Beer Haiku - It's tapped!

Beer Haiku was absent last week because it was at Galbraiths Alehouse. It has no regrets.

This week's beer haiku by Captain Hops celebrates the start of Oktoberfest:

Six million people
Raise their beers and their voices.
One day, I’ll join them.

Glass tip - the delightful Beer Haiku Daily

Local brew continues its winning habit

COCK & Bull’s Monk’s Habit beer celebrates its 10th year of production with another gold medal and Best in Class win at the recent Brew NZ Beer Awards.

Monk’s Habit is not only the most awarded beer in the country, with a total of 56 medals and trophies in the last 10 years, but the highest awarded, including being the only beer ever to win the Supreme Champion Award more than once. This latest trophy brings the total to 16 “Best in Class” trophies.

Full Story

2007 SOBA National Homebrew Competition

Press Release: Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA) Inc.
26 September 2007


The Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA) are pleased to announce the opening of entries for the 2007 SOBA National Homebrew Championship.

The competition, which will see one lucky homebrewer brewing their recipe commercially at Hallertau Brewbar and Restaurant, is New Zealand's premiere homebrew competition and is proudly sponsored this year by Macs All Malt brewing and BrewCraft homebrew supplies.

Over the coming weeks hundreds of homebrewers around the country will be emptying their emergency supply water bottles and filling them with every style of beer imaginable from crisp, dry and hoppy Bohemian pilseners to rich, malty Russian imperial stouts.

"While it's nice to win one of the big prizes, independent critical feedback is a key component to any brewers development", says Chief Steward Stu McKinlay, fresh from performing the same role at BrewNZ's commercial competition. "Quite a number of New Zealand's most prominent commercial craft brewers started out as homebrewers and, while some of our current homebrewers are making beer every bit as good as what we can buy in stores, this next generation are crying out for a world-class competition that is judged to international standards".

"A little part of every homebrewer is probably looking for bragging rights, or some validation that their beer really is as good as they think", Mr McKinlay says, "and all these beers will be put to the ultimate test, with an experienced and varied judging team lead by Geoff Grigg's - New Zealand's leading beer expert and our most experienced beer judge."

Entry forms and regulations are available at your local homebrew supplier, as well as from the SOBA website - www.soba.org.nz. Entries close on Novermber 30th 2007.

SOBA - the Society of Beer Adovacates - are a not for profit organisation whose main aim is promoting a wider availability and better recognition of great quality beer. SOBA would like to thank Mac's, BrewCraft, Brewers Coop, NZ Hops and Hallertau BrewBar for their support of this competition.

One bottle of Heineken beer in a bowl = 15 dead snails and two dead slugs

Despite my initial enthusiasm for the beer trap concept (one bottle of Heineken beer in a bowl = 15 dead snails and two dead slugs), new evidence suggests it may have been beginner’s luck.

More Here

Westcoast Brewing plans $100m growth

Founder and director Paddy Sweeney – self-dubbed "good bastard", author and raconteur – said Westcoast Brewing was aiming to have 40 bars and restaurants in Australia and New Zealand over five years, and was eyeing Britain and the United States.

The company capitalises on the image of West Coast legends and larrikins, of being politically incorrect, relating to the average person and creating a common man's brand.

Full Story

Malthouse Radio Ad (mp3) by Neil Miller

This is the first of a series of radio ads for the Malthouse in Wellington done by Neil Miller. This first one could be called "Vegetable Loyalty"

Download and listen .mp3

Colin Paige in Portland, Oregon (mp3)

Brewfest 2007 from Radio NZ - This Way Up with Simon Morton

Recommend | Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:56

Colin Paige beams in from Portland, Oregon where 50,000 beer fans have gathered for three days.

Download Part 1

Download Part 2

Right Click to save mp3
"Save link as"

BrewNZ 2007 - Awards - Photos & Video

Over the next week we will be adding more images and video to the BrewNZ 2007 website.

If you have photos or video to share please email



BrewNZ.co.nz for the images and video.

Cornwall Park: Campbell's Brewery exhibition

Auckland Heritage Festival

Cornwall Park: Campbell's Brewery exhibition

Discover more about the history of brewing in New Zealand, and John Logan Campbell's brewing legacy, including his ownership of Domain Brewery, which merged to become Lion Brewery.

Photo Exhibition

15th - 30th September (10am - 4pm)

Cost: Free
Booking details: No booking required
Meeting place or venue: Cornwall Park Information Centre
Address: inside Cornwall Park, Epsom
Phone: 09 630 8485
Email: huialodge@xtra.co.nz
Website: www.cornwallpark.co.nz

Details

Hallertau comes to Hamilton

Hamilton just became a better place to be for some of us. The Ruakura Campus Club is about to get Hallertau beers on tap.

The Club might be Hamilton's best kept beer secret, and I had to check with the Club's "beer coordinator" (and keen SOBA member) Neale Towers, before I let people in on this but I thought it was too good to keep to myself.

The beers on will be Luxe, a delicious, delicately fruity Kölsch-style Ale, Copper Tart, a traditional Irish Red ale, which has the hops to balance its malt driven nature, and Statesman, an American Pale Ale, refreshing in its citrus hop burst.

The Club is open to members and their guests only, but if you live in Hamilton and enjoy a good beer, it's one of only a few places which will satisfy, so consider joining...

BrewNZ Judges find good taste

Media Release
September 14, 2007
Source: BrewNZ

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to world-class beers. BrewNZ’s international beer judging panel has just found 16 locally available beers worthy of gold.

The 13 strong judging panel spent three days taste testing 184 beers to find 81 of our best medal winning beers, which were announced at the 2007 BrewNZ awards in Wellington on Wednesday 12th September.

Last year, just six of the 170 beers presented were judged to be of world class gold medal standard.

Chief steward Stu McKinlay, who has been involved in the BrewNZ awards for the past three years, said the quality of the beers was improving from year to year as brewers strived for the ultimate prize.

This year entries came from across New Zealand as well as the USA and Australia where word about the quality of the Kiwi craft beer industry was quickly spreading, Mr McKinlay said.

“These results will show that our smaller breweries are coming up to the bench mark that a couple of the more well-known craft breweries have set over the last couple of years.”

“It’s a nice spread for the best in class that we’ve not seen over the past few years, both in terms of breweries and the size and type of brewery,” Mr McKinlay said.

It’s not a matter of first, second and third. Beers win medals based on their individual merits and are judged against each other only when it comes to ‘best in class’. In some classes the best medal is silver or bronze, while in others there are several golds.

A gold medal is defined as a world-class beer that exemplifies its style, displaying the proper balance of taste, aroma and appearance. A silver medal is an excellent beer and a bronze denotes a fine example.

Beers are judged blind and to qualify for the ‘best in class’ trophy must be commercially available in New Zealand.

Full results are available at www.brewnz.co.nz.

Ends.

For further information:

BrewNZ
David Cryer
0800 625 833

BrewNZ on TV One - Close Up

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/497100/1342169

Brewer's Guild says the entries for this year's Brew NZ Awards were world class.

Thirteen judges spent three days tasting the 180 beers entered; 18 gold medal winners were announced this week.

Competition entries came from across New Zealand, as well as the United States and Australia.

Vice President and judge, Luke Nicholas, says the quality of entries improves from year to year.

Full Story

Beer Poetry is the New Black

Today's Beer Haiku was written about Baseball but could well be about cricket. I'm loving all the 20/20 upsets ("don't cry for me Ricky Ponting!"). So here it is - from the keyboard of Captain Hops:

Oh the sounds of spring
Crack of the bat… roaring crowd
shouts from the beer guy

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

No doubt inspired by the runaway success of Beer Haiku Fridays at this blog, the Rock have penned "An Ode to Lion Red" on its 100th birthday (apparently).

Celebrating One HundRed Years

Lion Red you legend, one hundred years of beer!
The first drop brewed in Newmarket and still continues there
After a hard days work, or a bruising rugby game
Not to down a couple of Lion Red's would simply be a shame
With the snarlers on the barbie, Lion Red in hand,
Stubbies and Jandals on, lets down another can.
Now that the weekend is over, I'm back to the daily grind,
But the taste of Lion Red lingers on my mind.
On Friday night when the week is done I often crack a few
Nothing beats a Lion Red beer, the best a man can brew
Lion Red it must be said is pure pleasure in a glass,
All other beers just don't come near to this drop of Kiwi class.

SOBA National Homebrew Championship

The Society of Beer Advocates is pleased to announce that entries are now open for the SOBA National Homebrew Championship proudly sponsored by Mac's All Malt Brewing and Brewcraft.

Entries close on Friday 30th November 2007. Entry forms will be available at your local homebrew store or can be downloaded from www.soba.org.nz/competition.

There are some great prizes from Mac's and Brewcraft to be won. Prizes for each BJCP category as well as Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for best kit beers and best full grain beers.

The winner of the Supreme Champion Beer will be invited to a brew day to brew their award winning beer at Hallertau BrewBar.

SOBA would like to thank Brewers Coop, NZ Hops and Hallertau BrewBar for their support.

Beer Haiku - From the Southern Hemisphere

In today's edition of Beer Haiku, an offering from Rupert Morrish down under called From the Southern Hemisphere:

First warm day of Spring-
Time to put up my hammock
And down a few beers.

Glass Tip - The fine poets at Beer Haiku Daily

Michael Jackson - Interview from August 7th 2007

Michael Jackson - The Beer Hunter, interview from 7th August 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLohwMW7qjU

BrewNZ Awards Party - Limited Tickets Available

Come and celebrate great beer: 6.30pm, at 'The Pride' in Wellington's Shed 22.

Limited tickets are still available to the BrewNZ Award's Party. The event is open to the public but be in quick as they are being snapped up fast.

For your $75 ticket price you'll be treated to an open bar of BrewNZ 2006 trophy winning winning beers, an excellent selection of cocktail food from 'Smith the Grocer' and spelndid entertainment from MC and beer guru Neil Miller. A bargain already but wait, there's more... You'll mingle with the glitterati and 'rock stars' of NZ's thriving beer scene and you'll also get to hear this years winning beers announced before the press even publish them!

Ticket applications can be made via the BrewNZ website - http://www.brewnz.co.nz/BREWNZ2007-Formsve.doc

All in all a great way to build up to the SOBA AGM, later that week.