This week the 2009 Capital Times Beer Necessities Survey was
released. The survey is the culmination of a day of judging where Regional Beer
Consultant Geoff Griggs, Malthouse manager Colin Mallon and myself worked our
way through 50 beers. While a day spent judging beer might seem like a dream
job in fact it makes for an enjoyable but very tiring and fatiguing day. The standard this year was high with the
majority of beers earning a mention in the final article. The panel decided to
highlight the top 8 beers this year rather than the top three of last year. It
was fantastic to see Emerson’s continue the success they found at BrewNZ with 4
of their beers in the top 8. Bookbinder, Pilsner 1812 and Old 95 all scored 4
points out of a possible 5. Up and coming Rotorua brewer Croucher secured a
place in the top 8 with their Pale Ale, while new contract brewer 8 Wired found
success with their Hop Wired IPA a beer that will find its way to the Regional
FYO shortly. Wairarapa farmhouse brewer
Peak found success with
Great End ESB. Finally New
Zealand’s largest brewer Lion Nathan earned
inclusion in the top 8 with its clean crisp Steinlager Pure brand.
Regional Wines would like to offer our congratulations to
all this years successful brewers.
For the full results check out the Capital Times Website
here