Report on August SOBA Auckland-area meeting at Hallertau

I have been sadly remiss in not typing up my report from the SOBA Auckland-area trip out to Hallertau a couple of weeks ago. My apologies.

It was a superb event, and I'm really sorry that a clash of dates meant that several regular attendees at Auckland-area meetings couldn't make it. I've already passed on my thanks to Steve Plowman for hosting us so generously, and I urge all SOBA members to visit Hallertau on a regular basis - these folks deserve our support.

I'm planning on writing a more detailed article for the SOBA newsletter sometime, but for those of you who weren't able to make it, this is how we rolled:

Thje afternoon started with a tour of the brewery, led by Steve. This wasn't just your ordinary touristy brewery tour though; Steve gave us a detailed run-down of his brewing philosophy, and his methods and ingredients. He happily fielded all manner of detailed beer-geeky questions and gave us a real insight into how things operate out at Hallertau.

After that we adjourned back to the bar for a tasting session. First of all we ran through the house beers, with Steve giving a detailed run-down of the recipe, including how the recipes had evolved over time. I like the house beers anyway, so this was an excellent start. Then it was onto the more exotic stuff - the two beers from Steve and Luke's IPA Challenge (Humulus Lupulus Maxiumus and Epic Armageddon). For those of you who tasted the Maximus in Wellington, this was a different experience as Steve has been running it through a canister of fresh hops en-route to the bar. The hops change regularly so the beer is constantly evolving. Magical stuff. After that we tried Dan's traditional Bock - the winner from last year's National Homebrew Competition. Steve reckoned that beer was just hitting its straps after 12 weeks of conditioning, and I have to agree with him.

If we thought that was it, we were happy to be proved wrong. Steve dug out a bottle of his barrel-aged Porter, aged in Pinot Noir casks. A powerful brett-y monster that still has plenty of time to improve. We then managed to get a sneaky taste (straight from the fermenter) of the Stuntwoman Imperial Pilsner which had finished fermenting three days before. Dangerously drinkable at 9%!! There was even time to try a bottle of a Wigram beer that Steve plucked out of the fridge (the name of which eludes me). Then it was time to grab a few takeaways before heading off into the evening. I didn't get chance to say thanks directly to Steve as he was busy being mein host to a very busy bar & restaurant, but I dropped him an email afterwards.

I'm sure all who attended enjoyed themselves and learnt something, which is the intention of these events. Steve is a great friend & supporter of SOBA - long may he continue producing such superb beers!

Before closing I'll just put in a quick reminder for the next meeting - 2pm on Saturday 13th September at Galbraiths. I spoke to Ian (the brewer) a couple of weeks ago and he said he would try to be there to talk us through the house beers. I will be in touch to confirm soon. As well as tasting the Galbraiths beers I'd like to kick off a bit of a conversation about the possibility of organising a craft beer festival in Auckland sometime in the next 12 months or so. So bring your ideas along.

As usual, it would be helpful if you let me know if you plan to attend the Galbraiths meeting. The October meeting is likely to be in Hamilton, and in November we're planning a trip across to Waiheke Island.

Cheers & beers,

Martin