Although a 45-year-old Hawke's Bay brewing company might have the word "amateur" in its name, there were a couple of very professional guests at the group's last meeting.
Formed in 1976 and known as the Hastings Amateur Winemakers Club, the Hawke's Bay Winemakers and Homebrewers Club was established in 1981. Josh and Scott from award winning Garage Project were guest speakers at last week's club night, the final of the year until Wednesday, February 3, 2022, says president Maurice Gray.
"The speakers were excellent and the larger than normal numbers at the meeting were really impressed with the guys presentation. They gave us a background of the company and offered us samples of five different beers to taste, ranging from a naturally fermented zero alcohol hazy beer to an 11 per cent alcohol stout that had been in barrels with lots of extra ingredients that made it an amazing beer. Others included an IPA, a sour beer and a blood peach fruit infused beer."
Maurice says although they don't hold another meeting until next year, they will visit the National Distillery in Ahuriri and have a club Christmas dinner, both in December, plus a club barbecue late January.
The club boasts 25 members, including those from both town and country, says publicity officer David Grant.