Beer Haiku Friday and Diddly Dee (Potatoes) - The Saint Patricks Day Post

Today's Beer Haiku is for those who perhaps "over-drowned the shamrocks" on Saint Patrick's Day. It is called "Ouch":

Can someone please stop
All the frickin’ leprechauns
Dancing in my skull

Unsurprisingly, Paddy's Day is also the theme over at the Malthouse blog where I examine invented Irish connections, why nobody pretends to be Australian, share Pete Brown's take on our love affair with the Emerald Isle and finish with a quick look at Murphy's Stout. The title "Diddly Dee (Potatoes)" is explained in the article:

It is perhaps ironic that the English celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day more than they do Saint George’s Day. Certainly, here in New Zealand, Paddy’s Day parties tend to be better attended and more fun than the corresponding Waitangi Day shindigs. People will happily invent a mythical great-aunt from County Cork for March 17 but no-one seem to make up a great-uncle from Wagga Wagga as an excuse to celebrate Australia Day.

Glass Tips - Those excellent imbibers at Beer Haiku Daily and the most excellent peeps at Malthouse

This blog has moved

This blog is now located at http://realbeernz.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://realbeernz.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

SOBA CELEBRATES BREWJOLAIS

SOBA, New Zealand’s consumer beer advocacy group, is excited about the April 1st release of Mac’s Brewjolais seasonal beer, and is looking to celebrate the event in style and en masse.

Mac’s Brewjolais is a beer which has been brewed annually by Lion Nathan at the old Mac’s Brewery in Wellington. It is brewed to celebrate the hop harvest, and uses freshly picked “wet” (undried) hops from Nelson late in the brewing process to impart their aromatic and distinctive notes to the finished beer. It’s a rare type of beer, and one that SOBA believes deserves recognition, particularly when brewed by one of NZ’s largest breweries who could be expected to opt for the ‘safer’ and more commercially viable styles of beer.

SOBA plans to show its appreciation for Brewjolais by organising a synchronised toast to Lion Nathan and the beer at all of the locations it will be served. SOBA members will descend upon the six Mac’s Brewbars around the country and raise a glass of the deliciously hoppy beverage to the brewers who make it, and the company which gives them the freedom to push the boundaries of beer a little.

The Mac’s brewery in Wellington where Brewjolais has been brewed is being closed down for economic reasons, with Lion Nathan citing higher costs involved in running the smaller scale brewery. This fact makes the 2010 release of Brewjolais bittersweet for beer lovers who fondly remember some of the excellent Mac’s beers to roll out of this brewery. While sad to see the brewery go, SOBA is optimistic that the beer will continue to be produced, and hopes its gesture will help convince Lion Nathan to continue production each year.

SOBA was formed in 2006 in order to increase awareness of and appreciation for flavourful crafted beers. The organisation is often perceived as “anti big brewer”, but in actuality is simply “pro good beer”.

Oysters and IPA - Tuatara out of hibenation

One of my favourite beer bloggers to read is Kate Blackhurst who has relocated to the deep south. She cordially admits the Arrow Brewing Company was one of the reasons they selected Arrowtown as their new home. This meant she had a first-hand look (and taste) of ABC's IPA Project 2010 and the accompanying oysters. Her post is called "Oysters and IPA":

It’s not quite a passage to India, but the Foveaux Strait has challenges of its own and the barrel was hoisted onto an oyster boat to endure a mini sea journey, accompanied by brewers Darryl and John keeping a close eye on their precious cargo. They also kept out of the way of the oyster catchers (Marina Fish and Oysters of Invercargill) who were working hard to provide everyone with a little (shell)fishy when the boat comes in.

The Tuatara Breweries blog is showing signs of life with a new post up and the promise of weekly updates. The post is called "A new beginning for the 'Its all About the Beer' Blog":

This past week there was some big news at the brewery.

Beer Haiku Friday and Awards That Actually Matter

Today's beer haiku will outrage the purists but I like it. It is called "Because I Can":

A bucket of wings
And some expensive cheap beer
Just because I can

Over at the Malthouse blog, my latest post discusses bar service, Evelyn Waugh's seven requirements of a good inn-keeper, assesses Malthouse's Colin Mallon against those seven criteria, looks at the Capital Awards and highlights three coming events. In a unsubtle dig at the Oscars, it is called "Awards That Actually Matter":

Many would have expected Malthouse to also do well in the ‘best beer list’ category – except there wasn’t one. There was a ‘best wine list’ and ‘best drinks list’ but beer was a glaring omission. Fortunately, the flame-haired perpetrator has been quickly identified and given a stern talking to over a Tuatara Ardennes. Hopefully, it will be a proper category next year.

Glass Tips - Those determined tipplers at Beer Haiku Daily and the multi-award nomination folks at Malthouse

Beer Haiku Friday and The Beer of Revenge

Today's Beer Haiku Friday proves that President Obama has a hard side. Obama loses his bet with the Canadian leader over the Ice Hockey so he has to buy a pack of beer. Look which beer he picks in "The President Pays Up":

The president pays
Up on his Olympic bet.
A case of Molson

Brutal!

The latest Malthouse blog looks at beer legends, Louis Pasteur, his love of yeast and hatred of Prussians, Croucher Cherry Bock and some big up-coming events. It is called "The Beer of Revenge":

“Pasteur is one of the greatest names in science, but this doesn’t mean he was necessarily a very nice person. What particularly got Pasteur hot under the collar was Prussia and all things German… His abhorrence of all things Prussian took two visible forms. First, he insisted that every paper he published would contain the statement “Hatred towards Prussia! Revenge! Revenge!” which must have proved difficult for peer reviewers, but had little real impact. But the second form changed beer as we know it."

Glass Tips - Those excellent fellows at Beer Haiku Daily and Malthouse

Marchfest and Beer Tourism Map

Notification of another fantastic beer festival from Dead Good Beer Events:

MARCHFEST
April 17th 2010
Founders Park, Nelson

All local beers, 11 new beers, 2 new ciders, Don McGlashan, music, food, pony rides, bicycle-powered amplifiers and more...

The two new ciders are from Redwood Cellars and McCashins, the 11 new beers are:

Founders: God Knows Best ..bitter. "Our take on a ESB", 5%.
Lighthouse: April Fuel, an amber ale, 5.5%.
McCashins: Ale-iana (A gift from the Gods), type and abv tbc.
Moa: Blanc Resurrection, a Belgian Wit (wheat beer), 5%.
Monkey Wizard: Golgotha Porter, a porter brewed with NZ botanicals, 5.5%.
Renaissance: Funkelryesen (rhymes with Dunkelweizen), spiced rye beer, 5%.
Sprig and Fern: De-Vine Inspiration, Pilsner, 5%.
The Golden Bear: Liquifaction, a hoppy ale, 6%.
The Mussel Inn: Missing Lynx, Marzenbier (lager), 5.2%.
Totara: Ninkasi Green, an ale which will use green hops at harvest time, 5%.
Townshend's: Roger Parks IPA, a well hopped traditional IPA, 6%.

Full details on the website.

And before anyone comments, they are perfectly aware that Marchfest is now in April. It's just how they roll down that way!

Speaking of down that way, those clever chaps at the Moutere Inn have put together the Top of the South Craft Beer and Brewing Trail resource. It is a map marked with all the breweries and craft-friendly bars in the region as well as their details and websites. It can be downloaded as a PDF if you are travelling off-line. It's a great resource - every region of New Zealand needs something as good as this.

IPA Project 2010 and Beerfest comes to Welly

Arrow Brewing Company have announced their "IPA Project 2010." Teasers have been sent out but I have received the synopsis of this awesome sounding project which involves Arrow brewing

"an authentic IPA by traditional methods and cask conditioning the resulting beer in a wooden barrel. On March 1, this IPA will be given its "sea journey" when the barrel ventures out into the notorious Foveaux Strait on board one of the first oyster boats to set sail for the season. Upon the boats return to Bluff, the barrel will be transported back to Arrowtown where the celebrations begin and the IPA will be "cracked" and served with fresh oysters. This project is a world first and a unique way to celebrate two great traditions."

Major media coverage is expected tonight and tomorrow.

On Saturday 6 March 2010,Beer Festival 2010 comes to Wellington. This event gets bigger and better every year, was a huge success in Auckland recently and returns to the Capital this year with more breweries and a weather proof venue.

The event runs from midday to 9pm at the Westpac Stadium (please don't call it the 'Cake Tin'). 25 breweries will be pouring over 70 different beers, there will be food, there will be music, there will be seminars and there will be the opportunity to talk to the people who made the beers. Full details (including tickets) are on the Beer Festival website.