August 6th, 2015

The Big Week Ahead

For the rest of the world it may be international beer day tomorrow, but in Wellington it's lasting all next week.

Last week I ran through in detail our plans for The Road to Beervana, but in case you missed it here's a quick reminder.

Tuesday the 11th: NRT - Lord Almighty (12%) Ursus Imperial Stout, plus Takahe XPA and a new batch of Yakima IPA
Wednesday the 12th: Beer & Spirits matching - Top shelf Scotch, Bourbon, Tequila, Gin and Rum matched with top shelf beers.

Places are $45, and are available for booking at cultbeerstore or over the bar.

Thursday the 13th: Timeless on Tap - Vintage beer on tap.  Renaissance 2013 Tribute,  8 Wired 2013 iStout, Moylans Old Blarney Barley Wine 2012 and Mikkeller Big Worster Chardonnay BA 2013. Tasting flights available.

Friday the 14th: Fitzy's Friday - Fitzy's Imperial Porter, IPA, Pale Ale, Kaffir Lime Wit and American Brown Ale all on tap.

These events will account for some, but not all of our 11 taps. For these remaining taps we've got some pretty outstanding beers planned.

Keep an eye on the taps throughout the week for: ParrotDog Puffinius Huttoni, Funk Estate Affrogato, Coronado Friar Starter, Gigantic Pipewrench GinIPA & Intensify Belgo IPA, Panhead/Liberty Skidmark Bourbon BA brown and Renaissance Abundance Cherry Porter. There's even more exciting kegs waiting in the wings, depending on how thirsty people are.

Black Spider's Stomping New Album

Hashigo lounge regulars Black Spider Stomp have chosen HZ to launch their newest album "Gypsy Waltzes."
The BSS boys will be playing the album live in the lounge, with the first set consisting of Gypsy Waltzes, warming up to Gypsy Swing in the second half.

The Gypsy Jazz starts at 9.30pm this Saturday, with no fee for entry - but I assume the guys will be selling the album.

Two Tastings

A rare double whammy of new imports has given rise to a double whammy of beer tastings at the end of the month.
Beer Without Borders has organised the largest ever shipment of Baird Beer which is on its way to NZ in a chilled container right now.

It's been a while since our last shipment of Baird, so to welcome them back we're holding a tasting of all the newbies along with the old stalworts.

The tasting takes place on Wednesday August 26th, we'll be tasting super-fresh regulars like Rising Sun Pale Ale & Suruga Bay IIPA, as well as new seasonals like Fruitful Life Citrus IPA, Rainy Season Belgian-style black IPA & more... Book your spot now at Cultbeerstore or over the bar for $40.

Around the same time BwB is expecting a big shipment from the West Coast of the US. Included in this shipment are some exciting new beers from Portland's Gigantic Brewing. Ryan from BwB will be hosting a tasting of these new beers, joined live from Portland (via intertubes) by Gigantic's Brewmaster Ben Love.

The latest shipment contains fresh stock of core range beers, and some new innovative seasonals. You'll be able to taste these along with the brewer, and ask him all of your burning questions about Gigantic and the Portland beer scene.

Reserve your place now over at Cultbeerstore.co.nz or at the bar for $40.

Trans Pacific Beer Partnership

Tickets are on sale now for this year's Pacific Beer Expo! PBE takes place 24 - 25 October (labour weekend), and you can book your place right now over at LilRegie. 

Once again tickets are $50 per person, and will include some beer tokens to get you going, a $5 food voucher and a beautiful printed TeKu glass.

We have a mountain of exciting announcements to make for this year's lineup, with two pacific countries new to PBE and dozens of beers and brewers featuring.

We'll be making these announcements right here in the coming weeks, as the details firm up.