Yeastie Boys: Journal Entry

Stu of Yeastie Boys

From the NZ Craft Beer Journal entry, 20/2/11:

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!

Yeastie Boys: About

From the Yeastie Boys' website:

Yeastie Boys is the brewing brainchild of local brewer Stu McKinlay and New Zealand's most notorious beer hunter Sam "The Grandmaster" Possenniskie. In the name of research these two beer lovers have spent their informative years immersed within the secretive inner sanctum of the brewing world, tasting more than 2,000 different beers, in 70-plus different styles, from over 50 countries. Yeastie Boys are now unleashing this research with series of seasonal beers unlike anything else the New Zealand beer drinking public have tasted before.

Yeastie Boys' Range of Beers:

Pot Kettle Black - Pot Kettle Black is our multi-award winning 'Black IPA' (that some call a 'Hoppy Porter'). The different names convey the fact that this beer is a contradiction of styles: fresh and hoppy, yet dark and rich. Most importantly it is mindbendingly delicious and a complete original. Like all Yeastie Boys beer is is painstakingly crafted by people who love beer., then conditioned to optimum ripeness, before making its way into a bottle and then to your hands. Now take the next step and enjoy with thoughtful consideration.

Hud-a-wa' Strong - From a lineage of cryptic beer names ... Hud-a-wa' is Scots for "hold the wall" and was the nickname of one of our great-great-grandfathers. he was a strong fella who once held up a wall while his workmates escaped fro a collapsing mine. He'd have approved of this strong amber ale: rich and restorative, yet with enough hop to keep you wanting more. As hud-a-wa' would have said: "Here's tae us, wha's like us, damn few, and they're a' deid... mairs the pity!"

Rex Attitude - They said it couldn't be done, that it would be undrinkable, that we couldn't use more than 5% heavy peated malt in a beer. So we carefully considered their advice and went with 100% instead. Rex Attitude is inspired by French techno and the whisky of Scotland's west coast. like the 'Auld Alliance' it combines a little Scottish rogue with a dose of French 'je ne sais quoi'. It is, as far as we know, the world's first beer made from 100% heavy peated distilling malt.

His Majesty - His Majesty 2009 celebrates our 1st Anniversary. is year's model could be called a new world IPA but it doesn't quite toe the line. It was designed and tested by the Yeastie Boys in Wellington and then commercially brewed, conditioned to optimum ripeness, and boled at Invercargill Brewery (8 Wood St, Invercargill). It uses free range Southland water, imported malts from David Cryer Ltd, 100% NZ hops and a special ale yeast.

Her Majesty - Her Majesty 2010 is the second part of our 1st Anniversary. Some might call this a Dubbel Bruin or a Belgian Dark Strong Ale but it really just is what it is. It was designed and tested by the Yeastie Boys in Wellington and then commercially brewed, conditioned to optimum ripeness, and boled at Invercargill Brewery (8 Wood St, Invercargill). It uses free range Southland water, imported malts from David Cryer Ltd, 100% NZ hops and a special Belgian ale yeast.