New Zealand Beer

This week I thought I would review one of our most recent entries into the boutique beer market in NZ…..MOA. Head honcho Josh Scott (son of Alan Scott, one of NZ’s most prominent wine makers) established the Moa Brewing Company in 2003. I first spotted the beers in our stores during 06-07 summer and must say have been impressed with the hands on care taken to produce them.

This wee darky they call a “dark lager” is full of hearty goodness from the Marlborough region. Just when you thought wine was all that came from this part of the country, think again. Coming from NZ’s prime hops growing region, its no surprise that a great beer also comes from there.

These beers come in small 375ml (never quite enough) and also a bigger 750ml bottle with a champagne style cork and wire, which helps fooling the ladies into drinking some (the day NZ breweries bottle in 500ml re-usable glass bottles like Germany will be the best day ever).

My suggestion is ignore the price and grab a big bottle of each of their brews. Noir, Blanc and Methode Traditionale, sit down with a couple of mates and down the lot. It will be well worth it! And it goes unbelievably well with a dozen green lipped muscles. Bloody beautiful mate……

The sparkle is put into the brew by the time honoured “methode traditionelle” more usually used to put the bubbles into Champagne.

After six weeks for the initial brewing process and conditioning, the beer is then bottled with more yeast and sugar, capped and left to re-ferment thus adding that sparkle. The unusual bit is next - the bottles are inverted allowing the yeast sediment to settle down into the neck of the bottle. The neck is frozen, the bottle uncapped and the frozen plug of sediment pops out, then is finally sealed with a champagne style cork and wire cage. The Moa is born – a bottle conditioned beer with no sediment.

The best one is definitely the original or “Methode Traditionale”. It reminds me of Augustine from Munich.