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…)

I do love writing about beer, but it doesn’t exactly pay the bills.  Not so far anyway.  And so, like most beer enthusiasts, I have a day job. It just so happens that my day job is at the very awesome Orcon.

And it just so happens that Richard, a like-minded team mate, suggested that Orcon should do an Awesome beer; with none other than our local hop-head, Luke Nicholas of Epic.

I guess the powers-that-be liked the idea because the next minute we were hanging out with Luke at Steam, laying down a mash, designing a killer label, and making a youtube video about it. I gotta say, we had a great time, and I reckon we’ve done a pretty good job on the beer too.

Epic Orcon Pale Ale pours a bright golden hue and just a little white head.  The subtle aroma of passionfruit greets you and from the first sip, caramel malt characters fade out to a bitter hop finish.  The mouthfeel is velvety with just a hint of effervescence to remind you it’s there.

At 5.6%, Epic Orcon ale makes for a refreshing session beer, perfect for a late night gaming session or just a quiet afternoon, you know, checking Facebook.

Epic Orcon Ale wants to be your friend – you should totally accept this request.

epicorcon.co.nz

After sampling some of Wigram’s beers at the 2012 New Zealand Beer Festival I was happy to spy a bottle of their Spruce Beer at New World Victoria Park.

This beer is based on Captain’s Cooks original recipe as first made in Dusky Sound, New Zealand, 1771.

Was this recipe developed by Captain Cook and his men in desperation upon their arrival in New Zealand? With no hops or barley to be found?

(more…)

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)

7.0% ABV, 330ml glass bottle, Blenheim, New Zealand, purchased from New World Birkenhead

The Pink Elephant brewery is widely known for it’s distinctive, English style ales.  No surprise then that it was founded in 1990 by an Englishman from Kent, Roger Pink.

Having won several awards since that time, to this day Pink Elephant stays true to the art of brewing, using only traditional ingredients and methods.  Given such an illustrious history, we expected a lot from Mammoth, their flagship Strong English Ale, and were not disappointed.

Into the glass it goes… the Mammoth pours a deep mahogany hue, the head dissipating quickly to leave a moderate amount of lacing.

Dark malts evident on the nose with complex fruity overtones, smooth tasting with subtle bourbon characters on the palate, leaving behind a slightly salty and bitter finish, strangely reminiscent of soy sauce.

Mammoth is definitely strong on flavour, and a taste that’s slightly boozier than it’s little brother the Golden Tusk, despite having the same alcohol content.

If you enjoy a good English style strong ale, this is a great example of the style, and brewed right here in New Zealand.  Highly recommended.