Thursday, October 9, 2014

October 9th, 2014

Happy Birthday To Us

Has it really been five years? I guess time flies when you're enjoying good beer.
Our actual fifth birthday was in September, but we decided to delay the party due to the proximity to Beervana and other birthdays. Also, I was out of the country so it totally wouldn't have been fair.
Today I can announce our official fifth birthday celebration will occur on Monday the 20th of October, to kick off the week of Pacific Beer Expo.
To mark the occasion we asked some of our favourite brewers to help us celebrate by brewing us a special birthday beer, and many kindly obliged. 
Monday the 20th will see a tap lineup of mostly brand new beers, like Renaissance Fifth Element (aka Chocolate Thunder)
Renaissance Elemental Porter is possibly our bar manager Tasi's (aka Chocolate Thunder) favourite beer ever. So Renaissance offered to fly Tasi down to Blenheim to help put together a special edition Elemental Porter for our birthday. Fifth Element is the porter we all know and love, but with a fifth ingredient (get it?) thrown in - cocoa nibs.
We'll also have the first showing of the next beer in 8 Wired's 100% brett fermented "Wireless" series - Wireless Pale Ale. These two should whet your appetite, and expect a full lineup announced in next weeks email as we firm up details.
To keep the party going on Tuesday (the 22nd) we'll be swapping out our usual new release Tuesday for New Release Cheeseday. You can thank Dominic for the cheesy pun.
Seeing as Monday's lineup will be mostly new releases, on Tuesday we'll pick cheeses to match each birthday beer and offer them as a pair. We'll be looking for cheese pairing suggestions on the Monday night.

PBE News

The Pacific Beer Expo is quickly creeping up on us, a mere three weeks from now. Details of the Coronado.
beer lineup are quickly firming up, and this week we can announce some of the rare offerings available from San Diego brewer and PBE sponsor,
Some of their rarer brews have been made available to us specifically for PBE, the crown jewel of which is probably Barrel Aged Stupid Stout (9.8%). There were only 240 bottles of this Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout available, and even fewer kegs - but we got one.
Usually only available at the brewpub, Monkey Island (8.5%) is an amped up dark lager brewed in collaboration with Monkey Paw.

Balancing out the stronger offerings of the festival, Coronado have provided some of their lighter beers. Coronado Golden (4.9%) is a refreshing pilsner, while U.S.S. Coronado (5%) is a classic APA, named after a US Navy vessel (referencing Coronado island's massive naval base).

Get your tickets from cultbeerstore.co.nz or at the bar. Do it.

Tuesday of the Damned

I was worried that Dominic would exhaust our supply of Adroit Theory new releases while I was in

the States. I had my eye out for anything from AT, but it seems they're even rarer in their home country than here on the other side of the world.
Luckily for me Beer Without Borders brought in enough varieties of Adroit Theory, that next Tuesday I'll be able to see what the Virginia based nano-brewer is capable of.
We'll be tapping the first keg of the typically grandiose named "Love of the Damned". LotD is brewed in the style of an Old Ale, which is a rare style to see in itself. But that's not enough for AT, so they amped it up to 9.6% ABV and aged it on Syrah grape must.
Or, as the brewery more poetically puts it:
"Can there be a greater dilemma? Dare I love that which is condemned - damned - to an everlasting inferno? Is my faith in redemption enough to sweeten and soothe? These are the questions you must ask yourself as you take in and savor this Olde Ale brewed with Syrah Grape Must. Was that the sighing of the wind you heard, or did Mephistopheles whisper, "May I have this dance?" Deliverance is but a handshake away."
Meet the Damned from 5pm next Tuesday.

Rhino Boogie Saturday

Our favourite funk hip hop fusion group Rhino Boogie returns to our 'acoustically sweet side-lounge' this weekend.
Enjoy live horns and drums combined on the turntables of Uncle Silverback for free on Saturday from 10pm.

Lacto and Pedio and Brett, oh my!

If you don't know what Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and Brettanomyces are, then you need to attend
Saturdays 200 level Craft Beer College class.

There are only three places remaining for what is possibly the most advanced class CBC have held yet. You'll be tasting some of the best sour offerings from around the world, while learning more about special brewing techniques and how our friends brett, lacto and pedio contribute to the unique flavours found in sour ales.
To secure your spot in Saturdays tasting, email
info@craftbeercollege.co.nz
... Quickly!

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