November 6th, 2014

Fancy 2.0

We think good beer deserves to be treated with respect. Which is why a couple years ago we introduced the Spiegelau beer tulip or  "Fancy" glass as our standard 300ml pour.

Unfortunately the thin glass design which made the Spiegelau fancy so attractive, also made it susceptible to chipping and cracking when tested by the rigors of a bar environment.

This meant we had to go back to the old glasses and give out fancys on request, to increase the lifespan of these somewhat expensive glasses.

Today those dark days are at an end.

Along with the TeKu glasses we had printed for PBE, we had a pallet load of Rastal's "Lüttich" glasses printed with a 300ml pour line. Today these beautiful glasses become the standard for any 300ml pour.

As you can see, the Rastal Lüttich (left) glass is a very similar shape to the Spiegelau, but with the key differences of slightly thicker glass and more sturdy stem.

Come and give the new fancy a test drive any time.

New R(y)elease Tuesday

Continuing the Aussie invasion series of NRT's, next week's new beer comes from West Australia's Mash Brewing, with their Rye Porter.
According to the font of Aussie beer knowledge that is The Crafty Pint, there were only two kegs of this limited release sent to NZ. One has already been on up at Brothers Beer, making this your last chance to try it.

According to The Crafty Pint:

"Rye Porter is the brewer's attempt, as with his Koffee Stout, to 'squeeze character and complexity into small beers'. It's a 4.2 percent beer, brewed with 'a good whack of rye' in the mix. We're told it's pretty straightforward other than 'an interesting little hop addition'."

Mash Brewing Rye Porter hits our taps at 5pm Tuesday, see you there.

Ear Jelly

This Saturdays musical entertainment is provided by Dayle Jellyman's Three Rays. 

Come on down this Satuday to fill your ear holes with early Ray Charles and Nat King Cole style rock ’n roll blues, boogaloo and boogie-woogie. Courtesy of Dayle Jellyman on keys, John Rae with thedrums, Nick Tipping slappin' da bass.
The music kicks off at 10pm and is Free to enjoy.

Bottle Pour Saturday

While travelling the west coast of the United States of America I tried my fair share of tasting trays.

I came across a few breweries that would offer some of their bottle-only products on the trays as well, which got my mind turning.There are so many wonderful beers in our fridges that don't get the attention they deserve because they're in a big bottle, which tends to come with a big price tag. If you don't have a few mates to split the bottle with you're not really going to be able to enjoy it, which is where Bottle Pour Saturday comes in.

Starting on Saturday the 15th, each Saturday afternoon we'll be serving a selected bottle (or two) from the more rare, strong, and expensive beers in our fridge. This will allow you to try a beer that might cost around $80 a bottle for around $10 a glass.
We're yet to decide which of our many beers we'll launch this new weekly event with, but it's likely to be a couple beers from Europe which will be interesting to compare... More in next weeks news.

New Bottles

Speaking of interesting bottled beers, we've got a couple new ones arriving tomorrow.Sour beer specialists Almanac have released a seasonal Dark Pumpkin Sour ale described as:

"A rich and roasty dark sour ale brewed with organic heirloom pumpkins and spices and aged in used red wine barrels for a year."

Joining Dark Pumpkin Sour will be the infinitely loveable beer from Byron Bay Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, in convenient 330ml bottles.