Little sinks the suds at Beervana
IF THINGS don’t go well for Andrew Little at the next election, he can always fall back on his craft brewing.
The Labour leader impressed a few people at Wellington’s Beervana festival yesterday where he served up a beer he collaborated on with local boutique brewery Funk Estate especially for the event.
Little described his ‘Leader of the Hoposition’ tipple as a light pale ale with grassy and passionfruit notes.
‘‘It’s that thirst-quencher for summer,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m feeling very satisfied with the brew I’ve produced.’’
The thirsty Beervana crowd at Westpac Stadium felt much the same.
Festival-goer Mark Fahy said Little’s beer was ‘‘very hoppy’’ with an after-taste that was ‘‘a bit of a stayer’’ but on the whole it was quite nice
‘‘It’s a case of don’t give up your day job,’’ Fahy said. ‘‘But he’ll probably find another job at the Backbencher [pub] if things don’t work out.’’
Fellow beer drinker Wayne Breeze admitted the Labour leader had found the way to his heart.
‘‘If he keeps giving me free beer, I’ll vote for him.’’
Little said he started drinking craft beers ‘‘some time ago’’, and when the opportunity to make one of his own came up he couldn’t say no.
Only 90 litres of the beer was produced. But judging by the number of new friends it has made him, a return trip to the brewery could be in order.
‘‘The level of interest expressed to me in the last couple of weeks has been huge so there might be a bit of an opportunity here,’’ Little said.
About 10,000 people were expected to attend Beervana yesterday and today.
The event, which serves as the centrepiece of Wellington On a Plate, features 275 different beers from 60 breweries across New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Britain.
Hannah Maling, who travelled from Fremantle in Western Australia for the festival, said Beervana had became quite well known in Australia, along with many of the country’s craft brewers.
‘‘Wellington and the whole of New Zealand has the best craft beer scene. The stuff that comes out of New Zealand is always so fresh and exciting,’’ she said.
Her favourite beer had been the Cookies and Cream Ale by Wellington brewery Garage Project, which was brewed with biscuit malts and a hint of chocolate, and topped off with a cocoa powder moustache.