Spicy beer, just like a mulled wine, helps to warm up winter and Dunedin brewer Green Man has introduced a ginger beer to help.
And as well as acting as a warmer, it might also clear that head cold, because ginger is a natural decongestant.
Green Man Ginger Beer (5%) is a blend of the brewery's Best Bitter and Pils with a sugar-free ginger syrup added.
Ginger can be quite pungent, and a touch of sweetness takes the edge off its tang.
DB, similarly, adds honey to the ginger in its Summer Ale.
Well chilled, the ginger refreshes on a hot day; Green Man's, left out of the refrigerator, warms.
The Ginger Ale is tarter than the Summer Ale and has a distinct aroma of ginger and sweet lemonade when chilled.
However, the sweetness lessens as any chill wears off.
Alcoholic ginger beer originated in England in the 1700s.
A yeast in the ginger will naturally produce up to 11% alcohol, or baker's or brewer's yeast can be used.
Today, most ginger beers and ales (usually more gingery) are nonalcoholic soft drinks.
I was introduced, as a toddler, to (nonalcoholic) ginger ale by a steward on the inter-island ferry to settle my (now empty) stomach on a particularly rough trip.
Ginger is, in fact, widely recognised as a counter to nausea or motion sickness.
Perhaps, then, those who feel they must drink while out fishing should change to the Green Man product.
We use ginger ale instead of water to cook silverside/corned beef so I might now try it in the Green Man brew.
At the end of winter, Green Man will resume production of its Cyclist (renamed after DB Breweries objected to the brewery using the name Radler - German for cyclist) as a summer shandy.
This sweet lemonade lower-strength brew is popular with women - and early feedback indicates the Ginger Beer is too.
Smoky number
Invercargill Brewery has released its fourth Smokin' Bishop (7%), which consistently wins medals (gold in 2007) even though there are subtle differences from year to year.
The feature of this beer is the peat- and manuka-smoked malt in it which produces an acrid aftertaste in the throat instead of hop bitterness.
Last year's batch was not as acrid as the 2008, and the smoky character in this year's is overlaid by rich malt flavour.
Just as some folk do not like smoked fish, this one is not to everyone's taste.
It is on tap and in bottles at the brewery.
Auckland brewSmall Auckland brewery Galbraiths uses German ingredients for its Munich Lager (5%), which has a slightly different flavour.
It has a nice balance of malt and hop with soft bitterness.
You can find it at Invercargill Licensing Trust outlets, Liquorland in Gore, Super Liquor in Cromwell, Alexandra and Lorneville, Meenan Wine and Spirits and Castle Macadam in Dunedin, Pembroke Wines and Wanaka Fine Wines in that resort, and Allan Hamilton Wine Cellars in Arrowtown.
Email: lojo.rico@xtra.co.nz
