BrewNZ and Beervana

[Stu McKinlay]

Being out of the country I was surprised to see nothing on the biggest beer event of the year. Did you go, what were your thoughts?

I've read and heard great things from all over the place (and Luke's video of Beervana made it look very busy and a lot of fun). Only one negative thing, so far, was an anonymous comment on a blog that said the person was very unhappy with the VIP ticket they purchased. I hope this feedback gets to the organisers and just doesn't sit in the ether-web.

I must say that I was expecting to really miss it but I totally forgot it was on. 600km on a bike tends to cleanse you of any impure thoughts - and XXXX "Heavy" certainly didn't have me thinking of any sort of Beervana. Now that I'm back I do wish I'd been there but I am that little bit fitter for having missed out.

My thoughts, so far, from the outside:
Great stuff Tuatara and Invercargill. Two best in class awards each and the big one for Tuatara. Carl and steve are probably the two most down to earth and passionate berwers in the country. Couldn't think of better guys to win big.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Dux de Lux, Harrington's and Green Man's best in class wins - as much as Sunshine's surprise win last year.
From the limited feedback I've got so far Beervana sounded like a great event - especially the evening sessions.
Haven't heard much at all about the other events.
The SOBA AGM appears to have come up with some excellent new committee members and throughts on initiatives. I hope I can still help out in some way - in between keeping all of the other ends of my ten-sided candle burning!
Very sorry to hear that the great Scot broke his arm. What will we do without his passion? Anyone going to volunteer to be his hands for a few weeks?

Are the Brewer's Guild folk happy? Was it close to your best hopes?

What about the punters? What was the best thing? How about the worst? C'mon, you all responded so well to the highs and lows...

[nzbrewer]

Stu

thanks for the heads up on this blog from Kate, this is a great review of the event, and ties in well with the video.

http://www.realbeer.co.nz/blog/2008/09/kates-blog-beervana.html

Cheers
Luke

[Stu McKinlay]

The other surprise for me was James Squire Pilsner winning best in class. I've not seen it in NZ for a couple of years. Is it truly available here? If not, I wouldn't have thought it was eligible for best in class. that would hand that prize over to Yellow Cross Virgin Lager (from DB's Chch brewpub I presume).

[nzbrewer]

James Squire beers have recently become available again through Foodtown/Woolworths I am told, so says Dr Chuck Hahn

[Greig McGill]

Welcome back Stu!

Beervana was truly excellent. I attended both evening sessions, and had easily the best time I've had at a beer festival in NZ. The thing which really set it apart for me was, other than a couple of fairly ordinary offerings from the Big Boys, and one downright bad one from a smaller brewery, the quality of beer served, and sheer range of styles available was excellent. Yeastie Boys was a particular standout for me, so well done Stu.

The sessions seemed totally packed. I doubt any more could have been squeezed in, so I have to assume a profit was made. Huge props to the Brewer's Guild for doing so well. It was just a joy to be there. I didn't volunteer to help (for once) because, with the AGM, and with having friends with me, I just wanted to enjoy the event. I certainly did that. I did hear the VIP lounge was a bit of a problem, for several reasons. Many more to do with the nature of the punters than the experience provided. Let's just say the main area was full of beer lovers, keen to indulge their passion, and savour the flavours available. The VIP room sounds like it might have been full of people with a slightly different goal in mind. This might be a reason for the bar closing early? All pure speculation on my part of course, but not sure I'd lay too much at the door of the Brewer's Guild at this stage.

The SOBA AGM was a good experience. Thanks for your service Stu, I know we'll all miss you on the committee and especially your knack for getting things done. If you need something done, ask a busy man. That was certainly true of you.

Best thing: The camaraderie, atmosphere, and general level of beer education exhibited.
Worst thing: Lack of available area to sit and sup reflectively. Such a minor thing, but there you go!

[Stu McKinlay]

Great summary Greig. Thanks.

Huge props to the Brewer's Guild from me too. I know there would have been some sweaty palms in the last few weeks but I'm guessing there was some good old-fashioned back slapping on Saturday night and Sunday. They deserve it. As do the volunteers that helped out.

Cheers
Stu

[Steph]

I wondered why the site was so quiet on Brew NZ as well. Glad to see some discussion.

After going to the last couple of events, I think the Beervana was great. Set up was good, people were happy and in to it... The range of NZ craft breweries was excellent, the range of beer waqs amazing.

As a person who was unfortunately ripped off by the VIP room, I can explain why and, why it was ultimately false advertising. It is something that needs to be recognised as an issue for next year as the people who are into the beer were the ones disadvantaged.

When the event was advertised, there seemed to be two options - (1) pay $25 and then extra for your food or beer OR (2) pay $125 for the VIP ticket with food and beer included. We weighed up which might be the best option and being enthusiastic about trying all the new and interesting beer that was on offer, we decided on the VIP tickets. We thought, over the course of the evening, it would be worth the intial investment.

Upon arrival, we were told that the beer in the VIP room was free but EVERYTHING in the main room had to be purchased as an extra. The meant all the beer available from the breweries attending, including all the special and interesting beers on tap and all the beer that you otherwise could not get in Wellington.

There were only four tap beers in the VIP room. Monks Habit and Macs Great White being two of them. Regardless of your opinion about them, both are available on tap, pretty much all the time in Welly. All the other beers were botlled, which meant that you were instantly disadvantaged in comparison to the range outside the VIP room. For example, there was no Yeastie Boys (which was the talk of the event), no Croucher, no Mussel Inn, no Brew Moon, no Twisted Hop, in addition no Mata, a single Reniassance, limited Emerson and, I can't remember there being any Tuatara, the biggest award winner.

We went out and paid extra for beer in the main room because we had to to taste the new and interesting stuff. I thank the nice brewers who understood the rip and shouted a few as well. Good on them. I also appreciate that the Brewer's Guild folk I spoke too agreed that it was not a good deal and undertook to follow it up.

I think if you were a "corporate", the VIP was probably fine. There were quite a few drinking Summit and the likes because that was fine for them. If you were there as a beer lover to taste the beer, chat to the brewers, etc, it was totally not fine.

Ultimately, the biggest prblem was that it was false advertising. The webiste said it was supposed to be all your food and beer inclusive and it was not. I was not prepared for that.

So, that's my perspective BUT beside the VIP rip-off the rest was excellent fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Stu McKinlay]

Good feedback. I'm sure Luke will pass that on to the Guild. I'm glad you still had a positive experience besides that issue with the VIP room.

The problem with a VIP room, which I always guessed would be a problem, is that it needs to be organised before any of the awards winners and any of the "hot" beers are known. I guess you are right - it sounds like it was probably more of a corporate area than a beer lover area. I'm a people watcher as well as a beer hunter, and as such the main room would always hold more interest for me - even if the beer list was exactly the same.

[Steph]

Yeah, it is a lesson learnt. We had way more fun outside it!! And, it was fun so besides that criticism, it was a great event and the Guild should be congratulated.