Size hasn’t only been a major influence in the development of the New Zealand craft brewing industry; isolation has also played a major role in the development of New Zealand’s distinctive hop varieties. Hops have been grown in the Nelson region for more than 100 years, originally planted by English and German settlers who found... View Article
New Zealand hops are distinctive but brewers are also looking to other native ingredients to give their beer some spice. Anyone who saw the Discovery Channel’s Brewmasters episode featuring Sam Calagione’s journey to New Zealand will be familiar with his collaboration with Luke Nicholas and Epic Brewing. Using native tamarillos, or tree tomatoes, the pair... View Article
New Zealand is small. It is small and it is a long way from just about everywhere. Its largest city, Auckland, is more than 1,300 miles from the nearest similar-sized city, making it the most remote major city in the world. Its capital, Wellington, is also the world’s southernmost capital city.
You love beer. That’s a given. But how do you show beer you love it on a deeper level (besides reading a magazine that is all about it)?
If you are planning to attend this year’s Oktoberfest and have yet to book a hotel, you’ve left it too late. Your best bet is either to reserve something outside of town and make ample use of the outstanding German rail system or book through a travel agency that has an allotment of rooms already... View Article
It wasn’t until about 10 A.M. that I saw my first corpse, but then again, it was only Monday. I was pretty certain the bodies would grow more plentiful closer to the week’s end.
In Japan, the beer from these 24 breweries is worth seeking out. The name of the brewery is preceded by the month/year they opened and followed by their location (in parenthesis). 2/95 Echigo Beer Co. (Niigata) 5/95 Otaru Beer (Hokkaido) 6/95 Gotemba Kogen Brewery (Shizuoka) 6/95 Yokohama Beer (Yokohama) 7/95 Doppo Beer (Okayama) 3/96 ... View Article
It was July of 2000 and Bryan and Sayuri Baird had just finished completing their new Fishmarket Taproom across the street from the port in Numazu, Japan. They had already applied for a brewing license for their startup, Baird Brewing Co. While the taproom offered Hoegaarden White, Guinness and several other beers, the Bairds were... View Article
With sheets of rain blanketing our SUV, windshield wipers pounding out a mind-numbing rhythm, a stream of crimson brake lights ahead to the horizon and two stressed-out beer reps in the back seat on their Blackberries, all I could think was, “Man, I really need a beer.”
