Brewery could be relocated.

Business Resources:
Suit owner operator or husband/wife team. $60,000.00 ONO. Will consider trade, and possibly some finance.

Money for Mid-Strength?

The NZ Herald, in a typically infomercial style, has reported that Guinness are launching a new Mid-Strength version of their famous ale. The article states that the "new product will not cost any less, but its alcohol content will be 2.8 per cent rather than the regular 4.2 per cent."

What I'd like to know, since the journalist has either not bothered to ask or at least to not report, is why the product costs the same as full strength Guinness yet clearly will:

1. cost significantly less in excise tax (given that it is 2/3 the strength),
2. encourage the ability for more consumption, in terms of volume, and
3. may, possibly, cost less in raw ingredients

There may well be a fair answer (e.g. the smaller batches remove the economies of scale) but, from this article, it appears as though Guinness are receiving free advertising without no questions asked.

I've noticed many smaller NZ breweries definitely staggering their prices according to excise level. We should be demanding this from the major players too.

And we should certainly be demanding more from our journalists.

Full Story

Mac's Brewery Redevelopment - lays off nine staff

Mac's Brewery have made 9 staff redundant as part of a restaurant and pub redevelopment, to their Stoke brewery site, that could see the creation of up to 40 new jobs.

Full story

US Craft Beer Growth Leads All Adult Beverages for Second Year; Volume Up 9 Percent in 2005

"Craft beer volume growth far exceeded that of large brewers, wine and spirits in 2005," said Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association. "And even though imported beer grew nicely in 2005, craft beer grew at a faster rate."

Full Release (pdf file)

Funny TV ads - Budvar

See funny (British!) TV advertisement campaign videos for the czech beer Budweiser Budvar.

Budvar.tv

Southern shine at Gore Festival

The legendary brew Hokonui Moonshine is the inspiration for the Hokonui Moonshiners' Festival, to be held in Gore on Saturday.

Hearty doses of Southern cuisine, beer, wine and whisky will be accompanied by a varied line-up of musicians.

See the festival website link for more information.

It's raining beer

A $1 million dollar commercial inspired by Monty Python and featuring an army of people working together to induce the heavens to rain beer on them is the centrepiece of an ambitious marketing campaign by the state's biggest-selling tap beer.

The bizarre yet bold ad for Tooheys New depicts teams of people using huge catapults to propel sacks of malt, hops and even a solitary stag into the stratosphere in order to satisfy the beer gods.

Full Story

BEER PRODUCTION - NZ TOTALS - Dec 2005

BEER PRODUCTION - NZ TOTALS
FOR THE DECEMBER 2005 QUARTER

ALE, BEER AND STOUT, ALL TYPES LITRES

Bottled - under 400ml 45,522,000
Bottled - over 400ml 4,353,000
Canned 18,175,000
Tap (Bulk) 20,511,000
Total 88,562,000

New Kids on the Block

One of the things that really makes my week, even more so than popping the crown off a new batch of my own beer, is discovering a new brewery. Over the weekend I had the pleasure of sampling something completely new from Christchurch's latest, the Three Boys Brewery. I was most impressed with the debut.

Three Boys Brewery, of Woolston, have just recently released three unfiltered beers that cover a wide spectrum of the beer drinking community. There should be something for everyone in their simply named: Wheat, Pils and Porter.

The effervescent Wheat, very much a Belgian wit on the nose, was a deeper gold than its famous Belgian cousin and looks beautiful in the glass with it's lingering, pillowy, white head. Along with the usual citrus and coriander, I also picked up some ginger in the very long spicy finish. The wheat was my pick of a promising bunch, from the batches I've sampled so far.

The Pilsner, quite traditionally Bohemian-styled but with some local ingredients, is bright gold and has a lovely balance of malt and hops. Both the nose and the flavour suggest freshly milled grain, cut grass, and a faint touch of pepper and butterscotch. The drawn-out bitter finish is not for the faint hearted. Neil Miller picked this (at number 3, no less) in his top 10 NZ beers of 2005, a worthy recommendation indeed.

I found the tan-headed Porter, which I had most eagerly anticipated, to still be a bit green - slightly over estery and a spot light in the malt profile - but it did grow on me as it warmed. Give it a little time to warm up and breath, for more of the chocolate malt notes to get through and compliment the woody hops. Being a favoured style of mine, I'll be very interested to see how this one evolves.

Lucky Christchurch residents can sample their new local brews, on tap, at The Twisted Hop, The University of Canterbury Staff Club, or Cousinns Restuarant in Papanui. You may also find a bottle at a couple of other bars in the city, including C1 Espresso, Foam Bar and the Bicycle Thief, or at The Grape Escape and The Village Grape bottle stores.

For the rest of us, north of the smoky city, you can pick up the stylish 500mL bottles from Regional Wines and Spirits in Wellington, New World in Blenheim, or from Three Boys Brewery itself via their website.

Slainte mhath.

Hahn Special Vintage 2000

One of the highlights of my trip to Sydney last year was getting to meet bona fide brewing legend Chuck Hahn during a visit to the James Squire Brewhouse on Kings Wharf. At the end of the visit, I was delighted when he gave me a bottle of his Hahn Special Vintage 2000.

This was his millennium beer – a big beer (8%) for a new century.

It was a hit when it was released but now I had a bottle which had been aging for five years. Clearly, this wasn’t a beer to be casually drunk after a long day at work. This was one to cellar for a special occasion.

After about six months, at an appropriate time, the cork was popped and the Hahn Special Vintage saw the light for the first time since the twentieth century.

My first impression was that beer appeared to have the look and feel of a Chimay Blue though it turned out to be very much its own brew.

The beer poured languidly into the glass and displayed a unique deep tamarillo red hue and slight amber head.

The nose was anything but slight – huge with lashings of honey and the blast of higher alcohol.

The beer itself was strong, boisterous, a little toffee sweet but with some sherry/vinous notes keeping the taste buds moving.

It certainly tasted more than the 8% abv on the label but it had plenty of time in the bottle to make a few lifestyle changes. By the time it reached me, it was more like an excellent barley wine.

I felt privileged to have tried it.

Dux de Lux Arts Festival Red Ale

There is only one institution in the world that can every make me say “Taxi driver, to the Arts Centre and step on it”. It is the Dux de Lux brewpub – nestled in the heart of the Christchurch Arts Centre – and I say it every single time I visit Christchurch.

During a trip last year, I had the opportunity to try their Red Ale, a 5.4% festive brew for the Christchurch Arts Festival

Red Ale is a style rarely made in New Zealand these days so I approached the glass with a degree of eagerness but no preconceptions.

The beer was rich dark red colour with a quite extraordinary head.

The foam was thick, creamy and persistent. The only comparison I could make would be to Guinness actually. The lacing was like a sheen of froth down the sides of the glass. Very unusual – very nice.

It threw a light aroma of roast and smoky notes, while the creaminess of the head flowed through in to the body which was velvet smooth and easy to drink.

The beer had a moderate malt body with a few nutty notes and a subtle, lingering bitterness.

I enjoyed it. In my opinion, it was far too good for those arty types.

Beware the quiet Lion

Also weighing against a Lion bid is the fact that the Commerce Commission is likely to have a problem with the merger of the two biggest "ready-to-drink" players.

That means Lion would have to divest some of the most lucrative parts of the New Zealand business.

Full Story

Doctors say moderate beer drinkers age slower

Pilsner
Originally uploaded by nzbrewer.

A study conducted by doctors who monitored nearly a hundred middle-aged men over the course of three months revealed that the moderate consumption of beer slows aging and reduces the likelihood of heart attacks and arteriosclerosis, the daily Plzensky denik reports today.

Full Story

Beer ad ruled not offensive to women

The Advertising Standards Complaints Board has not upheld a complaint that an ad involving two men who infiltrate the female-only Mangatainoka brewery was offensive to women.

The board's view was that the ad was not sexually provocative because the men "were not in the least interested in the women, their true aim being to sample the product".

Story from NZ Herald

Lion Nathan tipped to buy Independent

Australian brewer Lion Nathan would be a top contender in a potential $1.2 billion sale of Australian and New Zealand spirits group Independent Distillers, Goldman Sachs JBWere says.

Full Story

Stats > Food > Beer consumption

#11 New Zealand 78 litres

See the full listing of beer consumption by country

Kiwi Link to RateBeer Rumble

Apparently noted wine writer Rory Gibson wrote an article on organic beers for the Courier Mail in Australia.

Rather than actually taste the beers, he decided to pick a review of each off the RateBeer website and use them. I guess it could be charitably called research.

The reviews were well written with plenty of thought having gone into the descriptions -"bubblegum, slight cedar, straw, citrus zest. Playful on the palate..." you get the idea.

Mr Gibson scathingly concludes "Personally, I think people who describe beer in such a way have their heads up their own cellar. The main thing is that the beers are here..."

That from a wine writer who seems unable to accept that beer can have aromas and flavours and certainly wouldn't ever deign to try them himself.

One can only speculate about his reaction to a writer who cut and pasted a couple of internet wine reviews into an article, slagged off the vocabulary of wine tasting and claimed it was a real article.

The Ratebeer guys are understandably unhappy.

And the Kiwi connection? One of the reviews was by Stu - a Wellington home brewer and beer enthusiast.

He wasn't credited by Mr Gibson.

[New Scientist] - Lager doubt

There are two advertisements for lager running on British TV at the moment. The first, for American brand Budweiser, suggests that the key to good lager is fast shipment from brewery to bottle to drinker. It says fresh lager tastes better. The second, for Dutch beer Grolsch, makes exactly the opposite claim. It stresses the importance of a long conditioning period to improve flavour before the beer is bottled. Which will produce a better beer and why?

Answers to this question

Beer Pouring Robot, Finally!

This is Asahi, a beer pouring robot from Japan. It can refrigerate up to six cans of beer, two mugs, and with a simple push of a button it will pour a beer into the mug with perfect head every time.

Full Story

Hart 'now eyeing Lion Nathan

Lion Nathan had also had problems, including a failed takeover of Coopers Brewery in South Australia, and if Mr Hart could persuade Japanese brewer Kirin, which controls 46 per cent of Lion Nathan to sell, it would make the rest of the takeover easier, and the brewer could provide him with a stable cashflow.

Full Story

Beer In A Microwave

Ever you wonder what happen if you put beer in a microwave??

See Video

Do you drink beer at sporting events?

Anyone that has to carry more than 2 beers back to their seat can appreciate this little invention.

See Picture Here

$1b for Independent Liquor would be Erceg's last coup

A possible buyer is Lion Nathan, which could quickly get a foothold in the spirits market in Australia with the purchase of Independent Liquor's business there and boost its own RTD business here. Also, Lion's brewery in Newmarket is stretched to capacity, so Independent Liquor's own site at Papakura would give it valuable new capacity.

Full Story

Cooler draught sweeps drinkers in

Davidson admitted there was a risk that the super-chilled version could cannibalise sales of regular Export, but the signs of net growth were promising.

Peter Kean, managing director of Lion Nathan New Zealand, said that although he was not trying to knock DB's new concept, Kiwis and Australians tended to drink their beer at much colder temperatures than the British.

Full Article

Aussie Action in the Ale Files

A report of the latest Cellar Vate Beer Club Tasting has just been posted in the Ale Files and contains a few interesting thoughts on Australian beers and Australian beer culture.

To read it, simply click here as I have finally learned how to link...

"Beer before liquor, never sicker, liquor before beer, never fear"

Is the saying "Beer before liquor, never sicker, liquor before beer, never fear" physiologically accurate?

The reasoning behind the proverb is that it's easier on your body to absorb weaker alcoholic drinks, like beer, later in the evening. This probably holds some merit. It's also true that your body tends to process alcohol from carbonated drinks faster. But any piece of advice regarding alcohol consumption that contains the line "never fear" is obviously pretty suspect.

Full Article

Germans developing taste for shandy over beer

Germans drank less beer last year while consuming more drinks in which beer is mixed with things like cola and fruit juice, official figures showed Monday.

Full Article

Limburg pilsner top of the holiday hops

MY favourite beer over the holiday period was Limburg Brewery's German-style Pilsner.
This Hastings-brewed beer is on tap at Breakers establishments in Victoria St (Hamilton), Tauranga and Mt Maunganui, and if you're looking for a reason to visit this cheap and cheerful chain, this is it.

Improvisation award: For New Year's Eve I looked to tank up with take-home supplies of Deep Obsession from Cock & Bull, but they'd run out of pub pet tops. No sweat. Barmaid Jemma improvised by taking a screw cap off a bottle of Sprite and chucking it on. They've made beer ads out of less.

Full Article

The Beerbelly

Whether you’re watching the big game, exercising, or in class, the Beerbelly will help ensure you stay hydrated. Thanks to a neoprene sling and a custom shaped pouch that holds up to 80 oz. of liquid, you’ll look just like someone who’s pregnant with a beerbelly when wearing this device.

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