The World's Largest Craft Beer Collaboration?

My first six weeks of work at Epic Brewing have been exactly what the name of the company I am working for would suggest. Day one consisted of flying south, jumping in a camper van and beginning a trip to visit the great breweries and bars that make up the New Zealand craft beer scene. What more would one want in a job!

How about being a part of the world's largest collaboration brew as well! Getting the ideas and thoughts of most of NZ's brewers together and brewing a beer based on that!

Luke takes the campervan cross country

As we went around the breweries of NZ, we chatted to the brewers and asked them what they thought made up the essence of craft beer. Our goal was to encapsulate this and end up with a brew that reflected the passion, terroir and craft that has resulted in some freakin’ awesome beers. We ended up with a bunch of concepts and ideas. From Canterbury artesian water, through to New Zealand Hops, organic ingredients, New Zealand Malt, offers of help with label and graphic design, the beer began to take a rough shape in our heads. Yet another concept was to help us bring this beer together, coming from 8 Wired’s Soren Eriksen… “No compromise”.

The Three Boys Brew Crew meticulously labeling bottlesWho is this beer for? I’m going to say everyone, even though this is an impossible statement. The thing with doing a beer like this is that every person has individual tastes. Some like malt or dark, sweet, rich beers. Others prefer the fruity, estery drinkability of Belgian-style beers. Others want a hop-punch. Bitter and massively aromatic and flavour intensified. It was going to be a tall ask for us to please everyone, so we decided on a style that is probably going to do two things. One, it’s going to make some of  the beer cognoscenti around NZ moan about being narrow-minded and spout the usual “one-trick-pony” comments that I seem to have picked up on in my short time here (a shame really, beer and brewing is about getting a family together, something talked about by John Duncan from Founders, and as we all now, every one of our family members brings something different to the mix) and two, it’s going to reflect a modern trend in NZ brewing and that trend, like it or lump it, is Pale Ale.

Mmmm... Pale Ale...

Why did we decide to make a Pale Ale? Apart from the aforementioned reason, we really wanted to showcase New Zealand hops and a Pale Ale is a great vector for this. We could have gone a beautifully subtle NZ Pilsener (think Tuatara, Mike’s or Three Boys Pilsener) or light, malty, quaffable Bitter with subtle hop undertones. NZ hops make amazing examples of both, but tough decision made we stuck with it! I think this is something to think about when you try this beer (either that, or think nothing at all, just enjoy it!).

Hops from around the world generally have their own characters. The earthy, spicy, citrus and marmalade notes form British hops. The pungent, resin, pine and citrus characters of American hops. The delicate, noble notes from German hops. Then there are Kiwi hops. You have to remember that we’ve been growing hops here for 150 years, ever since the first British immigrants brought the beloved plant here to continue the brewing of the ales of their forefathers. New Zealand is where the first triploid cultivars were developed. Triploid cultivars contain three instead of two sets of chromosomes and are seedless (some brewers dislike the impurities that seeds can attribute to their beers due to the presence of oils and fats) which is of a great benefit to commercial brewers. The NZ HortResearch Centre and NZ Hops limited have been working for years and developing new varieties of hops with various characters that suit the brewer and beer. With this development has come fascinating flavours and aromas that I think are unique to New Zealand hops. Then of course there is the disease resistance. This means we don’t need to use any pesticides and a number of varieties are certified organic. Chatting to hop farmers, it seems that even the non-certified varieties are closer to organic than not!

Hops growing in Wakefield, Nelson

Let’s take the Nelson Sauvin hop as an example. Into its 11th year of production, this hop has big Sauvignon Blanc characteristics. From gooseberries to lychees, from cat-pee and passionfruit to grapefruit. It’s character is diverse and fascinating and is still only just begun to be shown off to its full potential in beer. From the early days when Lion Breweries were using it (now still used to good effect in Macs Hop Rocker) through to Twisted Hop’s Sauvin Pilsener, 8 Wired’s Hopwired and Yeastie Boys’ Europa, the hop is used to great effect and is very close to my heart (this was used in Thornbridge Kipling in the UK and won us many awards). The US have also become interested in NZ hops and are using them to great effect in their beers, notably Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale that uses Pacifica, Motueka and Southern Cross (they want them so fresh, that they even fly the hops over straight after harvest!). 

With this in mind, we decided on a few hop varieties. First up, we thought of Riwaka, with its citrus, grapefruit and floral notes, this has always reminded me of Nelson Sauvin’s younger brother. Originally developed from Saaz parentage (and previously known as Saaz B), I have noticed a sweaty, turpentine/kerosene note when overused, but when balanced out with other hops or used delicately in a subtly flavoured brew, this is incredible.

We also decided on NZ Cascade. Cascade is originally an American hop released commercially in 1972 and is the aroma hop that has helped the amazing Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Little Creatures Pale Ale become the success it has. Closer to home, Epic Pale Ale has also made a point of showcasing this complex and fascinating variety. With citrus as it’s backbone and a combination of gentle spice and floral rose-water characters, it’s a fantastic hop and I was excited at smelling the NZ-grown variety. I was amazed at the similarities between the US and NZ versions, similar citrus and floral, with the NZ variety maybe showing a slight hint of Nasturtium flower, a tiny bit of mown grass, maybe a little more green-ness. Either way this is an impressive hop and I was looking forward to the contribution it would make to the brew. Another reason we chose this hop was because of the diversity we have in NZ with regards our brewers. With Dave from Wanaka Beerworks being originally from California, Paulie from Dux de Lux from Portland, Oregon and the Renaissance* duo, Andy and Brian also from the West Coast, it seemed a logical choice.

Finally, for use as a bittering hop and for a welcome addition to our dry hop concoction, we decided on the NZ Southern Cross hop. I’d used this back in the UK in a collaboration brew with Dark Star Brewery called ThornStar in which we took their American Pale Ale recipe and twisted it around, using solely NZ instead of US hops and then playing around with the grain bill to change its colour from pale to black (but in doing so, trying to impart as little dark malt flavour as possible). Luke had also had some experience with this in a collaboration brew with Dogfish Head in the UK called Portamarillo, but we were both curious to see how the lemon and spice character would come through and whether the low cohumulone content would soften out the bitterness.

Crazy looking hop growing at Mike's Organic Brewery in Taranaki

Hops sorted, we sat back and thought about what malts we could use that would help us define what NZ craft beer is about. With a style in mind and some impressive beers tasted throughout our travels that had been using some local malt, we thought that using some Canterbury-grown Gladfield ale malt would be a great idea. Talking to brewers that have been using Gladfield malt for a few years, it was evident that the maltsters had gone from small scale with the odd inconsistency that can come about from this, through to a much higher quality, consistent malt. Some of the lagers and ales we tried had fantastic malt characters to them, making the choice to use some NZ malt an easy one. We also wanted something that would reflect on the number of British brewers that are resident in NZ and making some amazing beers. Martin from the Twisted Hop, Martin from Townshend Brewery, Matt from Monkey Wizard and those who spoke of the huge influence the British brewing scene had on their choice to get into brewing – Carl from Tuatara, Keith from Galbraith’s, Chris from Rooster’s, Dave from West Coast Brewing, Richard from Emerson’s*, Ralph from Three Boys. You get the picture. So we also chose some Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter Pale Ale malt, grown in East Anglia and floor malted in North Yorkshire. It just seemed right to give this nod to the country that is responsible for so much diversity in our brewing.

As for the brew day and the beer itself… will fill you in tomorrow!

*Unfortunately the guys were a bit busy for us to get there and film them. Love their beers!

From the 'Naki to the 'Tron

A huge feed of local bacon, eggs from the chickens outside, black pudding and sausages under our belts (thanks, Mum and Dad!), we were on the road again. We headed north of New Plymouth until we saw the tell-tale sign… "Brewery, 200 litres ahead". We arrived at the picturesque grounds of Mike's Organic Brewery (on the White Cliffs Estate) and were met by Ron Trigg, brimming with enthusiasm and energy as he began talking us through the brewery and beers.

Ron and his parents (including father , Mike… aptly named) took over the brewery almost four years ago. The family is originally from Zimbabwe and moved to New Zealand for a better life for themselves. They chose Taranaki as their new home and went about setting up an organic farm close to the brewery. When it came up for sale, they jumped at the chance of taking on the now 21 year old business, taking the organic philosophy to another level and broadening the range of beers. With a beautifully refurbished ex-school hall as their new brewery shop, an avocado orchard framing the site and extensions to the brewery itself, including more vessels and equipment, Mike's has seen a big increase in sales due to the hard work the family have put in.

We head to the shop to taste a few of the beers and notice the great 10 litre keg dispense units that are lined up on the bar. Sourced from Germany, these really look great, kind of espresso machine-like in appearance, with the Mike's fantastic new branding in a light-up display on the front, these wouldn't look out of place in any nice bar or restaurant. The great thing about the units is their ease of use. You get the keg, you put it into the machine and the unit controls temperature. You don't even need to clean any beer lines, as they all come with a one-use disposable dispense system that is replaced every time a new keg is put on. This means you have a closed system that keeps the beer in perfect condition (the gas unit doesn't even put any extra head-space pressure in the beer in the keg, hence carbonation is accurately controlled).

As if to prove the machines are worth their weight in gold, we go through the line-up, beginning with the impressive Strawberry Blonde. Made with fresh organic strawberries, this is unlike some of the sweet fruit beers you often find. It pours pale, with the faintest hint of pink, an almost Rosé wine strawberry note on the nose. Expecting sweetness, this spritzy beer is the opposite in the mouth. Delicate, refreshing and palate-cleansing, it has the berry perfume without the sweetness, finishing dry and remarkably crisp. This is a real gateway beer. White and Rosé wine lovers and mainstream lager drinkers and those that don't appreciate the subtle nuances that a delicate craft beer can have should try this, it's great.

We then tried the Organic Lager. This is another gateway beer, appealing to those stoke on the bland stuff for most of their lives, but lifting it up a notch. It's well executed with juicy malt characters and the faintest touch of light citrus and fresh-cut grass from the hops. It finishes smooth and goes down too easily. Another great beer served at the perfect temperature and carbonation and as fresh as can be. The Organic Pilsener is up next. The aroma blows us away, big aromatic hops, wonderful body and a persistent mouth-filling bitterness put this Pilsener up there with some of the best we have tried on the trip. The past four years have seen these guys working hard and this beer sums that up. Ron looks on like the proud father he deserves to be. A lovely drop.

We try the brewery's most famous drop next. Mike's Organic Ale is a bit of an institution and even appeared in Michael Jackson's (the Beer Hunter, not the pop star) book as a rare example of an antipodean mild. It has a nice maltiness on the nose, is smooth and flavourful with undertones of rich toffee and roasted malt in the mouth and finishes slightly nutty and dry. It's how I like a brown beer to taste. It's how a brown beer should taste. And the best thing is… it has hops. They dance around the nostrils as you sniff the glass and follow through with the faintest hint of berry and citrus in the mouth. This is a great beer and is as good, if not better as I remember it tasting many moons ago.

As we entered the building, we couldn't help but spot the myriad of ex-whisky barrels lined up on the porch, filled with porter and slowly ageing away. Mike's Whisky Porter deserves the People's Choice award it got at last year's BrewNZ competition. It is rich and chocolaty, with lovely wisps of whisky and oak. It drinks like a rich, decadent, fruity port with an underlying Sherry character, heading towards Amontillado. It is a beer to drink when it's cool and you want something hearty, but equally when it's hot as hell and you have chilled it down in an ice bucket. We also try the big, hoppy, rich India Pale Ale. The big bottle looks the part. These are both beers to be savoured and talked about. The hops in the IPA leap from the glass, their American citrus and pine and fruit influence flooding the senses. 

Mike's have done good!

We reluctantly leave, knowing we could stand around and chat beer and brewing and flavours with Ron until the wee hours. Hamilton beckons and we head northwards towards Shunters Yard Brewery on the outskirts of the 'Tron. Set up by avid homebrewers, Peter Mckenzie and his mate, Dave, this brewery smacks of the type of thing that we love to see. Peter is a mechanical engineer and Dave has spent the majority of his life working in the food/dairy industry so these two are a match made in heaven when it comes to the brewery and the processes. From air conditioning units modified and fitted to heat exchangers to act as cold liquor cooling, through to stainless steel ion exchange chambers modified and used as brewing vessels, they have managed to make an extremely efficient, energy conscious brewery at a minimal cost. They have a couple of old railway carriages outside on a pair of tracks and the quirky bar has a great old-world feel. It's a great mix of country and industrial excellence. Pete and Dave chat away like excited schoolkids. It's so obvious that they love their weekend hobby and the fact that they both hold full-time jobs and are able to produce 600 odd litres of beer a week make it all the more impressive.

We head outside into a stinking hot Waikato day and stand around perhaps the only wedge-wire table I know of. The guys give us a glass of their Number 7 Pilsener. Naturally carbonated, this is the closest to a European style Pilsner we have tried on the trip. The hop is more grassy and tends toward noble character than the NZ Pilsner style brews we have tried. The malt is dominant in the mouth with a hint of breadiness and a big, bold Czech-style bitterness that coats the mouth and brings instant refreshment. The light carbonation helps a lot. This is drinkable and delicious. It quenches perfectly.

Their dark beer, Midnight Special is up next. It has the same drinkability with dusty, roasted malt characters and a nice dry finish. The mouthfeel maintains smoothness and it's impressive to see these two doing such good things with their beers. We really hope to see more from these two innovative, enthusiastic brewers!

Our last stop of the trip is to the impressive House on Hood in Hamilton. A large house, it's grey visage dominates the street, but is open and inviting at the same time, with people sitting outside enjoying the craft beers on offer on the large tabled balcony. We catch up with Greig Mcgill from SOBA (The Society of Beer Advocates) and discuss what they are about over a delicious glass of Invercargill Brewery's Pitch Black. SOBA is all about "Beer for the right reasons". They are advocates for the promotion of the flavour and diversity that beer offers and are big at promoting all that beer offers while protecting the rights of the consumer. They are also available as an educative tool and a beer resource, helping out wherever they can with beer tastings, beer events. food and beer menus and sourcing beers for pubs and bars that are interested.

Greig loves beer. It's so obvious when he talks and tells us of his story and journey from mainstream beers to the appreciation he now has. It began with homebrewing and a solid friendship with James Kemp, ex NZ Homebrew Champ/Thornbridge Brewer/All Round Beer Ninja and ex-workmate of yours truly. From small seeds and all that, but Greig is now up there as one of the authorities on New Zealand beer and is a huge supporter of the burgeoning craft beer scene that Hamilton has. Good on ya, Greig!

Our last meeting of the day is with brewing consultant and stalwart of the New Zealand craft brewing scene, Graeme Mahy. Graeme has been involved in craft brewing for years and given a truckload of his spare time to helping out breweries and guiding them with the knowledge he has acquired from his time brewing in prestigious breweries throughout NZ and Australia. Another guy whose love of beer is evident, he tells us excitedly about potential future plans for a brewery in the area. We know of his love of big, Belgian style beers, so can't wait to see what magic he manages from the mash tun.

With both the film crew and ourselves waning after an epic 2000km in five days, we decide to forgo a night in Hamilton for a sleep in our own beds up in Auckland. We hit the road, put the last one hundred or so kilometres behind us and head home. It's been a trip and we still have the Auckland and Northland breweries to come!

Through the land of the Hurricanes*

As seems to be the case when you make a decision to drive 2000 kilometers (1242 miles) in 5 days, we found ourselves up bright and early for an interview with journalist Hadyn Green who was interested in the technology angle of NZ Craft Beer TV, our use of social media and the format that we were looking at for the show. We chatted and sipped juice and enjoyed our bacon and avocado rolls before heading off to Hashigo Zake to do a couple of interviews.

Wellington, the unofficial Craft Beer capital of New Zealand seems to have more and more bars that have a craft beer range popping up here and there. With less than two years under its belt, the Japanese themed Cult Beer Bar was launched by Dominic Kelly in response to his passion for craft beer. Having lived in Japan and enjoyed all that the vibrant East Asian craft beer scene has to offer, he saw an opening in Wellington with regard to the obvious love the capital city dwellers have for their great beer. He set up Hashigo Zake, which means "liquor ladder" and is a colloquial term for bar-hopping and the rest, as they say, is history.

The bar itself is impressive, set underground with Japanese prints, imagery and styling and the beer range is fantastic with a bunch from Japan's Baird's Brewing, a great range of New Zealand craft keg beers and a couple of hand-pumps for the pulling of traditional-style ales. The fridges also contain an impressive collection of foreign craft beer. From Mikeller through to Flying Dog, Rogue, Green Flash and Beer Republic, they know their bar and have even helped put a bunch of other bars by importing a refrigerated container of craft kegs from abroad and spreading the beery love.

We chatted a bit about the state of the industry and shared the common dream where every New Zealand city would develop a culture such as this. Nelson, Christchurch and Hamilton were following suit… here's hoping other cities would to!

Stu McKinlay, one half of the impressive Yeastie Boys, rocked up with his turquoise trousers and t-shirt combo. Labelled New Zealand's first ultra cool, post-modern brewers of leftfield ales. Stu and the other half of the creative partnership, Sam Possenniskie formed the brewery after years of home brewing and beer tasting. They wanted to brew without style guidelines holding them back and Stu passionately tells us of his inspirations. Being a big muso, he tells how music inspires him to brew. When he listens to certain songs, they remind him of flavors and aromas and he goes about creating the beer on the back of this in his 50 litre setup at home. Once pleased with the recipe, it is then brewed down at Invercargill Brewing and the kegs, casks and bottles of the brew make it nationwide.

It's evident how much Stu loves beer. He talks animatedly about the beers as we taste them and we discuss the flavors and aromas and brewing techniques like old friends. Something I notice and have noticed throughout our travels is the advantage that home brewers often have over those that have trained in-house at a large brewery. The home brewers have had years of practice with different yeasts and malts and hops. They have been able to experiment on a small scale and taste the subtle differences that a slight change makes to their beers. They have the ability to coax characters from ingredients and processes through familiarity. Stu shows these skills in the beer we taste.

We crack into Europa and Rapture. The first a Kolsch-style ale and the second the exact same recipe but brewed with a Belgian yeast. Served on handpull, the temperature is perfect and it pushes the hops out of Europa. But the different yeast in Rapture has held the hops back and the estery, spicy nature of the yeast has come to the forefront. Refreshing and animated, a fascinating insight into the nature of yeast and the effect they can have on beer. We then try the beautifully bottled His Majesty 2010 and Her Majesty 2010. Stu changes these beers for each vintage based on his inspiration of the moment. The 2010 His Majesty touts Belgian complexity on the nose with hints of fruit cake, then comes through with hints of light caramel and luscious hop character, integrated into a smooth, lightly carbonated character. This beer drips with complexity. Stu mentions that the Majesty range seem to be best drunk within 6 months. I would still love to lay one of these babies down for a couple of years though.

Her Majesty 2010 moves away from the hops and heads into the land of yeast and malt. A waft of Belgian yeast character, all spicy and alluring balances in with a banana-caramel note. Spice, velvety fruitcake and sweet malt, it hints at a rich, creamy porter and a Belgian Dubbel at the same time. A mishmash of flavours and styles, this is a perfect example as to why this should be done more often!

Wellington complete, we headed north towards Waikanae to check out Tuatara Brewery in Reikorangi. Tuatara are an impressive setup. Head Brewer Carl Vasta and wife Simone set up a 1200 litre brewery on their farm after Carl had stints as brewer for the Parrot & Jigger and Polar Brewing as well as acting as a brewery consultant. Ten years later, Tuatara is growing at an amazing rate. 2007 saw the installation of a German designed brewhouse and 2010 will see their capacity increased, enabling them to brew up to 10 000 litters per day.

Carl came into brewing as a trained electrician and built the first brewery by hand. A massive help to a working brewery, his practical skills have obviously been put to use, with tanks squeezed in to every available space in the buildings and a bottling line tucked into the old coolstore. Tuatara's new brewer, Mike Neilson is also as passionate as his boss. Mike came into brewing an extremely talented home brewer. He won 5 medals in the first NZ Homebrew Championships he entered and he has that gleam in his eye that brewers seem to have. It's evident that he is helping Tuatara push the boundaries with regard to the quality of their beer and production potential.

We sat in front of Carl's house in the brilliant sunshine with Mike, Carl and Tuatara director, Sean Murrie and cracked their Pilsener. This is one hell of a beer. A beautiful balance of malt and hop, a bold, assertive, persistent mouth bitterness that jolted the tastebuds from their peaceful slumber. A drinkability that wowed me. This beer was superbly crafted, the malt used added body and richness and the NZ hops came through with hints of grass and flowers. This was perfectly executed and the ultimate beer to sup in the heat. We then had their new APA. Originally a seasonal release but due to popularity, likely to be seen a bit more often, this 5.8% Pale Ale is a hop bomb! An ode to the American-style Pale Ales, this makes the most of the resinous, citrus intensity of US hops. They literally jump out of the bottle and into your nose. The mouth fills with grapefruit, pine and tropical fruit character, the malty body balances out the big bitterness and to put it bluntly, this beer rocks! It's great that Tuatara have such awesome market penetration as this allows beers like this to get out there to customers that might not have tasted them before. I really look forward to seeing more Tuatara beers out there in the future!

We headed up the West coast towards perhaps the mightiest province of them all, Taranaki (a little writer parochial bias there, perhaps?). Time wasn't on our side and we arrived close to 8pm to catch up with home brewer extraordinaire, Joseph Wood. Jo and his wife, Christina run Liberty Brewing, an online homebrew supply service that has seen great success through providing high quality raw materials to avid brewers around the country. Jo is as passionate as hell, even if he can be a little self deprecating about his beers. To put it bluntly, the series of Belgian-style Tripels, Imperial Stouts, barrel-aged Flemish sour beers, Double IPAs, Witbiers and his latest Summer Ale were all either world class or bordering on world class. This guy can brew and every new bottle he pulled out wowed us more. 

The good thing is that Jo has just built and installed his own 200 litre system in his garage, and is selling his beers through Hashigo Zake in Wellington and Hallertau Brewbar in Riverhead in Auckland. I urge you to go and try them, they're amazing.

Jo cooked up a feed of fresh Paua (abalone) he had gone snorkeling for and we chatted away until late in the night. It was then off to park the camper at my Mum and Dad's and another day was over!

*Hurricanes makes reference to the Wellington Hurricanes, a Super Rugby team made up of players from (amongst other provinces) Wellington, Horowhenua-Kapiti and Taranaki

Hawkes Bay to Wellington

The long and winding road head southwards to more wine country. This time it was the Hawkes Bay that beckoned, with its Art Deco and golden sands and fields resembling fruit bowls, bulging with cherries, nectarines and apples ready to pick. It's not just wine that 'The Bay' is known for though, we were here to check out a couple of iconic breweries.

We woke to a crisp morning and headed to our first port of call, Hawkes Bay Independent Brewery (HBIB). We were met by General Manager, Greg Forest and he enthusiastically talked us through the history of the brewery. It had begun with a bunch of mates getting together. Disillusioned with the stranglehold the brewing duopoly had on the country, they decided to build their own brewery, which originally focused solely on draught (keg and tanker) beer. The brewery continued to grow and they had an opportunity to move sites. The close-by Ballydooley cidery, which took advantage of the glut of great local apples and produced (and still does) top quality ciders had potential to be extended. HBIB approached them, eventually got incorporated into the site and has just recently acquired the cidery.

The great thing about HBIB is that it has a great bar/tasting room (The Filter Room) right next to it that is also used for functions. They have the full range of their beers on tap, along with ciders, a ginger beer and sparkling apple juice. You can order a tasting tray, sit back in the Hawkes Bay sunshine and know that what you're drinking is made a stone's throw away. With that in mind, we popped in to the brewery itself to meet brewer, Howie Parkinson. Howie has been in the industry for 21 years, with the last six spent toiling away making great beers at HBIB. It's obvious he loves what he does. Nothing is too much trouble and he talks passionately about the brews and the recipes and the process. He jumps away to check the sparge and the first runnings of the wort, then bounces back full of enthusiasm. It's great to see.

We taste a few of the beers with Howie. The Pilsner is crisp and bitter and again shows why the NZ Pilsner style is so popular. It has hints of floral and citrus and the characteristic NZ Saaz nose that we are becoming accustomed to. It's well balanced with a little biscuity malt and if it hadn't been 8.30 in the morning, I would have easily finished the glass. We then tried the Amber Ale. This was more malt-led. It wasn't in your face, but a subtle push of light toffee and dried fruit. It was also generously hopped with more floral and berry hop notes floating around the top of the glass. The finish was dry and slightly roasty. Another quality beer. 

Howie gave us a taste of the ginger and honey infused Summer Ale, a popular beer in the warmer months with a little sweetness and big, perfumed notes. It was the Black Duck Porter though that stole the show for me. I have had this beer before and was really impressed with it. It was still brilliant. A hint of smoke and chocolate on the nose, a lovely, rich full body and smooth aftertaste. Fantastic. Howie explained that they also do a series of beers called 'From The Wood' that they only showcase at The Filter Room next door in small quantities. A few weeks earlier I had tried an impressive wheat beer there and this time they had a big, strong, heavily hopped IPA on tap. This was something fun for the brewers to play around with and get customer feedback on. A great innovation!

We headed towards Hastings and Rooster's Brewery. We were met by owner, Chris Harrison and head brewer, Darryl Tong. Chris set up Rooster's after a career in winemaking. He wanted a country English-style pub for the workers in the area and went about building the large, barn-like building and putting the brewery in. As time has gone on, Rooster's has almost doubled the number of taps they have, including the classic British handfuls on their bar. They also do a small lunch trade and the rustic feel to the place is very charming and welcoming. The enclosed courtyard outside is sheltered and perfect for wasting the hours away with conversation and great beer.

The beer is exactly that! Head brewer, Darryl has an impressive brewing pedigree, having worked for Kea Breweries Limburg Brewing Co. prior to Rooster's. He's really energetic, friendly, enthusiastic and as keen as hell when it comes to making and talking beer and this is reflected in his brews. We talk about the NZ malt he uses, which he raves about and have a look around the brew-kit. We head back towards the bar to taste a couple of beers. The Draught had a good hop presence and great drinkability and the German-style Lager showed some great NZ hop characteristics coupled with a rich, malty character. The Pale Ale delivered yet again on the hoppy front and the hand-pulled Irish Red Ale was as good as any I had tried in the UK - big, caramel character, a tight, creamy head and a lovely orange sherbet hop character.

We finished up with the Haymaker. This was an amazingly balanced strong lager. At 7%, this is one they only sell in flagons to be consumed in the (car-free) safety of your own home. After a sip, I can see why! This drinks like a 5% beer. It's clean, crisp, the alcohol is completely masked and the finish oozes drinkability. Darryl can definitely brew! We chat more to Chris and learn that he also runs a full time winery, Beach House. Chris is as passionate about wine as he is about beer and we chat about flavors and the effect of different types of oak on wine and beer characteristics. These are two guys that are great fun to chat to about what we love and we could have spent hours there! Darryl had filtering to do and we urgently needed to head south, so we reluctantly hit the road to continue the adventure.

The next stop was to see Rhys Morgan, who runs Peak Brewery just outside of Carterton. Rhys spent a considerable time living in both Scotland and Germany and it was in these places that he absorbed the beer and brewing culture. As someone who loves homebrewing, wine and mead making, it is obvious why he took the leap and went into commercial production. As well as the brewery, he also plays around with fruit wines and is growing his own grapes. He keeps himself busy! His beer range is named after a series of mountain ranges and peaks in the countries where his beer style originates. We began with the Alb Weisse, a clovey, banana-ester filled hefeweizen with a hint of wheat sourness and moved on to the Drachenfels Lager, a solid interpretation of the German style on which it was based. Cornhill Porter, named after the highest hill in London was next with a tingly carbonation pushing out lots of smooth, roasty notes.

We moved on to the Monkey Point IPA which Rhys had aged in an ex-Pinot Noir barrel. He served this through a hand-pull and the result was a complex mixture of slightly tart, oaky character, hoppy bitterness and solid malt. We chatted about the success of his bottle beers at the local beer market, with locals giving him a lot of support. It's great to hear stories like this and I'll always applaud communities who get behind local producers. We all need to do a lot more of this!

We were running behind schedule and needed to get over the Rimutaka Ranges to interview the guys at Malthouse as well as leading beer writer, Neil Miller and the man behind nzbeerblog.com, Martin Craig. We said our farewells and were on the road, yet again!

For those who don't know, The Malthouse is a craft beer institution in Wellington. Originally on Willis Street, Sean Murrie realized there was a lack of craft beer in the capital and went about supplying locals with something different. He became a big outlet for Gisborne Gold, Mike's Mild Ale and the Pink Elephant range of beers back in day and from there the craft range just kept growing. Sean had a plan to open up a little brewpub with one of the large NZ breweries, but when this fell through and he became increasingly frustrated with the quality of some of the beers he was receiving, another idea was born. As well as The Malthouse, he was a founder of Tuatara Brewery.

The Malthouse moved to Courtenay Place a few years back and has gone from success to success (under the watchful, passionate eye of manager, Colin "The Handsome Scotsman" Mallon, bringing great craft beer, not just from New Zealand but from across the globe to keen and interested beer drinkers. It's something Wellington should be proud of! We met up with Neil Miller, freelance journalist, beer writer and beer educator and talked about the state of the craft beer industry, Neil's beer epiphany (when he moved away from being a staunch mainstream beer brand supporter to finally understanding great beer) and the Wellington beer tours and beer events that Neil organizes. He lives and breathes beer and is self-deprecating in his knowledge. He tells us that he just wants to let people know what's out there and explains what a lot of us already know… give someone a taste of great beer and they will be a convert. The toughest part is getting people to give it a go!

We finally have a chat to the animated and enthusiastic Martin Craig of nzbeerblog.com. A retail analyst and writer by day, he has been captivated by his love of beer and with an experts eye, follows what is going on in the NZ beer scene, giving a thoughtful insight into what is happening. We chat craft beer, have a few laughs and finally call it a night. Well, I say we call it a night… there was Epic Armageddon IPA and Tuatara APA on tap and we were all pretty thirsty! Hops beckoned!!!

We Head East

The day broke, slightly sulphurous (we were in Rotorua after all) and we got the camper van cranking and headed towards Kawerau, the home of Aotearoa Breweries. The small shop frontage was somewhat deceiving and we walked in to find a small sales counter and glass bottle fridge in front of a row of gleaming stainless steel fermenters, glycol piping and a brewhouse at the back. The former butchers had been converted to a fantastic little brewery with the large cool store space utilized for stock and conditioning and bright beer tanks. The brain child of head brewer Tammy Viitakangas and partner Jaysen Magan along with Tammy's parents, Jouni and Gloria, the brewery produce the fantastic range of Mata beers. 

The first thing I noticed about the range was the striking packaging. These guys have thought long and hard about how their beer should look. As important as what's inside the bottle is, I think that it's pretty important to make the beer look as cool as possible. The Mata team have rocked this… striking black and yellow lettering, a simple, easy to pronounce word and a fantastic 4-pack box made me want to buy the beer without knowing anything about it. A win for sure.

We met head brewer Tammy and her father Jouni (originally from Finland) and began chatting about the brewery and the beers. Tammy had studied a Technology degree majoring in Bioprocess Engineering and had previously worked in the food industry before her and partner Jaysen decided that they wanted to open a brewery. Tammy began perfecting her home brewing technique before they leapt at the chance of buying a second hand brewery and beginning the challenge of running one. Tammy traveled around to a bunch of breweries and obviously asked the right questions and picked up bits and pieces of information before they put the brewery together, five or so years ago. They did it all themselves and self-taught along the way - from the brewery installation and commissioning, right through to brewing technique. An impressive feat.

The great thing about the Mata range is that Tammy really wanted to capture the essence of New Zealand. Something we've heard a lot along our Craft Beer TV route and something that New Zealand brewers should be proud of. From the artesian water that they tanker from down the road to use in the brewing process, through to the quality ingredients, everything is sourced from as close to home as possible and they even reflect other uniquely New Zealand flavours in their brews. We kick off the tasting with a lager brewed with Manuka Honey. It's gentle and delicate and subtly floral. Tammy insists on keeping this beer light on hop and big malt flavor to allow the expensive and delicate honey characters to float around on the nose and the tongue. A difficult thing to do, but one she has perfected over multiple brews.

We then try the Artesian lager. A bit more hop forward this time, with a hint of dryness and bitterness and massive drinkability. We then move on to another uniquely New Zealand brew, the Mata Feijoa. Tammy sources her Feijoa fruit from a local fruit winery and has experimented a lot to get the flavor from this intensely perfumed fruit just right. Feijoa is really challenging to brew with. Not only does it have a massive perfume and sweetness, the skins also provide a tart, sour character and through multiple trials, Tammy has got the balance between Feijoa intensity, tartness and the character of the beer itself just right, resulting in something with great drinkability and just the lightest fruit character coming through.

With last years BrewNZ, the theme for a speciality beer was "Go Native" and with the Mata Taniwha, the team went all out. A traditional NZ Maori form of cooking is the Hangi, in which a fire is built, usually with Manuka branches and large river stones are heated in the embers. The fire itself is set in a pre-dug pit and the rocks retain the heat, effectively turning the earth into an oven. Prepared vegetables, meat and fish are wrapped, placed in baskets and lowered into the pit, then covered with wet sacks and finally with earth and the Hangi begins cooking/steaming. After a few hours, the dirt and sacks are removed and you have an amazingly smokey, earthy and moist character to all the food. It's awesome. 

What Tammy decided to do was actually put the malt for the beer into the Hangi pit, along with a bunch of diced Kumara (NZ Sweet Potato) and potato. This was then used to brew an incredible 7.3% Hangi-infused Reserve Ale. Luscious and smooth with the faintest trace of earthy smoke, this velvety beer is full of soft, dark maltiness and a lovely caramelized character. A well deserved Gold Medal winning beer and testament to the inventiveness of the Mata range.

We checked out their cool bottling facility, walking past fragrant bags of lemons and tangelos that were to be used in their wheat beer (Blondie), before finally tasting Brown Boy, a gorgeous Amber ale with hints of light coffee routines and a delicate spiced warmth from the use of the native tree, Horopito. Great beers, but it was time for us to hit the road again and head to Gisborne to check out the world's most easterly beer producer, Sunshine Brewery.

The long, winding road was slow going in the camper, but we finally made it, passing numerous vineyards and orchards on the way. Amazing forest scenery, winding rivers, it was an amazing drive. We were met at Sunshine by brewery founder, Gerry Maude who told us of the brewery history. One of New Zealand's longest running craft breweries (established back in 1989), their flagship lager, Gisborne Gold lead the way and had some great market share in centres such as Wellington, especially back in the 90s. The beer is a great example of a New Zealand lager, with lovely floral hop notes on the nose and a lovely, persistent bitterness, something that lacks in many of it's mainstream counterparts. This beer has an almost cult status among craft beer drinkers that were sick of the mainstream and after a taste, I can see why. 

We had a quick taste of the slightly more bitter, dry Gisborne Green, their Pilsner, followed by the more malty Reserve, which had great hints of toffee and hop and finally the impressive Black Magic Stout. At 4.5%, this punched well above its weight in flavor and character. A brilliant example.

We chatted about the challenges that the larger breweries posed for craft brewers and the hope that local people continue to get behind their local producers. As we talked a constant stream of regulars came through the door. Filling flagons and riggers with beer, buying dozen boxes and bottles from the fridges, sharing jokes with Gerry and the other workers, who had just finished a bottling run of Gisborne Gold. It seems to me that this brewery is well named. It's a bit of sunshine for a lot of people who love the beer and really appreciate what the brewery is trying to do. Bring something great to this part of the world. This was the first time I've ever visited Gisborne. I'll definitely be back for a couple of flagons of Gisborne Gold…