Happy Birthday Canada
Our birthday wishes are tinged with regret that we don't yet stock any of our favourite Canadian beers. Our plans are in motion and we hope to have some extraordinary offerings from north of the border by late August.
But we do enjoy and appreciate the patronage of a number of expat Canadians and we invite you all to come down and celebrate your national day with a fine ale. Or why not join in the fun on Sunday:
Happy 4th of July
Marking the 4th of July is not so hard for us as we are blessed with good stocks of Rogue and Flying Dog beers. This Sunday we'll break our pattern of having a single Rogue beer on tap and dedicate no fewer than three taps to our favourite Oregon brewer.
We'll also offer specials on some of our bottled American beers.
To add to the Americana mood we're going to start cooking a beer and beef chili late on Saturday night so by Sunday afternoon it should be overflowing with flavour.
And we'll incorporate entertainment which may or may not include a screening of the "bockumentary" American Beer, or, ahem, live NASCAR.
On Tap Now and Soon
New Zealand beer doesn't get much more culty than Smokin' Bishop, Invercargill Brewery's unique bock made with manuka-smoked malt - sometimes known as "that bacon beer". We've secured a rare keg and this will come on tap over the next few days. And for good measure we've replenished our stock of bottles of the same beer, so you can order your Smokin' Bishop with confidence.
Liberty Brewing's Summit Imperial India Pale Ale did indeed arrive last Friday and by Saturday night we took the unusual step of putting our second keg of it on straight after the first. Many congratulations are due to Joseph Wood of Liberty Brewing (better known as a supplier of home brew equipment). Joseph is visiting Wellington on Friday and promises to pop into our humble dispensary.
At the time of writing Hallertau's Statesman Pale Ale just made it onto one of our taps for the first time. At a time when most of New Zealand's best beer seems to come from the South Island it makes a nice change to have another brewery sending beer southward.
Over the next day or two we will welcome back Kaimai Brewing's unusual Golden Rye Ale. We also have a keg of the latest batch of 3 Boys' Oyster Stout.
Our Next Two Tastings
Bookings are coming in steadily for our two next tasting events. It seems inevitable that August's Imperial Stouts and Porters tasting will be fully subscribed. And there is a reasonable chance that July's Barley Wine tasting will be too.
Barley Wines, July 13
We're confident we have the most extensive range of barley wines in New Zealand. In fact we will leave a couple of barley wines out to make room for some related styles - such as a wheat wine and oat wine.
The lineup will include beers from the US, Denmark (more than once, thanks to Mikkel), Japan, England, Scotland and Brazil. The only thing missing is a local example of the style. If anyone knows of a New Zealand barley wine that might be available to us, please let us know.
Imperial Stouts and Porters, August 10
A month should be long enough for everyone to recover from the barley wines, so August will be the turn of Imperial Stouts and Porters. Again we have an extensive range to choose from. And this time there should be one or two local examples.
Note that we aren't completely irresponsible, and to compensate for the extremely high alcohol levels (and expense) of the styles being tasted, portions will be small. But we are confident that the quality, variety and sheer flavour of these tastings will leave you all satisfied. The price for both will be $40. Bookings are now open and the easiest way to reserve your place is to reply to this email.
Meet the Brewer(s)
Our ally and supplier Regional Wines and Spirits are distributors for some of New Zealand's most loved craft breweries. One of their stable is Founders Organic Brewery and they are bringing Matt Duncan of Founders to Wellington and to Hashigo Zake specifically. He will be in the bar next Monday, dispensing samples of one of their range and meeting Wellington's most discerning drinkers.
In association with Regional Wines and Spirits we are planning a similar event later this month involving the one and only Richard Emerson. Stay tuned for more information.
Beer Festivals
Last Saturday night we witnessed most of SOBA's leadership in here and unwinding after the success of the inaugural Winter Ales Festival.
With this festival behind us we're looking forward to BrewNZ and Beervana. Beervana takes place on the 27th and 28th of August. We'll be there with a stall, serving beers that we think are extreme even by our standards and, we hope, one or two big surprises. Sadly the Town Hall won't let us sell tickets, so anyone wanting to book will have to go to the anointed ticket agency.
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