Beer | Postcards From Here and There

Wellington Craft Beer

It seem that everywhere you go in Wellington there is either a craft brewery or a cafe/bar/restaurant with an exceptional range of craft beers. With only 36 hours in Wellington this post probably only touches the tip of the iceberg of the craft beer scene in the city.

Mac’s Green Beret IPA 5.4% Amber/Gold, clear, light head, citrus, grapefruit, touch of caramel. Very drinkable.

Mac’s Interstate APA 5.0% Amber,clear with little or no head.Low/medium bitterness. Full flavour and refreshing.

Mac’s Great White 5% Wheatbeer. Yellow, cloudy, good head. Lovely flavours of tropical fruit, banana and bubblegum. Nice texture. A nice drink.

Mac’s Hoprocker 5% Yellow/gold in appearance, refreshing pilsner style beer.

Mac’s Sassy Red 4.5% Dark amber in colour, nice malty, caramel flavour, low bitterness.

Parrotdog Bitterbitch IPA 5.8% Named after the problems associated with controlling the bitterness one early brews this is an amber beer, slight haze, light head. yeasty, malty, nice bitterness, hoppy, full flavoured. very nice.

The Garage Project. The Pernicious Weed 8% Golden, slight haze, light head, full flavourIntensely hoppy but balanced with a nice touch of caramel. A fine beer.

Fortune Favours The Nine Nine APA 5% Pale amber, slight haze, crisp, clean, low bitterness. Nice easy drinking style.

Fortune Favours The Adventurer 5% Pilsner, yellow/gold, low bitterness, touch of caramel. Refreshing, you could drink a lot of this. Very good.

Te Aro. Pilsner 5.1% Golden, clear, good head. Lemon, quite rich in style, smokey, full flavour.

Brewmoon. Hophead Pale Ale 5% Amber,clear, no head at all. Low bitterness, caramel/malty. easy drinking style.

Auckland – sampling craft beers

The craft beer movement is strong in New Zealand with many breweries producing many different beers. It would be nigh on impossible to taste them all in a month but when the opportunity arises a little sampling is in order. A few hours in Auckland’s Harbourside and Wynyard Quarter gave us two bars to visit.

First up Jack Tar (34-37 Jellicoe Street). Located in the Wynyard Quarter amongst many other bars and restaurants it was relatively quiet when we visited. Located in what resembles a wharfside warehouse,. its a good place to start the evening and if you feel like staying there is an extensive menu to choose from.

Mac’s Gold. 4%. Yellow/gold in appearance, crystal clear, light head, low bitterness. Flavours of caramel and sweetcorn! Has a lovely richness. Very drinkable.
Panhead Supercharger APA. 5.7%. Wellington. A great name for a beer. Amber/gold, slight haze, well formed head. Pronounced flavours of lemon, grapefruit. Nice level of bitterness.
Speights Gold. 4%. Dunedin. Deep amber in colour, clear, good head to the beer. Caramel, malty with nice sweetness.

Research had indicated a bar by the name of The Tyler Street Garage might be well worth a visit but unfortunately it closed in January. It has, however, been replaced by a gastropub called Chamberlains (120 Quay Street). When we arrived late afternoon the place was buzzing. New Zealand, England and Australia were playing a tri T20 cricket tournament and New Zealand were about to play Australia. Supporters of all sides were lubricating the vocal chords for the supporting that was about to begin. It made for an excellent place to settle down for a beer or two.

Hallertau No2. Pale Ale. 5.3%. Auckland. Light amber in colour, low bitter, hoppy, caramel, lovely balance to the beer. Very drinkable.
Disco King. IPA. Choice Bros. 6.5%. Amber in appearance, hazy, light froth at the rim. Medium bitterness, lemon, coriander, topic of malt.
L’Hop. Epic Brewery. APA. 4.4%. Golden, clear, light in style but with lovely flavour and subtlety. This is a beer that demands to be drunk and the relatively low ABV means thats perfectly possible.
Epic Lager. 5%. Yellow gold, clear and bright. Crisp, charters and full flavoured. Very nice.
Ma Is White. Whitbier. Fork and Brewer. 5.4%. Named after the first line of a well known primary school song. Yellow, hazy. A very nice beer with flavours of fruit salad sweets ( who remembers those?) with a hint of orange. Almost creamy. Beer showing real complexity of flavour. An absolute star.

Liverpool Winter Ales Festival

This weekend saw the Winter Ales Festival held at Liverpools St George’s Hall, a rather grand venue and worthy of a post in itself at some point in the future.

Two hundred beers and ciders to sample from in the Great Hall

Cascade. Liverpool Organic Brewery. Pale Ale. 3.8%. Amber in colour, clear. A lightish beer with grapefruit citrus flavours. A nice way to start the festival.

Shipwreck. Liverpool Organic Brewery. IPA. 6.5%. Amber/gold in colour with a slight haze. Very pleasant tropical notes with an underlying sweetness. A low bitterness IPA. A dry finish with lingering citrus.

Sunshine. Brass Castle Brewery, North Yorkshire. IPA. 5.7%. Dark amber in colour with slight haze. Grapefruit and orange marmalade flavours with a touch of sweetness. Citrus finish.

Pop. First Chop Brewing Arm, Salford. IPA. 5.4%. Amber in colour with a slight haze. Flavours of orange and a smokey/earthy element. A characterful beer.

Chevalier. Gibberish Brewing, Liverpool. ESB. 4.8%. Dark amber and clear. Bags of flavour here, nutty, malty, toast and a big hit of coffee. A long lingering finish with a slightly bitter end.

Citra. Saltaire Brewery, West Yorkshire. Pale Ale. 4.2%. Golden in appearance. A complex beer with citrus and tropical flavours with lovely balancing bitterness. Very refreshing, very drinkable.

Au. Three Brothers Brewing Co, Stockton on Tees. Pale Ale. 4.2%. Golden in colour with a slight haze. Light in body with a mild citrus flavour.

California Steam. Tollgate Brewery, Derbyshire. Pale Ale 4.2%. Very pale in colour, little or no head, slight haze. Light with an ever so slight spritz, lemon citrus. Almost lager in style.