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!

October 6th, 2016

Welcome Miss Van Der Bier

Beer Baroness' latest release is a style we don't see much of these days: Belgian IPA.

Ava's interpretation of the style "Miss Van Der Bier" is full of US grown El Dorado, Chinook and Simcoe hops with a bit of kiwi Rakau.
The Belgian aspect comes in with Carabelge® and Special W® for that real raisiny/candy sweetness.
A clever combination of ESB and Saison yeasts were used to impart a Belgian yeast character, while still drying out the beer nicely.

We're tapping Miss Van der Bier at 5pm this Tuesday.

The Glamour of the BGONZAs

Last weekend the annual Brewers Guild Of New Zealand Awards (BGONZAs) were judged down in Christchurch.

The BGONZAs are the most respected commercial beer competition in NZ, and the results of last week's judging are due to be announced at a swanky awards dinner this Saturday.
Sadly for us Wellingtonian beer fans the BGONZAs are being held in Auckland again this year, but that doesn't mean we have to miss out on the fun, excitement and dressing up.

The Brewers Guild are kindly live streaming the BGoNZAs, so this Saturday we'll be showing them live with sound in the red room.

You'll be among the first to find out who get the golds, who gets the trophies, who is named NZ's best beer writer and who is crowned this year's champion brewer.

There's a 6pm start time on the Brewers Guild event, which means the awards will probably start around 7pm. But get in early to stake out a seat, last year the room was packed.

Don't forget, just like the real BGoNZA's; formal dress is encouraged!

8 Wired Sour & Wild

While you're watching the BGONZAs we'll also be serving up flights of 8 Wired's three new (mostly) sour beers - which are sure to feature in this year's awards.

8 Wired dropped three exciting new beers onto the market late last month, a hoppy barrel aged sour; Gypsy Funk, a barrel aged sour strong ale; Grand Cru 2015 and a bretted Belgian ale in the style of Orval; Rendition.

These three arrived in our fridges this week, so we thought we'd put on a tasting flight of all of them so you can get to know the new 8 Wired crew.
These beers go for $28-$40 over the bar, but this Saturday were doing a 100ml TeKu pour of each for $15 to help you decide which ones to add to your cellar.

Here's what the brewery has to say about them:

Gypsy Funk Dry Hopped Barrel Aged Pale Sour Ale
"This is an intensely sour brew. Aged in wine barrels for up to 2 years, then heavily dry hopped with the unique flavours of all NZ hops.
This is a very complex and super sour brew that was a massive hit for us at GABS Auckland. Many "wow's" and good amount of expletives were shared over its super sourness and heady, oily resin and heavy funk characteristics. A must try for the sour lover! "

Rendition Dry Hopped Belgian Style Ale
"This is our rendition of an age old monastery beer done the "8 Wired way". Brewed and dry hopped with NZ grown Styrian Golding hops, fermented with a Belgian yeast and refermented with brettanomyces. This brew will bottle condition and will develop aromas of hay with fruity and floral notes. Flavour will become full of funky fermentation characters, raisin and fig notes, and a bitter finish."

Grand Cru 2015 Pinot Noir Barrel Aged Sour Ale
"This heady brew is aged with currants and cascara coffee cherries with brettanomyces and pediococcus in pinot noir barrels. This brew was then added to a red wine foedre for further ageing. The effects are remarkable, leading to red wine heavy flavours of stone fruit, leather and our trademark sour hit. This brew will bottle condition with the flavours and aromas developing further over time."

We're serving flights from midday this Saturday, don't miss out on this great opportunity.

Back to the Main Event

As predicted, the vice presidential debate was a bit of a snooze fest.
However we're back to the main stage 2pm this Monday, with the second presidential debate.

This is the "town hall" debate, meaning the candidates will be asked questions  by citizens directly, the other half will be posed by the moderator based on topics of broad public interest as reflected in social media and other sources.

We're streaming the debate live from 2pm Monday, and to add another dimension to the debate we'll replace the small digital menu with politifact's live fact checking.

Weekly PBE Digest

Before we get into this week's PBE beer announcements, a quick heads up. The pie graph on the right shows ticket sales for the Saturday session of PBE. Pink is the 'sold' portion.
If you're wanting to come along on Saturday, book now or miss out. This session will likely sell out in the next day or two!

Now, on to the beers...

First up from Australia, La Sirène Brewing is bringing two of their finest to PBE16.
Number one is their 4.8% Limitée Petit Sour, a naturally soured Farmhouse Ale.
"Our Petit Sour is a wonderfully fresh Farmhouse Ale that has been soured naturally with our indigenous souring bacteria within the brewery’s walls. Built on a Pilsner base malt, the Petit Sour has fresh Australian hop aromatics coupled with the dry and tangy texture to come together in a refreshing way. Can you stop at 1.."

Number two from La Sirène is Harvest Ale:

"La Sirène Harvest Ale represents our most local of beers using locally sourced pale malts & fruity hops all brewed with funky Brettanomyces.
A truly hop-forward beer, our Harvest Ale is refreshingly pungent has strong resinous characters with mid palate farmhouse funk & is reminiscent of a blue cheese washed with lemon rind.... Yum!"

The Beast is a monster of a beer.
A collaboration between Kerry Gray (Choice Bros), Brayden Rawlinson (9 Barnyard Owls), Karl Hayes (Te Aro Brewing), Frans Filius (Grutte Pier Brouwerij, NL) and "Big Dan Churbro", who got together at Te Aro Brewing to put down a Belgian Quad called "Beast."
Beer Without Borders sent down a field team to observe the brew and found out a bit about it...It's a "Belgian Quad with a cocktail of Belgian yeast varieties and a large proportion of Belgian Candy and Gladfield Dark Crystal malt, more of a liqueur than a beer."


This year Tiamana is showcasing Blushing Bride.
A Raspberry Gose specially brewed for Pomeroy's Old Brewery Inns 50th Birthday and also friends of PBE Narelle & Hadyns wedding.
This gose is tart, dry, raspberrry, and sour.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers's Blind Tiger IIPA described best by the guys who make it:
"Easily the hoppiest beer we've ever brewed, Blind Tiger Imperial IPA has a massively aromatic blend of hops that deliver resinous citrus fruit flavors, with the bitterness cranked well over 100 IBUs. With an absurd addition of over 10 pounds of hops per barrel—including Citra, Chinook, Simcoe, and Centennial—and clocking in at over 9% ABV, Blind Tiger explodes with flavors of freshly cut melon, citrus peel, and ripe passionfruit. We encourage you to grab this beer while its fresh."


Stone Brewing will be bringing their 6th Anniversary Porter to PBE16!
"An intensified version of Stone Smoked Porter. We cranked up the malts and hops a notch or three and conditioned it on French and American oak, which accentuated our porter’s distinctive smokiness and amplified its chocolate and roast coffee flavors while also adding subtle notes of toffee, cherries, dried berries and vanilla.
e’re proud to give those who missed out—as well as those who didn’t—a fresh shot at experiencing this smoky, dark-as-night wonder."


Phantasmagoria is the new experimental offering from Maiden Brewing Company a 7.5% Brettanomyces IPA
Gently bittered and smooth in body this beer has been brewed with dried tropical flowers from Asia and combined with German, New Zealand and US hops bringing this Phantasmagoria of flavours together and fermenting it entirely with Brettanomyces.
Dank. Wild. Fruity.

Follow the daily announcements over on the PBE page, or wait 'till next week's summary.
PBE is just two weeks away, so don't forget to get your tickets here before it's too late.