Beer Icons & Who needs hops

[jt]

I've been passing by AHB on a regular basis for a few years and Coopers Pale Ale keeps coming up regularly as one of THE beers to clone.
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php/?autocom=recipedb&a...
It's as if there's a national pride in it, like it's an icon.

Do we have such a beer in New Zealand ?

I know we have icons in the marketeers beer world, the yea right, red like a fire engine, export yourself beer, but you know I don't mean that.

What's the beer that we all accept as a good one, not swill, not boutique, not a one off or seasonal.
What's the accepted good beer out there that always draws us in ? Is there is one beer that has almost universal acceptance ..

I'd suggest that there's been a few possibilities over the years .. Mac's (which one though), Hopsmacker, Bookbinder .. Any more ideas chaps ?

Now the next part.

If you can decide what this beer is - why not brew it for the next case swap - or maybe a seperate class in the SOBA homebrew comp - an ANZAC day brew day ?

I think the interpreation and the results could be quite fascinating

cheers, jt

[JoKing]

It's a bloody good idea if you ask me. I would even consider entering if there was a category like this.... And that's saying something, because I vowed to not enter HBCs anymore.

[MrC]

Why?

[JoKing]

Why what? Not enter comps? Just a moral thing... end on a high note I spose... I argure that people should pay to drink my beer - not the other way around. I like swapping with people from on here - I get heaps of good feedback that way. There are heaps of reasons actually - here are a few:

I don't trust the storage and handling of my bottles either - a few years ago, my whole box was smashed (in the club nationals).

I don't brew to style much anyhow: I don't think I would feel right accepting medals for beers that I know aren't to style, and only won because I use heaps of malt, or hops.

Judging is such that if you do brew to style, and it tastes very clean and normal and nice but sitting side by side with a hoppy version of it (generalising here) you get marked down because it's lackluster.... I changed how I brewed styles especially because of this... and won more because of that!

And... I'm over it. I just like brewing what I like drinking. I find just as satisfying drinking clean beer as winning gold medals... I haven't enterd a comp for so long, that I haven't even done the SOBA one!

WBC doesn't count either BTW... That was originally a bunch of mates putting their money on the table for a head to head - and I'm who's in charge of handling the entries.... no BJCP Judging forms, no BJCP accredited judges - just the best beer on the day head to head (to a given style). Lots of fun.

Disclaimer... I never won any BICs, but always medalled with all of my entries - mostly gold / silver. So - I'm not a sore loser or anything like that... it's just not where I am with my home brewing anymore.

[Stu McKinlay]

I'm not on the exec, nor am I involved in running the comp this year. I've only got room for one volunteer job this year and BrewNZ asked first. Hopefully they'll have me back next year.

[jt]

Maybe I'll just go a with Steinlager clone for ANZAC day then ;-)

[MrC]

So what make Coopers Pale Ale iconic in Oz?
I'd says it's the novelty of the bottle conditioning (yeast) combined with POR hops.

What does NZ have to offer inline with that?
I'd say nothing as far yeast is concerned but Riwaka & Nelson Sauvin as far as hops are concerned.


If you take Coopers Pale Ale to the USA it will still be an Aussie beer.
What beer would be classed as a NZ beer outside of NZ? Epic Pale Ale?

[JoKing]

Freekin Steinlager.

[JoKing]

With its Green Bullet hops.

[JoKing]

And "NZ Lager" yeast.

[jt]

wtf is NZ Lager yeast ?

[MrC]

Saflager S-23

EDIT: LOL !!!

[JoKing]

It's what they say on there advertising "Only NZs finest hops malt and yeast are used to make NZs best beer" bla bla bla.

I'd like to know the lineage of NZs finest yeast! I reckon I'd make nicer tasting beer than Steinlager with it!!! LOL.