Where to drink in New Zealand

Enjoying Epicurean in Brew on Quay

I was lucky enough to spend a few evenings in pubs whilst away in New Zealand, they're all well worth visiting. In general New  Zealand is well served for beer outlets, the majority of restaurants have a halfway-decent selection of local brews and more importantly in a range of styles. The following were some places I particularly enjoyed. See my Top 10 for suggestions of what to drink.

Eoghan excited to meet me*
*NB may not be true

Brew on Quay, Auckland. I didn't get a chance to eat here, but with friendly ex-pat barstaff on hand (Eoghan from Ireland) and a decent selection of bottles its well worth a visit. Easy to find too as its just along the road from the ferry terminal. Get browsing that beer bible and pick something from the fridges!

Croucher delights

Brew, Rotorua is fantastic, dealing with two brewed products, mainly coffee and beer. Full range of Croucher beers plus decent guests on tap. I had a chance to talk to brewer Nige about their plans for world domination expansion which can only be a good thing. Skip the guests and drink the fantastic local beers.

Good George's FVs

In a refitted church!

Good George, Hamilton is a brand new brew pub outfit with a brew team of good pedigree including the redoubtable Kelly Ryan (formerly of Thornbridge and Epic). The first iterations of beers are designed to be mass appeal to wean the locals onto more interesting fare, though I thought that their IPA and dry-coffee'd amber ale show the direction they'll be heading. You can truly worship at the altar of craft beer here as the brewpub is in a former church!

Secret Imperial Stout

A peek in their storage area found that they've already delved into barrel aging and they also make dry-hopped cider. If the drinks aren't reason enough to head there they also have a decent food menu and its walkable from town or ten minutes by taxi.

The Malthouse, Wellington is a stalwart of the beer scene. I only had a chance for a quick half here but could have lingered all afternoon. Unparalleled range of beers on tap and in the fridge. Great Christmas decorations too!

Dodson Street Bistro Blenheim is the brewery tap for Renaissance and now sporting a German Menu. Schnitzel and Pale ale is the way forward plus the home-made bread and dips make excellent beer snacks. Pop into the brewery next door for off sales.

Great range of Renaissance beers

Pomeroys, Christchurch has recently got its own microbrewery which is being contracted out to all and sundry who require it. Their own beers are available in the bar, alongside other taps (both keg and cask) including dedicated 8-wired and yeastie boys lines. I did my best to try them all but there's a lot to get through. Caramelised onion gravy and pork sausages were also fantastic.

Casssels, CBD Bar Christchurch is a new venture from the guys who have a brewery out in the 'burbs. Its fantastic to see them recolonising the city centre after the devastation of the earthquakes a few years ago. Wood-fired pizzas, cocktails and the full Cassels range should be enough to keep people occupied for a few hours.

Cassels CBD selection

Regional Wines in Wellington is by far the best off-licence that I found. It was difficult to limit myself to what I could sensibly carry as there were plenty of other tasty beers available including loads of "fill-your-own" taps. And if beer isn't your thing then the selection of wines and spirits is even more vast.

A Veritable Brewfest

The weekend just passed was the inaugural Edinburgh Independents Beer Festival. The premise? An 8 pub beer festival with each pub featuring a different brewer/ brewers. A simple concept but one that no doubt took a lot of work from its organisers Craft Centric (aka the guys between the new Hanging at Beer Bar). That it went without any major hiccups is amazing enough, but coupled with perhaps the best selection of  up and coming UK brewers' beers available at any one time (yes, that includes London) its an astounding feat. The fact that I almost didn't find out about it means I appreciated it all the more. 

My original plan was to get to a couple of the pubs; as an afternoon's drinking wasn't really on the cards. Somehow we ended up visiting all 8 pubs in the space of about 5 hours: no mean feat when it involved about 7 miles walking between them! What follows (after the map) is a short run-down of the pubs and beers enjoyed.

View Larger Map

Travelling south from Waverley the first pub encountered is the Holyrood 9A. This is decidedly a food pub, with all tables set for dining but you're more than welcome to take a seat and just get drinks. 10 keg beers and 4 cask beers on offer and a fantastic range. Camden were the beers in residence Thankfully they offer thirds so its possible to try a few. An opportunity to try both wheat beer styles was not to be sniffed at and the wheat and Gent;eman's Wit were both enjoyed, if a little yeastier than usual. The lemon and bergamot made a real change to the usual orange and corriander and if they were to bottle this I'd get a 12pack.

After that we headed down to studentville and to the Southern a pub with another decent menu and hosts of Magic Rock beers for the weekend. We grabbed a half of the new hopped imperial wit Clown Juice, every bit as refreshing as I'd hoped and no way I'd have pegged it at 7%. That's another excellent special release from Rich, Stu et al.



A brisk stroll across the meadows sees you in Cloisters, a pub I've enjoyed on numerous occasions. Unfortunately for me no new beers to try as its Bristol Beer Factory in residence here but thankfully that means I get to try the fantastic ultimate stout on cask. A gorgeous Foreign Extra stout with rich creamy mouthfeel, sweetness and lots of roast in the finish. Thumbs up from Daisy too.

The plan next was to go to dinner but due to some(un)fortunate navigational errors we ended up at the Caley. When in Rome...
I tried the fantastic new USPA, a northern Hemisphere variation on the superlative NZPA. I think the original just pipped this but I'm a sucker for those antipodean hops.

After dinner in Haymarket's Chop Chop we sauntered over to Stockbridge to the eponymous Stockbridge Tap where a beast of a beer was on. In fact two beasts Moor's JJJ IPA and Magic Rock's Bourbon Barrel bearded lady, a half of each was in order. The JJJ is a definite contender for beer of the weekend, roch Tropical hops and lip-smacking bitterness, it was a treat to find it as its largely export only since the evils of HSBD.

Up a fecker of a hill and a couple of excitable squirrels and we find ourselves at the Cambridge, home of Macclesfield's Red Willow for the weekend. We arrive as the new Soulless is launched on cask and keg. Its a Black IPA and another good one from Toby. Smokeless on cask "dry-hopped" with chipotle is also fantastic.

Feeling a bit beered out but with just two pubs remianing we push on to newcomer Red Squirrel on Lothian Road. Its heaving with a Friday night crowd but there's some bench space left. Alechemy Black IPA is a little disappointing, lower ABV than usual for a BIPA and lacking the body its consequently a little watery. Lovibonds 69 IPA more than makes up for the disappointment however and a great introduction to the brewery.

On the home stretch now and its along Grassmarket and up West Bow to the Bow Bar. This is a fantastic old boozer filled with railerphanelia and largely standing-room only. We finish off the day with a bang, Summer-Wine's Half Wit, Kernel IPA Summit and Hawkshead Brodies Prime (beefed up Brodies reserve in a Bladnoch cask).

We headed back to Holyrood 9A for the Sunday finishing party. Enjoyable thirds of 12 beers from the majority of the breweries from the weekend and some tasty snacks from the menu. We'll certainly be returning for a meal one day when the pub is less rammed. Unfortunately very few brewers made it to the final event but it was good to meet Chris and Bruce, the guys behind the weekend and James, brewer at Summer Wine.

A fantastic array of beers and a lot of hard work. Thanks guys! All of the pubs are fantastic too, each with their own individual feels but all sharing the theme of great beer. I'm already looking forward to how the guys will best the event next year. Look out for the announcement sometime in the next couple of months for the date.








More write ups at The Beer Cast, Hippo Beers & This masterpiece from Craig.

*The ever-handy weekly What's on Guide from Edinburgh Stalwarts The Beer Cast put me right.

A weekend in Aberdeen

This weekend I found myself in Aberdeen. This came as no big surprise as I had gotten on a plane to that very destination. The reason of course was to attend the AGM of the Scotish Brewer, which many others have blogged and will blog about; so I'll not say much here. Their pub caused me to jump of the bus a few stops early though.

Marischal College

I was impressed with Aberdeen as a city. Having not been before I enjoyed visits to the Art Gallery and Maritime Museum alongside wondering the streets marvelling at the fantastic granite architecture. I even stumbled across a farmer's market and sampled some artisinal cheeses from an up-and-coming Scottish cheese maker.

Busy Grill

It wasn't all fun and games though, I had some serious pub research to do so. Starting out in The Grill (closest to my place of abode) I went for a Deeside IPA. Not having had any from this local brewery before I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved it. A proper British-hopped IPA with a really sicy Challenger note, plenty of bitterness and a decent 5.7% ABV, none of this session-strength bollocks here! The bar itself is an award-winning whisky destination and there was a massive array available...they'll have to wait for another day.

Unassuming Entry

Next up was a cellar bar...part of a hotel (The Brentwood) no less and with ten hand pumps. A selection of session strength offerings was the order of the day, with both national and local brands available. Having followed the pseudo-Burton debate on B&B's and Martyn's blogs recently I chose to try "Burton Ale" - really a pale ale. Another enjoyable find: an arthy fuggles nose without the metallic note that i find so off-putting in some. A creamy texture herbal to taste at first, think weak tea with a shortcake biscuit dunked into it. Then someone squeezed the teabag and added some tannic bitterness and stinging nettles to the finish. A nice drop, style traitor or otherwise.

Slain's Castle

We also visited a pub inside a converted church -Slain's Castle. Decked out inside like a medieval dungeon, replete with gargoyles, skeletons and cobwebs, its not so OTT as to be tacky and gives the pub something unique.Only two cask beers to choose from here but both in good nick. I went for an old favourite Black Sheep Bitter and was almost charged for two pints instead of pint and a half. Prices must have been well north of £3.50 a pint however as I got no change from a  fiver even with 20 per-cent CAMRA discount.

Scotty and Phil

Of course, no visit would be complete without a visit to the eponymous bar of the aforementioned brewer. Here i was well looked after by Phil and assistant manager Scotty on multiple occasions, the Friday night being particularly busy. I got through Libertine Black Ale, Anarchist Alchemist, Barrel Aged 77 Lager, Nogne O Tiger Tripel, Chris From Stone's Stout, Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine and Cantillion Kriek - not a duff beer amongst them.

Brewing up a Storm

We were also treated to a goodly selection of beers at the AGM itself, which Craig has written about here. My personal favourites were the American Saison and libertine black ale, but Dog A was also amazingly good, if a little boozy for five of the evening clock! There was a batch of beer being brewed on the pilot plant at the AGM with galena hops

In all then Aberdeen does have some decent pubs and I didn't even get a chance to check out MUSA or the Moorings on the waterfront, certainly more to see and I'll definitely aim to return another day.

Debate on PubCo Reform

This afternoon a debate was held in the House of Commons on Pub-Co reform, whether the recebtly announced self-regulated code of conduct will be effective or whether the Government should have looked to legislation. Numerous other issues were touched upon that I will mention here.

Most readers of this blog will be aware at the high rate of pub closures in recent years. Its gotten as high as 63 pubs per week, but even now 25 pubs are closing a week. There are a number of factors that are causing this, but one of the greatest in the eyes of those who matter (the tennants who run the pubs) is the unfair pub tie arrangement. (Over 87% of those polled stated they'd rather be free of the tie). When you look at the facts it becomes obvious why this is. Pubs that are tied pay a massive premium on drinks supplied to them by PubCos. Free from competition they feel they can charge whatever they like and often charge 1.5 to 2 times more than the wholesale prices available to Free Houses. One example given was Strongbow, avaiable at ~£65 wholesale and £110 through Punch, a 70% markup...no wonder pubs are unable to make any money!

In a recent survey 57% of those subject to tie vs 43% in the free trade said they were struggling financially. This shows that more tied publicans are struggling than those in the free-trade...the difference being they are tied to supplier via the tie.

Over the last few years a number of organisations and MP groups have been campaigning to get this altered, even getting the issue to the attention of the OFT and today's debate was the culmination of this hard work.An allegation of collusion with the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) was made of the minister for business innovation and skills as the response to a freedom of information request (FOI) was copied almost verbatim from the BBPAs suggestions to the Government.

Even those in favour of reform were quick to point out than an unfair tie is just one aspect of the challenge pubs  face at the moment. In additition is the tax burden on both alcohol, particularly beer and in terms of business rates. In addition there is the fact that people are more likely to drink at home, a big driver of this of course being cheaper supermarket alcohol but also people not wanting to head out to pubs for a drink, prefering the convenience of drinking at home. Of course, another thing more convenient to do at home is smoking as now the smoking ban has been introduced smokers have to take their habit outside.

Pubs were defended as integral to communities, being part of the solution to irresponsible drinking, raather than a part of the problem and supporting the local economy, both directly in terms of jobs and sales and indirectly by bringing custom to other businesses in the area.

Despite there being a small element of opposition in attendance, the motion for an Autumn review of the voluntary code of conducts efficacy was passed unanimously. It now remains to be seen if the self-policing by the PubCos will work or if the Government will have to legislate after all. From their history of broken promises I don't hold out much hope that this new initiative will have any effect.

To read a synopsis of the debate, blogged live see here.

Beervana

I've just got back from a very beer filled week in London which more than made up for my normally beereft experience in Northern Ireland.

Odell Myrcenary and IPA

Three on keg.

I travelled across on Saturday to help with GBBF setup, with my first beer coming Saturday evening in the shape of the Odell meet the brewer evening at the Cask Pub and Kitchen. I of course have met Doug Odell before as he works on US Cask beer at GBBF, but that didn't make his (brief) talk about the beers on offer any less interesting.

The beers on offer and tasting notes

A selection of three Odell beers were available on draught (IPA, Double Pilsner, Myrcenary) but the real highlight were the limited edition bottle releases shared out around the pub to anyone interested. A nice touch by the Cask there. After the Odell-a-thon I also tried a Witter Saison-de-Fleur and Mikkeller Black, the former was tasty, the latter sublime. Could have easily had another half, but at 17.5% decided against it! A good evening indeed.

Sunday night saw a mini pub crawl around Euston station. Starting in the Doric Arch I had a perfectly tasty pint of Brains SA Gold. Déjà Vous prompted me to remember that I had indeed been there before! Next up was the Bree Louise, a lovely little backstreet boozer with a massive selection of cask ales and 50p off per pint for CAMRA members (also students, NHS and armed forces: not to be sniffed at!). They also offer customizable cheese plates, the stinking bishop on mine was particularly tasty with whatever it was I was drinking (in my excitement to get a plate of cheese I didn't make notes!) The evening ended up in the Euston Tap where all Bier Sans Frontiers staff had congregated and polished off two 24" pizzas. Beers were £1 a pint for all draught beers which was a steal! Tried Thornbridge versa weisse and Bristol Beer Factory Acer/ Saison. I like that the Euston Tap blog about their beers, it helps as an aide memoir of what I was drinking! (Too many exclamation marks...)

Four cask beers

7 on keg!

A return to the Cask was called for on Sunday for the Kernel meet the brewer evening. An impressive range of four cask and 7 keg beers was an almost bewildering choice for one who had not yet sampled the delights of the Kernel. I tried three of the cask and one keg beer; Nelson/Citra, Kernel/Redemption collaboration and export stout on cask, Imperial Export Brown Stout on keg. I really enjoyed all of the beers, especially the recreation of extinct recipes and look forward to trying more from these guys in the future.

Just a few of the many beers on offer!

Reflective drinking

After that the evening called for a visit to the Craft Beer Co. in Clerkenwell. Plenty of other bloggers have extolled its virtues; so I will lay off on the superlatives and merely state that there was sufficient choice to keep me amused for months (time and funds permitting!). The house lager by Mikkeller was particularly good, closer to a pale ale than I had been expecting an amber-yellow hue with plenty of fruit. The evening quickly descended into mayhem when I met a couple of Canadians who insisted on sharing their beer with me and I likewise reciprocated. Its pubs like the craft beer co where you feel comfortable sharing beers with complete strangers and for this and the spectacular surroundings alone the beers were worth the high asking price.

Julian finishes his pint of Magic Rock Dark Arts

 Most of the remainder of my week was filled with all things GBBF, but you will be able to read my round up of that later this week. I also attended the Flying Dog cheese and beer pairing at the White Horse at Parson's Green which I am still salivating about now. I intend to post about it as my CABPOM for August; so look out for that soon too!

In summary, London has plenty of decent pubs and I think having events organised around GBBF really makes it into a week celebrating beer in London. Would love to see more next year as Mark suggests here, though this will inevitably mean having to choose which event I least want to miss out on! As it was I didn't get to visit the Jolly Butchers, Rake or Southampton Arms as I had been hoping to. Ah well there's always next year!

I hope everyone else enjoyed their time in London during GBBF week. Who did I miss out on meeting at the various events? This week taught me I need a backup battery for my HTC!