Brave's Gemma and Matt Smith say Tigermilk IPA accounts for about 60% of their total production, with an average of 2600 litres brewed per week. Photo / Warren Buckland
Brave's Gemma and Matt Smith say Tigermilk IPA accounts for about 60% of their total production, with an average of 2600 litres brewed per week. Photo / Warren Buckland
Home cook and deputy editor Mark Story is on the hunt for the region’s rising food and beverage stars. This week he hits up Hastings’ Brave Brewery’s Matt & Gemma Smith about the cult following of their signature beer, Tigermilk IPA, and its mythological tiger-cow
People aren’t just drinking Tigermilk,they’re inking it. How did it go from popular ale to a movement with tattoos?
We think it’s a combination of the name, label, imagery and of course the beer itself that have contributed. The beer is good - last year it won Champion New Zealand IPA - but the imagery has captured people’s hearts. The tiger-cow is quite endearing.
Hawke’s Bay’s Peyton Pyke-Duffy’s tiger-cow tattoo was inked after a promise to a good friend. 'Hands down, Tigermilk is my favourite beer. They’re a really neat community to be a part of.'
West Coast IPAs are our signature style. Originating from the West Coast of the US, they’re a bright and clear, relatively strong style of pale ale, characterised by an assertive bitterness, a hop-forward, resinous flavour and a big hoppy aroma. The malt structure is quite light and they’re fermented dry and crisp, so they’re very refreshing, despite the strength. Tigermilk has a simple malt base, made up of all NZ pale ale, pilsner malt and a small percentage of toffee malt, this allows the hop character to shine through. Hops for this beer are all Pacific Northwest-grown. Citra & mosaic bring a tropical, ripe fruit character, and centennial hops balance this with some more bitter grapefruit/citrus character.
Auckland chef Daniel Freeman told me if Brave opened a taproom in the City of Sails, it’d be the busiest bar in town. Tempted?
Sadly, no. But if anyone wants to enjoy a Tigermilk in Auckland they should visit Daniel’s Ragtag - one of the greatest restaurants in the country.
Auckand chef Daniel Freeman says his Tigermilk bottle tattoo was an easy choice. 'It’s a fantastic beer and a cool logo. New Zealand was going through a big hazy stage, then along came Tigermilk - crystal clear and perfectly made.'
Are batches of Tigermilk near-identical? Or do hops, like grapes, have distinct vintages?
We have a tight set of specifications and standard procedures that we work to for all points of the brewing process. Coupled with this, we brew multiple batches of Tigermilk every week, so we really get to know how the brew/fermentation should be tracking and how to manage it well. Having said that, like grapes, hops are an agricultural product and there can be a lot of variation, even within the same variety from the same crop year. Because we’re such a small brewery, we’re not able to source hops exclusively from any one farm, so every lot we receive might be from a different farm and be slightly different from the last lot. This can cause a bit of variation batch to batch. We accept this level of variance as unavoidable and focus more on ensuring the beer is always fresh, well-made and within its technical specifications.
As a young brewery with a black-and-orange striped Ferrari in your stable, does it worry you that your best beer may already be behind you?
It actually brings comfort. We feel privileged in these times to have a product that has become iconic and sells so reliably. The beer is 10 years old this year, and despite thinking it will surely reach a ceiling at some point, it continues to grow year on year. We also think “best selling” and “best” are not the same thing, and this presents a great challenge in our brewery to make beer that we feel rivals Tigermilk, even if it doesn’t outsell it.
Does a Tigermilk tattoo earn loyalty rates in your taproom?
No, but we have often talked about running a campaign where if you get a tiger-cow tattoo, you can enjoy a lifelong discount on the product.
First up, colour. If you could melt the classic golden barley-sugar lollies down to a liquid, that’d be a close match.
There’s hop, fresh herb and orange on the nose.
At first sip, a sweetness, then a welcome bitterness that lingers for the whole bottle.
This easy drinker has all the punchy notes of a louder IPA - but with the noise turned down. It offers a session beer’s refreshment with some serious tiger in the tail. Lovely drop. A triumph of tone.
