Hopful Thinking

You’ve probably heard the expression “a giant among men” – if there ever was a brewer to match that description, it’d be Andrew Childs.

Aside from being a towering 6’5, Andrew’s been quietly practising his craft for years. Judging by the fact he entered no fewer than 13 brews in the Wellington in a Pint competition (under the moniker of “Tall Tale Ales”), he’s got more than a few tricks up his sleeve. These included winner Celia Wade-Brown Ale – named for Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown – and runner up Cuba Street Car Fire; a rauchbier replete with chipotle and cayenne pepper, this one proved a mite too hot for the judges!

So naturally when we heard that Andrew was launching his very own brewing company, we felt obliged to pop around for a chat (and to try his latest batch).
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You will find Behemoth Brewing’s Celia Wade-Brown Ale at the Auckland launch event at Brothers Beer, Wellesley Street on Wednesday 31 July from 5:30 onwards, it’s also available at Hashigo Zake in Wellington and it should be popping up in the next week or so at selected good beer bars around the country.

Brewers always have an interesting story or three, so off camera, we carried on chatting. For around the past year, Andrew has been pitching his home brew in .  Given the quality thereof, we’re almost willing to overlook the fact he hails from our capital city, and remains unabashedly proud of his home town.  Oddly enough, Andrew started out in law, but as his tale unfolds it becomes clear that his true passion is for brewing. (more…)

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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