Limitedproduction Mountain Ale not pale but very popular
GLENORCHY land development engineer Steve Hewland spends one day a week brewing in his small brewery at home — and intends keeping production small and sales local.
His Glenorchy Brew Co range is a red IPA, pilsner, lager and a pale ale called Mountain Ale, which is the only one I have tasted. It is far from a ‘‘pale’’ ale, though, with heaps of malt and hop flavour and a lovely head, which is easily refreshed with a quick swirl of the glass.
Most of the production is in kegs, which go into in Glenorchy, Queenstown and
Arrowtown, but the Mountain ale (500ml) and pilsner (330ml) are bottled and available locally and further down Lake Wakatipu at Fernhill
Grocery and Fresh Choice in Queenstown and Henry’s in Frankton.
Steve tried the recipe for the Mountain ale at a mate’s brew plant a couple of years ago. He took it back to Glenorchy and found great local support for it: three kegs were ‘‘knocked off’’ the first night and the other five sold within three weeks.
He started brewing the ale at home in the evening and at weekends and a year ago installed a 1000litre plant and expanded the range by devoting one day week to brewing.
The used barley is fed to the pigs and sheep on his lifestyle block and the wastewater goes into summer irrigation.
More on nectaron
My previous column revealed a new hop, called nectaron, that has been developed and which has excited brewers.
Not much was harvested in March: just enough to go into small batches, which sold quickly. I heard that there were a few cans of Behemoth Me Time nectaron single hop hazy IPA 30km away — and I jumped into the car . . .
And, yes, it is everything they say about it, with intense stonefruit aroma and flavour.
Behemoth owner/brewer Andrew Childs says it is the best New Zealand hop developed since Nelson sauvin in 2000.
Me Time is a series of single hop ales made by Behemoth (Me Time Mosaic was the champion IPA at last year’s Brewers Guild awards). Alas, we will have to wait until mid2021 for more nectaron brews.
Nah. It’s not beer
Beer is more than 90% water. Sparkling mineral water is natural bubbly spring water. ‘‘Seltzer’’ is carbonated water (what you do at home with a SodaStream). Or, if you add flavours, it is ‘‘soft drink’’.
Seltzer, it seems, is now also beer: beer that looks like water, but is alcoholic (5%); beer that is watery except for a hint of lime, raspberry, watermelon and strawberry, mango and passionfruit and pineapple.
DB Breweries has launched the four flavours. Why? Because it is all the rage in the United States where sales of these things almost tripled in value last year.
They come as Pure Pirana — a new Heineken (which owns DB) label — and DB’s own Club Setter. Pirana is about $25 a 10pack; Club Setter about $27.
Covid casualties
Beer competitions around the world have been cancelled because of Covid19.
Among them last month’s Australian International Beer Awards (drawing about 4000 entries from 400 breweries) and this month’s Brewers Guild awards (nearly 1000 beers and ciders) here in New Zealand.