We were looking through the list for this weekend’s Santa’s Secret Stash event, and were excited to see a familiar label in amongst the rarities. Yep, Blenheim’s own featured in a multi-bar fest with a huge range of interesting and big beers.Go Søren!
It will be a great warm up to next week’s Strong Ale Fest – over 70 beers, none under 8.5%.
The Nelson Craft Brewing Capital group is celebrating a successful first year. It has been so good, in fact, that they have run out of their free Nelson Craft Beer Trail maps. First printed in time for Beervana in August last year, the 25,000 copies have all been snapped up. Emma McCashin of the McCashins Family Brewery and Stoke Beer, one of the core members, isn’t surprised. “I had originally suggested printing 50,000 but some in the group thought that was too ambitious for a first run,” she said.
The all-volunteer committee has been pleased with the results, especially since it was produced on a minimal budget. Andrew Cole of the Moutere Inn pointed out, “We are working with small businesses in a recession so we have to be very conscious of costs.” “We have gotten lots of feedback from the brewers about how professionally produced the brochures are, and visitors like that every brewery is included,” says committee chairman Doug Donelan of New Zealand Hops, Ltd.
In addition to producing the maps, the group has plenty to celebrate. Highlights for the year include:
The group is working to ensure an updated brochure is ready for Beervana this August, and starting to look toward promotion and events for the upcoming year. Rose Griffin of the Gentle Cycling Company points out the opportunities for co-promotion, such as the launch events for the Nelson Tasman Great Taste Cycle Trail. “Cycling and beer are a natural fit,” she says.
You can bet they will print more than 25,000 maps this year.
Beervana ia teaming up with Black Rock Malt for a homebrew competition during the 2012 event.
The Competition is a chance for aspiring brewers to have their brews judged by Black Rock Master Brewer Kirsten Taylor, Taranaki brewing guru Joseph Wood from Liberty Brewing, and beer aficionados and home-brew advocates Simon Morton and Richard Scott from Radio New Zealand’s ‘This Way Up’ programme.
The finalists and winners will be announced at 9pm on Friday 17 August at
Beervana Session 2. Every entrant will have an opportunity to talk to the judges
after the winners are announced.
The winner will take home a GA double-pass to Beervana 2013, three 6-pack cases
of malt extract of their choice from Black Rock, $200 voucher for Martin
Bosley’s restaurant, and a year subscription to Dish magazine. The runners-up
will win a GA double-pass to Beervana 2013 and one 6-pack case of malt extract
of their choice from Black Rock.
More information is available at the Beeervana website
Christchurch’s The Twisted Hop has released a new pale ale named after the brewery’s new equipment: Hop Back. Coming in at 50 IBU and 5.8% ABV, they describe it as having “intense tropical fruit aromas, rich chewy malt, balanced with a refreshing bitter finish.” Expect it to start appearing around the country in kegs and bottles.
In case anyone missed it, the AIBA (Australian International Beer Awards) proved successful for Kiwi Brewers. Full results are available here.
There were great beers on offer at the Moutere Inn in 2011.
The Moutere Inn has announced the line up for their annual Dark Side Showcase on July 5. With West Coast Brewery in Liquidation, the Belgian Stout may be making its last appearance.
Real Ale
1 Townshend Porter
2 Cassels and Sons Milk Stout
Kegged Product
1 8Wired i Stout
2 West Coast Brewery Belgian Stout
3 Resolute Zaragosa Stout
4 Rain Dog Porter
5 3 Boys Oyster Stout
6 Golden Ticket Black Emperor