Beervana 2010 is over for another year and while it may be the country's biggest beer festival, it is by no means the only one.  Readers regularly send me reports from other events and I will look to post them here.  This one arrived during my rather lengthy blogging hiatus which was largely caused by an inability to log-in far less figure out how to post.  However, that is all sorted now and I certainly think this is a story well worth sharing.

The Blackhurst Beer Festival has been running now for seven years.  The format is quite simple - blogger Kate Blackhurst assembles a group of family and friends, they blind taste ten beers, assign marks and compile some tasting notes.  At the end, they declare a bronze medal, silver medal and champion ale of the evening.

Kate herself provides an excellent write-up on her Crouching Giraffe blog (easily one of the greatest blog names of all time). 

You can read part one of the results here and part two here.  Enjoy!

Cheers

Neil Miller

Beer is about to become more feminine and "sexy", if an Otago brewer has her way.

Beltane Brewery owner Vicki-Maree Yarker won a medal at the BrewNZ Awards in Wellington last week for a special brew she developed specifically for women.

Her Beltane Maiden was awarded the silver medal in the flavoured and aged styles category.

"It was the first time I'd entered a competition. There was no trial batch or anything," Ms Yarker said yesterday of her Belgian whit (white) style beer.

"I got cancer about four years ago and had a bucket list of things I wanted to do, and brewing a beer for women was one of them.

"There's definitely a market for craft beers for women.

It's just as luscious as wine, but women need to know more about it, so I thought, `Let's brew a beer for a female palate'.

"It's just as complex as wine. Out of four elements - water, hops, malt and yeast - you can get so many amazing tastes, like chocolate, passion fruit and banana. It's amazing. It's got just as complex a top note as a really good wine," she said.

"Beer can be a very sexy drink, but you have to architect the taste. Before making Beltane Maiden, we thought about it and researched it and had focus groups. This beer was built for women. It has citrus layers, complexities and characteristics.

"Women don't like bitterness in beer as much as gentlemen, because we have more taste buds at the back of the palate, which is where bitter tastes are picked up.

"The hops are added quite late in the boiling process, so you get beautiful citrus aromas and a smooth, velvety finish."

Ms Yarker, who divides her time between Dunedin and Clinton, planned to develop Beltane Goddess and Beltane Mistress beers.

"The three beers will celebrate women and the three aspects of a woman's life - as a maiden, the child-bearing years and as a wise, old woman, or crone," she said.

Beltane Maiden is made under licence by Harrington's Brewery in Christchurch.

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A beer drinkers' society warns it faces bankruptcy if it loses its dispute with DB Breweries over a shandy-like lager which most of its members do not drink.

The Society of Beer Advocates (Soba), an organisation with about 500 members run by volunteers, has taken legal action against DB over the term "Radler", which the brewing giant uses on a citrus-flavoured brand of Monteith's.

DB has a trademark over Radler which Soba is attempting to have declared invalid, arguing that like pilsner or lager, the term is a generic name for a recognised style of beer over which no-one should have exclusive rights.

Last week, DB's lawyers, Simpson Grierson, wrote to Soba urging it to drop the action, hinting strongly that it would pursue Soba for its costs if it won the case.

"The evidence is compelling," Earl Gray, a partner at Simpson Grierson wrote to Soba's lawyers, James & Wells. "Your client's costs will continue to grow. Accordingly, we invite your client to withdraw each of its applications without delay."

The society found the letter "intimidatory", treasurer Robert Owen said, but resolved to continue the fight at its annual general meeting last week, believing it can win the case.

Radler, German for cyclist, was developed as a drink in Bavaria in the 1920s, and while the exact recipe is uncertain, it was a beer and soda mix aimed at cyclists because of its lower alcohol content.

If DB is allowed sole use of the term Radler, Soba argues, it may attempt to trademark others, preventing New Zealand's growing craft beer industry from using them.

Mr Owen said it was unlikely that Radler was among the favourites of its members, who generally preferred fuller flavoured beverages.

"No, probably not. It's basically a shandy," he said.

"But this is a point of principle; we're not defending a style of beer that's one of our favourites but it's important because it is a style of beer and if we let this one go, then there's no reason why they won't try to take others."

DB has already forced Dunedin brewery Greenman to drop its use of the term Radler, prompting Soba to pursue the issue. It has also challenged DB's use of "Saison", and DB dropped its Saison trademark shortly afterwards.

Soba – deliberately named to be ironic – says it does not have the resources to cover a large legal bill. Its lawyers estimate the bill so far to be between $5000 and $6000.

A spokeswoman for DB said the costs it had incurred in the dispute were "substantial".

Mr Owen said: "We don't have the money in the bank, we would have to go into liquidation."

A spokeswoman for DB said its application to trademark the term in 2003 was not contested.

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It's not something many people would include in an emergency kit, but there are fears Christchurch's beer supply could run out.

Lion Nathan's brewery in Christchurch sustained heavy damage in the quake, reports the New Zealand Herald.

Supplies of Canterbury Draught, Guinness, Beck's and the Macs Craft range are threatened, though the company told the newspaper reserve stock could be shifted around the country to meet demand.

"At this stage we're saying that it's unlikely that we'll be doing any production or deliveries this week," sys spokesperson Judy Walters.

"I don't think people will be going thirsty."

Other brands produced by the company are manufactured elsewhere.

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Croucher Brewing wins 'Champion International Lager' at 2010 BrewNZ Awards

Rotorua's award-winning craft brewery has taken out the Champion International Lager trophy with Croucher Pilsner at the BrewNZ Awards held in Wellington Thursday night.

One of the glamour categories of the awards, the International Lager category encompasses 21 classes and sub-classes, including (interestingly) the highly prized New Zealand Pilsner category that Croucher Pilsner entered. New Zealand Pilsner is a style based around showcasing New Zealand grown hops, and Croucher Pilsner is PACKED full of Nelson-grown Motueka and Riwaka hops.

Croucher Pilsner won Gold in the New Zealand Pilsner class, and then was awarded the Trophy for Champion International lager. It is worth noting that Croucher Pilsner was the only Gold Medal awarded across the whole category, which included entries from around New Zealand as well as some of the biggest and best breweries from around the world.

Brewer Paul Croucher was over the moon upon hearing the result, “This is a massive achievement for a small brewery like us. We were really confident that this was a good beer, but you just never know with awards. The feedback we have been getting from customers and beer fans is that it is a bit special, so it is nice to have now also been acknowledged by our industry peers.”

Co-owner Nigel Gregory commented “It would be fair to say we screamed with delight and danced around the room when we heard our Pilsner had been named Champion in its category. When we brew, our first priority is making beers that we love ourselves, as opposed to trying to fit neatly into a particular beer category, so it is nice that we have managed to do both. It really is a delicious hoppy beer that we are immensely proud of.”

Chief Judge at BrewNZ, David Logsdon from the USA, says that the 2010 BrewNZ Beer Awards hosted the largest field of entries ever, surpassing last year’s competitions by a great margin. “Brewers from around the world competed with the best of New Zealand beers in a world class challenge. The results show that New Zealand stands tall amongst the best beers in the world.”

Croucher Pilsner:
Tasting Notes:
A pioneer of style, this New Zealand Pilsner is a showcase for New Zealand Motueka and Riwaka hops. The up-front fruity (grapefruit and passion fruit) hit from the hops is balanced with biscuity malts to produce a perfect union. Particularly luscious! 5% alc/vol
Recognition:
• Champion International Lager, BrewNZ Awards 2010
• Rated 93/100, and awarded 5 Stars by Bob Campbell, MW

The Croucher Brewing Company
Croucher Brewing opened the doors of its Rotorua-based craft brewery in 2006, and since then has built a reputation and following amongst craft beer drinkers in New Zealand for producing big flavoured beers that showcase New Zealand hops.

Croucher Brewing achieved worldwide media coverage in October 2007 when after having the brewery burgled it offered a life time supply of its craft beer in exchange for the safe return of the company's laptop computer. Croucher Brewing was named Rotorua's Emerging Business Of The Year in 2007.

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It's been brewing for three years but finally Masterton's Peak Brewery has picked up a result at the BrewNZ awards.

"It's bloody good - I'm really pleased.

"It's really nice to get the recognition," East Taratahi Rd brewer Rhys Morgan said of his bronze placing in the new robust porter/cask conditioned category, with his plucky Cornhill Porter.

He describes the bronze medal Cornhill as "very dark, very rich, chocolatey and spicy" and said it followed in the tradition of the beer popularised by London street and river porters in the 18th century.

BrewNZ 2010 attracted a record 450 entries amid the mounting popularity of craft beers in New Zealand and Mr Morgan said the attendant Beervana brewers' expo in Wellington last weekend was invaluable.

The town hall session brought together brewers from around the country and the globe including Mr Morgan's malt supplier from Bamberg, in Germany, whom he met for the first time at the expo.

He said the introduction to his supplier helped solidify the relationship on a more personal level with the malt merchants giving Mr Morgan a German malt shovel.

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Well, Beervana 2010 is over and in the record books.  There were big crowds at the four beer and food matching sessions I ran with chef Martin Bosley from the eponymous Martin Bosley's eatery.  A number of people have requested a list of the matches we presented so here it is.  Basically, we selected the eight beers, Martin designed a dish go with each beer, then we tasted it and tweaked the recipes if required.  Here is the menu:

Emerson's Pilsner – Raw oysters topped with mandarin and fennel slaw

Tuatara APA– Sashimi-style salmon with passionfruit and chili vinaigrette

Captain Cooker– Rhubarb crème caramel with a ginger and apple juice crumble, spray of rosewater and local Turkish Delight

Thornbridge Saint Petersburg Russian Imperial Stout– Unpasteurised French Salors cheese with a roasted beetroot vinaigrette

Mike's IIPA – Slow cooked lamb with almonds, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and yoghurt

Cooper's Vintage Ale– Duck liver creme caramel and shredded confit of duck

Emerson's Porter – Chocolate mousse and chocolate cake

Harrington's Big John – Pear tart with parmesan

Thanks to everyone who came to watch us and particularly the brave souls who came up on stage to offer their thoughts and comments.  Personal favourites for me were probably the oysters and the lamb, but it was also a delight to be able to showcase the under-rated Emerson's Porter with a particularly decadent chocolate two-ways dish.  Despite still not having a sweet tooth, I continue to be amazed at how brilliantly dessert and beer can work together.

Cheers

Neil Miller