The taste of winter is brewing - Monteith's Dopplebock Winter Ale

Monteith’s is bringing back its Doppelbock Winter Ale to help banish the cold this winter.

Monteith’s expects the tradition of winter beers to be even stronger than last year, especially on tap at its Monteith’s concept bars that start pouring in mid-May.

Monteith’s Doppelbock Winter Ale has an original gravity of around 16° Plato and a final gravity of 4° Plato.

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Alcopops Company Says Aussie Tax Hike Won't Work

The boss of Australasia's largest ready-to-drink (RTD) producer says a hefty hike in excise tax on pre-mixed drinks in Australia is unfair.

Independent Liquor's chief executive Doug McKay said the move would push the price of RTDs, or "alco-pops" as they are also known, up 25 percent.

Australia has lifted the tax from $39.36 per litre of alcohol content to $66.67, putting it on the same level as spirits.

Mr McKay said it was unfair to equate RTDs with spirits as they had a 5 percent alcohol content, comparable with beer.

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RTDs Ban To Hit Grog Stocks

Under the tax increase, the level of excise charged on RTDs has been lifted from $39.36 per litre of alcohol content to $66.67.

Investors in Pacific Equity Partners funds which bought Independent Liquor in New Zealand last year won't be too happy either. Independent is the largest producer of RTDs in Australasia. PEP paid well over $1.1 billion.

PEP's website said about Independent:

"Independent Liquor (IL) is a leading manufacturer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, with a particular focus in the ready-to-drink (RTD) category, the fastest growing segment of the Australasian alcoholic beverages industry. Approximately 60% of IL sales are in Australia and 40% in NZ. Across the two countries, white and dark spirit RTDs represent 65% of sales.

"In NZ, IL has 3 of the top 6 dark RTD brands and 4 of the top 6 white RTD brands. Its main competitors in RTDs are Lion Nathan and Maxxiuum (distributor of Jim Beam). In Australia, IL has the close No.2 dark RTD brand and No.1 white RTD brand. Its main competitors are Diageo and Maxxiuum.

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Alcopop tax surprises alcohol industry

Alcohol industry groups say they are surprised by the Federal Government's decision to increase tax on pre-mixed spirits.

The Government announced a 70 per cent increase on tax for the drinks yesterday, saying a price hike in ready-to-drink spirits would help curb teenage binge-drinking.

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Sierra Nevada New Zealand Fresh Hop Ale

Sierra Nevada, the pioneer of fresh hop ales in America, has expanded its Harvest Ale Series with the release of another ground-breaking product introduction, Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale. This marks the first time in known history that a fresh hop ale has been available in America in the spring since hops are harvested in the fall in the northern hemisphere. The inaugural ale will debut in early May.

To make this project happen, Sierra Nevada traveled to New Zealand to harvest fresh hops, and then transported them from the southern hemisphere to Chico where they were immediately used in brewing. Like their award-winning Celebration Ale, the fresh hops in this beer are dried right after being picked then shipped immediately to Chico for brewing, so that they retain their peak aromatics and flavors. Freshly harvested hops are richer in hop oils so they impart more hop aroma and hop spiciness into beer.

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Karl Strauss video by Luke

Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego

[Photo: Tomme Arthur, from Port Brewing / Lost Abbey Brewing and Luke Nicholas, at the San Diego Beer Community Convergence, at Karl Strauss Brewing Company]

Here are a few links of images of the recent Craft Brewers Conference held in San Diego.

Since I lost my camera, I don't have any photos to share but Jay Brooks has done an awesome job with photos and highlights.

Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego Begins
Craft Brewers Conference Welcome in San Diego
An Evening at Karl Strauss Breweries
Karl Strauss website [with photos]
Random Days of CBC 2008
World Beer Cup Gala Dinner 2008

This is a photo of the 100 taps on the temporary bar setup at the resort for the Craft Brewers Conference, opening hours 10pm - 1am. There was just one keg per tap, of beers from San Diego and Northern Californian Breweries. It made a pleasant finish to every evening.

Beer Haiku Friday - I like hops

Having just returned from sampling a (very) large number of American IPAs, APAs, Double IPAs and Imperial Pale Ales, I could not resist this Haiku called "I like hops":

Neverending Hops
Frolic across my taste buds
Double IPA

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

Designer Beer Crafted for the NZ University Games

For the first time in its 106-year history, the Uni Games will be held in a non-university town (Rotorua) from 14-17 April 2008. University Sport New Zealand (USNZ) has decided to take the games to Rotorua in hopes of diversifying and expanding the breadth of tertiary competitive sports in New Zealand.

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Climate change could see pubs run dry - Niwa

A climate scientist is warning that climate change could affect beer production within 25 years.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger said climate change could see a decline of malting barley production in parts of Canterbury and across the Tasman.

"It will mean either there will be pubs without beer or the cost of beer will go up," Dr Salinger said.

He said there could be an expansion of malting barley production in Otago and Southland.

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It's enough to give brewers a headache

Imported malt prices have soared 50 per cent over the past year, while the cost of aluminium has risen between 30 and 40 per cent. In addition, transport fuel costs have risen between 50 and 60 per cent.

"You'll see worldwide over the next year some quite significant price increases in the industry to recover those costs."

In New Zealand, pressure also comes at the retail end as supermarkets controlled by Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs become increasingly the main point of sale for beer, which in turn puts margin pressure on producers.

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Uni students brew up own beer

"We don't claim to be sophisticated brewers, yet we've got a sophisticated little brewery and our first brew is very very good," says Professor Richard Archer.

The university is optimistic it can claim a slice of a $700 million government fund earmarked for food research.

TVOne Video

Beer price rise 'inevitable'

Beer drinkers may be left goggle-eyed come July as the price of their favourite tipple looks set to soar.

DB is staring down the barrel of a 6 to 7 per cent rise, as opposed to 3 per cent last year, while Lion Nathan, which hasn't set its new prices yet, concedes it will be at least 4 per cent.

And the smaller breweries, which lack the buying power of the two titans, will be even harder hit.

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Micro brewery's Pilot Pils a good Kiwi drop

The micro brewery at the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology was officially opened today, with staff and visitors raising a glass of the pilsner-style beer named Pilot Pils.

Professor Archer says the brewery will provide a teaching facility for students of process engineering and brewing and beverage technology; a research facility for students and industry; and a social environment where interaction among students and staff will contribute to the life of the campus.

Although the beer will not be sold for cash, staff had to follow customs and excise procedures including applying for a licence to brew and will pay excise duty on each brew.

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Beer Haiku Friday - Simple

In a our busy world, sometimes the simple things are still the best. This week, Captain Hops provides us with his Haiku take on Simple:

something so simple
as a pizza and a beer
when times are complex

Beer Haiku Friday is on hiatus for the next few weeks but will return at the end of the month.

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

Mac’s Brewjolais – Back for its third year

Following another triumphant appearance at Mac's Brewbars last year, the seasonal madness that is Brewjolais makes its third appearance in 2008. Our Mac’s Brewers have been busy picking the first Riwaka hops of the season and adding them green and fresh to a pale ale to produce a very hoppy, bitter beer – Mac’s Brewjolais.

Mac’s Brewjolais celebrates and honours the annual hop harvest and 2008 promises to be a vintage year for fresh hops and fresh thinking.

“This year’s vintage is a little different, as is becoming tradition with Brewjolais. We have kept the malt grist simple, as this beer is all about the hops,” says Mac’s Marketing Manager Kerry Wheeler.

“We’ve used Riwaka hops, from Colin Oldham's farm in the Rakau Valley and added 12 pokes of fresh, un-kilned Riwaka hops, which have added a huge passionfruit character to the beer.”

Mac’s Brewjolais is fermented with an American ale yeast to develop this fruit character further, resulting in a satisfying ale that is full in flavour and bitterness.

Ensure you make the most of the limited release Mac's Brewjolais, because when it runs out, 12 months will seem like an awfully long time to wait for the next batch.

Mac’s Brewjolais has an ABV of 5.5% and is available fresh on tap from the following selected outlets:

The Northern Steamship Brewbar - Auckland
Nuffield Street Brewbar - Auckland
Brewery Bar and Restaurant - Wellington
Aikmans - Christchurch
Smugglers Pub and Café - Nelson
The Honest Lawyer - Nelson
Victorian Rose - Nelson
Prince Albert Hotel - Nelson
Pohara Sands - Takaka

Beerly Writing - More Salient Goodness

The Salient beer column takes a look at wheat beers and cricket:

Beer can have a wonderful effect on conversation. Once, it even made Graham Gooch funny. One of England’s best cricketers, Gooch was famous for his solid batting, droopy moustache and a face which resembled a forlorn Basset Hound receiving an unexpected cavity search.

Next was the 2008 version of the now classic university drinking game:

Recently, I invented a drinking game called “Eggplant.” The rules were ridiculously simple – people threw slices of barbequed eggplant up the neighboring hill. The winner of each round did not have to drink – everyone else did. People utilized a wide variety of throwing styles to try to gain an advantage. My personal trademark technique of hurling the vegetable directly into the wall of the house some two meters away was hilarious but ineffective. I consoled myself with the fact that my game, while it may have appeared silly to some, probably saved lives. A person might have eaten the eggplant if it had been left lying around.

Finally, some Saint Patrick's Day reflections on stout, porter and pubs:

Skeptics argue that beer should not be so thick you have to eat it with a spoon nor so dark that it threatens to implode and pull your eyeballs out. These people always seem to sit next to me.

Thinking big

Microbrewery Aotearoa Breweries opted for a computer system that matched the big boys’ despite the upfront cost.

According to the company blurb, SAP Business All-in-One is targeted at companies with revenues from around the $100 million mark up to $1 billion. Or “put it this way”, says Bratton, “the software we put into Aotearoa Breweries is exactly the same software we put into Fonterra”. (Yet Aotearoa’s turnover this financial year is likely to hit just $250,000.)

To date, Magan estimates the business has cost him, Viitakangas and their business partners, Viitakangas’ mum and dad, Gloria and Jouni, close to $500,000. The SAP system cost them about the same amount as they paid for all their brewing equipment, bought from a defunct brewery in Wellington for $45,000 from the Trade and Exchange website. But it is money well spent, says Magan, now the brewery is being recognised and sought out for its beer.

With its Foodstuffs supply deal, its second export order from Japan for 100 cases of beer, and plans for expansion in the South Island and the US, as well as into Finland and India through family connections, Aotearoa Breweries is planning to upscale its facilities to increase batch production from 1,000 litres to 5,000 litres this year. But with all that selling to do the family members running the brewery are going to be on the road a lot. Fortunately that relatively expensive computer system includes comprehensive, secure remote-access capabilities, says Magan. “It’s simply essential for a company with such few staff. Basically it allows us to concentrate on the business. We don’t have to think about the day-to-day tasks so much.”

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