December 15th, 2016

Kaibosh Kegs

This Saturday is Garage Project's annual Christmas fundraiser for local food-rescue charity Kaibosh.
Every year Garage Project donates twelve kegs of GP beer to twelve beery Wellington venues. The venues then donate every cent of each pint to Kaibosh, so essentially you get a beer for donating to Kaibosh.

We've been involved every year, and are proud to support Kaibosh once again. Kaibosh were forced from their premises due to the recent earthquake, so need help more than ever.

We drew the delightful Red Rocks Reserve as our Kegs for Christmas keg, which we'll be tapping at midday Saturday.

Many people plan a 'charity crawl' during Kegs for Christmas - this year Craft Beer College have made it easy to join in.
You can join the Craft Beer College Kegs For Christmas Walking Tour from midday Saturday for just $65.
100% of the $65 is donated to Kaibosh, and you'll visit nine venues with beers and snack included:
- Garage Project (for Pernicious Weed)
- Rogue and Vagabond (for Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubard)
- Goldings Free Dive (for Party and Bullshit - seriously!)
- Little Beer Quarter (for VPA)
- Fork and Brewer (for Death From Above)
- Bin 44 (for Nectarivore)
- Hashigo Zake (for Red Rocks Reserve)
- Basque (for La Calvera Catrina)
- Malthouse (for Dirty Boots)

Portland in Saison

Thanks to a shipping delay and a shipping mix-up we have kegs of saison from two renowned Portland brewers.
Commons Brewery was one of the brewers I was most impressed with when I visited Portland. They absolutely nail Belgian farmhouse-style ales. Their flagship easy dinking Urban Farmhouse Ale (5.3%) has an amazing yeast character but remains simple and refreshing, something that was very much appreciated in the 30°C+ summer heat.
We were supposed to feature Commons Urban Farmhouse in PBE this year, however the Oregon shipment was delayed and didn't quite make it in time. So we get to enjoy it this Tuesday!

The same Oregon shipment held a saisony surprise for us - in the form of Gigantic Hearts & Stars Saison (5.5%). Due to a loading mix-up BwB received kegs of Hearts & Stars supposed to go the Scandinavia, meaning we get a double saison NRT.
With a mascot like Tolly Peppercorn the Battle Raccoon, we're expecting great things from Gigantic Hearts & Stars.

Both Portlandian Saisons will be tapped at 5pm this Tuesday.

Borderstop 2016

Beer Without Borders are turning their coolstore into a pop-up beer shop this Saturday, with this year's Borderstop.

Borderstop opens up everything in the wholesale warehouse for sale to the public, in whatever quantities required. There will also be mix-pack specials (IPA 24 Pack, Summer Session 24 Pack, Modern Times 12 Pack), bottle specials, closeout cases of ending lines, 6 pack specials and even a 'cooking beer' bargain bin.

Borderstop runs from 11:00–15:00 this Saturday at 24 Abel Smith St.
If you can't make it this Saturday, Borderstop will be running again next week on December 23rd for last minute xmas beer purchases!

Last Minute Calendars

Last night we held a pool party in the bar, for our NZ Beer Calendar photo shoot. We even managed to empty the pool without causing another flood!
As you can tell, it's going to be the best photo of the calendar, so to see it in all its glory head to Pledgeme now and lock it in.

There's just one day left to pledge so don't delay in supporting this great cause.

Complicated Holiday Hours

It's heading in to that time of year when businesses change up their operating hours over the holiday period. 

So you know when Hashigo is open, here are our hours over the Christmas/New Year period:

Dec 25 Christmas Day: Closed

Every other day: Midday to late

Easy. We're open from Midday every single day this holiday period, except Christmas (as we're not allowed to be open). Of course this includes off licence sales too, so see you in the beer bunker for some festive beers and relaxation.

December 8th, 2016

Green Flash Returns

Well, kind of.

Back in 2014 we stopped receiving Green Flash beers due to a change in their export policy. This meant no more West Coast IPA, Double Stout or Palate Wrecker but did open up space for exciting new brewers like Modern Times.
In our final shipment we acquired a 50L keg of their 8.8% American Stout, the afore mentioned Double Stout.
Double Stout is fairly hoppy (for a stout), and also has a huge roasty malt profile. I thought it would be interesting to age a hoppy stout such as this, so the keg has been hanging out up at the BwB coolstore for a couple of years.
With our Old Beer tasting coming up next Wednesday, it's time to crack open the keg and see what's happened to it.
My guess is that it's probably dropped some body and hop character over the years, and picked up aged characters that should work well with the roast. However we won't know until we tap the keg at 5pm this Tuesday.

Is Fresh Best?

Contrary to last week's confusing November date (thanks to everyone that pointed that out...), our Old Beer Tasting is actually happening this Wednesday the 14th.

It's only $35, and kicks off at 6pm. We'll be tasting nine aged beers, some of which you'd expect to age well, others to see how they've aged.
The full list is:

• Green Flash Rayon Vert 2012
• Moon Dog Dashers Envy 2014
• Mikkeller Mielcke & Hurtigkarl 2014
• Green Flash Double Stout 2013
• Iron Fist Imperial Rebellion 2013
• Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barley Wine 2008
• Green Flash Barley Wine 2012
• Renaissance Tribute Barley Wine 2011
• Moon Dog Jumping the Shark 2013

There'll be plenty of vintage cheddar to match with your vintage beers, and there'll even be a special 2004 vintage beer from Dominic's personal cellar.

Book your spot in our last tasting of 2016 over the bar or at cultbeerstore.co.nz .

VV3 @ HZ

It's surf rock Saturday at HZ, with the Vincent Vega Trio playing the lounge.
According to the band: "We have sensed a great disturbance in the force, since a certain person become president-elect.
We have deliberated... and come to the unified decision that the only way to combat this is through the power of loud, fast surf rock."

From 9pm Saturday you can hear Chris Armour, Nick Lissette and Greg Crayford loud and personal in the lounge or just chill and chat in the red room. Either way, there will be excellent live music and beer.

Freshly Canned & Kegged

We've been very impressed with the Pirate Life beers we've had on tap so far, so we've grabbed a few of the Adelaide brewer's cans to grace the fridge.
Their Throwback IPA is an excellent option for taking it easy, at just 3.5%. It's got the bitterness and aroma you expect from an IPA, and plenty of specialty malts to back it up with body.
Pirate Life Pale Ale is a classic APA, featuring Mosaic and Cascade aroma hops. While their IPA (6.8%) features a more eclectic mix of Centennial, Riwaka and Simcoe.

Excitingly for cider drinkers, Peckhams have also got on the canning bandwagon and have released a new off-dry canned cider: Alex's Apple Cider.
It's less challenging than Peckham's other traditional ciders, but still has that real cider apple kick.
We're now stocking it as our house cider, and will be keeping an eye out for other can releases from Peckhams.

I was incredibly impressed by North End's new Blackcurrant sour La Mure on a recent trip to Salt & Wood.
So much so that we've got cans in our fridge right now.
Also, Salt & Wood's American BBQ and extensive North End beer range is well worth the train trip out to Waikanae.



We've also got quite a few exciting things coming very soon (probably tonight) in the big 50L cans.
Graphic Brewing's inaugural release origin story Citrus IPA is coming on, I'm looking forward to having Dale and Nolen's beers in the future.
North End's collaboration brew with UK beer writer Melissa Cole is on tap any second and should be interesting. It's a Grisette-style Farmhouse Ale with odd adjuncts: kawakawa leaves & pods, lemon leaf, bay & citrus peel.
La Sirene are back on the sour tap soon with the soured version of their Farmhouse Red, aptly named Sour Red.
They found a pre-sale keg of Ballast Point Indra Kunindra up at the warehouse, so you'll get on last chance to try this incredibly bizarre curry stout on tap. Seriously, curry powder in a stout? It's super weird but somehow it works.

December 1st, 2016

Modern Times Discovers Pilsner

The thing about NZ beer I missed the most during my time in the USA was the lack of anything resembling a NZ style pilsner.

The light and thirst quenching yet still hoppy and interesting style has no real equivalent outside of NZ. When I asked US beer people why not, they usually replied 'lagering takes too long'. Which is no excuse - the majority of NZ pilsners are actually ales...

The Pilsners I did find in the US tended to resemble European style pils. Clean and earthy/grassy with a light dry finish. Great on  a hot West Coast day, but get boring pretty quickly.

Perhaps Modern Times' head brewer Matt Walsh's visits to NZ have inspired him, with the release of their first ever pilsner: Modern Times Ice Pilsner.
It's the first pilsner to come out of Modern Times, and by the looks of it they've taken a more 'new world' approach:

"The flavor: cold. The crushability: maximum. Ice is our very first pils, and it brings the noise.
Hopped with Czech Saaz and Australian Summer hops, before, like, so many weeks of lagering, Ice packs the flavor of the mighty San Diego mountains into a compact 4.8% ABV package."

We're tapping Modern Times Ice at 5pm - leaving you an hour and a half to enjoy it before Santa Session kicks off.
Speaking of which, Santa Session is now sold out. If you missed out on a spot and want to be put on the wait list, just reply to this email and I'll stick your name on.

Coffee Beer Three Ways

This Saturday's bottle pour flight looks at  how coffee can be used in various styles of beer.

Coffee has been shown to work well in dark beers, so Mout & Mocca Imperial Porter from De Molen is a safe (albeit 11.6%) bet.
Brown ales are more subtle so Modern Times' new Sleepless City will be interesting.
But a coffee IPA? Sounds weird. Rogue's new Cold Brew IPA apparently integrates coffee and hops... but you be the judge.

We'll be pouring 150ml flights of each of these three styles for $15 from midday Saturday.

Bare Beer Calendar 2017

This year's Craft Beer Calendar pledge campaign is almost over, so it's time to jump on board!
Offering a standard and NSFW calendar was quite a bit of work for the organisers last year, so this year the calendar photos will be a mix of clothed and less-than-clothed beery people.

However all of the more revealing photos are done very tastefully, as you can see with Van and I on the right.

The photo ideas I've heard so far sounds like a lot of fun and involve your favourite brewers, bar staff and bar regulars.

The calendar again supports the Sexual Abuse Prevention Network (SAPN), an amazing group that is making a big difference in Wellington. I've personally attended their 'It's Our Business' sexual violence prevention programme for people in the hospitality and came away feeling empowered to intervene when appropriate.

More details on SAPN, the calendar and the pledge rewards are available over on the pledgeme page, where you should pledge now!

Old Beer 2: Another Evening of Aged Beer

Last year's 'old beer' tasting went so well, we've decided to hold it again!
We'll be seeing how a few of the beers are tasting a year on, and a whole lot of new old beers.
Traditionally beers that age well are strong and malty, but recently this wisdom has been challenged by a few members of the beer community who claim other styles age just as well.
At this tasting we'll be trying aged examples of both, in a quest to answer the age old question: "is fresh best?"
Beer Without Borders has a back catalogue of beers ranging from a few years to almost a decade old, and spanning styles from spiced ale and saison to imperial stout and barley wine.
We'll be seeing what happens to a bretted pale ale after four years, how a barley wine evolves over time and learn about how things like oxidation, autolysis affect the flavour of beer.
We're only charging $35 for this tasting, which takes place at 6pm on Wednesday the 14th of December at Hashigo Zake.
We'll also provide plenty of aged cheddar to match with these massive beers:

• Green Flash Rayon Vert 2012
• Moon Dog Dashers Envy 2014
• Mikkeller Mielcke & Hurtigkarl 2014
• Green Flash Double Stout 2013
• Iron Fist Imperial Rebellion 2013
• Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barley Wine 2008
• Green Flash Barley Wine 2012
• Renaissance Tribute Barley Wine 2011
• Moon Dog Jumping the Shark 2013

PLUS a very old beer out the boss's personal cellar, from a legendary but now defunct NZ brewer.

Book you spot for just $35 over the bar or on cultbeerstore.co.nz now.

November 24th, 2016

Don't Miss Santa!

Our annual emptying of the cellar that is Santa Session is two weeks away, but it's almost sold out!

This year's event is from 6.30pm to 9pm on Tuesday December 6th. Basically we declare open season on any stock that's outstayed it's welcome between those hours.

Santa session costs $35, or $25 for SOBA members.
We've got an indication from BwB of which stock they'll be contributing to this year's festivities, and it'll include beers from Pelican, Rogue, Baird, and Bear Republic. Some of which we've never actually seen down here at the bar.
Towards the end of Santa Session we'll also be looking to make space in the 'naughty fridge' (the fridge on the back bar with the pricier beers in it). So don't assume it'll all be old Panhead stock!

There are just 13 spots left for this year's Santa session - so book now or miss out!

Lincoln's Finest

You'll struggle to find beer from The Laboratory outside of its Lincoln brewpub.
This Twisted Hop related pub opened last year and quickly became a pillar of the Lincoln community. They brew enough on their small kit to keep up with the local's demand, but there's just not enough beer for them to distribute this far north.

We were delighted then, to see on the most recent Twisted Hop pallet that a sneaky keg of Laboratory beer had made it on.

Succinctly named Hopping Round The World: Fuggle Edition ESB, it appears to be the first in a series of single hop beers. They're approaching it in a more sensible manner, choosing a classic hop to showcase in a classic style. For example the next in the series is a Hefeweizen featuring Hallertau (don't think we'll be seeing any of that one sadly).
Eschewing the usual handpump serving of ESB, this one's in a keg so it'll be served cold and fizzy. Sorrynotsorry CAMRA.
There's just the one keg, which we'll be tapping as usual at 5pm this Tuesday.

Bogan Jazz

The amazing Death Hos return to then HZ lounge this Saturday, and they're bringing the Jazz metal

Featuring the music of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Steely Dan and Band of Gypsies which will be stretched apart and extemporised upon by the trio of:
- Dayle Jellyman on Keys
- Tom Callwood on Bass
- Reuben Bradley on Drums

And of course, there's no door charge as usual.

Rogue Taps

The latest Oregon shipment is working its way into the bar, with three much loved Rogue beers to be flowing soon.

In the bottle we've just go in the new rye IPA from Rogue: Promise Gone Aw-Rye IPA. I figured given the name that it had Golden Promise and rye malts, but nope. It does have plenty of Rogue Farms malts, and Rogue Farms Dream Rye. Weighing in at 7.5%, it's hefty, hoppy and reminds me a lot of the classic Hop Rod Rye from Bear Republic.

On tap soon we'll have the new 7.77% 7 Hop IPA, the addictively delicious Hazelnut Brown Ale and possibly Rogue's most well-known beer: Dead Guy.

It's not a Rogue beer, but the newest release from Wild & Woolly is coming on tap soon and I'm SUPER excited about it.

Back when we were getting a regular supply of Green Flash from San Diego, W&W brewer Llew fell in love with their heavily Summit hopped Imperial IPA.
Now that we can't get GFIIPA, Llew has created an Imperial IPA of his own in the image of GF IIPA: Ogopogo. And I'd say it's better than the original.
Just like Green Flash's it weighs in at 9% and heavily features the uniquely distinct fruity/oniony (in a good way) Summit hop. It's in your face yet dangerously drinkable, and on tap soon.

November 17th, 2016

A Wild Flight

La Sirène love a wild ferment. That is, leaving their beer open to the air and allowing whatever microorganisms are around get in and do their thing.

They do this at the brewery by transferring the wort from the boil into a 'coolship' instead of chilling it with a heat exchanger straight away.

A coolship essentially a wide, shallow pan that holds a few thousand litres of beer. This gives the airborne bacteria and yeast plenty of surface area to work with, and lets the beer cool quicker.
This method of fermentation is risky and doesn't always yield the right mixture of microbes, which is why La Sirène pour a significant proportion of their batches down the drain. But when it all works out right the results can be spectacular.

This Saturday from midday we'll be showcasing three of La Sirène's wild beers in a 3 x 100ml bottle-pour flight for $14.50.

The beers are:
Avant Garde Collection Soixante 6%
To say overt is an understatement – perhaps the opposite of the provision beer. There are no subtleties with the Soixante, just pronounced wild yeast wet hay & horse stable characters. This beer will polarise yet delight for some.

Wild Tripelle 8%
Built upon a Belgian style Tripel base, we allow the yeast to slowly ferment the wort after natural innoculation and as a result the beer initially has strong citrus & funky lemon notes aromatically then leads to a full bodied creamy mid palate and finishes dry and lingering with a memorable, malty & wild ale finish.

Wild Saison 6.5%
Fermented and aged with wild Brettanomyces yeast, this is probably Australia’s truest expression of ‘the funk’.

Wild Tuesday

Keeping with the theme of wild beers, next week's New Release Tuesday is another spontaneously fermented beer from La Sirène.

Vin Folie Grenache was initially an enigma to us - when we saw our single 20L keg arrive, we quickly googled it for more info. Surely with a name like that this is an exciting beer!
However every search we did just came back with various wine portfolios. As it turns out this beer is so rare there is no record of it anywhere online - not even Untappd.

Thankfully an email to La Sirène head brewer Costa quickly shed some light on what we had, and it definitely lived up to expectations, he said:
"The Vin Folie Grenache (ABV 7.6%) is a
100% wild fermented Farmhouse Ale Co-fermented with South Australian Grenache grapes. It was like doing ‘a ferment within a ferment’ and the result is a pink stained wild yeast focused ale that has juicy Grenache grape characters with a funky and raw mid-palate and very dry finish that blurs the lines between wine & beer. Refreshingly well-attenuated and juicy."

This might be your only chance to try this incredibly intriguing beer, as only the single 20l keg made it to NZ.

We tap Vin Folie Grenache at 5pm Tuesday.

Santa's Coming!

Long term readers of this newsletter will know exactly what Santa Session is, and exactly why you need a ticket to this year's session on Tuesday December 6th. So if that's you here's the link to secure your spot. If you're not familiar with Santa Session, read on.

Santa Session is a pretty simple event. Our goal is to move through plenty of stock that has outstayed its welcome. On the first Tuesday of every December we set up a pouring station away from the main bar and stockpile a wide variety of bottled beer. We rotate through these the evening goes on, so you get a huge variety of beer.
Ticket holders are welcome to come back to our pouring station over and over again and get their glass refilled with whichever beer we're pouring at the time.
Some of the beer may be slightly past its best, some of it you may not have heard of and some will be absolute gems that we simply have too much of.

The Santa Session bar is open from 6.30pm to 9pm, and all you need pay is the ticket price. It's also our way of celebrating the end of the year with SOBA members, so we offer them a $10 discount.

This year we'll have beers from the likes of De Molen, Mikkeller, Pelican, Maui, Karl Strauss and many more.

If that's convinced you, head over to cultbeerstore.co.nz to book or do it over the bar ($35 each or $25 for SOBA members).

November 10th, 2016

Rodenbach Caractère Rouge - On Tap

Back in May I was over in Melbourne for GABS. On our first night there we visited Forrester's Hall, who were having a Belgian tap showcase.
Among the taps I spied two Rodenbach beers I'd never had: Foederbier & Caractère Rouge. The Foederbier was a draft-only unblended two year old, but the Caractère Rouge really stood out.
The berries, oak, sweetness, tartness and funk were all amazingly integrated and balanced. I fell in love immediately.
Since then I've been on a mission to being Caractère Rouge to Wellington, and thanks to Boutique Beer Imports my mission is nearly complete.
After much nagging, Peter from Boutique Beer Imports found a source for a small amount of Caractère Rouge bottles, and two kegs!

So this Tuesday we'll be tapping Caractère Rouge and serving it 'till both kegs are dry.
If you're not familiar with Caractère Rouge, it is created by taking two year old Rodenbach and macerating it with cherries, raspberries and cranberries for an extra six months.

The result is a very tart yet slightly sweet beer full of fresh berry flavours and aromas.
Or as Rodenbach put it:

"The taste is rather sour but exceptionally pure. With its long, clean aftertaste and its unique combination of delicacy and strength, Rodenbach Caractère Rouge is reminiscent of a crisp Burgundy wine."


This world class beer is tapped at 5pm Tuesday, and will be served in 200ml TeKu, 300ml Fancies and 473ml US Pints (mainly because it's a fantasy of mine to have a pint of Caractère Rouge).

If you can't wait until Tuesday, we have 750ml bottles available at the bar now. They ain't cheap but they make excellent gifts!

Jazzybots

This Saturday at 9pm the Jazz Robots are bringing groove-based jazz to the lounge.

Inspired by all sorts of styles and greats like The Head Hunters, Jeff Beck, John Coltrane, Steve Coleman, Jimi Hendrix and The Miles Davis Quintet. The Jazz Robots have been around since 2011 with their innovative funky/jazzy feels. There's no door charge to see Peter Elliot (drums), Deane Hunter (guitar) and Tom Callwood (bass) do their thing this Saturday.

Missed The Boat

There was supposed to be a shipment fresh from Oregon in time for PBE this year, full of exciting new beers from our favourite Oregonians and a few surprises.
Sadly that shipment missed the boat, and as a result has only just arrived in Wellington.

The good news is that we'll be seeing super fresh stock from Gigantic and Rogue on tap and in the fridge over the next few weeks.
Right now we have super-fresh Gigantic IPA which is tasting amazing. The first of the Rogue bottles to make it to the fridge is their new Cold Brew IPA. A Stumptown coffee cold brew infused IPA which actually manages to integrate coffee and hop flavours nicely.
Keep an eye out on tap for fresh kegs of Rogue 7 Hop IPA, Dead Guy and Hazelnut Brown.

Also of note and coming to tap very soon (as in probably tonight or tomorrow) is another keg of the amazing Pirate Life IIPA, Stone 6th Anniversary Porter from PBE and a brand new batch of North End's Blanc de Houblon IPA.

This new batch of Blanc de Houblon is one of the best White IPA's I've ever tasted. The fruity hop character works seamlessly with the farmhouse yeast. They combine to make a tropical fruit bowl in a glass.

November 3rd, 2016

Te Aro Unleashes a New Barrel

Te Aro Brewing's barrel aging programme may be small, but it is yet to disappoint.
We're excited to be hosting the release of the next Te Aro barrel aged beer: Flanders Red Ale.

The Flanders Red style was made popular locally by the legendary Rodenbach Grand Cru, and tends to have a rich malty base which blends well with a distinct oakyness. Acidity from wild yeast and bugs is key to a good Flanders red - and Te Aro's should fit the style.

Te Aro Flanders Red gets it's malty base from Munich, Vienna, Medium Crystal and Shepherds' Delight malts. It was fermented in chardonnay barrels with East Coast's Flanders yeast blend.
Brewer Karl gave us a very, very precise ABV reading of 7.86%, making this slightly stronger than most Flanders reds around.

We tap our keg of Te Aro Flanders Red at 5pm Tuesday - it's only a small keg so don't miss out!

Red vs Blue, Brown Ale vs Witbier

One of the most astounding election cycles of modern times will finally be over next Wednesday.

We'll be watching it all come to an end at HZ, with US presidential election results coverage starting from midday.

In the spirit of democracy we're running a poll over on the FB event to decide what channel's coverage we show. But in the spirit of the electoral college system we reserve the right to completely ignore the popular vote. 

It's looking like it'll be a busy election day, so we'll try to organise a TV for the lounge area (which may pose some technical difficulties, so no promises). We'll also have a separate screen constantly showing an up to date results map.

We've had a few enquiries about booking tables for large groups, but to keep things fair tables will be first come first served.

Rory and I popped in to Wild & Woolly last Saturday to check on our election brews.
Rory's 'I'm Wit Her' was tasting great - lots of orange zest aroma coming through, and a nice hazy golden witbier colour.
Rory then proceeded to ruin the beer's appearance by adding squid ink to it. The results of which can be seen to the right.
The idea was to make the beer democrat blue, however it may end up grey-green in the glass. We'll see on the day!
At Rory's insistence I'm Wit Her will be served with a slice of orange on the rim.

On the other side of the brewery my republican beer 'Make Brown Ale Great Again' was tasting amazing. The mix of Gladfield specialty malts gave a rich and complex base, while the Cascade and Columbus were prominent but didn't overwhelm.
Inspired by the Republican candidate's tendancy to improvise off the cuff, I then threw in more than double the dry hops than the recipe called for. Time will tell whether this was a good idea or not (probably not).
We've even had a red "Make Brown Ale Great Again" hat made, which we'll give away on the day.

We'll have just a 50L keg of each of these beers available from midday Wednesday.

Regardless of the result, I think we've all earned a beer or two for putting up with this election cycle for the last 18 months.

The Bruery has Arrived

You're probably gutted if you missed out on last night's tasting of the new range of beers from The Bruery. I know I am.

The feedback from the tasting was the every beer was amazing. There was a surge of post-tasting off-license sales, but they kindly left some for other to taste. So in stock in 750ml bottles we have:
- Humulus Terreux 6.3% (Hoppy Pale Ale w/ 100% Brettanomyces)
- Or Xata 7.1% (Blonde Ale w/ Rice, Cinnamon & Vanilla Beans)
- Frucht with Yumberry 4.7% (Berliner-Weisse w/ Yum Berry)
- Rueuze 6% (Lambic-style Blended Sour Ale)
- Tart of Darkness 7% (Bourbon Barrel Aged Sour Stout)
- Quadrupel Tonnellerie 10% (100% Brett Barrel Fermented Belgian-style Quad w/ blackberries)
- Poterie 16.8% (Bourbon Barrel Solera Blended Old Ale)

Prices range from $30/750ml for the smaller beers, up to $70/750ml for the massive Poterie.

The Bruery wasn't the only amazing mixed ferment beers to hit the fridge this week, we also have new bottles from La Sirene.

- Sour Red 6.5% (Sour version of their Farmhouse Red)
- Wild Saison 6.5% (La Sirene Saison with brettanomyces yeast introduced)
- Wild Tripelle 8% (100% Spontaneously fermented Tripel - a staff favourite)
- Soixante 6.5% (Pronounced "swasonte", a farmhouse style ale that has undergone multiple mixed fermentations over many months).

October 27th, 2016

Cheers Tasi

Today is our beloved Tasi's final shift at Hashigo Zake. It's a sad moment to see her go, but also exciting for her future as a self-employed businesswoman.

As you know, she's brewed an IIPA at Te Aro Brewing to mark the occasion which is tapped at 5pm when she knocks off. There's also some amazing looking brownies, a vegan cake from Sweet Release and no doubt a classic "cheers bitches!" Tasi speech.

Come on down from 5pm today to celebrate with Tasi and the staff.

Mongrels Are The Best

This Tuesday is the final Nomad NRT. We're ending with their soured, fruited, funky version of Cruisin' Pale Ale: The Wild Mongrel (6.7%)

"Like all mongrels this beer's ancestry is a little mixed, mummy was the Cruisin ale who had a long affair with 300kg of Shiraz grapes producing a beautiful pinkish, sour fruit ale. A complex fruity, farmhouse nose with honey and bitterness from the beer, plus acidity and frutiness from the wine. All combined with the unpredictable influence of the wild yeast."

Looking at online reviews, this sounds like a pretty serious sour. Many of them mention vinegar, but in a good way. Hopefully that's true!
We tap our single keg of The Wild Mongrel at 5pm this coming Tuesday.

Live in the Lounge: Nick Granville Funk Trio

This Saturday from 9pm enjoy the "funky sweaty dancey grooves" of the Nick Granville Funk Trio in the lounge.
Hopefully the sweaty part is minimal.

We're bringing you free of charge: Nick Granville on guitar, Lance Philip on drums and Leonardo Coghini on organ.

The Final Results Show

The grand final of the hit new reality TV series "The 2016 US Presidential Election" is just two weeks away. With our coverage of the debate episodes, it's only fitting that we show live coverage of the final at the bar on Wednesday November 9th (network TBD). Make sure you book the afternoon off work.
We've even brewed two special staffie beers at Wild and Woolly for the occasion:

Rory brewed 'I'm Wit Her' - a Belgian style witbier with coriander and orange zest.
"Made on a private brewkit, in Rory's basement. Hacked documents released on wikileaks show that I'm Wit Her is coloured Democrat blue with squid ink.
The same leaked documents show a massive donation to Rory from a squid ink super PAC. When asked about this potential conflict Rory avoided the question and somehow ended up talking about Putin."

To keep the taps non-partisan I brewed an American brown ale: 'Make Brown Ale Great Again'.

"Believe me, this is a tremendous brown ale. No one loves brown ales more than I do. We hopped it bigly with Columbus and Cascade, and built a yuuuuuge wall of Gladfield specialty malt around it. And trust me, we're going to get Weyermann to pay for the malt. They're gonna pay. It's gonna be great. We're going to make brown ale great again."

We'll be showing coverage and commentary of the US Presidential from midday on the 9th until the result is called.

October 20th, 2016

PBE Revealed

With PBE just two sleeps away, there's little point in teasing you with beer announcements this week. Instead, you can have the entire beer list. 
Those who like to plan ahead can check out the entire beer list spreadsheet here. 
Or just take a gander:


If you're wondering what will be keeping your stomach lined this weekend, wonder no more. Feast your eyes on the Salt & Wood Collective Menu:

TACOS
BBQ Jack Fruit Taco (Vegan) - $7.50
Crispy Tofu Taco (Vegan) - $7.50
BBQ Pulled Pork Taco - $7.50
All tacos topped with corn, avocado, Baxter’s hot sauce and pickled red onion.

LOW + SLOW
Brisket Sandwich w/ caramelised onions and short rib gravy - $10.00
Pulled Pork Sandwich w/ buttermilk slaw and pickled onion - $10.00
Smoked Mushroom Burger w/ cheddar, tomato, onion, sprouts and ketchup $10.00
Beef Short Rib w/ big bad beef rub - $10.00
***Gluten free bread available***

SWEETS
Ginger Kiss Ice Cream Sandwich - $2.50
Kebob maple donuts (bacon optional) - $5.00

Remember that you get $7.50 worth of food vouchers with your ticket, enough for a taco straight away.
Speaking of tokens, you get four tokens (worth $2.50 each with your ticket. EFTPOS will be available to purchase more tokens, but cash is preferred to keep lines moving swiftly!

As you know, Saturday's session is sold out. But there are still tickets available for the Sunday session, though they are selling faster and faster as the date approaches.

Another thing to note - to help reduce entrance lines we'll be endeavouring to start checking people in half an hour before 2pm each session. So if you want a good seat, it might be good to get in early.

The weather is looking not bad on Sat and fine on Sun, so bring your sunscreen and see you this weekend!

Farewell Mama T

It's the end of an era here at HZ next Thursday.

After seven years of distinguished service, it's time to say farewell to our dear Tasi. Mama T has started her own cleaning business, and is heading off to work for herself full time (if anyone needs a kick-ass cleaner, hit her up!).
Next Thursday is Tasi's final shift at Hashigo, and in classic Tasi style she's going out with a bang.
Tasi has brewed an Imperial IPA with Te Aro Brewing for the occasion: NINTASI IIPA (best beer name ever?) which will be tapped at the end of her shift at 5pm. There'll also be cake, gifts and no doubt a classic Tasi speech, ending with "Cheers bitches!"

Come and join Tasi and the staff from 5pm next Thursday to see her off.

I Viddy a NRT

Next week's NRT is another from New South Wales brewery Nomad, this time a deliciously punny Imperial Stout: Choc-Wort Orange.

Choc-Wort Orange weighs in at 9.5%, and features some interesting ingredients:
"Rich, Black, Choc Orange, stout experience.....Brewed with many layers of caramel, biscuit and chocolate malts, this Imperial is Stout is big black and malty.
A small amount of smoked malt was also part of the grist to give this beer a unique feel. The roasty, chocolate sweetness is balanced out by a generous kettle hop addition that imparts a moderate bitterness.
Orange peel was also added to the boil for an extra layer of citrus goodness, think of chocolate orange cake!"
So shake off those post PBE/long weekend blues with glass of imperial stout - but a small glass. We'll be serving Choc Wort Orange in 200ml TeKus and 300ml fancies from 5pm next Tueday.

Incoming from the OC

Beer Without Borders are now bringing in the Orange County sensation, The Bruery. We'll be stocking a range of Bruery beers at HZ, and you can try nine of them on Wednesday November 2nd.

The Bruery are globally renowned for their avant-garde brewing style, involving plenty of challenging adjuncts, mixed fermentation and barrel aging.
The very first Bruery shipment arrives this week, chilled and direct from the West Coast. It includes a range of seasonals and a couple of year-round brews.
On Wednesday November 2nd from 6pm we'll be hosting a tasting of nine of these beers, a feat only possible with a large group due to the Bruery's 750ml bottle size.
We'll be tasting:

- Jardinier - Belgian-style Pale Ale (4.5%)
- Humulus Terreux - Hoppy Pale Ale w/ 100% Brettanomyces (6.3%)
- Or Xata - Blonde Ale w/ Rice, Cinnamon & Vanilla Beans (7.1%)
- Frucht with Yumberry - Berliner-Weisse w/ Yum Berry (4.7%)
- Gypsy Tart - Flemish-style Brown Ale (8.7%)
- Rueuze - Lambic-style Blended Sour Ale (6%)
- Tart of Darkness - Bourbon Barrel Aged Sour Stout (7%)
- Quadrupel Tonnellerie - Belgian-style Quad w/ 100% Brettanomyces (10%)
- Poterie - Bourbon Barrel Solera Blended Old Ale (16%)

There's limited places, so don't miss out on this rare opportunity to try some amazing beers at a great price. Book your spot over at cultbeerstore now.

October 13th, 2016

Ramen Shop Returns

This Saturday we host our warm up to Pacific Beer Expo: PreBE.
We're bringing in extra taps to host six different Almanac Hoppy Sours plus Ramen Shop popping up for lunch from midday!

We were just given the menu, and our mouths have been watering since:

Ramen excitement aside. The reason for the season is to feature the huge amount of Almanac Hoppy Sours we received kegs of in the most recent shipment. We'll have six on tap in the following varieties, which you'll be able to grab a 150ml TeKu flight of for $35:



PBE isn't just about sour beers, it's about interesting beers from all around the pacific rim. So we're also tapping a exciting beer from California for PreBE: Stone Brewing Ramble Scramble Brown Ale.

Brewed at Stone's Liberty Station brewpub, Ramble Scramble also features malted millet, tangerine, tangelo, coriander and juniper berries. 

We've just got the one keg of each beer, and The Ramen Shop sold out quickly last time we hosted them - good reasons to get down and have a sour, noodley lunch this Saturday!

NOMAD Travels to Wellington

With PBE just one week away, beers are arriving at the BwB coolstore, including the shipment from Aussie.

We took advantage of the incoming shipment to get a few extra kegs from our friends at NOMAD thrown on the pallets.

NOMAD was started in Brookvale, NSW by the people behind Italy's Birra del Borgo.
Thankfully NOMAD are still separate from Birra del Borgo, meaning their recent acquisition by AB InBev did not affect NOMAD.

NOMAD make some incredibly interesting and consistent beers like salt & pepper gose, shiraz sour ale and smoked saison. They also nail the more standard styles in thier year-round core range, two of which we're featuring on tap this coming Tuesday: Sideways Hoppy Pale & Jet Lag IPA.

Nomad says Sideways is: "Our ultimate session Pale Ale. Bursting with the scent of Aussie and American hops. Brewed to show that low ABV doesn't mean low flavour. This beer has a clean citrus hit with a lingering hop bitter finish. Hot damn."

Along with the obligatory load of hops, Jet Lag IPA also includes a unique local ingredient:
"Australia's own native finger lime IPA, Jet Lag is brewed with a combination of pale and caramel malts plus tonnes of American and Aussie hops, including new super hop Victoria's Secret. When combined with our aforementioned favourite Aussie ingredient you get a beautifully rich copper pour, a biscuity malt slurp and a fantastic citrusy zing."

Come on down this Tuesday at 5pm to try 'em both!

Happy Birthday Darren Watson

Local blues legend Darren Watson is back in the HZ lounge this Saturday - it also happens to be his 50th birthday!

We're stoked to celebrate with Darren and his band, who kick off at 9.30pm Saturday. So come down and raise a glass while he does what he does best with his amazing new band.
Rick Cranson - Drums
Dayle Jellyman - Piano/Organ
Steve Moodie - Double Bass, Bass Guitar

The Grand Finale

The third and final Presidential debate happens 2pm next Thursday. 
After the (slightly) more civilised town hall debate we're back to a standard debate style, so the sparks are sure to fly.

Monday's debate seemed to suffer from Monday-itis with around ten attendees watching, but that didn't stop RNZ coming down to do a story!
Remember, the election itself is on Wednesday November 9th NZ time and we'll be showing coverage all day. This Sunday we’ll also be making two very special staffie brews for the occasion at Wild & Woolly…

Dinè With La Sirène

We met La Sirène head brewer Costa Nikias via Skype during our last La Sirène tasting - and now we get to meet him face-to-face.

Costa is coming over next weekend to attend PBE, and while he's here BwB has organised a beer degustation at Cafe Polo in Miramar:

"This one-off event will feature 6 beers from La Sirène, 5 of which will be paired with food and one of which will be served on its own.

Fewer than 20 tickets will be available for this event, guaranteeing an intimate setting where you can interrogate Costa and make him reveal his top-secret brewing techniques, or where you can just enjoy some beer and food with him and your friends."

Book now over on cultbeerstore.co.nz!

Weekly PBE Digest

As predicted last week, the Saturday session of PBE 2016 has now sold out.

There are still tickets available for the Sunday session, sales of which are now accelerating due to it being the only session left!

Just in case you needed any more convincing of the excellent value and variety of PBE, here are this week's beer announcements.

Martin from Townshend Brewery is brewing an East Coast IPA for PBE16.
Shadow of a Man is brewed with Pacific Jade for bittering, loads of Amarillo, Citra, and Mosaic and is the most hops he's ever used in a beer.
Served on handpull to bring this cloudy beer to life.


Speaking of East Coast IPA, here's one from the West Coast: Modern Times Beer Mage Hand IPA.
"It's the latest in our series of hazy, enormously flavorful juice bombs. We stuffed this miracle elixir with Chinook, Simcoe, Mosaic, and Equinox hops for an explosion of juice and haze. This miracle of dankness is about to storm your face-gates and occupy your flavor palace. You don't even know.
Tropical dankness that is likely to elicit spontaneous high-fiving upon contact with the palate. It's pure liquid victory that caresses your palate with the confident sensitivity of an old, familiar lover."


From Japan we have Baird Pacific Porter, here's what Brewer Bryan Baird says about it:
"This is the Baird Beer Pacific ocean version of a classic Baltic Porter (a strong dark beer fermented with Lager yeast whose historical roots are in the Baltic sea region countries). Caramel and roasted malts contribute to a body that is chewy but not thick and to a flavor that is sweet but also subtle and smooth. The alcohol in the finish is pleasingly warming. Baltic Porter is a style that largely had been forgotten until the craft beer renaissance got underway in the 1980s.
We are doing our part to keep this fascinating style alive and relevant today."


Lord Almighty's PBE 2016 offering is The Kali Turmeric:
"A delicious Double American India Pale Ale - hopped with the extremely popular Simcoe, Citra, Amarillo, and Mosaic. This version, made specially for PBE, has an extra addition of Southern Indian Turmeric root. Providing a gnarly bitterness, dank pungent aroma, and a deep yellow hue. Thirst for adventure, drink it in."


Fitzpatrick's Brewing Co American Brown Ale will be on tap this year. It's "a biscuity/toasty easy drinking brown ale, with a hint of chocolate malt. Balanced nicely with a mix of US Centennial & Amarillo Hops late in the boil, and subsequent dry hopping."
And from La Sirène Brewing, their Imperial Praline is a Belgian style chocolate stout of imperial proportions. "Deep & intense chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut tones wrap up in a blanket of roasted and toffee layers that welcome, yet another pour."



Garage Project is bringing a brand new beer to PBE: Mutiny on the Bounty. A South Pacific style Export Stout made with Breadfruit, plantain, Tahitian vanilla, and coconut.
And also at PBE from Modern Times Beer is Neverwhere: " We're incredibly excited to be bringing back one of the very first beers we ever brewed, a 100% Brett Drie ferment which yields a clean but crazy tropical beer with distinct pineapple notes. Hopped with Citra, Centennial, and Chinook, the hops mesh beautifully with the deeply juicy body on this utterly unique beast."


PBE16 is bringing back a favourite US IPA, but this year it's Ballast Point Brewing's Pineapple version.

"Pineapple Sculpin IPA came from one of many small-batch cask experiments to enhance the flavor of our signature IPA. With so many tropical hop notes in Sculpin, how could we not try adding some sweet, juicy pineapple? The combination of fruity flavors and hop intensity definitely packs a punch."

Next week we'll hopefully publish a full finalised beer list so you can start planning, along with the mouth-watering menu from the Salt & Wood Collective.

Just a week to go - grab your Sunday PBE session tickets now!