Hopful Thinking

We present to you Aucktoberfest 2014!

In association with Vulture’s Lane Craft Bar, Brew on Quay and Home Brew West we have put together a week long event to celebrate Auckland and the great beer we have to offer.

Aucktoberfest 2014 kicks off at midday, 10 October at Vulture’s Lane and wraps up on the 18th at Brew on Quay, with both bars having a fantastic range of Auckland brewed beverages on tap during the entire week!  We have even brewed a very exclusive beer just for the event, named “XOver”.  Wanna know more?  Head on over!

Aucktoberfest 2014

See you there!

A new campaign is underway in Mother England to renew interest in Beer, since punters seem to be moving away to Cider and Wine. I’ll let this article do the talking.

“Brewing giants including Molson Coors AB-InBev, Carlsberg and Heineken have joined forces with the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Society of Independent Brewers to launch the ‘Let There Be Beer’ activity.”

“Let There Be Beer is about instilling a passion for beer in the nation’s hearts and remind the nation why beer is the nation’s best-loved drink. But for many, beer simply means pints of warm, flat lager. That couldn’t be further from reality!”

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Legend has it that every September, there’s a little-known beer festival in a small town down under, in the United States of Europe.

They call this festival “Oktoberfest” – we figure this must be the locals’ idea of humour.  But the spirit of the festival is something we can all relate to; a celebration of beer and the things that go with it – camaraderie, music, food and fun.  Sounds like a good time, doesn’t it?  But here’s the rub – it looks like a pretty long drive, and there aren’t any buses going there from Britomart – I checked¹.

We at the Hopful Thinkers are all about solving problems, but despite several beers, this one was proving a bit of a head-scratcher. (more…)

So for a long time, we’ve been avid fans of the New Zealand Beer Festival, ever since our first back in 2007 – where I first laid tastebuds upon Epic Mayhem and discovered the wonder that is HOPS.

However just this week, we’ve had the privilege of a sticky beak around the Cloud, and scored interviews with the organisers and some of the brewers.  So we thought we’d share a few hot tips and snippets, to get you in the mood for the big day.

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So here I am, sitting in a hotel room in our nation’s capital on a fine winter’s afternoon. My back aches a little from lugging glasses, but I’m not complaining, there’s a nice cold glass of Hop Zombie in my hand which is going down very nicely, thank you.

But enough about me – this short post goes out to Beervana and all those who make it happen.  I had some idea of what it was about, but until you are in it, it’s  impossible to grasp the incredible vibe which comes from a volunteer driven, non profit beer festival that really is all about amazing  beer and the brewers behind it.

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