Beer Travel - New Zealand Report

We were lucky to spend a few weeks in NZ's South Island last October off the back of my brother's wedding near Queenstown. I made the effort to burn through as many local beers as possible and once again I walked away convinced that, pound-for-pound, per capita, whatever relative measure you like, New Zealand has a strong micro / quality beer scene that is probably superior to that in Australia.

Why?

Don't have any definitive answers but Kiwi micro scene can take strong encouragement from:

• A healthy community support for all cottage-style industries (not just beer), not the blind corporate allegiance we often see in Australia;


• A sensible recognition that NZ will never be a large scale player in most industries (dairy, forestry, sheep and rugby excepted!) and thus focus of making things 'best', not 'biggest'; and


• A strong sense of pride (well-placed) with respect to the ability of the country to compete with the world's best for all things epicurean.

I'll follow up this post with a bunch of tasting notes on the individual beers tasted. Below I have listed an enthusiast's view / opinion on some Kiwi beer haunts worth visiting........



Fresh Choice (Springlands, Blenheim) (Map)
So I've just flown into Christchurch from Melbourne and jumped straight into a hire car for a 4hr drive to Blenheim. Duly arrive at the motel, throw bags into room and stroll over to the supermarket over the road for supplies.

I stick my nose in the beer section, expecting few mainstream offerings at best. What I didn't expect was to walk out with 18 beers, and $150 lighter.

This place has nearly 300 beers including the entire 'who's who' of the NZ micro scene - Emerson's, Wanaka, Harrington's, Moa, Pink Elephant, Renaissance, Limburg, 3 Boys. It also had 10 serious lambics from the likes of Cantillon, Oud Beersel, Boon and Liefman. Every serious abbey and strong ale from Belgium, bar Westy.

How can this be? Why can't I source and sell such a great range in Australia? What a great result for the NZ beer geek. (and to be honest there would be be no gig for Cloudwine in flogging micro brews if Aussie supermarkets were like this).

BTW didn't find a better store in the whole of the South Island for the remainder of my trip.

Brew Moon (Amberley) (map)
There’s a lot to like about this simple road-side cafe just 30 minutes north of Christchurch. Serves a nice range of burgers, gourmet pizza and salads. All 4 house beers on tap. Nothing flash in terms of ambiance and fit-out but it sure works for me. Tasting tray $8.80 otherwise ~$4 for a 350ml serve.

The Twisted Hop (Christchurch) (map)
Pretty impressive drinking hole. Located in the newish alleyway precinct in central Christchurch the brew ’bar’ is right at home with micro fashion boutiques and ultra mod bars. The obvious drinking choice is the sample tray of 5 TH brews. $15 gets you very generous servings (perhaps 200ml each).

A handful of other top flight kiwi’s are on tap (inc. Emerson’s and 3 Boys) as well as 50 - 70 bottle choices from around the globe. Interesting, the pub makes a point of highlighting that fact that the bottled gear is NOT kept at near freezing point, rather they are kept in the fridge at sensible beer geek temps. Very good service, albeit stretched, and a must-visit when in town.

Dux de Lux (Queenstown) (map)
Mod cafe / bar / restaurant combo done well with an unlikely meshing of pool tables, big screen TVs and casual dining (burgers and the like $15 - $18). There is also a more formal dining area attached where pricing steps up to $25 - $33. The menus for both read well. 7 house beers on tap (pints $5 - $7) and for the most part are well worth trying, particularly the stout and Norwester Pale Ale.

Sprig & Fern (Nelson) (map)
One of 3 Sprig & Fern pubs attached to Harringtons / Tasman Brewing. This pub, housed in a beautifully converted Edwardian cottage just outside of the Nelson CBD, is one of the best pub / bar combos I have been to in Australasia (indeed perhaps the best). Full of locals from all walks of life as well as a never ending stream of folks coming in to fill up ’riggers’ (ie 2lt plastic bottles) of any one of the 20-odd Tasman / Harringtons brews on tap. The take-ways are sold at bargain prices (say $9 each). It warms the hart to see the locals showing such support for a small brewer (try finding this in Australia!).

Tasman Brewing Company (Richmond, Nelson) (map)
No longer part of the Harringtons brewery, at least in a legal sense, however they still brew a number of beers for this label, as well as plenty of beers under the Tasman Brewing tag. The brewery is just a simple shed in an industrial estate in Richmond but the tasting area is quite nice. All beers are available for sampling and for takeways either via rigger at around $9 (2lt bottle) or standard 330ml or 500ml bottlings. All up about 25 beers available. Service is very good and the beers can range from competent to very very good (ie Big John Reserve & Belgian Tempest).