Playing Favourites With Stu Mckinlay And Sam Possenniskie

The concept for the Playing Favourites Tasting was borne when Stu McKinlay came to me and suggested we should run a tasting like the Playing Favourites show that Kim Hill runs on National Radio. Rather than getting someone to pick the songs that had influenced them Stu thought it would be interesting to get a brewer to select the beers that had influenced them through the years and talk about how they had come to be in the position they were. When Stu suggested it, he wasn’t intending to be the subject himself. However I decided that with their musically based branding the Yeastie Boys were the perfect subject for this musically modelled tasting. Just to top off the music theme we set up a sound system and played some of the Yeastie Boys Favourite musical tracks as we poured the beers through the night.
Stu was joined by Auckland based fellow Yeastie Boy Sam Possenniskie and the pair presented 10 beers that documented their journey from their mid 90’s beer awakening to the present day where they stand as the men behind one of the most cutting edge brewers in the country.

The beers were all brought out in pairs each pair being exemplary of a different theme.

Session Beers – Emerson’s Bookbinder , Yeastie Boys Punkididdle to the sound of Bork's 'Enjoy'

Stu and Sam talked about how much they love session beers and how they presented the beers at the tasting despite their misgivings about tasting these beers out of tasting glasses rather than drinking them by the pint with friends like they are meant to be drunk.

First up we tasted the beer that made Stu and Sam realise there was more to beer than just refreshment and alcohol along with the Yeastie Boys own take on session beer.

Sam told us how in the mid 90’s they used to frequent Tupelo in Edward St when one day they walked in and saw that a beer with the fascinating name of Emerson’s Bookbinder was on tap. As is often the case when one tastes something new and complex at first they weren’t sure if they liked this new beer, the fruitiness was pronounced and unlike anything they had tasted before. However after the best part of a pint they had decided they would order another, they were on the slippery slope!

Punkididdle was the Yeastie Boys second session beer. Based on the English bitter style Punkididdle combined the nutty richness of English malt, the marmalade fruit of the London ESB yeast, and the light citrus of East Kent Goldings hops into a 3.7% highly drinkable beer. For me Punkididdle had the two crucial elements that are required in a session beer, low strength and loads of character. Session beers need to be light in alcohol so that several can be drunk in a social situation but they also need to contain enough character to sustain the drinkers interest without becoming boring.

Malt Accented Beers – Fullers London Pride , Invercargill Smoking Bishop to the sound of Sabres of Paradise 'Smokebelch II'

We tasted Fullers London Pride to cover the period in which Sam left to live in England. In London Sam dived into the world of real ale relishing the complex aromas and flavours of living beer and soaking up the sociable pub culture that revolves around session beer. Sam lived in the London suburb of Putney a few doors down from the iconic Bricklayers Arms the only pub in London that serves the full Timothy Taylors range. While we weren’t able to source Timothy Taylor’s Landlord we did taste one of the most common cask ales in the UK, Fullers London Pride. Punkididdle was fermented with a yeast strain that originated at the Fullers Brewery so it was interesting to compare it with London Pride, not the last year comparison of the night!

London Pride was in fine form with its marmalade accented yeast character, its rich malt and its heathery hop character all adding up to a complex drinkable experience.

As Sam was immersed in the real ales of England Stu was becoming more and more involved in the New Zealand beer scene. Stu worked as a steward at BrewNZ alongside Steve Nally from Invercargill Brewing Co. Steve came out with New Zealand’s first widely available smoked beer just as Sam was visiting Bamberg in Germany to make his own discovery of the style. When Sam returned to NZ Stu had saved a bottle of the second batch of Invercargill Smoking Bishop for him. Sam couldn’t believe that how things had developed while he had been away. The two were encouraged that there might be a place for their left field brewing company vision.

Yeast Accented Beers – La Chouffe , Yeastie Boys Her Majesty 2010 to the sound of Wilco Kamera

One of the more common recurring Yeastie Boy themes has been beers fermented with Belgian yeasts. The yeast they use originated at the d'Achouffe brewery in the Ardennes region of Belgium. We tasted La Chouffe which is d’Achouffe’s flagship brew combining gloriously fruity lemon esters, spicy notes and a perfect balance of pale malt character and yeasty fruitiness. Stu said how he was taking a real risk presenting this beer alongside his own brewed with the strain, Her Majesty, as d’Achouffe had been using the yeast for nearly 30 years while he had only used it a handful of times. As the final vote showed he needn’t have worried.

Her Majesty is a strange beast that sits somewhere between a Belgian Dubbel and a strong brown porter. Big aromas of chocolate, and nutty malt blend with notes of Christmas spice and orchard fruit, in the mouth the beer is soft and richly malty with a smooth rounded finish and a lasting spicy yeast note.

Esoteric Beers – Moa Method Traditional , Orval to the sound of Tom Waits Lie to Me

Orval is the Belgian Trappist ale that is the odd one out. Rather than being sweet rich and strong like most Trappist beers Orval is lean, dry and tart with a lot of its character coming from an intentional inoculation with the wild yeast Brettanymces.

Encore – Yeastie Boy Pot Kettle Black Remix , Eastie Boy Rex Attitude to the sound of Arab Strap Loch Leven Intro + Loch Leven

The Original impetus for getting into contract brewing was that Stu brewed a strong hoppy porter for a homebrew festival one year and the beer was so popular he decided he would have to find some way of brewing on a larger scale to please all the people who wanted to taste it again. The original brew was much stronger than the Pot Kettle Black which eventually came out of Invercargill and was brewed with American rather than New Zealand hops. Stu and Sam have decided that each year they will brew a remixed version of PKB, last year they brewed it as a stout, this year they have brewed the original homebrew recipe that started it all. At the tasting we were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of this years Remix on the handpump. The batch will soon be available in 750ml bottles.

We ended the tasting with a very special beer, Easty Boy Rex Attitude. Stu calls his home pilot brewery Easty Boys and Rex Attitude is the name he has given to New Zealand’s (the world’s?) first West Coast Islay Pale Ale. Rex Attitude is brewed from 100% Peated Distilling Malt, Willamette hops and an American Ale yeast. Stu had been warned that it was very unwise to brew a beer with over 10% peated malt, he decided in his own words to "ignore the wowsers” and start with 100% and scale it back from there if need be. The beer that according to common wisdom should have been undrinkable was in fact fantastic. Rex Attitude poured a light golden colour and positively broadcasted an aroma of heathery smoked kippers. In the mouth the beer was incredibly balanced with light fruity hops, massive smoke and sweet rich malt all playing their part before a rounded wonderfully complex finish. The beer was so good that my partner Sarah who attended the Thursday tasting finished her glass and she hates smoked beers! Rex Attitude is scheduled for full production with Stu having to place an order to Scotland for the peated malt as we don’t keep enough in NZ to fill his needs!

In the end the public vote placed Her Majesty first, Orval second and London Pride Third. See below for the full results. Also watch out for a youtube video of the tasting that will appear on the website soon!

Cheers

Kieran Haslett-Moore