BrewNZ part two
Back home in Hamilton now. We had a fantastic time, though the weather was fairly miserable except for Saturday morning. That said, it doesn’t need to be fine to drink a good ale!
Here then is a summary of what I posted to the NZ Homebrewers mailing list, as it’s easier than writing the same thing twice. 
We got to the Town Hall just before 11 am, and commenced sampling around about “opening time” (as James put it). It certainly doesn’t seem too bad when you think of it like that!
The beers were many and varied, though there were not many we hadn’t already tried while out and about. The Speights Chocolate Ale was the first to be sampled, and was not bad for a Speights beer. It at least had some flavour! Chocolate and coffee notes pervaded, with some plum fruitiness in the finish. It could have used a bit more hop balance, even if only for bitterness, and not flavour or aroma. Too sweet for my tastes.
We moved on to the Twisted Hop beers, having only tried the Islay porter before. Their Bitter managed to divide opinion. I thought it initially tasted like dishwater. A few more samples and I had it up a few notches to “pleasantly citrussy, but a bit weak in body”. It wasn’t that bad! James thought it was quite “English”, and got all misty eyed - or that could have been the huge amounts of “samples” he kept having of the Emersons APA. More on that later. I really enjoyed the Twisted Ankle, but found the Islay Porter was just way too dominated by the Laphroaig scotch to rate on its own character. Less so than when tried on Draught at Bodega though. I was speaking to one of the Twisted Hop brewers, and he claimed only 2 (presumably 1125ml) bottles of Laphroaig were used in the (I think) 800L batch. It certainly goes a long way!
Of the other brews we had not already sampled, Sunshine Brewery’s Black Beauty stood out. Enormous malt flavours, and a satisfyingly gravylike mouthfeel. It still had plenty of hop bitterness to ensure the sweetness didn’t become cloying, and there were just so many flavour components that I had to have about 5 samples to be sure I had tasted some of the more subtle elements. That’s my story, Your Honour, and I am sticking to it.
Emersons were excellent as always. I had tried all their beers, but I mention them here due to the effect their APA (American Pale Ale) had on James. He was transfixed. I think he managed to drink about 2 litres of it, all in sample-glass size portions! It was nicer than I remember it too, less of a hop blast, and a bit more balanced. I look forward to its impending re-release.
The Tuatara ESB really impressed me also, but I wished I had taken notes. It was so perfectly balanced, that no particular flavour stands out. A lovely drop though, and one I wish we could get here in Hamilton.
I really enjoyed my first BrewNZ overall, but a few things could be improved I think. Prepare for a whinge, and please remember, it’s just an opinion. Except the stuff about Monteiths. They really suck.
1. The venues serving the festive beers (Brew HQs) should be more rigorously checked. Bar Bodega, while a real fave in the past, and having really great staff, needs to learn to clean their lines. The beer tasted totally different (and better) at the actual tasting itself.
2. Better consideration of which venues are able to present beer. Brickbats to Shed 5, and the Loaded Hog for having NO idea at all about how to present a beer, and knowing very little about beer in general. This was especially sad in the case of Shed 5, as they were blessed with the fantastic Limburg Oud Reserve.
3. Some kind of “you must be this high to enter” standard for who may actually enter a beer. We couldn’t get over just how amazingly bad the Monteiths entry tasted (or rather didn’t taste - utterly bland), and we heard a rumour that the Loaded Hog’s festive brew was nothing but their Hog Dark rebranded. It’s tasteless brown water at the best of times, so we weren’t really surprised. Amazing though that all the smaller brewers could enter beers of complexity and finesse, and the likes of Monteiths with all their resources, couldn’t pull off something decent. Come on guys, even Speights got it together!
4. Better advertising! We got to Wellington on Thursday (we wanted to be ready!) and saw almost nothing mentioning the festival anywhere.
Now the good stuff:
1. The bar staff! Even when they didn’t know their beer, they were consistantly extremely friendly, and welcoming (except Shed 5. They don’t know how to smile). Special mentions to:
* Imbibe, who put on a free Taieri George for the three of us when the Lunar Dunkel keg wasn’t quite working.
* Bar Bodega - Steph and (I think) Sally, really made us smile.
* Shed 22 - our favourite pub of the trip. And not just because they had Demonic Ruby. Friendly, fun people who looked like they were actually happy to be at work.
2. The quality of the entries. As I said, this was my first BrewNZ, so I can’t compare to other years, but I will definitely be back. Our faves were, in no particular order; Limburg Oud Reserve, Macs (Well, Wellington Brewing Company) Demonic Ruby, Sunshine Brewery’s Black
Beauty (it was HUGE!), and the understated, but delicious Tuatara ESB.
3. The fact that it’s in Wellington. Best city ever!
4. The excellent little “beer guide” infopak.
Well, that’s it until next year. Rest assured, there will be another trip next year!
There are some photos online, but be warned, the quality is terrible. I wasn’t in a good state to be using a camera!