June 3, 2010

Immediately below...

• Back to Reality... kind of
• Under the Radar
• Reservations and Televised Sport
• Framingham Wines
• June Tastings
• Matariki Winter Ale Festival

Back to Reality... kind of

Over the last month or so we've been blessed with a succession of over-the-top (and not-so-cheap) beers - Twisted Hop IPA, Mike's Organic Imperial IPA, Gonzo Imperial Porter, Epic Armageddon to name a few. If your palates and wallets are feeling a little jaded then the good news is that the lineup will look a little more balanced over the next few days. In particular look out for staples from Renaissance, Three Boys and Emersons.

But the high octane fun isn't over. We still have plenty of Rogues kegs left from New Zealand's biggest ever order of American craft beer on draft. And we'll have more of two new aggressive ales - Tuatara's APA and 8 Wired's Red Dwarf. And there are a few servings left of Mike's extraordinary Imperial IPA.

Under the Radar

With all the excitement of our recent Rogue and Mikkeller shipments, there was little time to make a fuss of a small shipment from another American brewery - Southern Tier. A while ago we secured a few cases of their Iniquity Black IPA. This time it's their IPA that is available in limited quantities. It's a classic American IPA - full of sweet malt and citric hops and is in the 96th percentile on ratebeer.com, so it must be good. For lovers of the style it's a good idea to grab some before it's all gone.

Reservations and Televised Sport

We are getting more and more requests these days to reserve tables. We are happy to accommodate these but have a few constraints. For instance in a really busy period like Friday evening we will only accept a reservation if you can be in the bar early. Otherwise we end up with unused tables surrounded by crowds of people.

We've also had some interest in the upcoming rugby internationals. Only two of the four leaners in the red room will be available to reserve when these games are on.

The Stanley Cup Finals Series continues conveniently every second lunchtime. Philadelphia's win today (Thursday) guarantees that we'll have two matches over the long weekend.

Framingham Wines

On Monday evening Framingham Wines used our lounge as the venue for the launch of their new F-Series wines. We were sufficiently impressed by the whole event and the wines themselves to put a couple of them on our Enomatic dispensers. F-Series Pinot Noir and F-Series Sauvignon Blanc are now both available by glass, half-glass or bottle. The Sauvignon apparently had 11 months on lees and so should appeal to ale drinkers.

June Tastings

Mikkeller Single Hop IPAs

In the past when we've held tastings of beer from Denmark's gypsy brewery Mikkeller the response has been pretty meek. A few hardcore beer geeks, a few regulars with nothing better to do and a few relatives feeling sorry for us. It suggested that extreme, experimental and obscure is just asking too much.

So it's been a surprise that the most obscure and geeky tasting we have ever planned seems to have captured your imagination. The Mikkeller Single Hop IPA Tasting on June 8 is fully booked and we are running a waiting list. If anyone would like to join the waiting list or give up your place to someone on the waiting list, please get in touch.

For some pre-study, this article at the Washington Post has a nice background on Mikkeller and Scandinavian beers in general.

Sake 2010

We ran a couple of sake tastings last year and they proved quite popular. This time, to spice things up, our Japanese staff have been tapping contacts in their home towns and prefectures and getting rare and special sakes flown over.

This event will be equally suitable for sake-newbies or regular drinkers. In-house sake expert Shigeo Takagi will be on hand to explain things and everyone will feel like an expert by the end.

The date for this one is June 15.

Matariki Winter Ales Festival

SOBA have announced that their Matariki Winter Ales Festival will take place on June 26 at the Boat Shed, not far from us here at 25 Taranaki St. Hashigo Zake will support the event in some capacity or other and we encourage our customers to go along. Tickets are already on sale at SOBA's website (www.soba.org.nz).