Yeastie Boys: Journal Entry
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 12:09PM 
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!
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