Timaru loses only craft brewery
Kiwi Hop Water arrives with a splash. Conor McGregor's stout grows distribution. Anchor Brewing to be sold off in parts. What's next for craft? How to drink beer with Belgian monks.
It’s Friday again, beer fans, and I hope you’ve all survived Black Friday intact.
Timaru's only craft brewery closed this week after six years.
Ship Hop Brewing co-owner Hadley Rich said that the intention had always been to expand the business from its current micro-production but that was a leap too far in the current climate.
“Over the years, we’ve had issues with the building, with things like earthquake strengthening, and that meant that we had to put off our plans for longer,” Rich told the Timaru Herald.
“Nothe building is in the process of redeveloping, and we had the opportw unity to expand, which would have taken a significant amount of money, time and investment.’’
He and co-owners Ambrose Cotterell and Brad Reid decided they no longer had the time, nor energy, to grow and run a full hospitality venue.
“We had to decide between moving to the next phase or closing, and we decided we would close about two months ago,’' he said.
Some of Ship Hop’s equipment would would be sold to Geraldine’s House of Hop, he said.
It’s a real shame, but there’s definitely an opportunity in Timaru (and Ashburton for that matter) for someone to make a go of it. After all, if Oamaru can sustain two breweries, surely Timaru can have one?
Hop Water makes a splash
I was going to have this as a beer of the week but I knew I’d get someone telling me it’s “not a beer!” So, I’m going with a completely separate entry just to tell you … this is really good.
I’ve been slightly obsessed with Hop Water for a while and have tried a couple but by and large it’s a trend that hasn’t happened here … yet. In fact Bach Brewing’s Simple Life is the first New Zealand version that’s had nationwide retail release. It’s an interesting branding move too, as there’s nothing that says “Bach” apart from a small logo on the back.
The best hop water I’d had before now was Sierra Nevada’s but I found that to be slightly out of balance. And I accepted as fact that it’s nigh on impossible to have a balanced hop water. The parameters are so tight that even the lightest dry hop is likely to create some bitterness.
So believe me when I tell you what Bach have achieved in partnership with Steam Brewing, under the brewing eye of Craig Buddle, is nothing short of exceptional given there’s no sugar whatsoever. All the perceived sweetness comes from the hops: Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka and Motueka.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a very subtle drink but very clever as well. Super-refreshing.
Craig Cooper of Bach Brewing is keeping very quiet for now on the process, and rightly so, as I think it’s given them a jump on some others.
Beer of the week No 1
I’ve been wondering how long it would take Kiwi brewers to get their hands on the Cryo versions of New Zealand’s big-name hops. That’s because the hops were cryo-processed in the US by Yakima Chief Hops and were initially available only there. But some have landed back down here and Sprig & Fern’s close relationship with NZ Hops Ltd meant they were the first to get a brew down with Nectaron Cryo. My take on Cryo hops is that sometimes, with a lot of the grassiness and astringency removed, the beers can be a bit one-dimensional. Not here. While this is super smooth, and I mean silky and soft, it’s not one-dimensional. Far from it. There’s lots of pineapple, sweet orange and passionfruit and the beer finishes nicely dry and light. I can see why people are going nuts for Nectaron Cryo because this is just so smooth and juicy.
Another Australian brewery in trouble
Melbourne’s highly popular Dainton Beer has gone into voluntary administration and it reads a lot like what happened with Brothers Beer here, with co-owner Dan Dainton telling The Crafty Pint the brewery had been operating at a loss over the past year after investing heavily in upgrades and expansion at their brewery and taking on a second venue.
“As much as we've tried and we've tried, and people on the team have done a great job, sales were going backwards,” Dan says, adding that they had explored a number of different options for the business before deciding to file for voluntary administration.
He says they had already taken steps to return to the business to being profitable, which has included a significant reduction in staff. And they're pulling out of all interstate markets except for New South Wales to focus on their two brewpubs and their local market in Victoria.
Dainton Beer Enter Voluntary Administration - The Crafty Pint
Invercargill loses key craft location
Little more than a year after opening, Invercargill restaurant and bar The Taproom will close its doors on December 23.
Restaurant co-owner and 4 Mates brewery founder Scott Whitaker started The Taproom with business partner Prosen Ghosh last October, with plans to expand into tours.
However, staffing challenges and the rising cost of running a business led his team to conclude they needed to finish on a high note, instead of debating about keeping it open for another year.
Whitaker’s brewery 4 Mates will remain open and he has plans to expand locally as well as selling into Queenstown, Dunedin and Christchurch.
What next for craft?
After all that reading, the question becomes what’s the future like for craft?
We know it’s not all doom and gloom, but it’s certainly a time for reassessment and re-looking at business models.
James Beeson is a top-notch beer writer in the UK and he’s done a good piece for The Grocer website, detailing many of the same issues that craft breweries here are facing, especially in the retail space where globally-owned breweries have come up with well-priced and nicely flavoured “craft” offerings.
But what made craft important in the first place still applies — local community, provenance and an intangible related to being good human beings. As one brewer observed in the story, there’s a huge market out there including “many that are yet to take an interest” in craft.
What does the future hold for craft beer’s ‘second wave’? | Analysis and Features | The Grocer
Beer of the week No 2
Speaking of good humans doing good things, kudos to Three Sisters for their SurfAid beer launched this month. First up this is a damn tasty 4.8% hazy pale ale made with Freestyle Hops Kohia Nelson 2023 blend — featuring Nelson Sauvin and Rakau hops blended with a dried and de-seeded passionfruit pulp. Naturally, there is passionfruit but it’s also got apricot and gentle orange. The beer was created to raise money and awareness for SurfAid, an organisation that aims to improve the health, well-being and resilience of remote communities throughout Indonesia and the Pacific where a lot of Westerners go surfing. They are also committed to a “hand up, not a handout” philosophy, with a focus is on empowering and supporting local communities to enrich their own lives. Given Three Sisters started out in the surf town of Oakura in New Plymouth, it’s a good match.
Anchor to be sold off in parts — report
Anchor Brewing is to be sold off in parts — the land, the equipment and the intellectual property — the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
After being shuttered by Japanese giant Sapporo, the fate of America’s most famous — and first — craft brewery has been uncertain, with workers wanting to keep the brand alive.
They may get their chance, with the brewery equipment and IP likely to cost much less than the land on which it’s located, which the Chronicle says could sell for $US40 million.
The brewery IP is valued at a more attainable price of $2.5 million, according to the Anchor San Francisco Cooperative chairperson Patrick Machel.
Another investor, Mike Walsh, wants to buy everything: land, brewery, IP.
He explained: “Our objective is to purchase the entire brewery and continue brewing at its current location. Unlike some developers, our focus isn’t on property development but on preserving Anchor’s rich history and making it a prime destination. This might include adding onsite restaurants and entertainment facilities while maintaining the brewery’s iconic status.”
Dusty’s Beer of the Week
Beautiful colour on this Laughing Bones Peppertree — a 6% saison made with horopito, kawakawa & rye malts, hopped with Perle, Pacific Jade and Motueka. There’s notes of spice (clove), honey, pepper, pear with an effervescent carb. Super clean, crisp mouthfeel with a drying citrus finish. Great example of a saison. Highly recommend this!
An interesting turn of events
I saw this week that BrewDog is closing its Hawkes taproom in London’s Bermondsey beer mile area citing rampant inflation and “exorbitant” rent costs, plus a drop in consumer spending thanks to cost-of-living pressures.
BrewDog also ceased production at the site.
So far, so-so … this is just what’s happening. But what caught my eye in their release was the fact they hoped to launch a cider-focused venue at another location in the city in the future.
Cider? Well, maybe cider is on the up. We shall watch and see.
Conor McGregor goes big with his stout brand
Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor is growing his Forged Irish Stout brand.
Originally the stout was only stocked in Dublin’s Black Forge Inn, which McGregor owns, but now it will be rolled out in bars and pubs across the UK as well as 400 ASDA supermarkets.
McGregor’s stout may not pack the same economic punch as Guinness but Diageo, the owners of the “black stuff” saw its share price tumble last week after they gave investors final confirmation that inflation and consumer resistance to price rises are hitting them hard.
Diageo’s shares fell by 13% after it issued an unscheduled trading update which warned that growth in operating profits will slow because of a sales slump in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where it derives 11% of its net sales.
Shares of Diageo’s rivals were hit in the backwash of the announcement as investors feared a global deceleration in premium drinks as consumers trading down to cheaper options.
Pernod Ricard’s shares were 5.7% lower, Rémy Cointreau shed 4.2%, while Campari and Brown-Forman both saw their shares fall by more than 3%. They have all pointed to more difficult trading conditions since the northern hemisphere summer.
UK Chancellor hits pause on excise increase
In a move that brewers here can only dream about, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this week hit pause on a scheduled excise tax increase.
It’s a move he prefaced by saying Rishi Sunak’s government was about “reducing taxes” and not “big government” and wanted to put downward pressure on inflation.
He froze all alcohol duty until after next year’s Budget.
“I have listened to defenders of the great British pint — and I have decided to freeze all alcohol duty until August next year”, Hunt said.
The move stops what would have been a substantial rise in excise after the government overhauled the alcohol duty system in August.
Beer of the week No 3
I do love a chilli beer, and the presentation of scorpion chillies in Garage Project’s Doors of Perception is one of the best I’ve had. The heat is incredibly smooth and deep, warming and stimulating. Some may find it too much, but for me it was nicely (un)balanced. The fruit was a different thing. I spent the whole beer — and it took me a while to get through this as it’s so intense — trying to give a name to the flavours. It was somewhere between Ribena, tart cherry and watermelon. Having never tried prickly pear or dragonfruit, two of the ingredients, I can only guess this is an accurate reflection of their respective flavours. And there is watermelon in there too. This beer went awfully close to overwhelming, but the lightness of the body helped things move along. Definitely an experience, but perhaps not for everyone.
Now for something more traditional
I wasn’t aware you could do this, but apparently you can ask nicely and — if you’re serious — you can stay at the famous Westmalle Abbey in Antwerp and for a brief period, enjoy a monk’s life of silent prayer, simple fare and some Westmalle beer.
I Spent a Weekend Drinking Beer with Belgian Monks (vice.com)
Oysters & alcohol — a marriage for the senses
As we hit the season of indulgence, I thought it was worth sharing this story about why oysters and alcohol go so well together, including some interesting combos such as a little bit of whisky poured into the just-empty shell as a chaser.
The Timeless Allure of Oysters and Alcohol | VinePair
Thanks again for reading and see you next week for the countdown to Christmas!
