Label design shortlist announced
Subscriber giveaway to Otautahi Smoke Festival. How did IPA become so cringeworthy? Cell Division looking for a brew space. Barrel-aged beauties. Ukraine's contribution to the pickle beer boom.
Welcome to the latest edition of Friday Night Beers, a round up of news, views and entertainment with a beer focus.
First up, the GABS Label Design Awards Top-10 shortlist was announced this week and judging by a set of panelists is taking place as we speak.
I was part of the judging panel and it was so hard to separate out these, especially what I viewed as the top 3 (no, I’m not going to tell you how I judged until next week).
What I will say is that eight of the 10 on the short list were some form of IPA. I don’t know if this means more effort goes into IPA labelling … maybe? There’s a few hazies, a sour IPA, a Black IPA, a West Coast IPA and a New Zealand IPA — plus a Porter and a Table Beer.
The winner will be announced on November 4.
Dog Star on Debut
As you read this, I’m hoping to be sitting in the Craftwork taproom in Oamaru, supping a pre-dinner Saison. And tomorrow I’ll be in Dunedin to check out the Dunedin Craft Beer & Food Festival.
One of the locals representing Dunedin is Dog Star Brew Lab.
Founders Hadden Gamble and Saul Ross still have their day jobs … and night jobs to boot, both being musicians — on drum and bass. But this weekend they’ll be making a debut performance of another kind with the festival their first public outing since setting up the brewery in 2020.
Help needed
And speaking of Dunedin, Jamie McQuillan of Cell Division posted on the Port Chalmers Facebook Page the other day that he was looking for a brewing space.
He wrote: “I recently returned from Nelson, where I was running my family's orchard, brewing and collaborating with my friends at Peckham’s cider.
I’m searching for a local space to house my 100L brewery, fermenters, oak barrels and associated equipment. A small studio space or similar might do the trick. I brew around once a month, need electricity and water and am open to shared space, with like-minded types.
Please get in touch if you know of anything that might be available now or in the near future.”
Feel free to contact me directly if you can help, or comment on Jamie’s post here.
Beer of the week No 1
I drank a six-pack of Tuatara Reptilian West Coast IPA trying to work out whether or not to make it a recommended beer. By the time I finished the last one all I could think was “why not?”. Was I being held back by the fact it’s a beer from a brand ultimately owned by a global giant? No, that’s not it, as I’ve been happy to recommend Emerson’s beer and I’m here for all beer. Would recommending Tuatara dent my cred? Honestly, I don’t know … what I do know is each of the six of these that I consumed over a three-week period was bloody excellent. It felt like an older school West Coast IPA, pine-grapefruit, with a well-rounded mouthfeel (hello malt), some soapy bitterness, a minerality and a great balance. Kinda reminded me of Epic Armageddon! At $23 for a 6.4 per cent six-pack, it’s great value.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Friday Night Beers to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.