Wednesday, June 30, 2010

June 24, 2010

Immediately below...
  • On Tap Soon
  • Sour Beer
  • Our Next Two Tastings
  • Meet The Brewer(s)
  • Festivals

On Tap Soon

As predicted last week, Liberty Brewing's Summit Imperial India Pale Ale is en route from Auckland right now. At this point those who you who've read a few of these emails will snigger and take that as meaning that the shipment will arrive on Monday morning. The fact is you might be right, but there remains a good chance that New Zealand's newest big, bold IPA will be on tap by Friday evening.

There are two ways you can know for sure if it's available: one is to religiously monitor our beer list here, the other is to just come on down and see.

Meanwhile we're racing through our one and only keg of Invercargill Brewing's Sa!son. This has proven to be every bit as good as the predictions and on your behalf we'll be encouraging Steve Nelly to start making bigger volumes.

This week sees the arrival of our ration of Dux de Lux's Norwester (subject, as always, to the whims of the distributor and freight company).

And last but not least, the Yeastie Boys' latest love children - Yakima Monster and Motueka Monster - are both back on tap and side by side at the time of writing. Judging by demand last week one or both of them will be finished by Friday.

Sour Beer

We were looking forward to announcing the arrival of another big, exciting beer in Rogue's XS Imperial Porter. To quote the brewery, it's "unfiltered, unrefined, uncompromised". We held our single keg of this back several months to make sure the climate was nice and cold.

Now for better or worse those words "unfiltered, unrefined, uncompromised" have come back to haunt us and the beer has become somewhat sour. This will probably be enough to put most of you off but we also believe there are a few connoisseurs who won't mind at all. So we're going to leave it on tap for tonight at least and invite anyone who wants to to have a taste.

Our Next Two Tastings

For those of you too distracted last week by other news, here are details of our next two beer tastings. Interestingly bookings for the second tasting are racing ahead of the first.

Barley Wines, July 13

We're confident we have the most extensive range of barley wines in New Zealand. In fact we will leave a couple of barley wines out to make room for some related styles - such as a wheat wine and oat wine.

The lineup will include beers from the US, Denmark (more than once, thanks to Mikkel), Japan, England, Scotland and Brazil. The only thing missing is a local example of the style. If anyone knows of a New Zealand barley wine that might be available to us, please let us know.

Imperial Stouts and Porters, August 10

A month should be long enough for everyone to recover from the barley wines, so August will be the turn of Imperial Stouts and Porters. Again we have an extensive range to choose from. And this time there should be one or two local examples.

Note that we aren't completely irresponsible, and to compensate for the extremely high alcohol levels (and expense) of the styles being tasted, portions will be small. But we are confident that the quality, variety and sheer flavour of these tastings will leave you all satisfied. The price for both will be $40. Bookings are now open and the easiest way to reserve your place is to reply to this email.

Meet the Brewer(s)

Our ally and supplier Regional Wines and Spirits are distributors for some of New Zealand's most loved craft breweries. One of their stable is Founders Organic Brewery and they are bringing Matt Duncan of Founders to Wellington and to Hashigo Zake specifically. He will be in the bar on Monday July the 5th, dispensing samples of one of their range and meeting Wellington's most discerning drinkers.

In association with Regional Wines and Spirits we are planning a similar event later in July involving the one and only Richard Emerson. Stay tuned for more information.

Beer Festivals

It's just two days until SOBA's Matariki Winter Ales Festival. Rumour has it that it's almost sold out. We will be there with our contribution, including the only keg in New Zealand of Rogue's John John Dead Guy Ale (Dead Guy finished in whisky barrels). The event will also see the unveiling of our brand new, custom-made and, frankly, very cool portable bar. Go to SOBA's website for more info.

The superbowl of NZ Beer Festivals is Beervana - the main public event within the larger BrewNZ Festival. It takes place on the 27th and 28th of August. We'll be there with a stall, serving beers that we think are extreme even by our standards and, we hope, one or two big surprises. We're also talking to the Brewers Guild about being an outlet for tickets. More info to come.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

June 17, 2010

  • A Golden Era for Hopheads
  • Announcing Two Tastings
  • Meet The Brewer(s)
  • Sport on Telly
  • Matariki Winter Ales Festival

A Golden Era for Hopheads

This winter seems to have seen an explosion in big, hoppy pale ales made for the inner hophead in all of us. A few weeks ago came Mike's Organic Imperial IPA (no longer available on tap but still in bottles).

As promised last week the first kegs of Yeastie Boys' two news beers arrived on Monday, and Yakima Monster went on to the first available tap. It will soon be joined by its sibling Motueka Monster. Both are big, brash, aromatic Pale Ales - the Yakima made with American hops (Nugget, Simcoe and Amarillo) and Motueka with New Zealand ones (Southern Cross, Nelson Sauvin and NZ Cascade).

On Monday the aromas from the Yakima Monster caused one regular customer to have flashbacks to a Nepalese marijuana plantation. But it seems to be changing by the day. In fact the beers are so fresh that as well as being an experiment in contrasting hop flavours, it's a chance to judge the effect of time on a hoppy beer. To this end we hope to hold a keg of each back for a couple of months to see how they taste then.

But the fun is far from over. Some time in the next week or so we hope to take delivery of a number of kegs of a radical new beer. It's from Liberty Brewing (better known as a purveyor of home brew supplies) and has been brewed at Auckland's Hallertau brewpub. It's called Summit Imperial India Pale Ale - Summit being a reference to another American hop variety. We're investing in a big supply of Summit IIPA, and to make it worth bringing a whole pallet of beer down from Hallertau we'll get them to include a couple of Hallertau's famous beers in the order.

And while we're discussing American influenced pale ales, please remember that we're about half way through our current stock of beer from Oregon's Rogue Brewery and its Eugene City Brewery subsidiary. There are still a couple of kegs left of Tracktown 200m IPA and Yellow Snow IPA. Keep an eye on our real time menu here to know when they're on next. At the time of writing Rogue's Mocha Porter is flying the flag for Oregon.

And as if there hasn't been enough good news, the promised keg of Invercargill's Saison is waiting in the wings. And we've just heard that a rare allocation of Dux de Lux's Norwester Ale will be on our way next week.

Finally, it is with great pleasure that we can announce that Renaissance's Craftsman Chocolate Oatmeal Stout is coming home and will be on tap early next week. Our own David Wood helped brew this luxurious beer when we loaned him to the brewery last month, so come in and try and prise its secrets out of him.

Announcing Two Tastings

It seemed fitting, perhaps even predictable, to mark the arrival of winter with a tasting of strong beers and with our cellar stocked with products of the last northern hemisphere winter it was just too easy. The only hard part would be choosing what to leave out. So instead we can announce a pair of tastings:

Barley Wines, July 13

We're confident we have the most extensive range of barley wines in New Zealand. In fact we will leave a couple of barley wines out to make room for some related styles - such as a wheat wine and oat wine.

The lineup will include beers from the US, Denmark (more than once, thanks to Mikkel), Japan, England, Scotland and Brazil. The only thing missing is a local example of the style. If anyone knows of a New Zealand barley wine that might be available to us, please let us know.

Imperial Stouts and Porters, August 10

A month should be long enough for everyone to recover from the barley wines, so August will be the turn of Imperial Stouts and Porters. Again we have an extensive range to choose from. And this time there should be one or two local examples.

Note that we aren't completely irresponsible, and to compensate for the extremely high alcohol levels (and expense) of the styles being tasted, portions will be small. But we are confident that the quality, variety and sheer flavour of these tastings will leave you all satisfied. The price for both will be $40. Bookings are now open and the easiest way to reserve your place is to reply to this email.

Meet the Brewer(s)

Our ally and supplier Regional Wines and Spirits are distributors for some of New Zealand's most loved craft breweries. One of their stable is Founders Organic Brewery and they are bringing Matt Duncan of Founders to Wellington and to Hashigo Zake specifically. He will be in the bar on Monday July the 5th, dispensing samples of one of their range and meeting Wellington's most discerning drinkers.

In association with Regional Wines and Spirits we are planning a similar event later in July involving the one and only Richard Emerson. Stay tuned for more information.

Sport on Telly

We definitely aren't a sports bar but we are sports friendly. This means that if there is a sporting event of interest there's a good chance you can watch it on one of our two high quality LCD TVs. But if you just don't care then you can remain oblivious in our TV-free lounge.

There have been some interesting sporting events over the last few days and weeks - the Stanley Cup, a rugby test and a certain football tournament. And this pattern is set to continue.

Of particular interest is this Saturday night's football clash between Japan and the Netherlands. A certain member of our staff was gloating over Japan's win over Cameroon and promises to be a picture of fanaticism. If only we could filter out the noise from the vuvuzelas. Oh - and there's a rugby test earlier in the evening.

Matariki Winter Ales Festival

Remember that this takes place on Saturday week at the Boatshed on the waterfront. We will be there with our contribution, including the only keg in New Zealand of Rogue's John John Dead Guy Ale (Dead Guy finished in whisky barrels). The event will also see the unveiling of our brand new, custom-made and, frankly, very cool portable bar. Go to SOBA's website for more info.

Monday, June 14, 2010

June 10, 2010

Immediately below...
  • Monster Beer
  • Upcoming Festivals
  • Tastings

Monster Beer

It's another of those agonising weeks when beer that we've been waiting for for some time has been dispatched and is somewhere between a brewery and us.

The beer or beers in question are the latest release from Yeastie Boys - Yakima Monster and Riwaka Monster. Brewed as a pair (a little like Nerdherder B and D), they are both hoppy new world pale ales - the Riwaka using local hops and the Yakima using US ones.

In addition, Yeastie Boy himself, Stu McKinley, posted a rave review of Invercargill Brewery's experimental Saison recently. On his recommendation we have ordered a keg of this, and it's on the same pallet as the Monsters, coming north from the world's southernmost brewery.

The Monsters and the Invercargill Saison should be here by tomorrow (Friday) night. Please accept our apologies in advance if we're let down by our country's transport infrastructure.

Speaking of monster beers - we thought that if we tapped a keg of Eugene City Brewery's 200 Meter IPA on a Tuesday night instead of a Friday, it might last a few days. But no - all gone half way through Wednesday night. So we're racing through our recent shipment of Oregon beer, but we can promise a steady supply for at least the next couple of weeks.

Upcoming Festivals

We've already mentioned the Matariki Winter Ales Festival being organised by SOBA. Hashigo Zake will be there, contributing to the event's beer supply and helping out on the day. We've set aside the only keg in New Zealand of Rogue's John John Dead Guy Ale. This is Rogue's much loved Dead Guy Ale finished in whisky barrels. The whisky that had been in the barrels was in fact distilled from the wort of Dead Guy Ale.

Two months after the Winter Ales Festival will be Beervana. Organised by the Brewers' Guild, Beervana is the New Zealand Brewing Industry's most important public event. After sponsoring it last year, we'll be back this year with a stall in a prime location in the Town Hall and a stash of rare and extremely strong imported beer, to go with all the great local beer that will be available.

We are also collaborating with several offshore allies to plan extra events around the week that is BrewNZ. Stay tuned for more details.

Tastings

Our third ever sake tasting takes place next Tuesday at 6:30pm. For this event we have access to a number of sakes that have never been available in New Zealand before, thanks to the efforts of our two Japanese staff members, Shiggy and Rei. For those who have been misled by the description "rice wine", it's helpful to know that sake is far closer to beer in its method of production than wine. For lovers of ales, the aromas and flavours produced in a sake are a fascinating compliment to the ones we're used to in the beer world.

Remember no prior expertise in sake appreciation is necessary. To book simply reply to this email. The price will be $30.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

June 3, 2010

Immediately below...
  • Back to Reality... kind of
  • Under the Radar
  • Reservations and Televised Sport
  • Framingham Wines
  • June Tastings
  • Matariki Winter Ale Festival

Back to Reality... kind of

Over the last month or so we've been blessed with a succession of over-the-top (and not-so-cheap) beers - Twisted Hop IPA, Mike's Organic Imperial IPA, Gonzo Imperial Porter, Epic Armageddon to name a few. If your palates and wallets are feeling a little jaded then the good news is that the lineup will look a little more balanced over the next few days. In particular look out for staples from Renaissance, Three Boys and Emersons.

But the high octane fun isn't over. We still have plenty of Rogues kegs left from New Zealand's biggest ever order of American craft beer on draft. And we'll have more of two new aggressive ales - Tuatara's APA and 8 Wired's Red Dwarf. And there are a few servings left of Mike's extraordinary Imperial IPA.

Under the Radar

With all the excitement of our recent Rogue and Mikkeller shipments, there was little time to make a fuss of a small shipment from another American brewery - Southern Tier. A while ago we secured a few cases of their Iniquity Black IPA. This time it's their IPA that is available in limited quantities. It's a classic American IPA - full of sweet malt and citric hops and is in the 96th percentile on ratebeer.com, so it must be good. For lovers of the style it's a good idea to grab some before it's all gone.

Reservations and Televised Sport

We are getting more and more requests these days to reserve tables. We are happy to accommodate these but have a few constraints. For instance in a really busy period like Friday evening we will only accept a reservation if you can be in the bar early. Otherwise we end up with unused tables surrounded by crowds of people.

We've also had some interest in the upcoming rugby internationals. Only two of the four leaners in the red room will be available to reserve when these games are on.

The Stanley Cup Finals Series continues conveniently every second lunchtime. Philadelphia's win today (Thursday) guarantees that we'll have two matches over the long weekend.

Framingham Wines

On Monday evening Framingham Wines used our lounge as the venue for the launch of their new F-Series wines. We were sufficiently impressed by the whole event and the wines themselves to put a couple of them on our Enomatic dispensers. F-Series Pinot Noir and F-Series Sauvignon Blanc are now both available by glass, half-glass or bottle. The Sauvignon apparently had 11 months on lees and so should appeal to ale drinkers.

June Tastings

Mikkeller Single Hop IPAs

In the past when we've held tastings of beer from Denmark's gypsy brewery Mikkeller the response has been pretty meek. A few hardcore beer geeks, a few regulars with nothing better to do and a few relatives feeling sorry for us. It suggested that extreme, experimental and obscure is just asking too much.

So it's been a surprise that the most obscure and geeky tasting we have ever planned seems to have captured your imagination. The Mikkeller Single Hop IPA Tasting on June 8 is fully booked and we are running a waiting list. If anyone would like to join the waiting list or give up your place to someone on the waiting list, please get in touch.

For some pre-study, this article at the Washington Post has a nice background on Mikkeller and Scandinavian beers in general.

Sake 2010

We ran a couple of sake tastings last year and they proved quite popular. This time, to spice things up, our Japanese staff have been tapping contacts in their home towns and prefectures and getting rare and special sakes flown over.

This event will be equally suitable for sake-newbies or regular drinkers. In-house sake expert Shigeo Takagi will be on hand to explain things and everyone will feel like an expert by the end.

The date for this one is June 15.

Matariki Winter Ales Festival

SOBA have announced that their Matariki Winter Ales Festival will take place on June 26 at the Boat Shed, not far from us here at 25 Taranaki St. Hashigo Zake will support the event in some capacity or other and we encourage our customers to go along. Tickets are already on sale at SOBA's website (www.soba.org.nz).