Jason Bathgate's new brewery name revealed
Big name breweries return to Beervana. Richard Emerson's beery tribute to his mum. Non-alc beer set to pass IPA globally. A hopeful brew for Warriors fans!
Welcome to Friday Night Beers — your one-stop shop for beer news and reviews.
This week start by revealing the name of the new brewery that multi-award-winning brewer Jason Bathgate and his wife Monica Mead are setting up in Riwaka, near Nelson.
It will be known as Aliment Brewing. And the first beers are expected to be ready next month as long as everything goes to plan … which hasn’t quite been the case so far, as you’ll learn.
I think the name is perfect, especially given Jason’s previous career as a chef and the fact Monica has also run her own food business.
“Actually ‘Aliment’ was my license plate when I was in culinary school in the early 90s,” Jason tells me.
“It was on an old Toyota pickup truck that I had, and it was a custom Vermont plate, which makes it even more special.
“I've always been a foodie. Sustaining and nourishment is a huge part of what we’ve done all of our lives. We’ve sustained ourselves, and we've nourished a lot of people through food and beverage. So it just seemed fitting.”
Jason, formerly head brewer at McLeod’s, and Monica are currently living in a caravan behind the brewery as they wait for their rental property to become available next month, which makes the task of setting up a business even harder than it normally would be.
“Basically it was our only option,” Jason explains. “So yeah, we’re struggling a bit with sleeping and eating in that space as it’s pretty compact. But we're starting to move into the brewery now. It’s got a workspace and a shower. So we only have to sleep and cook in the caravan so that makes it a little bit better.
“We’ve also got a nice wood stove in the front of the brewery, so we’re going to fire that up and we'll be able to sit out there and have a glass of wine tonight and just chill out.”
Making it even tougher as winter looms, they’d hoped to have sold their rural property in Northland to help fund the brewery set-up, but weren’t able to do that in time, so they are renting out that property. It means that everything is tight, budget-wise.
“It’s a quasi-uncomfortable cash flow situation. But it was all part of budgeting. I had a best-case, middle-case and worst-case scenario. Unfortunately, we're in the worst case. So we’ve just got to be careful on our spending and we need to get some beer out the door quickly.”
To that end, they are “open to offers of small investments from like-minded parties”.
Jason says they are still working out how any investment might work, whether it’s actual cash or maybe some sweat equity.
“It could be someone puts in a few bucks and we pay them back over time; or just someone able to help us get up and running. If we could find a like-minded person able to assist us; somebody who believes in us who just wants to help.
“It’s just a matter of being a little bit more comfortable and being able to invest in the little bits and pieces that we need as we go instead of having to wait to save.”
They hope to sell their property in late 2026, when the market is hopefully more buoyant and they’d be selling in the warmer months rather than heading into winter.
Jason has purchased equipment from Martin Townshend but intends to replace the brew house with a new one that’s making its way from China.
“I’ll be brewing on the old Townshend brewhouse until the new one arrives from China and it’s a bit of a nightmare. But Martin’s just down the road so I'm going to make him come down and help me get the first few brews down because he knows how to run it!”
He’s also working alongside nearby neighbours Hop Federation.
“We’ll be working together with Hop Federation on a lot of levels, such as sharing resource and buying together, just to get costs down around shipping.
“They've been very open and encouraging, and they called me to ask ‘hey, how can we work together?’ That was really, really cool.”
Initially Aliment will be looking to sell kegs and do takeaway beer from their fillery.
But Aliment plan to stamp their presence on the market by putting all their canned beer into 500ml cans. There will be special bottle-conditioned releases down the line.
Jason is upbeat about the 500ml cans, which have already been used by 8 Wired and Urbanaut.
“I have a feeling that you're going to see a shift in the market. I don't think the whole market will shift, but you're going a lot more breweries using 500ml cans now.”
A website should be up and running soon.
Beer of the Week No 1
I first reported on the Auckland (as they were known then) Warriors in 1996 when I started working in Sydney for the New Zealand Press Association. The worst thing about that era was having to report on the whole Super League fiasco in 1997 … sports reporters sitting in court sessions is never a good outcome! If you weren’t old enough to remember that sorry saga, lucky you! The best thing was getting to meet characters like “Happy” Frank Endacott. In all the subsequent years, there’s been hope, tragedy, heartbreak, more hope, more heartbreak and now, when it was least expected, we have a Warriors team that seems to have developed a knack of winning close contests.
Will they go all the way? We’ll check back in a few months, but in the meantime, why not enjoy that hopeful feeling… in beer form!
I took great pleasure in opening It’s Our Year, from Christchurch-based Beers the other night and watching the Warriors survive against the Rabbitohs.
An intriguing beer this one, not the least because the brewery notes on the back of the can state that there’s added fruit juice: in this case mango pulp. It’s not uncommon for fruit additions to go into these “juice bombs” — it’s just that not everyone tells you as much.
Not that you’d need signage to pick it up: the juice factor is dialled up to 11, and I really enjoyed the fact it had some tangy bitterness to mop up the fruit notes.
Beers tell me that they’re rebrewing this one for release in a gold can … a trophy can?
A tribute to Ingrid
A lovely video popped up on Facebook last night: a short doco film with Richard Emerson talking about his mother Ingrid, who passed away last year.
In her memory, Emerson’s have just released a hefeweizen called Ingrid, as it was her favourite style of beer.
The video, below, has some great footage from Ingrid and Richard’s father George, who died in 2002, not 2022 as the caption states.
I was lucky enough to meet Ingrid and spend time with her. She was just the loveliest person, but so very determined to give her son every chance in life despite the fact he was born profoundly deaf.
Tim’s Beer of the Week
With beer judging and fresh hop season going on, it’s been a busy couple of months for beer. Time for something a bit more ordinary then…
That said, this self-stated ‘ordinary’ bitter from Taranaki’s Three Sisters Brewery is anything but; principally because it’s good. New Zealand-brewed examples across the entire English Bitter spectrum (from straight up bitter like this, all the way to ESB and even barleywine) have always struggled to perform here. The fault isn’t in the brewing, the barley just doesn’t grow the same here, and a lot of the strains we produce are too modern. However, Three Sisters have gone the extra mile (literally) to make this a good one; using imported Maris Otter malt, plus Bramling Cross and East Kent Goldings Hops.
Dry and subtle on the nose, with some earthy spice aroma alongside dried stone fruit and toasted nuts. The palate is similarly dry and beautifully easy drinking, with a light but sweeping display of malt and hop characters balanced by a crisply bitter finish. For a beer you could just about drink all day (and if I was in range of any given Yorkshire taproom, I would), the satisfaction and palate engagement factor is incredible.
Michael’s note: Having tried this on tap (nitro) at the source, I can confirm this is indeed excellent!
Big guns return to Beervana
A few big-name breweries were noticeably absent from the Beervana festival in recent years, but that’s about to change in 2025.
Parrotdog, Sprig + Fern, Emerson’s, Lakeman and Urbanaut are among those heading back to our biggest beer festival at Wellington’s Sky Stadium on August 22-23. Tickets go on sale on June 18.
I can understand why some larger breweries have skipped the event in the post-Covid environment. When budgets tighten and you’re already highly visible it can be hard to justify a big marketing spend.
But Beervana director Ryan McArthur came up with an interesting stat this week:
That support for breweries continues long after Beervana, with 75% of attendees saying they’re more likely to buy beer from the participating breweries post-festival.
I can understand this: if you meet the brewers (or their teams) and make a connection, even briefly, you do feel more inclined to support them down the line.
And Beervana is not just about preaching to the converted anymore. It continues to attract a broad spectrum of visitors looking for a unique experience.
Emerson’s last appeared at Beervana in 2022, where they celebrated their 30th anniversary. Emerson’s sales and marketing manager Greg Menzies (who appears in the above video with Richard) says they’re returning this year with a bang, collaborating with Chetan Pangam — the two-time Burger Wellington Winner (2023 and 2024) to deliver a unique Indian street food experience.
He says returning to Beervana has been a priority for them despite the industry's challenges, including supply chain constraints and rising production costs.
“After a few busy years launching new products and navigating industry challenges, we always knew we’d be back,” Greg says. “Beervana’s energy is unmatched — it’s creative, full of beer lovers, and Wellington’s hospo scene is second to none.”
Sprig + Fern are also making their return. Last appearing at Beervana in 2019, they say they love the festival because it allows them to connect directly with beer fans.
“The opportunity for direct feedback is what we enjoy about coming to Beervana, to immediately know what people are drinking and hopefully introduce them to something they haven’t tried yet — it’s the perfect testing ground for us and attendees,” says Tracy Banner, owner and Master Brewer of Sprig + Fern.
Even after 40 years in the industry, she is ready for the challenge to bring something new and unexpected to this year’s event.
“In terms of our beers, we have plans for a real mixture this year, with some familiar favourites, some of our award-winners and maybe even the odd surprise reserved for the festival-goers,” she says.
McArthur says he’s stoked to welcome back the brewers who spurred the revolution of craft beer in New Zealand.
“Beervana is about stretching the creative muscles, which means there’s no holding back and even if they’ve been ‘round the block’ a few times, these brewers continue to be at the forefront of an industry that thrives on pushing the boundaries of what beer is and can be.”
Tickets will be on sale at Beervana.co.nz
Dusty’s Beer of the Week
Sh*t that's goooood ! Taupo’s Lakeman Brewing go after it with their 8.5% Dragon Slayer Double IPA. Hop forward punches of grapefruit, melon and apricot power-note here on a hefty resiny mouthfeel. A wallop of citric bitterness punctuates the finish. Double IPA done right.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an ESB — Part 2
A little while back I talked about Sierra Nevada Pale Ale winning a gold medal in the ESB category at the World Beer Cup recently.
Now, Jeff Alworth at the Beervana blog, has written an excellent piece about what he calls the One Iron Law — beer styles evolve, even if beers do not.
Is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale an ESB? — Beervana
Beer of the Week No 2
I confess to a love-dislike relationship with coconut in beer. Sometimes I find coconut can be just a tad overpowering. But not in this absolute belter of a stout from Parrotdog.
The coconut is apparent on the aroma but gives way to warm chocolate and sweetened espresso flavours before rounding back to help dry out the finish.
All the flavours — including a dark plum note — are subtly but superbly integrated and it’s a lovely drinking experience.
Non-alcoholic beer tracking to surpass IPA globally
OK, I’ve used IPA as short-hand in the heading but the story published on CNBC stated that non-alcoholic beer as a category was poised to become the second-biggest globally behind lager, surpassing “ale”.
This is based on new projections from industry tracker IWSR.
While overall beer volume fell roughly 1% in 2024, non-alcoholic beer grew 9% worldwide, according to IWSR. The category’s growth first accelerated in 2018 and has continued to outstrip the broader beer market since then.
Lager accounts for 92% of all beer sold globally, which gives you an idea of where IPA (and other hoppy ales) stand (especially when you consider that Guinness must be bundled in with “ales”!).
IWSR is projecting that no-alcohol beer will grow by 8% annually through to 2029, while ale’s volume is expected to slide 2% annually in that same period.
Despite recent growth, no-alcohol beer still holds about 2% of worldwide beer market share.
Beer of the Week No 3
Apologies for the slightly out-of-focus picture as I get used the lighting in my new abode … not my best work, but luckily the beer is way sharper than the photo.
While I await the arrival of Emerson’s Ingrid on the shelves, this Yuzu Crystal Wheat beer from Urbanaut was just the ticket.
Like coconut (above) I don’t love it when yuzu gets too in-your-face. Here, that citrus note is present but takes a gently-reclined back seat to the traditional wheat beer flavours — with bubblegum, banana and cloves prominent thanks to the use of the Schneider Weisse yeast strain.
This is brewed with Most hops, branded for the Czech town of the same name, and which were developed by Czech farmers in collaboration with British distributor Charles Faram. They add another layer of tangy citrus.
Great drinking.
That’s it from me for another week. Thanks for joining in and catch you next week!
Michael