June 10, 2010

Immediately below...

• Monster Beer
• Upcoming Festivals
• Tastings

Monster Beer

It's another of those agonising weeks when beer that we've been waiting for for some time has been dispatched and is somewhere between a brewery and us.

The beer or beers in question are the latest release from Yeastie Boys - Yakima Monster and Riwaka Monster. Brewed as a pair (a little like Nerdherder B and D), they are both hoppy new world pale ales - the Riwaka using local hops and the Yakima using US ones.

In addition, Yeastie Boy himself, Stu McKinley, posted a rave review of Invercargill Brewery's experimental Saison recently. On his recommendation we have ordered a keg of this, and it's on the same pallet as the Monsters, coming north from the world's southernmost brewery.

The Monsters and the Invercargill Saison should be here by tomorrow (Friday) night. Please accept our apologies in advance if we're let down by our country's transport infrastructure.

Speaking of monster beers - we thought that if we tapped a keg of Eugene City Brewery's 200 Meter IPA on a Tuesday night instead of a Friday, it might last a few days. But no - all gone half way through Wednesday night. So we're racing through our recent shipment of Oregon beer, but we can promise a steady supply for at least the next couple of weeks.

Upcoming Festivals

We've already mentioned the Matariki Winter Ales Festival being organised by SOBA. Hashigo Zake will be there, contributing to the event's beer supply and helping out on the day. We've set aside the only keg in New Zealand of Rogue's John John Dead Guy Ale. This is Rogue's much loved Dead Guy Ale finished in whisky barrels. The whisky that had been in the barrels was in fact distilled from the wort of Dead Guy Ale.

Two months after the Winter Ales Festival will be Beervana. Organised by the Brewers' Guild, Beervana is the New Zealand Brewing Industry's most important public event. After sponsoring it last year, we'll be back this year with a stall in a prime location in the Town Hall and a stash of rare and extremely strong imported beer, to go with all the great local beer that will be available.

We are also collaborating with several offshore allies to plan extra events around the week that is BrewNZ. Stay tuned for more details.

Tastings

Our third ever sake tasting takes place next Tuesday at 6:30pm. For this event we have access to a number of sakes that have never been available in New Zealand before, thanks to the efforts of our two Japanese staff members, Shiggy and Rei. For those who have been misled by the description "rice wine", it's helpful to know that sake is far closer to beer in its method of production than wine. For lovers of ales, the aromas and flavours produced in a sake are a fascinating compliment to the ones we're used to in the beer world.

Remember no prior expertise in sake appreciation is necessary. To book simply reply to this email. The price will be $30.