Roger Moroney says the craft/boutique beer thing has really surged in the past few years. Photo / File
Roger Moroney says the craft/boutique beer thing has really surged in the past few years. Photo / File
In the art of brewing timing is crucial.
You have to let the fruits of one's labour simmer and sift about and reach the exact point of perfection for bottling.
So in the wake of so many recent event cancellations due to having to sit in level 2 (sounds likea classroom doesn't it?) I would have been a worried brewer were it my passion and profession.
For there was a celebratory event on the calendar coaster, but I just knew it would not be shelved due to another level shuffle.
For when it comes to timing the brew folks always have the edge … they always get it right.
It was great to see the pictures taken at the beer appreciation day in Havelock North last weekend as they were images of a great day out for a lot of people, and a lot of delighted craft beer brewers.
People sampled the flavoursome tastes of this land's brew craft.
Had I been there the question of "would you like that in a can or a bottle squire?" would have been answered with a simple "make it a keg".
I did not attend the event, however, as we had a family afternoon on the cards and the grandkids were keen to have another shot at wrecking the place.
Had I have popped along on that beautiful sunny Sunday I would likely have got back home on Tuesday afternoon.
The craft/boutique beer thing has really surged in the past few years, as my former news boss Mark (I'll have a pint thanks) Story wrote in a recent tale.
It's great to see as it illustrates that the brewing industry is fizzing along nicely (here we go).
Yes it is bubbling away well (here we go again) and for those seeking a very different taste away from the standard mass production selections it is nirvana.
Check out the shelves in the stores these days.
There are scores and scores of this land's craft ales as well as some unusual imported items.
I tried one recently from Blighty which had been brewed using bananas as well as the usual ingredients.
I was tempted into brewing by my late older brother a few decades back as he used to make some, shall we say, "interesting" draughts and lagers which tasted more like the racing fuel he had stored in the shed that a wannabe pilsener.
And they were cloudy.
"Ah it all goes down the same," he'd say as another one exploded in the freezer.
I made a dozen or so batches using a fine little Aussie-sourced kit, and I used proper brewing sugar and clear waters and well-cleansed bottles … and I would check the barrel of brew daily with the hydrometer and always ensured the temperature was ideal.
My little daughters helped me syphon and bottle it, and my brothers helped me ensure there were always enough empties for the next batch.
They gave it the thumbs up, and yes, it was pretty good if I may say so.
But I leave it to the great craft crews today … well done one and all.
Right, put the glass down, for I am steering a political path now.
Old Scotty Morrison has been going on about unloading unwanted folks back to New Zealand if they have a criminal record or whatever.
One of his mindless minions called it like putting the garbage out.
Okay, so how is it that the "authorities" of this land (and I'm taking the taxpayer path now) have deemed it fine and dandy to accommodate and effectively "host" a demented Aussie mass murderer who, for his demonic sins, has a room here and gets three meals a day … for the rest of his life.
Something a lot of Kiwis do not have.
Send him back home … where he belongs.
Roger Moroney is an award-winning journalist and observer of the slightly off-centre.
