Best of Brew NZ and Beervana

[Steph]

Thought I'd start a thread to give some "mad props" to my favs from Brew NZ and Beervana. Here goes:
- The great guys from stewarding. It was much harder work than I thought but I had a great time hanging out with Martin, Stu, Craig, Chris and the gang.
- Smelling how good one particular beer was in the pouring judge, looking up its number and then finding out it was Armegeddon and realising how privileged we all are.
- Being privileged enough to score some fantastic beer, including an awarding winning and delicious His Majestys in the bottle and being given one by the Yeastie Boys in the rigger.
- Meeting some of the awesome judges. Dave Logsdon was just fantastic and it was great chatting with Shane (from Steam) and Richard from Wig and Pen (among others).
- Hanging out with the guys from Renaissance Brewery. Brian is a legend for buying me coffee on the Saturday morning session of Beervana. Along with Andy and Soren that lot are the nicest brewers around.
- Meeting all the volunteers, including all you lot from RealBeer. There were some super cool people who let me boss them round a fair bit and didn't seem to mind too much.
- Laughing when Daniel from the beerstore introduced himself and said "you seem to drink a lot". And, explaining to lots of poeple that that is how I managed to get involved with BrewNZ and Beervana!!
-Almost forgot....Awarding best shirt to Matt from Harringtons for two awesome shirts on mash-in and at the awards. Big ups to Stu's shirt and pant combo and Paul Mecurio's hilarious beer shirt at Beervana.

Phew, and sure I've missed a bit out....Like the beer. I'll have to get back to it.

[Greig McGill]

The proof of what Steph and Martin are saying lies in Armageddon kicking the pants off all comers. Kiwi beer in an American style, beating the Americans at their own game.

Josh - think of the "kiwi advantage" in BrewNZ - freshness! Even air freighted beer will still never be as fresh as the kiwi entries.

[nzbrewer]

Epic Armageddon IPA - Easily the best non-American American IPA
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/15925/51896/?ba=brendan13

[Steph]

ha ha...meaningful contribution their Luke.

[666 Brewing]

NZ Hops are different and are very unique. NZ hops have even recognised this by re-naming some of their hops (ie D Saaz = Riwaka, etc) so that brewers do not expect the typical aroma/flavour than those of their namesakes. Unfortunately alot of overseas brewers do not use NZ hops and are not as familiar with them like US hops for instance, so in a 'judging' situation can find them too confronting/different. I love their uniqueness and have been using NZ hops exclusively for quite a few years. Its not a matter of defining new style categories, but better defining the categories that already exist to cater for our hops! I also noticed alot of very good NZ beers with no result in BrewNZ.....

[Christian]

Looking forward to trying some 666 at the upcoming Nelson beer Fête!

[Dale]

Me to Christian, Dead Good Beer Events are awesome can't wait.

[kier]

(Shameless plug) We've got some 666 in the chiller waiting to go I think. I'll let you know when it's on.

[666 Brewing]

yes, shameless plug! but you're right...2 kegs of Roulette and 2 kegs Gabriel, plus a keg of each for DGBE (I will be there so have a chat if you bump into me!)

[Dale]

Only a keg of each sounds like 666 will be my first try then before it sells out!!!!!

[Steph]

Totally agree that NZ hops are unique, and, delicious as evidenced by your own beer. When can we get some here in Welly?

In relation to lots of good beers not getting medals - I totally agree. But, this doesn't mean that they are not good beers. It just means that they were either entered into the wrong category, or they were not medal winners in that category. No shame in either. One of the judge brewers made a comment to me that the goal should be to make good beer, and if it then had an appropriate style and/or won an award - well, lucky. I sort of agree. Also, not all the food and drink I consume is award winning, but, that doesn't mean it is not good.

Dave from Moa is an example of brewing beers and then looking for a style...For this reason I can partially understand Josh's frustrations.

Maybe we need a Marlborough Pale Ale category (as created by the Renainassance boys).

[josh scott]

But, this doesn't mean that they are not good beers. It just means that they were either entered into the wrong category"

You have pretty much illustrated my point above!
I believe that the guidelines are too tight, if a beer is good/great even but doesn't fit into a certain style it misses out, should this be the case?

I agree a beer/food does not need a medal to be purchased, but we are trying to build an industry here. People are more likely to try/buy something they know/trust, this can either be via a media campaign (all avenues) or some sort of recognition from a respected competition or ,I guess, review and lastly building a reputation as a market leader (which can take a long time)

My feeling is it sends a bad message to people that over half the medals went to international beers (don't get me wrong the international beers are good....when they are fresh!), and lets not forget we really only have one competition that New Zealand breweries can enter there awards into, so should we not make it a real kiwi style competition?

BTW When I say Climate, I am talking about "Terroir" I thought it was a bit wine geeky but I guess it applies to beer as much as it to any other product.

[nzbrewer]

But the beers are being judge based on guidelines and not against each other.

So the fact we have international beers as part of the competition has no effect on the result of an individual beers. They have as much effect as the cider and perry's.

I have always agreed with this problem too, as I have judge some sensational beers over the years, which haven't got the recognition they deserve. Either through entering in wrong classes, or the fact there isn't a class for the beer to fit comfortably into.

But on the flip side without guidelines where do you start?