Beerly Writing - The Final Round for 2008

From the latest issue of the Free Radical, here is my column on Lagers:

Michael Jackson, reminded even hardened ale drinkers that they should not be blinded to the qualities of good, traditional beer made by bottom fermentation. This is because bottom-fermenting yeasts produce a cleaner tasting, rounded beer. He asks (rhetorically) “which is better: a winey-tasting Lambic - a fruity, complex ale - or a clean, rounded lager? Assuming that the beer is good, my choice might depend upon the moment, my mood, and the place or time at which I was drinking the beer.”

This article was written in April but not published until December.

Much more recently, the Malthouse blog has the latest post on beers from Asia:

Beer in China can be incredibly cheap. We worked out that for one crate of beer bought from the corner mini-mart it was literally 28 cents for a 500ml bottle. You can forgive a few flaws at that price. The Malthouse stocks two fine Asian lagers though the price is somewhat higher than the Beijing markets. Of course, you can trying bargaining with the staff but I doubt the price will come down. It may even go up.

NEW BREWERY - Arrow Brewing Company

The men behind Arrowtown's first boutique microbrewery say they have found a ready market for their traditionally brewed beers.

Open a week, the Oak Bar is based in the Royal Oak complex, off Buckingham St, and Arrow Brewing Company Ltd co-directors Darryl Jones, Greg McMeeken, Alan Eyles and Glen Morrison and head brewer John Timpany said residents and visitors were responding well to their beers, all made with natural, predominantly South Island ingredients.

"The whole brewing philosophy is to keep it pure," Mr Jones said.

"We don't pasteurise or filter the beer like most breweries," Mr Timpany said, a professional brewer since 1993.

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A passion for drinking on the job

Mr Mallon, a softly spoken Scotsman, arrived in Wellington about five years ago and now manages The Malthouse in Courtenay Place.

"But my passion came from running a real ale bar in Edinburgh, which I did for a couple of years. It was eye opening to see that beer didn't have to be as blonde and fizzy as a Budweiser."

A beer revolution was hopping along in New Zealand, he said, even though beer sales had fallen in recent years. "Beer isn't a growing market. However, the craft beer segment of the market is increasing. There are some fantastic products out there."

Many boutique beers are designed to be matched with food but never suggest to Mr Mallon that they should be swilled.

"I hate it when people talk about beer and use the word swilling, which is never used to describe wine drinking.

"Beer seems to have the tag of being the poor relation to wine. I have made it my mission in life to try and convince people otherwise."

12 Most common beer myths exploded

Myth #2: Lite beers will help you lose weight

On average, a lite beer will have 90-100 calories, while a regular beer might have under 200. In the grand scheme of things, lite beers will contribute very little to your dietary goals, and considering their typical lack of taste, you’d be better off drinking one or two regular beers.

Myth #6: Beer should be served ice-cold for best flavor

This is an unfortunate myth perpetuated by the major commercial breweries - especially for their lite beers. The fact is, flavor typically diminishes when beer is served ice-cold. It may make for a thirst-quenching, refreshing beverage, but often bears little resemblance to traditional beer. Several beers are, in fact, best served much closer to room temperature or slightly cool and are considered undrinkable when icy cold - such as Guinness and many of the traditional English ales.

Myth #9: You can’t get a hangover from drinking organic beer

If only being eco-friendly was this rewarding! This myth is based on the idea that organic beer is cleaner or purer than other beer, but there’s no existing proof that it manages to avoid giving hangovers when consumed in sufficient quantities.

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Is that a foreign beer or a case of brewer's dupe?

AS THE festive cheer flows for Christmas and the new year, a storm is brewing over the labelling of premium foreign beers made in Australia.

The Australian Consumers Association is demanding clearer, more prominent labels on bottles of foreign beer made locally under licence, to show drinkers exactly what they are buying.

"Even if (the breweries) say it tastes the same, people who buy it might claim it tastes different, so it seems fair enough you should be able to know where it's been made so you can choose accordingly," he said.

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Beer Humour - 10 Beers to drink during a Zombie attack

Today my brother sent me a hilarious article. I only wish I had thought to write it first. It could only be cooler if it was about beer, pirates and Chuck Norris. It is by Dick Logan and is called "Top 10 Beers To Drink During A Zombie Attack."

Let’s face it, zombie attacks are not very fun. They are even worse if the undead come knocking at your door and you find yourself stuck with a lousy beer. In order to prevent this unfortunate occurrence from happening, we’ve come up with a list of the top ten beers to drink during a zombie attack. So delicious, they’re to un-die for.

Glass Tip - My brother

Beer Haiku Friday - Jumping the Gun

Captain Hops returns with a Haiku called "Jumping the gun". I suspect this scenario will play out in many New Zealand offices today. Not mine though - I'm lunching with the Epic Imp.

Not quite five o’clock
But a half empty pale ale
Sits next to his mouse

Glass Tip - As ever, Beer Haiku Daily

The best job ever - Breakfast at Emerson's Brewery

Everything one could hope for, good food, good company and a breakfast beer!
The Weissbier Breakfast laid on by Emerson's Brewery for their trade clients in Dunedin was very enjoyable. Well I enjoyed it.

The menu was a delightful cheese and parsley omelette accompanied by Weissbier sausages, speck, onion marmalade, asparagus and hollandaise sauce.

My new, and very able assistant, Shell-Boy, performed brilliantly.
We are now available as a double act for all of your breakfast requirements!

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Good Blogging Vietnam!

Beer blogging continues with the third installment of Colin Paige's blog which is called "Saigon Diaries #3":

Mot – Hai – Ba – Yoh! Is a cheer that can be heard a lot here in restaurants after about 2pm. It basically means 1 – 2 – 3 – Yoh! The Vietnamese way of saying cheers! At some excited tables somebody may cheer this every couple of minutes, however then everyone must stand up and down at least some of their beer. We often get asked to join in. We found out pretty quickly that it is bad form to beat a Vietnamese man in a beer downing race. As they loose face they will keep challenging you until they win! Which of course means that you have to let them win to get out.

The fourth post makes a bid for best beer blog title for 2008, "Beer and loathing in Da Nang":

Back to Hoi An and I needed a beer. Luckily I had been put in touch with Guy, A scouser, who’s been out this way for 7 years and brother of a friend of mine from Wellington. The first thing that impressed me about Guy was his grasp of the Vietnamese language. With 7 tones, it isn’t easy. I usually think I am getting somewhere here and ask confidently in a restaurant for a bowl of fried noodles and vegetables. However, not having quite perfected the technique of swallowing my own tongue when speaking, I usually get strange looks, I have probably just said, “your mother is a hamster” or worse! As per a previous blog, Da is the word for ice. As I now know, if you don’t say it with the right tone, it can also mean “a kick in the ass”.

Beerly Blogging: Scottish beers and Booky

From the Malthouse blog, a post which talks about Saint Patrick, Colin the Handsome Scotsman and, eventually, two beers from Belhaven. It is called "Och aye the noo"

After a introduction so long it would make Jeremy Clarkson blush, the next post profiles New Zealand's most sessionable ale. This piece is modestly titled "the true power of Bookbinder".

2008 Beer Awards, Imps and Trappists

From the Wellingtonian, my now traditional end-of-year beer and bar awards:

I have continued my fledgling tradition of putting together an assessment of the best New Zealand beers for 2008 and some beer-related awards for venues around Wellington. These are, of course, simply the opinions of one beer writer but, rest assured gentle readers, they are based on extensive and intensive research.

From the Malthouse blog, a long look at Epic Pale Ale and its impish creator:

His brewing style is ashamedly hop-fixated. Luke has made a decision to use all imported hops for his beers as they give him the flavour and power he is looking for. While this approach can be controversial with his peers, the resulting beers are highly regarded. Epic Pale Ale was crowned Supreme Champion Beer of New Zealand just weeks after it launched. Metro called it the “Best Beer in Auckland” (by which they mean New Zealand) and the Listener also had it as the best beer of 2007 though their sole source for that assessment was me.

Also from the Malthouse blog, an entry on our old friends at Chimay:

Extensive research has unveiled exactly one joke about the monks at Chimay. Actually, it is not really a joke, merely a witty quote which may or may not have actually happened. As semi-silent monks in The Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (which is understandably shortened to Trappist) there probably isn’t a lot of opportunity for verbal comedy and word play.

Kirin Sparkling Hop

Alerting New Zealand! You have wasted your hop on a terrible beer-like beverage that is currently on sale in Japan. (The beer advertising says "New Zealand Hop Included" on the can.)

Ah, another season and another new seasonal Japanese beer. Guess what? Yes, it's a lager. Actually, "Sparkling Hop" isn't even beer. It's happoshu, a beer-like beverage with low malt content. It's popularity is primarily driven by the fact it falls under a different taxation law than beer and is thus about 30% cheaper than the usual mediocre real beer lagers.

The Pub with no beer ……This is worse

West Coast Brewing CEO Paddy Sweeney is tearing his hair out. His brewery has run out of beer.

“We knew we would be close on this but its hit us way sooner than we expected.” He said from Christchurch today.

The West Coast Brewery has run out of Green Fern Certified Organic lager, its flagship beer.

“We have sold all the Green Fern we have produced and won’t have more until the beginning of January” Sweeney said.

“What’s been happening is that Green Fern has been getting more and more popular all year, not only in New Zealand but also in Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It really hits the spot with drinkers and they keep coming back for more.”

“Last year Green Fern was top in its class for Premium Lager at the New Zealand International Beer awards and it signaled a growth path that has all but spiraled out of control.” Sweeney said.

“The fact that it’s organic has some impact but what we have been finding is that people who couldn’t care less about organic beer are driving sales. Pure and simple it is the taste that people love and can’t seem to get enough of it.

The company recently completed a $2million capital raising with an extra million in over subscriptions and it is well advanced in getting its second prospectus of $5 million finished and is due for release in March 2009.

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The Triumphant Return of Beer Haiku

Having safely returned from the People's Republic of China, it is time to resume the wildly popular Beer Haiku feature here on the Real Beer blog. Did you know that you can not access either this blog or the main Real Beer page from China? It is most odd. Anyway, today's Haiku shockingly does not come from the good fellows at Beer Haiku Daily. It is from Colin the Handsome Scotsman at the Malthouse who gave me a t-shirt with this Haiku on it:

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense
Refrigerator

Coca-Cola Amatil seeks permission to buy Baker Hall

Australian drinks company Coca-Cola Amatil is seeking permission from the Commerce Commission to acquire cordial maker Baker Hall.

The New Zealand unit of Coca-Cola Amatil wants to buy the bottling production line, brands and business assets of Baker Hall from Old Fashioned Foods Ltd.

Lion has 52 percent of the New Zealand beer market while Coca-Cola Amatil has 53 percent of the New Zealand non-alcoholic ready-to-drink market and 75 percent of the carbonated soft drink market.

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