NZ Craft Beer in Bottles

[Hillman]

I've just returned to NZ from the US, and have been trying out various NZ craft beers. Thus far, the ones that I've had in bottles have been very disappointing. Most of the promised hop flavour has gone, leaving bitterness and some malt. This was especially the case with the Kaimai Brewing Company Golden Rye, and the Renaissance Pale Ale. They tasted like once-hoppy pale ales I have made, three or four months after bottling. Not awful, but obviously a shadow of their former selves.

This issue was really rammed home last night. I had a drink at Corner Bar, which had Epic Pale Ale on tap. It was a big, hoppy beer. The hops were different to what I had remembered -- I think I read that he changed them from NZ Cascades to US ones or vice versa, but either way it was outstanding, and would find a place alongside any American Pale Ale you'd care to name. Then I went upstairs to meet some other people in the DeBrett's Hotel Bar, where they only had bottles. I had the Epic again, and although it wasn't as faded as the Renaissance, there was a very noticeable drop. That big hop aroma was gone, and the hop flavour was very subdued.

I am well aware of the differences between bottled and kegged beer, and know that the best place to drink a beer is at the brewery. But having lived in the US for a few years, and tasted a lot of different beers in different serving forms and at different distances from their breweries, I don't think I've encountered such a marked drop in perceived hop flavour, except when I accidentally bought a sampler case of Southern Tier which had probably been on the shelf too long. And I gave all of those away, except for the IPAs which had retained their aroma pretty well. But I've had cases of Bell's Hop Slam and Two-Hearted which retained their flavours over the course of the six weeks it took to drink them, as well as Great Divide cases, which had to travel from Denver to Pittsburgh before ending up in my glass.

This is turning into a bit of a rant, but what I want to know is why? Is it that craft beer is so slow moving on the supermarket shelves that I was buying six month old beer? Or is there something about bottling processes here that needs to be worked on? Is anyone canning? And which beers should I be trying in order to avoid this problem? 

[Greig McGill]

Great question. I asked similar questions back in 2010, and I'm not sure things have improved. I think getting this right is quite important, as bottled beer is often people's first impression of craft beer. It simply has to be good.

I'm looking forward to watching the responses to this thread. It's a discussion which shouldn't be swept under the carpet.

[Grant R Baker]

Well I think there maybe a few reasons for this....

 

1) Move to Wellington... craft beer drinking capital of NZ with over 40% of New Zealands craft beer drunken in the little city, maybe they don't let it rust.

2) HomeBrewers. They make and drink there own so we drink a little less when out.. I know I think about the cost of two 500ml bottles almost equal to a 23l grain bill. Homebrewing is taking off again.

3) Maybe the brewers are changing due to popularity (thus higher demand) and limitation on hop varieties (any found any Riwaka.. its not just homebrewers, Richard Emmerson could get any either).

[Smiffy]

I drink very few bottles these days.

In the past I have had bottles which were past their best-before date, and they were like you describe, OK but not as good as expected. Its not always easy to find the date, you may need a magnifying glass!

The other thing that many bars do, is store all the bottles at much too low a temperature, so take an IR thermometer to the pub too. If the lagers and pale ales are in the same fridge, the pale ale will almost certainly be too cold for you to detect any hop aroma.

[Hillman]

I just checked the Renaissance and the best before is 12 July 12, so I don't think that's the problem. And to be honest I'd learn more from a "bottled on" than a "best before" anyway.

[Greig McGill]

Hear hear to a "bottled on" date.

[Hugh Grierson]

Most smaller NZ breweries have bottling issues, usually about long term stability. Big flash bottlers and tunnel pasteurises cost shit loads, and no one seems to have got it together to even buy a big canning line. Then you have some venues who don't vent store rooms, with fridges drowning in their own sweat and beer sitting at 40 degrees. Bottles from Steam seem really consistent,but they do have a big flash tunnel of hot/cold.

Fresh draft beer is far nicer, in Auckland, come see me at Hopscotch, I have 12 taps for takeaway..

[Hillman]

In these cases it wasn't so much long term stability issues. There weren't any off flavours, just a lot of fade. But it was at the point where any brewer would be disappointed to know that that's what the consumer was getting. It could be that Devonport New World just doesn't sell enough stock and I should go somewhere else. If so then that's an issue brewers could be addressing by promoting awareness among merchants (though good luck getting the supermarkets to care).

As for moving to Wellington, I'm moving to Palmerston North on Friday but I get the sense that that's not the same thing! I guess I'm just getting my head around the constraints faced by home and craft brewers here, from the small market size and high capital requirements to the MAF/hop growers junta. And Hugh I'll try and come in this week but am a bit pressed for time. I'd given up on having a taste of the Green Flash IPA for the time being . . . 

[Adam Sparks]

I personally find the Rennaisance pale ale just isnt what I like in a pale ale... Its not a hop focused beer (despite the mention of it on the label). Perhaps in the case of the examples you've provided the recipe's just arent what your looking for

Afterall, I find 8 wired's bottles plenty hoppy and fresh many weeks after they are made. And those are (for the most part) brewed on the Renaissance system.

Have you tried the Tuatara APA? Or the Wigram pale ale? How about West Coast pale? As with Epics these are more on the hop focused US vibe

[Hillman]

Naw, they were seriously faded. I've had pale ales I don't like and pale ales that have lost their hop aroma, and this was the latter. Anyway, After a couple of weeks I've decided to put it down to the fact that, if the best before is a year from the bottling date, the Renaissance was 10 months old. I revisited the Devonport New World craft beer section, and the only thing recently bottled was Moa Original, which tasted fine. I also bought the Emerson's Pilsener, which had a December 2012 expiry date and tasted fine, even if the big grapey hop nose had faded a bit.

On the other hand, I just went to the Celtic Inn in Palmerston North, which as recommended on this thread. They did indeed have a good selection of bottled craft beer. I especially liked the Golden Eagle SIPA -- after it warmed up a bit it had a lovely hop aroma underpinned by an almost honey-ish malt backbone. The expiry date for that one was December. The other one we drank was the Three Boys Oyster Stout, which had an expiry date of April 2013, which means it was very fresh indeed. A bit sweet for my personal taste, but a very good beer nonetheless. And again, once it warmed up a bit the flavour improved dramatically. The bartender seemed especially enthusiastic about the craft beer range, and quite a few punters were drinking it, so maybe we'll see some on tap there some day.

So yeah, I think from now on I'll be checking those expiry dates and making sure I patronize retail places that take care of their beer.