Slab Brewing close, hand keys to Alchemy St
Popular Aussie beer site closes. Officials in US bury report showing excise tax has little impact on harmful drinking.
The brewing dream is over for Slab Brewing in Tauranga but as one door closes another opens, with the brewery to be taken over by newcomer Alchemy Street, which will continue produce some core range Slab beers.
Slab posted to Facebook this week:
“This is a post we had hoped to never have to do…
“Sadly, this week marks the last week for Slab down here at Brook Street. Thank you all for the support over the last 5 years, it really has been an incredible journey, and we could’ve never done it without you all!
“There is a silver lining in all this though, the brewery and Taproom will still be here for you to enjoy on your Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. We are passing the keys on to our good friend who some of you already know, Ed Bolstad of Alchemy Street Brewing he will be carrying on in our stead and continuing with your favourite core range Slab beers as part of his Legacy Series.
“You’ll still see Slab taps and tins around while we work our way through the remaining stock.
“As for this Friday, it will be your last chance to come by the Slab taproom and see Zach, Nathan, and Ethan pouring all that Slab goodness, before it becomes Alchemy Street Brewing from next week onwards.
“That said jump on over to @alchemystreetbrewing and share that same support you’ve all given us over the last 5 years.
“From the whole Slab family, thank you all so much!”
Brews News shutting down
I was stunned — shocked, actually — to read today that Matt Kirkegaard is shutting down his Brews News website across the Tasman. And there’s something in Matt’s farewell post that I can relate to on a deep level — the unrelenting demand of running a business that is sustainable only as long as you’re there grinding away.
Matt said after 20 years of writing about beer, first as a passion project, and then as a business, he’s just run out of steam and wants to do something different.
But without him, Brews News wasn’t sustainable and it will close. It’s a big loss to the brewing industry in Australia and here, as Matt always kept an eye on what was happening in New Zealand and understood the market here.
While, at its present scale, Brews News could continue indefinitely, I can’t. After 20 years, it’s time for me to find my next thing and my new challenges.
In a bigger business, that would be easier. In a business as small as Brews News, it means that the business will close too.
I’ve been writing about beer for 14 years, the first five years it was definitely a passion project but since 2015 it’s been my business. Like Matt with Brews News, growing Pursuit of Hoppiness into a sustainable business that will continue when I decide to walk away from it (retirement is looming) is a huge driver — and a burden — but I’m getting there.
Supporting this newsletter is one way you can help.
Or if you’re a business, think about advertising in Pursuit of Hoppiness — the only place in New Zealand where you can reach tens of thousands of dedicated beer lovers with every issue. Hit me up at: michael@hoppiness.co.nz for more information.
Beer of the Week No 1
There was a lot of noise late last year about the discovery, isolation and production of New Zealand’s first indigenous yeast, Wilding. Emerson’s Wilding, the first beer released with the yeast, was a 6 per cent farmhouse-style beer that accentuated all the yeast character and dialled down the malt and hops profile. There may be other Wilding-fermented beers coming on tap but the only other one I’ve seen to date is Wild Thing by Three Sisters in New Plymouth. It’s a 3.2% “table beer” hopped with Citra — and it’s a gem. The Wilding profile is best described as farmhouse-adjacent, so you’re not getting full-on Saison-style flavour but there’s a definitive X-factor that’s slightly perfumed, a tiny bit phenolic, somewhat spicy, a little herbaceous … and then the Citra kicks in to create a firm dry finish. It’s nicely spritzy, complex but easy-drinking, and I could drink it all day. It does what I love a great beer to do and that is: delivers heaps of flavour and character on a low ABV.
New World Beer & Cider Awards
Entries are open for the New World Beer & Ciders Awards, with the cut-off date February 16.
Alongside the inimitable Kelly Ryan, I’ll be heading the judging process, which comes to Auckland this year for the first time on March 12-13. Results are out on May 20.
Beer and cider competition | New World
Would you go to a Mindful Drinking festival?
Look, I know I go on about non-alcoholic beer a bit, but that’s because it’s the biggest wave of change to hit the beer industry since hazies.
If you had any doubts about the trendiness of non-alc, or NA, as it’s becoming known, then ponder this: over 500 people attended a Mindful Drinking Festival in Washington DC’s Union Market district last week. The three-day event drew the sober-curious, retailers, bar owners and industry people.
Featuring mixers, zero RTDs, zero spirits, de-alcoholised wine and NA beer there was also a strong lifestyle element to the event.
There was an NA pub crawl, NA Rave, yoga classes and trail walks with a — wait for it — Certified Forest Therapy Guide.
The fact that this movement, for want of a better word, is increasingly lifestyle-based, as opposed to being functional (ie sober driving) there looks to be plenty of short-to-medium term growth opportunity. Long-term sustainability of the lifestyle aspect, I’m less sure about, but by then NA will built into the fabric of beverages.
Beer of the Week No 2
I have a real soft spot for my fellow Westies, Black Sands, and I’m delighted they’ve reached their 10-year milestone. To celebrate they have released a beer called Livin’ The Dream, a double hazy IPA hopped with Nectaron and Citra. It’s got a great photo on the front of father-son team Ian and Craig Hebblethwaite. Ian has stepped back from the brewing side as Black Sands transitions to a second-generation brewery and the cool thing is that working alongside Craig in the brewery is Matt Holden, whose father Dave was one of the brewery founders alongside Ian. So, it’s a great inter-generational story and a very good beer to boot — quite dry for a hazy — with punchy peach and citrus flavours.
But that’s not all. I have to mention the Corrido Mexican Sour — featuring mango, lime & chilli. This is just sensational and has summer stamped all over it.
What is Apex Craft?
I saw a report recently about the price of beer in America increasing across the board last year, with the case price of craft beer up 3.6% year-over-year.
That’s all well and good, but what caught my eye in the presentation of this information from Bump Williams Consulting, was the way they tier craft in the US.
Here, for example, supermarkets refer to mainstream craft (Mac’s, Monteith’s Boundary Road, Moa) and premium craft (the rest).
But in the US there’s now four tiers based on prices per case: “craft” ($39.99 and under), “premium craft” ($40-$49.99), “super-premium craft” ($50-$59.99), and “apex craft” ($60 and above).
Premium craft accounts for 46% share of total craft dollars spent and features the most brands of any price range (around 5,900) and is largely driven by IPA.
Apex craft includes local IPAs (ie those not available nationally), barrel-aged stouts and seasonal/special releases.
As an aside, the report noted that traditional IPA remains the largest style by far, holding a 25.9% share of craft dollars.
Seasonals are the second best-selling craft style followed by Imperial (double and triple IPA), hazy IPA and Blonde/Golden Ale.
I’m working now on what the leading styles are in New Zealand but based on my experience with this kind of data previously it’s along the lines of: IPA, hazy, pale ale, pilsner, lager.
Dusty’s Beer of the Week
Beautiful pale ale this! Brave Brewing 5.6% Bottle Rocket Extra Pale Ale launches you into a Simcoe stratosphere of crisp clarity fuelled by notes of soft peach, apricot and lemon. Mouthfeel is smooooth with a slightly oily coating, a gentle tingly carb, fleeting piney bitterness and a juicy finish —superb example of Simcoe. Read more of Dusty’s reviews.
Corona 0.0 the beer of Paris Olympics
Anheuser-Busch InBev will be an official sponsor for the next three Olympic Games starting with the Paris 2024 summer event this year, with the alcohol-free Corona Cero the official beer of the Games.
AB InBev is the first brewing company to become a Worldwide Olympic Partner, the highest level of Olympic sponsorship. They will also sponsor the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Report buried after showing tax doesn’t reduce alcohol harm
This is a slightly long piece for this newsletter, but it’s an intriguing one from the US about tax and alcohol-related harm.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is under scrutiny after a 2021 study on the impact of proposed higher beer and wine taxes on excessive alcohol use was brought to light, The Oregonian reported.
The newspaper reported that the study was effectively buried after it showed that raising taxes on alcohol did nothing to curb alcohol consumption by the people who cost the state the most money.
The study found that increasing Oregon’s excise tax on beer and wine could raise hundreds of millions for the state and reduce public alcohol consumption overall — but that taxes would barely reduce consumption by Oregon’s heaviest drinkers, who disproportionately drive the high societal costs of alcoholism.
“The research tends to show, time after time, that changes in price — and that’s what a tax increase does — [do] not appear to affect risky drinking behaviors,” like binge drinking or drinking while pregnant, report author Andrew Dyke said in a 2021 video presentation about the research.
The results of the tax-focused portion of the study were not published on the OHA website and have been absent from political discussions about proposed tax raises, according to the Oregonian. Tom Jeanne, OHA deputy state health officer, told the news outlet that the study would have been published under normal circumstances, were it not for a lack of staffing following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Oregon Beverage Alliance (OBA), founders of DontTaxMyDrink.org, slammed the OHA for the alleged lack of transparency.
“This shocking news is deeply concerning that the Oregon Health Authority appears to have intentionally buried a taxpayer-funded study it commissioned because the findings contradicted efforts to justify raising alcohol taxes,” The OBA said in a press release. “As the Task Force on Alcohol Pricing and Addiction Services prepares to hear more potential bias and inaccuracies from Oregon Health Authority … how can members trust the information Oregon Health Authority is providing to stakeholders and policymakers?
“If Oregon Health Authority, and possibly others, knew about the report findings in 2021, and yet continued to advocate that increasing alcohol taxes would reduce consumption for problem drinkers, this appears deceptive and we demand answers. Oregonians should be able to expect truth and honesty from the Oregon Health Authority — a public health agency — and once again it violated that trust.”
All grist for the mill as the argument over excise is set to heat up here in coming months…
Beer of the week No 3
After the Great Kiwi Beer Festival last weekend I extended my stay for a little roadie down to Oamaru, which entailed, of course, beers at Craftwork. After a superb Boundless from Wilderness I noticed they had The Bitter Sea, an Extra Special Bitter from North End, on handpull. Happy place found.
And on the subject of Great Kiwi Beer Festival. What a great day. So damn hot. I was in the Pomeroy’s Craft Beer Academy Tent all day with a series of guests and all the talks were incredibly well attended — each one a “sell out”.
I didn’t get to try that many beers as I was talking so damn much but I can confirm the following were all amazing when I had them in the tent:
DNA Hitman Hazy
Garage Project Tiny XPA
Derelict Quirky Nana
Three Boys Lager
McLeod’s Paradise Pale Ale
Of these the most intriguing was DNA’s Hitman Hazy. DNA is a relatively new operation in Blenheim — a partnership between David Nicholls (ex Moa) and winemaker Ant Moore.
Those familiar with Dave’s beers from the Moa days will think of some amazing sours, the Southern Alps White IPA, St Joseph’s Tripel … you might not have picked him as a maker of a “milkshake” style IPA! But the Hitman Hazy IPA was excellent: clean and vibrant.
And for a point of difference on GKBF, here’s The Rock’s review.
The case for hopwater
Regular, and attentive, readers will remember that late last year I raved about Bach Brewing’s hop water, Simple Life. This is a drink akin to a non-alc for me, it’s a great thirst-quencher with just a touch of hops. It’s a delicate, elegant flavour and the skill in creating it is not lost on me. I think you’d need the touch of patisserie chef … you know, the men and women who use little tweezers to drop flower petals onto ornately decorated cakes. Anyway, I’ve been waiting … and waiting for more hop waters to hit the market. And my feelings are captured by Dave Infante here:
“Let me spell it out for you.
H-O-P W-A-T-E-R.
It’s sparkling water that tastes like hops. You make it, we buy it. The cash keeps flowing, the world keeps spinning. You can do this. I believe in you.”
Where the Hell Are All the Hop Waters? | VinePair
Tim’s Beer of the Week
Chief reviewer Tim Newman is known for two things, a huge love for big IPAs and a slightly lesser love for hazies! But he’s found a beer that might turn him into a convert. I know we mentioned Pacific Coast last week, and I don’t want it to sound like we’re spruiking them, but Tim doesn’t review a beer unless he loves it, so I figure it’s just a coincidence.
In my experience, hazy IPAs are one of the worst offenders when it comes to losing balance as they are scaled up into the imperial spectrum. Too many oats, too much lactose or just too little bitterness too often leads to a flabby, oversweet flavour blowout. So, when I approached Chop, a whopping nine-percenter from Pacific Coast up in Mangawhai, I did so with my usual dose of suspicion…
Happily, I can report that my fears were (in this case) unfounded. Not only does Chop maintain its balance, it manages more structure and focus than plenty of hazies half its strength.
Huell Melon hops lead the aroma, with rockmelon and ultra-ripe gooseberry backed up by a sharper, pithy citrus and a lingering pungency from the curious addition of dehydrated feijoa. The palate is as full and sweet as one would anticipate from a hazy of this magnitude, but a fine balance and sharp hop focus keeps that strong malt character strung tight until the satisfyingly bitter finish comes in to take up the slack.
Focused, full-on, and hugely drinkable. This is a hazy with the sensibilities of a West Coast-style bright IPA and will appeal to those drinkers just as well.
Red Stripe beer integral to Bob Marley story
Back in the day I was a very big Bob Marley fan, and I’m definitely looking forward to the biopic Bob Marley: One Love.
And I would have been as cynical as the next grumpy journalist had I seen Red Stripe beer splashed all over the screen, assuming it was a paid product placement.
But it turns out, Red Stripe’s presence in the film was not a paid-for presence, but instead an element chosen by the producers to create authenticity. Paramount Pictures production executive Mathew Ferrante noted the beer’s importance as a Jamaican brand that was known to be deeply rooted in Marley’s cultural and personal narrative.
Ferrante told Drinks Business: “There’s no way to tell the Jamaican story without having Red Stripe being a part of it. We worked hard to integrate the Red Stripe brand.
“Red Stripe is synonymous with Jamaican culture that holds a special place in the hearts of many, both locally and internationally. Its presence in the film not only added a touch of realism, but also served as a symbolic nod to the spirit of unity, celebration, and resilience embodied by Marley himself. As a Jamaican brand that would’ve naturally been in the world in the 1970s and telling Bob’s story, authenticity was the most important thing.”
Less is definitely more
I’ll finish with this very good story from the New York Times on what I’d call the rationalisation of the American beer offering, a trend I truly hope moves to this part of the world.
In-a-nutshell: the days of breweries releasing a gazillion beers a year may be coming to an end. Instead there’s a growing focus on simplicity and curation; and an understanding that less choice is better. “Go deep rather than wide” was a line used in the story that I can relate to.
The trend includes breweries reducing new releases from 6-8 a month, back to 2 or 3, and bars doing likewise. Instead of lots of taps of always-new, there’s a paring back and a focus on fewer, core, taps.
I think this has to happen here as consumer-overwhelm is a real thing and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest having fewer choices is better for everyone.
That’s me for another week! Enjoy your super-long weekend if you’re managing to get that extra day off.
