BEER REVIEW: DB foams home at awards

DB Breweries triumphed at the annual BrewNZ beer awards a fortnight ago, winning four trophies and seven medals and being declared champion brewery.

Dunedin brewery Emerson's picked up one trophy and eight medals; neighbour Green Man a packaging award and Vicki Purple, partner of that brewery's founder, Tom Jones, a silver medal for her first creation, Beltane Maiden.

DB won trophies for Export 33 (gold), Monteith's Black (gold medal) Tui (silver) and Tui Blonde (gold), plus silvers for Monteith's Celtic Red, Spring Beer and bronze for Crushed Apple Cider.

Its rival, Lion, won bronze for Mac's Great White and Gold.

Emerson's won silver for Oreti Red, Weizenbock, Bill T Wit (see below) and Dunkelweiss (also the wheat beer trophy) and bronze for Pilsner, Bookbinder, 1812 and Weissbier.

The Bulmer's range won five medals and the cider trophy.

Bulmers is a British company now owned by Australian brewery Foster's Group, and its recipes are produced under licence in Gisborne.

For stout-lovers Christchurch breweries Harrington's (Clydesdale) and Wigram Brewing (Imperial) won silver and bronze medals, respectively.

On the horizon

The first of a new generation of McCashin beers is about to appear.

Former All Black Terry McCashin set up a brewery in the old Rochdale cider plant at Stoke, near Nelson, producing Mac's Real Ale in 1981.

In 1999, the brand and distinctive old cider bottle shape were sold to Lion which leased the brewery until two years ago.

Terry's son, Dean, and daughter-in-law Emma moved in 18 months ago and are producing fruit vodkas and cider.

Their new product will be a beer called Stoke.

End of stubbie

DB Draught is now going into a long-neck bottle.

This marks the demise of the stubbie - introduced in the mid-1980s - after Tui and Speight's stubbie disappeared in recent months.

Brief life

Also gone is one of Emerson's beauties.

Billy T Wit was a small batch produced for the BrewNZ awards and the first of a new series called Let's go Native.

No, the beers will not be Maori recipes, because early Maori was one of the few societies not to have a fermented alcoholic beverage as part of its culture.

Rather, the ingredients will be indigenous.

Billy T Wit (6.2%) was a wheat beer with kumara and pikopiko and kawakawa leaves in it.

The subtlety of their flavours produced a lovely beer and, unless we can talk Emerson's into repeating it, there will be no more of it.

However, Last of the Mohicans, the final in a series of highly hopped Brewer's Reserve beers is still available at the Whitcliffe St brewery.

This one allowed malt and hop to compete for dominance and both won.

Wild-food winner

Tauranga eatery Porch Kitchen, like Emerson's, liked the flavour of pikopiko and included it in its wild boar dish which won the Monteith's Wild Food Challenge.

During June and July nearly 6500 diners tasted and voted for the dishes and the 100 participating cafes and restaurants were whittled down to seven finalists, including Wanaka's Uncle Mike's BBQ.

lojo.rico@xtra.co.nz