Beer Haiku Friday - Scary as Ale

It is, apparently, Halloween so a suitably spooky Beer Haiku seemed in order. This one pokes a bit of gentle fun at the Americans inexplicable infatuation with pumpkin ales, particularly at this time of the year. It is called "Scary as Ale":

crack a seasonal
Why is that pumpkin staring?
drinking his brother

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

Beer Blogs

My second Malthouse blog is now up and is titled "From the Ivory Tower to the Brew House." It covers Croucher The Hef and Three Boys Wheat:

Brewers are, on the whole, remarkable creatures. From just toasted grain, the flower of a vine, ordinary water and a single-celled organism, they can produce delicious, sweet, life-giving beer. Given those same ingredients, most people would end up with soggy muesli which smelt of wet grass and tasted vaguely like bathroom mould. Or worse - Mash beer.

Also on his second post, Mr Colin Paige, former head brewer at Mac's, is blogging about his mission to establish a brewery in Saigon. His blog is called Colin Paige in South East Asia:

Of course, getting into the Bia Hoi! (Bia Hoi is the cheap locally produced, unfiltered and unpasteurised beer - most of it is OK, not going to win any awards, and occasionally some diacetyl issues, However the dispense is usually an unpressurized keg with a hose and a womans hand over the end of it, holding beer in with her thumb until someone makes an order) Found a great place about 100m from Apocalypse Now (Saigon CBD) , night Club, that has a fixed rent and so can still offer 2 litres of beer for 16,000 VND, or about NZ$1.20.

Finally, one of my favourite beer writers, Pete Brown, has a blog with many more than two posts. His new book is called Hops and Glory and is due out next year:

This book has ruled my life for two years - I was heavily into it by the time I first started blogging. I can't wait to get the bastard finished and unleashed on the world. I've finished the first draft and it's now with my editor, but it's far too long and we're going to have to cut about a third of it out - expect lots of IPA-themed blog entries to appear on here as they're slashed from the book (a process Steven King refers to as 'killing your babies').

Bleak economy's best investment? Beer

An Australian business news website is reporting that beer is a solid investment option in hard times.

A 30-year study of Australian beer sales tracked against the Westpac Consumer Confidence Survey has unearthed compelling evidence that beer sales flourish during recessions, news.com.au reported today.

Graphs show that as sharemarket indices tumble, beer sales creep upwards.

Foster's brewers confirm sale figures from as late as September this year show beer drinkers appear blissfully unaware the globe is in the grasp of a once-in-a-100-year financial catastrophe.

A spokesman said beer consumption in Australia had fallen slightly over the past 30 years, but sales were never subject to sudden movement - either up or down.

Full Story

All this and fruit wine too

Turning a hobby into a full time job – one that keeps a roof over your head – sounds like a dream come true. And, when your hobby’s home brewing and you transform that into a money spinner – well, a lot of blokes would think that’s about as good as it gets.

Beer enthusiast Steve Plowman has done just that. He runs Hallertau Brewbar Restaurant in Riverhead, a 20 minute drive west of the Auckland CBD. It’s a boutique operation; a family restaurant built around a micro-brewery with its own unique style.

“It’s a different concept in beer. No preservatives, no enzymes, fresh on tap.”

Full Story

Beer Haiku Friday - Times are Tough

It is a remarkable fact that Beer Haiku Daily is a more interesting and informed commentator on topical issues than Oliver Driver on the doomed Sunrise show. Today, Captain Hops suggests a simple way through the global financial crisis in his Haiku "Times are Tough":

I think I’ll give an
Economic stimulus
To my local pub

Speaking of local pubs deserving of economic stimulus, the Malthouse finally has a website and it certainly is a good one. I will also be contributing a regular blog on the site and the first entry is already up.

Glass Tip: Beer Haiku Daily Dot Com

ARTSPACE FREE BEER

ARTSPACE FREE BEER: Bjorn is doing a talk and beer tasting this Saturday.

ARTSPACE, Level 1, 300 Karangahape Road
Saturday 25 October, 3PM
Talk and Beer tasting

A conversation with Bjornstjerne Christiansen of SUPERFLEX. He will present
the exhibition If value, then copy and invite informal discussion about the
work. There will also be an opportunity to taste some FREE BEER.

http://superflex.net/
http://www.freebeer.org/blog/
http://www.artspace.org.nz/

Buyers Guide - Craft Beer in New Zealand

Craft Beer made in New Zealand has all of a sudden become very interesting and many bar owners and liquor retailers are looking at providing a selection of what is available.

With 50 small breweries in New Zealand, and many making on average 5 beers each, this means there are potentially 250 beers you could add to your fridge. In most cases you will not have room for more then 6 or 12 new beers.

Here are some quick tips to getting a quality selection, and avoiding making a bad choice?

Join the conversation

The Tuesday Two-Pack

The latest column from The Wellingtonian looks at "Great beer and fine dining":

Award-winning chef Martin Bosley is the first to admit that he was totally surprised at the recent Beervana event. “Discovering beer and food matching was a real epiphany for me. It opened up new possibilities – a whole layer of taste and demand we had completely ignored for a long time. I was very sceptical at the beginning but the experience was a true eye-opener,” he explains.

A full report of last weeks beer tasting at the Fire Service:

Last week I ran a beer tasting session for 25 enthusiastic staff at the Fire Service social club. The theme was a little bit Oktoberfest so we had some German beers, some New Zealand beers made in German styles and some New Zealand beers made in non-German styles. The atmosphere was completed by plates of sausages, a little Bavarian beer music and a man splendidly bedecked in lederhosen.

Beer and Politics

Even the chronically media-averse amongst you will now be aware that the election campaign is in full swing. Lie and counter-lie fly over the airwaves and the only respite is a nice beer in a great pub (preferably without a television).

I'm going to be part of the problem rather than part of the solution though and ask you to think about the issue of taxes. To do this, I'm going to post a beery allegory which has been doing the rounds on the magic tubes for many years. It's still apt though. Economists will refute the gross over-simplification, but it's something to think about as you sup your pints and marshal your thoughts on who to vote for.

The tax system explained with beer.

Apologies for the strange site link, but it was hard to find a copy which wasn't falsely attributed.

The Great Christchurch Beer Festival

8th November 11am - 11pm

Why not make this election day one to remember. After casting your vote (or perhaps before) why not come along to the The Twisted Hop, where we will be hosting Christchurch's biggest and best beer festival this year. With over 20 tap beers on offer from around New Zeland you are sure to have a better day than either John Key or Helen Clark regard less of the outcome!

Admission is free we will have a BBQ and live music. To help you all taste as many beers are possible we will be offering a 1/4pint tasting as well as our usual measures. The list of beers is growing by the day but these are some of what we will have on offer.

Breweries participating include Epic, Tuatara, Galbraiths, Ranaissance, Pink Elephant, Mussel Inn, Croucher, Hallertau, Townsend, Wigram, Three Boys, Emersons, Green Man & Invercargill

www.thetwistedhop.co.nz

Finding a Pink Elephant online

Drinkers frustrated by the traditional difficulty of purchasing top New Zealand micro-brewery beers in their neighbourhood now have a handy new alternative.

Since July 1 Daniel Parker has operated The Beer Store, an internet retailing operation at www.thebeerstore.co.nz, from his premises on the fringe of Hamilton.

Full Story

The Evolution of Beer

In the world of beer, ales are separated from lagers by their yeast. Lager yeast collects on the bottom of the fermenting vessel and ferments sugars into alcohol at lower temperatures that ale yeast, which operates at higher temperatures at the top of the fermentation vat. In new research published this week in the journal Genome Research, scientists examined the genetic sequences of 17 unique lager yeast strains from breweries in Europe and North America, tracing variations in the genetic code of those yeasts back through time. The researchers found that a key hybridization step, in which genetic information from two different yeasts combined and rearranged to yield a new 'lager yeast' organism, may have actually happened twice. The researchers found two different family groupings in the lager yeasts they studied, with one lineage associated primarily with Carlsberg breweries in Denmark and breweries in what is now Czechoslovakia, and the other family grouping connected mainly to breweries in the Netherlands, including Heineken. In this segment, we'll talk with one of the authors of the study about genetics and beer, and about the genes behind lager beer styles such as Pilsners, Märzen, Dortmunders, and Bocks.

Full Story, and Audio File

Amber fluid in green bottles

Beer writer Neil Miller agrees.

"It is a simple but very effective marketing ploy. For thousands of years, beer was pure. It's only since the Second World War industrial brewers began using additives, preservatives and other short-cuts. My major problem with the `pure' campaigns is the implication the beers are new, and the only pure beers on the market. That's simply not the case."

The smaller brewers don't think to say they are pure or preservative-free because that is just how beer should always have been made, he says.

Full Story

Hard times not end of good times for drinkers

The prospect of a global financial meltdown might be enough to drive you to drink - and it could be doing just that to many.

Lion Breweries managing director Peter Kean, speaking during a visit to Dunedin on Thursday, said the industry was facing numerous challenges, but a diminishing of the old desire to "have a few jars" did not appear to be one of them.

Full Story

Beer Haiku Friday - Perfect Timing

Today's Haiku - Perfect Timing by Captain Hops - offers some practical barbeque tips:

Put burgers on grill.
Drink a beer. Turn them over.
Drink a beer. They’re done.

Please note, for some readers of this blog following that method will results in burgers which are dangerously under-cooked. If that is the case, simply double the number of beers on each side. Sound advice from a caring blog.

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily as always

FREE MATA - ON TAP - YOUR LABOUR WEEKEND TREAT

If you are headed to the Eastern Bay for Labour Weekend mark this in your diary!!

Even in this time of "Crisis" we understand that everyone deserves something to smile about :-) So, please join us and celebrate the first permanent MATA TAP at the Commercial Hotel, Whakatane.

http://www.mata.net.nz

Is Beer a Recession Proof Industry?

Since the summer of 2007, the shortage has pushed the cost of hops from around $3-$5 a pound to $20-$40 a pound. It has forced almost all craft brewers -- small, independent and traditional breweries -- to raise retail prices. Smaller brewers, who don't typically have contracts on hops, have had to pay the higher costs, alter recipes or turn to less hoppy brews such as wheat beers, stouts and Pilsners.

Despite rising prices and a shortage in hops, craft beer -- beer made by small, independent and traditional breweries -- has grown 6.5% in volume and 11% in sales in the first half of 2008, roughly the same amount as the same period last year, Mr. Gatza says. According to the Brewers Association, in 2006 and 2007, 47 of the top 50 craft brewing companies grew in production to keep up with demand. So far this year about 42 of the top 50 are growing to keep up with demand, Mr. Gatza said.

Full Article

Neil Miller Beer Tour Review

We've been drinking our way through the vineyards of New Zealand for the last week or so, and while it's been absolutely fabulous, we got a nice change of pace - in the form of BEER. Neil Miller, a beer expert with an ironic last name, took us on a beer tasting tour in Wellington and I have to say that I learned a thing or two about pairing beer with food.

Full Story (with great pics)

IMPortant Management and Marketing Tips

Realbeer's very own Luke Nicholas has been profiled on the Management Focus website. In his case study, Luke explains how Epic has lifted its national brand profile despite having virtually no promotional budget. I've had to post this because Luke is far too modest to do it himself.

This approach, Luke concedes, is not easy and it takes time to build up. However, he does believe it is a way to build a brand with no cash. “I try hard to keep everything connected together but there are a number of different communication channels which people use in different ways. That is the way it is going to be in the future. My role is to ensure I keep coming back to the common interest – my beer. I guess I’m lucky as a closet computer geek that I have been able to bring my twin interests or obsessions of gadgets and beer together!” he laughs.

Glass Tip - Management Focus

Beer Haiku Friday - Beautiful

To honour Kieran Haslett-Moore's well-documented love of German beers, the beer Haiku for this week is simply called Beautiful:

Once I saw Munich
Through the bottom of a glass.
It was beautiful

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

Mega-bar owner not afraid to think big

Sale St, which opens this weekend, is Dallow's latest venture. The 800-capacity venue marks a resurgence of the big bar concept, following the success of David Henderson's SOL Square in Christchurch, and more recently, the 1500sq m Temperance in Wellington.

For Sale St, the team went to Perth before taking in similar concepts in places such as Las Vegas and Dublin. Grant Caunter, DB's national concept development manager, said Perth does the big bar concept well, and much of Sale St was modelled on the city's Little Creatures venue.

Full Story

How Salient for October

The final three Salient columns for 2008 begin with a review of the Best Beers in the Land:

It is a simple fact that the winners of proper competitions are decided by proper judges. Text voting from the masses probably makes “New Zealand’s Got Talent”, Telecom and Vodafone truck loads of money each week but the results are hardly based on merit. By reducing the judging to a phone-in popularity contest, an expert’s considered verdict is worth exactly the same as “Sonny” from Victoria who texts in “OMG tht dancin dog tht thru up on stage wuz the coolest! LULZ 2008!!! Vote Labour!”

Then, an objective look at the Best Places to Drink Beer in Wellington:

One of the best aspects of being a beer writer – apart from the master key to every brewery in the country and being called a “hero” in a letter to the editor – is all the research. Now, the extensive research required for beer writing is not like legal research (“find the case of the person who first got shafted by this particular law”), chemistry research (“record precisely what time you caught fire”), political research (“rephrase Nicky Hager in your own words for extra credit”) or even sociology research (“Wikipedia does so count as an academic source”).

Finally, the final Salient beer column pompously titled Some sober reflections on beer:

After an introduction so tangential it would make Professor Nigel S Roberts exclaim “my word, what an awfully tangential introduction,” it is time to announce that this is my final beer column for Salient. Perhaps next year another writer will step into the breach and produce three-part exposes on “Flame Beer – Why it Rocks.” Judging from the mailbag, there is a strong demand for that article from at least one student with a blue crayon and poor spelling.

Glass Tip: Salient Magazine

For a short time only, real beer

Too many beer drinkers settle for ordinary beer, he said, with many top-selling brands a long way from their origins under the watchful eye of a professional brewer, with some up to six months old.

"The whole idea behind Yeastie Boys is to do seasonal beers. You'll never be drinking a beer that is more than six weeks old."

The name was an irreverent rev-up for New Zealand's "too serious" brewing scene, Mr McKinlay said.

Full Story

Beer O'Clock goes historical - Billy Beer

Over at Peter Creswell's blog - Not PC - there is a weekly feature called Beer O'Clock. This week, Beer O'Clock turns back the clock to look at Billy Beer:

Billy Beer was launched in 1977 by the Falls City Brewing Company. Although the can states that the beer was “brewed expressly for and with the personal approval of one of America's all-time great beer drinkers - Billy Carter,” Billy himself had no input into the design of the beer. He was selected as the spokesman because, frankly, his brother was the President and Billy was already very well known for enjoying his beer.

Glass Tip - Not PC (just don't call him "centre-right"!)

Beer Haiku Friday - Carding the Most Famous Man in the World

The Baltimore Sun recently ran a story about the legendary beer bar Max's Taphouse turning away Michael Phelps, winner of eight gold medals at the Bejing Olympics, because he could not produce photographic ID. Phelps is 23 years old.Captain Hops wrote this haiku - "Carding the Most Famous Man in the World" - about this event:

On top of the world
You still need to show ID
If you want a beer

Glass Tip - Our old friends at Beer Haiku Daily and our new chums at the Baltimore Sun

Brewers fight rule requiring disclosure of fish bladders in beer

New Zealand brewers (1) are asking a trans-Tasman food regulator to stop making them warn drinkers they are using bits of fish bladder in the beer.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) requires beer labels to warn consumers allergic to fish when the dried swim bladders, known as isinglass, from tropical fish have been used to clarify the beverage.

Now the Brewers Association of New Zealand (2) wants an exemption from the mandatory declaration for allergens in beer and wine.

Full Story

(1)are we assuming this is just Lion and DB or are the 49 other brewers inculded in this statement

(2)Brewers Association of New Zealand IS NOT the Brewers Guild of New Zealand

Hits and Misses in the World of Beer

This new feature will discuss some of the big and not-so-big issues in the beer scene and provide a positive spin (hit) and a negative interpretation (miss) for each. There is a vague intention that this will be a fortnightly column but the chances of that actually happening are about the same as Parekura Horomia taking up parkour. The links in the column will generally be worth a click too...

HIT: My guests round watching Wellington win the Ranfurly Shield from Auckland each bought Tuatara beers.
MISS: My guests round watching Wellington win the Ranfurly Shield from Auckland each drank Tuatara straight out of the bottle.

HIT: Going away drinks for Mac's Head Brewer Colin Paige.
MISS: The fact that Mac's Head Brewer Colin Paige is going away.

HIT: The Corona foosball ball table at Mac's Bar 22 where one team is little bottles and the other team are little limes.
MISS: I don't have one yet.

HIT: The Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle will be the next guest beer at D4 in Wellington. Pot Kettle was won the random draw which will be used to select future guest beers (within reason - no Leon Rouge for example.)
MISS: D4 owner Dermot can persuade leprechauns to start fights with Mike Tyson but even he is struggling to convince people that it really was a random draw.

HIT: Epic Pale Ale is now in 500ml bottles.
MISS: I don't have one yet.