Monkey Wizard Brewery - History
Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 9:23PM From the Monkey Wizard Brewery website:
Monkey Wizard Brewery is located near Motueka in the village of Riwaka, close to the Kahurangi National Park. The area is well known for having excellent water and is ideal for growing both apples and hops. We use both of these in our products and we are especially fond of the New Zealand Saaz cultivars bred locally that have been named after local settlements. One which features in the pilsners is a hop named "Riwaka" and another named "Nelson Sauvin". Our two row malt is also sourced in New Zealand and comes from the fertile plains of Canterbury in the South Island. The brewery was a butchers shop originally and many of the original features have been preserved. The brewery is a 600lt batch size and we predominantly use a traditional single step infusion mashing technique, as was popular in the UK at the turn of the century and brewing is entirely done by hand in the time honoured way. The cider is also entirely hand made using an old basket press popular on the continent. Our brewery waste is composted or fed to local farm animals, we encourage people to reuse their containers and are shortly to go solar powered. The majority of sales are direct from the brewery door in PET flagons and discounts are availaible for refills. We believe the beer is best direct from us and enjoy discussing beer with our customers and passing out beer mana on the world at large. We can be very busy during the summer so please, enjoy your wait! Our motto means, "If you don't like it don't drink it." And where did we get the name from, well that's the Wizard's secret
Monkey Wizard's range of beers:
Brass Monkey Lager - Dry hopped with NZ Saaz, Nelson Sauvin and brewed with only Canterbury malt. Brass Monkey Lager is a 100% New Zealand lager made with Canterbury malt and a hop named after the township of Riwaka where the hop was bred. Brass Monkey is handcrafted, unpasteurised and undiluted. Dry hopped to give a fresh Saaz hop taste and fermented cold as all quality lagers should be.
Abel Ale - Hop heads favourite. New World IPA with plenty of full cone South Island Cascade hops. This handmade English style ale is named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, as is our local National Park.Abel Ale is fermented at warm temperatures with a traditional ale yeast and three types of malted barley to produce its fruity taste and aroma.A generous amount of New Zealand hops are then used to dry hop the beer after fermentation leaving an aromatic, hoppy finish to the ale.
Black Mass Stout - Rich and black Stout made silky smooth with oatmeal and Pacific Gem hops for a mild blackberry hint Fermented with a traditional ale yeast at room temperature giving an abundance of esters and aromatic coffee-like flavours. A hint of blackberry is produced from the addition of oatmeal to the mash. Brewed with high carbonate water like the stouts of Ireland, this is a beer to be savoured at room temperature.
Fat Kelpie Ale - A five malt blend English Brown Ale. This Nut Brown Ale is brewed with 5 different malts in the English Brown Ale style and is lightly hopped to let the malt flavours dominate.
Wizard’s Wheat Beer - Spiced wheat beer with Nelson Sauvin and seasonal fruits as the wizard feels inclined Brewed in Riwaka with both malted and unmalted wheat, this delicious wheat beer has an added touch of chamomile and coriander. The brew is named after James Wheatley, cider alchemist and chief gardening wizard.
George Best Barley Wine - Barley wine is intended to be consumed in small portions at room. This limited release all malt barley wine has been brewed in homage to the famous soccer player George Best, who we hope would favour this rare ale. Barley wines are, like George, a dying breed and we hope to revive this beer style. Barley wine is intended to be consumed in small portions at room temperature in a wide mouthed glass, much like a wine. It is brewed and dry hopped with New Zealand Hallertau aroma hops. George Best Barley Wine is stronger than most, so enjoy in moderation.
Summer Ale - Dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin Hops and aged on fresh elderflowers. A light blonde ale perfect for the summer months made with Nelson Sauvin Hops and aged on fresh elderflowers. A real treat, but only availaible when the flowers are in season around November. Elderflower has been used to make ales and wines for over four thousand years.
Steampunk Strong Ale - Belgian style ale with a fruity finish and subtle hoppy aroma. This is a rich strong Belgian style ale with a fruity finish and subtle hoppy aroma. Availaible soon in 750ml Champagne bottles. Limited amounts of bottle conditioned ale can be purchased from the brewery wired and sealed with champagne corks.
