If you follow beer on social media and you aren’t in Australia, you are probably feeling a bit of FOMO about GABS and Good Beer Week. It is surely the biggest thing on the beer calendar right now, but it’s not the only thing!
Here are some upcoming Nelson and New Zealand options that will give you plenty of festiveness for your beer buck.
Meet The Brewer at Bel-Aire Tavern
To help us all fight the Mondays throughout winter, Bel-Aire Tavern in Tahunanui hosts a monthly Meet the Brewer session. These are friendly, casual, free tastings where you get to find out about the beers from the people who make them.
First up this winter is Totara Brewing, New Zealand’s only hop farm brewery, “so you can expect the evening will be heavily loaded towards discussing our local hops.”
Event Details
Time: Monday 25 May 2015, 7:30 pm
Place: Bel-Aire Tavern, Tahunanui
Tickets: No need for tickets, but do sign up for the newsletter or like the Facebook page to be notified of upcoming sessions.
Mussel Inn Beer Tasting Competition
Fancy yourself a bit of a beer nerd? Then the Mussel Inn Beer Tasting Competition is a fun way to test your skills. All you have to do is correctly identify 12 Mussel Inn beers in a blind tasting. Surely you know your Captain Cooker from your Dark Horse? The trick is in the competitors, veterans from the past 8 or so comps and professionals like Martin Townshend. Still it’s worth a shot…
Event Details
Time: Sunday 14th June 2015, 1.30pm
Place: The Mussel Inn, Onekaka, Golden Bay
Tickets: $20, includes tastings. Available from http://www.musselinn.co.nz/great_mussel_inn_beer_tasting_co.htm
SOBA Winter Ales Festival in Wellington
SOBA president Dave Wood is excited that with a month to go, half the tickets have already sold for the 6th Winter Ales Festival. Steven Wells of Beer Without Borders says he has lined up around 30 beers from at least 18 breweries. He’s especially excited to have acquired sour beers from North End and a special Funk Estate beer made for GABS. This event typically sells out, so don’t wait to buy your tickets.
Event Details
Time: Saturday, 13 June 2015, 2pm – 7pm
Place: Hunter Lounge, Victoria University, Kelburn, Wellington
Tickets: $45, includes a souvenir glass and EIGHT half glass beer tastings and a $5 food voucher. Available from http://www.soba.org.nz/shop/the-2015-soba-winter-ale-festival
SOBA Auckland City of Ales Festival
Also in June is the SOBA Auckland City of Ales Festival. The beer scene has been slow to take off but is finally mushrooming in the country’s fastest growing city, so many new breweries should be available. In it’s 4th year, this fest is also anticipating around 30 beers. Expect a relaxed and intimate feel.
Details
Time: Saturday 27 June 2015, Two sessions: 12pm – 3pm or 4pm – 7pm
Place: The Maritime Room 175 Quay Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland
Tickets: $40, includes souvenir glass, 2 beer tokens & a plate of delicious food. Available from http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2015/city-of-ales-2015/auckland/tickets
Beervana
Beervana has just announced quite a bit of a change up. Originally created by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand, it was sold a few years back to Cryer Malt. It was growing too big for the Guild to manage, but David Cryer didn’t want to let it die. David put his life and soul into growing it into a national event. Now this successful festival has become bigger than Cryer Malt could manage, and so it has been sold again to the Wellington Culinary Events Trust (WCET), the organisation that runs Visa Wellington On a Plate.
The immediate impacts will be a shift in dates to coincide with the first weekend of Wellington On a Plate, and a change in how the beer is bought from breweries. Also, the types of festival bars (pouring stations) will be consolidated somewhat.
Otherwise, attendees shouldn’t expect dramatic changes as David Cryer will be heavily involved in the transition this year. All feedback from past events will be used to make this year better than ever.
Event Details
Time: Friday 14 and Saturday 15 August 2015, 4 sessions, plus special packages
Place: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Tickets: will go on sale from Monday 15 June (Visa pre-sale) Available from http://beervana.co.nz
Fresh Choice Tasting Nights
Even if you are hanging in Nelson all winter, Fresh Choice Richmond will again be bringing the brewers to you. You’ve just missed out on tickets to hear Carl Vasta from Tuatara Brewery in June, but there will be more.
Event Details
Time: varies, typically a Weds evening from 7 – 10pm
Place: Cafe on Oxford, Richmond
Tickets: $30 includes at least 5 beers with matching tasting menu. Sign up to the Wine and Beer Club to be notified http://www.richmondfreshchoice.co.nz/wineclub
Looking for more festivals? Bookmark the Beer Tourist Festivals page and check in periodically.