Hopful Thinking

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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Welcome, intrepid visitor, to the home of the Hopful Thinkers.

Who are the Hopful Thinkers?  We are a motley assortment of “Craft Beer Enthusiasts” – and good mates.  We get together every Wednesday, and drink, and discuss, and think about Beer.  And whatever else comes to mind.  We blog about beer, brewing, breweries, brewers, and other related beer-type subjects and we are “all up in that social media” – whatever the hell that means.

So of course, we are going to be at the NZ Beer Festival.  Come have a drink with us – we are wearing black polos, with our catch cry emblazoned on the back:

I DRINK, THEREFORE I AM.

We’ll be putting up some bits here and on twitter… to help you find the best stuff at the Beer Festival as we do.

In the meantime, here are some tips from a seasoned NZ Beer Fester to help make your NZ Beer Fest 2012 a successful one…

• DO NOT MISS the Brewery Britomart, they are new in town and have some sensational beers, and can be found at stall zero.  We reckon they will sell out for sure so get there early.
• Get along to Epic and seek out Luke… ask to try some Zythos (not even released yet)
• Think carefully about what you want to taste – there’s 70 beers here and you can’t get through them all…
• Drink in order; don’t go for anything with too much flavour or alcohol early on because you will ruin your palate for anything more subtle.  Try starting with Pale Ales or Lagers and work your way up from there.  Or skip the weak beers altogether…
• Safety first – try to avoid having too much of anything with “Imperial” “Double” “Tripel” or “Quadrupel” in the title too early in the day… these are synonyms for “rocket fuel”.  There are two major reasons for this – one, you’ll peak too soon – we don’t want to be stepping over bodies and puddles of vomit – and more importantly, you will barely taste anything else afterwards.  Pace yourself!!
• Most importantly though, seek out beers you haven’t tried, or maybe even heard of before, and give them a shot.  You never know, you might leave with a new favourite.

Wishing you an enjoyable and safe day at the NZ Beer Festival — and hope to see you around!

Cheers,

Dan (of the Hopful Thinkers)

So a few short weeks ago, Chris and I were having an idle chat, on the internet, whilst at work. The subject usually strays onto beer at some point or another, and we’d been talking about the Flying Nun, a most excellent beer, and some of our other faves from Epic.

Epic - It Just Tastes Bigger

I get back into my work and a few minutes later google chat pips.. and it’s Chris. “Should I email Luke, and ask if we can visit Epic HQ?” – funny enough I’d just been thinking the same thing. And there was only one correct response… “Do it!!”

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Who said Auckland doesn’t have any decent Brew Bars?  Here are a couple you’ve probably heard of, and one you probably haven’t.  It’s a start, alright?  And fellow beer fiend Rosalind Aymes has checked them all out for you.  So what are you waiting for?  Click on through!  Off you go!

As soon as I post this, some Nelsonsion is going to jump up and down, proclaiming that their region is New Zealand’s Home of Great Brew Bars, the Beer Capital, the Sunshine City and whatever else Nelson is claiming this week. Well, Auckland doesn’t have many craft breweries and it does rain an awful lot, but we’ve now got one thing going for us: three great brew bars. That’s right – three. Three great brew bars, each producing excellent beer, all … Read More

via A Girl’s Guide to Beer