The Post

Moa sends first deer beer to China

- Julie Iles julie.iles@stuff.co.nz

Moa is trialling a beer infused with deer velvet at boutique craft beer stores in China.

The deer for the Blenheim craft brewer’s first batch of its Red Stag Wheat Beer was shot on a hunting trip with the directors of one of Southern China’s largest beer distributo­rs, M99, in the Waihopai Valley.

Deer velvet, which grows on the antlers of deer for about three months a year before turning into bone, is widely thought to have health benefits, especially in Chinese medicine.

The New Zealand College of Chinese Medicine said it could be used as a ‘‘liver detox’’.

Deer Industry New Zealand’s market manager for Asia, Rhys Griffiths, said the product was most often used as an immunity and energy boost by students in Asia who were cramming for exams.

Moa general manager Gareth Hughes said the idea of putting deer velvet in beer originated about a year ago when he was sitting down at one of M99’s six stores in Chengdu, China, brainstorm­ing how to better cater to the Chinese market.

‘‘We don’t have the marketing budget of a lot of the multinatio­nals, so we’ve got to do a lot of our talking via the beer,’’ Hughes said.

The company’s second containerl­oad of the beer has hit store shelves.

Moa brewed its first batch of the Red Stag Wheat Beer in January, which Hughes said used red malts, but has as strong a hop flavour as an imperial pale ale due to the addition of Nelson hops.

Moa brewers put the deer antlers into a giant sieve and place it in the kettle with sugar and malts to boil for an hour before yeast is added.

Brewer Paul Chambers said about 8 kilograms of deer velvet was added to the first batch.

‘‘We don’t have the marketing budget of a lot of the multinatio­nals, so we’ve got to do a lot of our talking via the beer.’’ Moa general manager Gareth Hughes

 ?? SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF ?? Brewer Paul Chambers, left, says about 8kg of deer velvet was added to Moa’s first batch of Red Stag Wheat Beer.
SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF Brewer Paul Chambers, left, says about 8kg of deer velvet was added to Moa’s first batch of Red Stag Wheat Beer.
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