Beerly Writing - Beers that demand attention and Brewjolais

From The Wellingtonian, my column on (helping) to make Mac's Brewjolais 2009. It is called "World First Wellington Beer":

I made a beer. Well, technically I helped make a beer by taking notes and snapping pictures while other people did all the actual work. My sole responsibility was to check the map and figure out how much we would miss the Cook Strait Ferry by. The answer was one minute.

Over at the Malthouse blog, the latest post covers beers that stand out in a crowded market, sneaking, oysters, Australian breweries and, eventually, King Cobra. The post is entitled "Getting the Drinker's Attention":

Most beer writers are not genetically constructed to be proficient at sneaking. It turns out that I am particularly poor at sneaking quietly through beer festivals. My plan was to conduct a quiet reconnoitre of the sprawling Beer and Brewer Expo in the Melbourne Showgrounds. There were a lot of brands that were unfamiliar to me and, after I had run my three beer and cheese sessions, I wanted to ensure I used my seventeen or so hours on site effectively.