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The beer scene today is one of diversity and choice that sees a multitude of breweries jostling for your attention, but it wasn't always that way.Today’s beer, Gouden Carolus Classic, has its roots in the 1500s and for a while was very much the sole beer of the city of Mechelen, brewed at the Het Anker brewery (in what was the Netherlands but became Belgium).I love the concept of a city brewery serving its people. It seems like the perfect mutually beneficial relationship, and we saw with Bitburger and the story of Pilsner (in a blog a couple of weeks back), just what can result when one brewery is held at the behest of its people. There’s no way to hide your brews in a crowd of other beers when you are the sole provider - and this means that maintaining quality is super important. The situation also sets up the possibility of a positive feedback loop, which sees the evolution of styles to suit the demand of the customer (which is exactly how Pilsner came into being).Let’s see what the people of Mechelen helped shape with Gouden Carulous Classic, which describes itself as a Grand Imperial Beer no less…It’s a lovely mahogany colour in the glass with a dense tan head. The nose is very vinous with aromas of red fruits and spice that combine with licorice and leather. The aromas flow into the palate which is full and bright with sweetness balanced nicely by bitterness leading to a malty finish.A lovely beer that is indeed well described by the words grand and imperial.Today, your typical modern city is overrun with breweries, but that said, the craft mentality is still very much one of community, and I suppose breweries now serve the people in just the same way that a large city brewery may have done a hundred years ago - but just in smaller localised areas.It might be easier to hide ones brews in and amongst the throng of available beers these days - but on the flipside - people can simply go elsewhere if you let your standards slip. In the same respect, the positive feedback loop pushing beer evolution is still very much present, in localised regional pools, and also given further impetus by the extraordinary level of inter-brewery competition that must now exist (plus of course the global sharing of information) .At the end of the day, you can’t rest on your laurels when cutting edge brewers pop up next-door on a regular basis, and this can only be good for we the people.

Drinking Belgian beer can be a dangerous game and sometimes it seems to be a case of how high do you want to up the ante - do you go dubbel, tripel or quad?!I once went for a weekend away to Bruges where I saw this firsthand. The beauty of the city was somewhat tarnished on a sunny Sunday morning as I walked the cobbled streets, by evidence of just how many people had seemingly consumed one more drink than they could keep in (if you know what I mean). I suppose it’s hard not to get carried away when beer is as good as it is in Bruges.There’s a long history of big beers in Belgium that goes back centuries and is traceable to abbey and Trappist brewing, but I was surprised to discover that the quad is a recent innovation (in terms of its commercialisation and branding at least).It’s interesting too that the BJCP Beer Style Guidelines refrains from adding it as a style in the monastic beer section, but rather progresses from single to dubbel to tripel, then finishing with Belgian Dark Strong Ale. I guess this is a political decision as much as anything else; and a nod to the fact that the style was being made for many years under different guises and without the title of quadrupel.The term quadrupel first appeared courtesy of the mother of all brotherhoods (the motherbrotherhood?) at La Trappe in Holland circa 1991. In Belgium however, the first commercial quad was indeed today’s beer from Straffe Hendrik based in Bruges - in 2010.The history of Strafe Hendrik is entwined in that of the Halve Mann Brewery which dates back to 1856, and it was a fifth generation brewer here, called Véronique Maes, who we have to thank for launching the brand.At this time, she was the very first female brewer in the country, and in an industry influenced by centuries of brotherly brewing (and which is generally dominated by men regardless) - that’s no mean feat in my book!Her first beer was a tripel in 1981 and the name Straffe Hendrik pays homage to the four previous generations of brewers, who were all men called Hendrik. This is strangely reminiscent of the story at Brewery Omer Vander Ghinste, where four generations of Omers headed the brewing for many years. I guess naming your kids after yourself was all the rage in those days (as was continuing the patriarchy).Veronique eventually handed the reins over to the next generation and a chap called Xavier Vanneste, who brought the first Belgian quad to the market. Let’s give it a go…Pours a deep, red-tinged brown with a cream head. The nose is wonderfully deep too with unfolding layers of stewed dark fruit, spice and sugar-based confectionery. There’s cake dough and cherries, black chocolate and molasses, which all rear up in the palate that is sweet and rich and bitter all at once.This is a stupendously good beer - and one that you could lose an evening in just trying to decipher all the flavours and aromas that are present - but be careful you don’t lose anything else. I’ll leave you with a quote from the aforementioned style guide which describes these beers thus… “Complex, rich, smooth, and dangerous.”Grab a Straffe Hendrik or two, you won’t be disappointed.. but just drink in moderation!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time everything just fell into place when I tried to do something!This, however, is the story of Pilsner, which appeared circa 1842 in the Bohemian city of Plzeň in what is now the Czech Republic.The date is key to the story, placing it at the end of the industrial revolution. Steam power, refrigeration and rail routes were becoming commonplace, leading to developments in brew tech and facilitating the sharing of ideas.All that was needed was a trigger, and this came in the form of a people’s uprising in Plzeň, thanks to the generally undrinkable nature of the local brew. The townspeople demanded better (seeing what was starting to appear in nearby Munich) and soon, a plan was put into action. A chap called Martin Stelzer was employed and he set about building a new brewery and hiring a head brewer.The brewer was one Josef Groll - who, luckily, was well versed in the ways of cold fermentation. He combined this technique with lightly malted barley thanks to English style kilns that were indirectly fired by coke and not by wood, which it is believed Martin Seltzer brought back from his travels in the UK (where such kilns were being used rather successfully in the creation of pale ale).It’s fair to say that Groll found himself in the right place at the right time, with access to a long list of other key ingredients; the exceptionally soft local water, Moravian malt which is low in nitrates aiding clarity, a decent supply of Saaz hops (whose spicy, earthy and herbal nature is key to the style) and access to a perfect maturation facility in the sandstone cellars beneath the new brewery.His first brew was golden in colour, the first of its kind in central Europe, and was an instant hit with the people of Plzeň.The beer’s creation also coincided with commercialisation of glass and the aforementioned rail routes - and soon this magical golden beer style from Burghers’ Brewery (the people’s brewery) had spread round the central Europe and was being imitated here, there and everywhere.One such brewery to adopt the style was Bitburger in Germany and this, of course, brings us to today’s beer. Let’s see how the German variation on the theme plays out…Pours a pale gold in the glass with a thin, tight white head. The nose is surprisingly spicy, with almost pepper like qualities and a real earthy minerality that melds nicely with some light biscuity malt. The palate has that linear lager quality but with layers of savoury and sweet citrus that balance beautifully and which are complexed further by lovely herbal and mineral notes.Overall, a superb quaffer but with way more complexity than you might expect!The original pilsner from Plzeň went on to become Pilsner Urquell (meaning “original source of pilsner”) and the brewery did its best to protect the style - even taking Bitburger to court before the first world war for infringement of copyright. There was no clear winner but the German brewers agreed to the use of the term Pils in place of pilsner.Pilsners are now made literally everywhere and you can’t help but feel a bit sorry for the people of Plzeň and the style they created. It’s subjective really, but it’s either part of the great democratisation or great bastardisation of beer styles (one thinks of NZ pilsners made using ale yeast for example).I’ll happily sit on the fence on this one but I have to admit, it’s hard to be too protectionist when beers taste as good as today’s!

Where is your favourite Pinot Noir region? If your first love is the traditional classics, it might be Burgundy but with availability and prices more variable than ever before, perhaps the Alto Adige and Sudtirol in the far north of Italy beckon? Most likely, it could be Central Otago, North Canterbury, Marlborough or... Martinborough. The last region on the list was one of the first places to make Pinot and Burgundy lovers sit up and take notice. Together with North Canterbury, Martinborough winemakers were at the forefront of producing outstanding and promising Pinot Noirs in this country. Today, their early success has been somewhat eclipsed by larger regions and bigger scale production.  An event to be held in the middle of this year in Martinborough is intended to grow the profile of Martinborough and its early Pinot pioneers. In fact, the event is called just that; Pinot Pioneers. It will be a dinner at Union Square, the bistro in in the historic Martinborough Hotel; the heart of the quaint Martinborough village. It is a fitting location to celebrate the success of the broader region, the Wairarapa Wine Region (the official title of the broader area), which has a current total of 1090 hectares of producing vineyard land. It may be surprising to discover that only about a third of that - an estimated 400 hectares - is devoted to Pinot Noir, the region’s flagship wine but, then, many of the world's greatest wine regions are  small. The example that always springs to my mind is one of the great strong holds of Nebbiolo, namely, Barbaresco DOCG. The name Barbaresco is the name of a village and also the wines made from the delineated area which has just 680 hectares of producing vines. It's never going to be big.  The Pinot Pioneers dinner will highlight the role that the first winemakers in Martinborough played in pioneering wine in the 1980s in what was, then, a mostly forgotten, remote rural village. The location may remain remote but Martinborough and Wairarapa wine is far from forgotten and the quality is better than ever, so the Pinot Pioneers event is all about championing the early wineries and celebrating the future. The first wineries were Ata Rangi, Dry River and Martinborough Vineyards, with others following closely in their wake, including Chifney Wines, which morphed into Margrain many years ago. Regional Wines stocks a wide range of wines from the other three, including these top picks from staff... Explore top Martinborough Pinot Noirs here... or buy from our faves list... 2019 / 2020 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir RRP $87.99 Buy here 2020 Craggy Range Pinot Noir RRP $42.99 Buy here 2020 Dry River Pinot Noir RRP $110.99 Buy here 2020 Nga Waka Pinot Noir RRP $38.99 Buy here 2018 Porters Pinot Noir RRP $44.99 Buy here 2020 Te Tera Martinborough Vineyards Pinot Noir Special $25.99 RRP $28.99 Buy here 2021 Te Kairanga Runholder Pinot Noir Special $29.99 RRP $35.99 Buy here

I once asked my Mum how she got the tomato sauce in her pasta dishes to be so rich and sweet, and her reply was…“I use sugar.”I was a touch shocked at the time, and told her that this was basically cheating, to which she replied…“That’s what cooking is - cheating.”These words really stuck with me, and many years on, I can see now that the world of drinks is also rife with cheating too.I mean cheating is literally everywhere when you think about it!Just look at wine. We age wine in oak to add nuances of vanilla and coconut. We heat it to make madeira and fortify it to make port. We even age wine under a veil of microbes to create certain sherries.Then there’s beer! Here the art of cheating has been taken to a new level thanks to the long history of adjuncts in brewing.The Belgian’s have been crafting some of the world’s greatest beers for centuries using candi sugar, spice and fruit, whilst in the States, the most commercially successful beers are macro lagers using all sorts of unmalted grains.The surge in all malt ‘craft brewing’ created associations of quality with malt and likewise inferiority with adjuncts - but things have now gone full circle. Chocolate, lactose, chilli and the addition of pretty much whatever you can find, is now an accepted part of modern brewing - and I guess how you feel about this is a personal thing.I’ll confess there’s a grumpy purist trapped inside me who still respects beers that have faithfully adhered to the holy trinity of malted barley, yeast and hops.Which brings us nicely to today’s beer - Kasteel Cuvée du Château. The online description talks of port and madeira flavours which might have one typically racing to figure out which adjuncts have been used - but it’s an all malt brew… let’s give it a whirl.It pours a dark and deathly colour with a dense tan head. The nose is dark too with black chocolate, malt and cherry notes offering a black forest gâteau-like quality - but it’s not as fruit driven as the online description might lead you to believe. The palate is rich and viscous, initially sweet and with some caramelised, oxidative notes that are indeed suggestive of madeira - and which lead to a big, bitter finish. It is quite the mouthful and yet the 11% abv is superbly integrated.A big and fabulous brew - and one for the purists perhaps? Well maybe, however there is a subtle twist…The beer’s inspiration was a Kasteel Donker that had been aged for nine years. The brewery owner, Xavier Vanhonsebrouck, couldn’t wait that long though, so he challenged his head brewer Hans to come up with a beer that offered the same characteristics - just without the ageing. The answer was the addition of roasted and caramelised malt - which sounds rather like adding sugar to your pasta sauce doesn’t it?Adjuncts or no adjuncts, when you think about it - brewing is the art of cheating - and essentially it’s the hacks and the cheats which create the flavour…

William Fèvre is the descendent of a family who have lived in Chablis for over 250 years. This northernmost outpost of the Burgundy region in north west France is the world's headquarters for high quality Chardonnay (along with the Burgundian heartland of the Cote d'Or - golden slopes). Domaine William Fèvre was established in 1961 and has since acquired new vineyards throughout Chablis, making it one of the biggest land owners in the region with 78 hectares of vines, 16 of which are classified as Premier Cru and 15 as Grand Cru.   Our collection of Domaine William Fèvre wines is on special for the next two weeks and we have great new vintages of Les Clos in store now.  Buy Domaine William Fèvre Les Clos, Sea Chablis and other great Chardonnays from this domaine here. Explore more about the creamy, smooth, complex Chardonnays from William Fèvre here.

Unpredictable and potentially risky is one dictionary's definition of the words dicey, which is apt, say two brothers bearing this as their surname. Matt and James Dicey are the co-founders and owners of Dicey Wines, which is our winery of the month of May this year.  Buy Dicey wines here James is the grape grower and Matt the caretaker of them as he makes the wines. They were born in South Africa but most of their lives have been lived in Bannockburn, Central Otago, where their parents were among the key founders of Mt Difficulty Wines.  Now, the second generation is forging its own path with the creation of Dicey Wines, which was established as a brand in 2020.  Their key focus is on Pinot Noir and sustainability but they also make a trio of off beat wines with their Chenin Blanc, Gamay and Riesling. This year they also launched Dice by Dicey, a high quality Pinot Noir packaged in a two litre bag-in-box, which reduces the resources used to package wine. "A staggering 27% of the carbon that is emitted from the craft of wine making comes not from the farming or running of tractors and other farm machinery but rather the production of the glass bottle with a further 13% being attributed to the shipping," says Matt Dicey.  This led to their quest to find the best alternative packaging and three years into their new Dicey wine brand, they have taken the plunge. "Until now, wine delivered in bag-in-box packaging has rightly earned the reputation of being a lower quality, cheaper wine but this doesn’t need to be the case," says Matt. “A better way to buy wine shouldn’t mean you compromise on quality because it is a fact that bag-in-box packaging is a far better proposition for the environment as it drastically reduces the carbon footprint associated with glass bottle production." He says they will make improvements to all aspects of their packaging as the technology improves.  “The wine in the two litre Dice box has been made with the same care and focus as all Dicey wines. Grapes harvested from a combination of vineyards that are organically certified and are currently in conversion to organic certification with BioGro NZ or sustainable certification. The wine was fermented in small format open top tanks, with 16% whole bunches followed by ageing in French oak barrels with 16% new wood. It was unfined but filtered, as with all of the Dicey wines, which means it is vegan friendly. "This is not a cheap offering of wine that is to be smashed willy-nilly. It’s the opposite. You’ll be paying for premium Pinot that you can enjoy that one lovely glass with dinner and perhaps not have another one until later that week or the next.” Both Matt and James suggest the new Dicey Pinot Noir in the two litre bag-in-box can stay fresh when opened for three to four weeks so that buyers can take their time to savour it. * Pop in to Regional Wines in May to taste Dicey wines and learn more        

A whole universe of wondrous entities is created in the process of fermentation and the catalyst for this, the force at the epicentre of the brewing big bang if you like - is sugar.The preferred source of sugar for brewers is malted barley. This is a grain that has been allowed to germinate and whose starches have been converted into fermentable sugars, but there are plenty of other options, and one is honey.Fermented honey brews are known as mead and seeing as six million years of human evolution has been accompanied by that of bees (who appeared on the planet some 120 million years prior) it is a fair assumption that mead has a long history. There’s even a theory that Palaeolithic Africans were flooding bee nests, which results in a natural fermentation, to make water clean enough to drink (a generally forgotten yet rather handy by-product of fermentation that has driven beer evolution through the ages).Today's brew is made using honey, wheat, hops and yeast - and to the best of my knowledge, the majority of its fermentable sugar comes from the honey, so it falls under the broader definition of a mead.The bottle doesn’t really shout about this though - and it’s only upon close scrutiny that you’ll find the words miel and honingbier on the label.Although I am totally down with the notion of not pandering to us lazy anglophones - I do find it a touch odd that such a specialised ale would not communicate itself clearly to its customers. Knowingly taking home a honey beer is surely preferable to taking home a Belgian blonde to discover it’s a honey brew?I don’t know that I've ever drunk a mead in anger… so I’m keen to give this a go!It pours a scintillating gold in the glass with a thick white head. The nose is rich and mineral at the same time with lager and ripe sweet notes competing, but also combining to create something quite appealing. I really don’t think I would have thought of honey had I not known this was made using the stuff - but it’s there if you really zone in on proceedings. The palate is equally rich and mouth coating and seems classically Belgian - this brew could easily be the result of subtle spice and candy sugar - it’s not malty but it’s rich and sweet to a certain extent…Ok I am suitably impressed and now see why the brewers at Brasserie Lefebvre don’t shout about the honey element - it’s really not what defines the beer.Fermentation has done it’s job. It has taken the sugary honey and created a new and familiar world - and the irony is that if you purchased this beer hoping simply for a Belgian blonde, you’d be pretty damn happy…

There’s just something about Campbeltown isn't there. Sandwiched between the Lowlands and Islay, it seemingly brings together something from both these regions whilst still retaining an individuality and personality that you seldom meet in the world of whisky.Typically it takes us on a maritime journey of subtle salt and peat that speaks of the Islands - only then to deliver back to earth with notes of dunnage and floor-malted barley. At Springbank, long ferments and a complex distillation regime involving partial triple distillation and a worm tub complete the puzzle, bringing us into the contradictory realms of light yet heavy malt that pleasantly bamboozles the mind and palate.These whiskies have long held a special place in the hearts of whisky lovers, and despite being the go to for savvy collectors, they have generally been available to consume and enjoy. But with the current craze for whisky, with demand outstripping supply and with a surge in the popularity of alternative investment strategies - these whiskies now inhabit a different realm. These whiskies don’t get drunk, they get collected - and the current Local Barley (released merely months ago), already fetches a vastly inflated price on the secondary market.So it was great to have a chance to open a few of these ‘collectibles’ and put them through their paces with a bunch of eager tasters at Regional Wines this month. It was a stunning lineup courtesy of Springbank, Kilkerran and Glen Scotia - with old faves such as the Springbank 15 and Longrow Red joining forces with the feisty, new, cask strength releases from Kilkerran. The illusive Local Barley even made an appearance.There were some lovely little comparisons to be had - and some lessons to be learnt. The standard Springbank 10 year old next to the Local Barley 10 which showed us that cask strength isn’t everything, whilst the Kilkerran Port Cask alongside the Longrow Red 15 taught us the importance of age.Below you can see how the collective palate found the whiskies over the two night tasting, and the results are intriguing (if you're into scoring). In the name of impartiality, I will leave you to make your own deductions, but obviously - collectibility is only one facet of whisky!Springbank 10yo 46% 700ml 7.58Mystery Whisky - Glen Scotia 16yo 7.85Springbank Local Barley 10yo 51.6% 7.17Springbank 15yo 46% 700ml 8.34Kilkerran 'Port Cask Matured' 8yo 57.9% 7.39Longrow Red 15yo 51.4% 8.83Kilkerran 'Sherry Cask Matured' 8yo 58% 8.77

Join the Regional Wine & Spirits team and Simon Lemaire from Nockie’s Palette winery on Saturday 6 May from 1pm to 4pm to taste a delicious trio of wines from an innovative Central Otago brand.  "Nockie’s Palette Wines was created with a vision to combine Michael Nock’s love of wine with his passion for art," says Lemaire, who flies up from Central for the day to host this interesting in store tasting of these superb wines - with their drop dead gorgeous artwork. Nockie’s Palette is associated with the NockArt Foundation which sponsors artist residency programmes in Central Otago. The designers of Nockie’s Palette wines use original artworks on the wine labels.  "Just as the artist has a palette of paints and colours, Nockie’s Palette offers a palette of handcrafted wines showcasing unique hues, textures, flavours and terroir - the taste of the land, the site's aspect to the sun, the wind and other weather factors." The Nockie's Palette cellar door is situated at Lake Hayes in Central Otago set in an English country style garden. Wine and art retreats are held at the cellar door as well as wine tasting Here are the wines to be tasted in store on Saturday 6 May from 1pm. 2020 Nockie's Palette Pinot Gris Waitaki Valley RRP $42.99 2018 Nockie's Palette Pinot Noir RRP $48.99 2021 Nockie's Palette Waitaki Valley Chardonnay RRP $65.99   * All Nockie's Palette wines will be on special on Saturday 6 May   Nockie’s Palette wines exhibit a range of regions and expressions of wines in Australiasia, including Central Otago Pinot Noir, North Otago Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and Barossa Valley Shiraz.   

New producer with a long history... Giesen is one of this country's oldest and most successful family owned wineries and it is a privilege to have them as our winery of the month.  * This innovative company has also diversified into spirits production and importing, so Giesen is also our spirits producer of the month.  Pop in to try and buy the great drinks from Giesen This April's winery of the month is a new-ish brand with a long history.  When we say 'new', we are talking in the global sense. The winery is Giesen and it was founded four decades ago by three brothers who were relatively new immigrants to New Zealand from their homeland in Germany. So it is no surprise to find that Riesling plays a large role in their success because Germany is the world's headquarters to the Riesling grape, a country in which it is the most planted variety. The grandfather to the Giesen brothers, Auguste Giesen, worked as a sommelier in the Mosel, inadvertently inspiring his grandsons to take their careers in a similar direction.  This month we have selected four Rieslings, three Pinot Noirs, two Syrahs and two Chardonnays to taste with and sell to customers. Giesen is one of New Zealand's great family wineries and it is a great privilege to have this company as our winery of the month for April. The Giesen Group is also so inventive that it has diversified. One of the best things about the Giesen Group is that there are wines for every budget and for every taste.  Wines of the month Giesen Estate is an expansive producer with a wide range of vineyard sites from the elevated slopes of the great Clayvin organically certified vineyard in Marlborough to flat land such as the Ridge Block and other areas on the vast Wairau Plains. Speaking of Clayvin and Ridge Block, both sites are home to a smidgeon of Syrah, something of a rarity in Marlborough but which not only survives but thrives on these sites and as the wines speak for themselves, please pop in and ask to taste the Giesen wines we have open under Coravin, if you are serious about buying. The line up of Giesen wines on special this month Buy Giesen's great wines here 2016 Giesen Organic Chardonnay RRP $39.99 Special $35.99 2021 Giesen Clayvin Chardonnay RRP $55.99 Special $50.99 2022 Giesen Riesling RRP $14.99 - special wine at a great price 2021 Giesen Gemstone Riesling RRP $17.99 Special $16.99 2019 Giesen Reiler Goldlay Mosel Riesling RRP $24.99 Special $22.99 Giesen Alcohol Removed Riesling RRP $16.99 Special $15.99 2021 Giesen Organic Pinot Noir RRP $39.99 Special $37.99 2017 / 2019 Giesen Clayvin Pinot Noir RRP $55.99 Special $49.99 2019 Giesen Organic Syrah RRP $39.99 Special $37.99 2019 / 2021 Giesen Clayvin Syrah RRP $55.99 Special $51.99

I’m a sucker for a decent concept! Boneface’s planet Hoptron in a galaxy not so far away and the Chouffe gnomes from the valley of the fairies spring to mind, and it’s fair to say that concepts pop up in the beer world on a fairly regular basis.Often they incorporate an element of sci-fi, fantasy or escapism, with a nod to the inner child that still remains in us all. This in itself is an extension of the drink after work on a Friday night theme - when you want to forget about the world and, well - loosen up a bit.Ideally, for a concept to work it needs to be self explanatory and easy enough to spot via the artwork on the can. People don’t always read the blurb on the back and so you can’t rely on this as a means of conveyance. Again, Boneface and Chouffe do this well - at opposite ends of the spectrum too which is interesting.Uiltje is another brand to go down the conceptual route - offering (in their own words) “a moment of escape in a crazy and stressful world” - with a goal of “making you laugh or at least putting a smile on your face.” In this respect, It’s fair to say, they are right on the money - as their stuff is cray-zeeeeee!The name Uiltje means owl in Dutch and so the brewery has created a bunch of cartoon owls to define their brand (which arguably look more like chickens) and who do some pretty strange things; flying Spitfires, playing American football and in today’s beer (which is part of their go Back in Time series) - going back in time to to debunk the myths of the ancient Egyptians. What the actual ….!! A concept beer within a high concept brand - a concept too far perhaps?Bah, let’s not take life too seriously, after all, I think we’d be missing the point if we did!Let’s just taste the beer… I’m keen on some liquid escapism after all. It’s a Black IPA, which rather fittingly is one of the beer world's most confused styles… an oxymoronic black pale! Let’s give it a whirl…Pours a dark liquorice black with a dense tight tan head. Woah… the nose is superb - bursting with tropical hops which are then tamed by an element of black chocolate and biscuity malt. The palate really could be an IPA if you were tasting this blind, but there are iron-like porter notes and a slightly sweeter finish than you might expect from an out and out IPA…A very tidy beer indeed with a lot going on. I poured it straight from the fridge - allow it to warm a bit and the malt will no doubt come to the fore a touch more...There’s is a fine line that must be trod with successfully concept branding. Perhaps the guys at Uiltje overstep this line, and maybe they will lose some customers in the process. On the other hand, in being so outlandish and extreme they may well speak clearly and strongly to a specific demographic. It’s a gamble, but if you pull this off then there’s real brand loyalty to be gained… and I guess that is worth the risk.

Trying to suss the authenticity of beer brands can be a tricky endeavour in this day and age. Often, what seems to be an independent line is actually owned by a large parent company, and arguably this isn’t ideal, especially if you’re the sort of person who vehemently opposes the notions of globalisation and loss of authenticity.On this note - today’s beer is an interesting one!Its roots stem back to African banana beer which is made from the fermentation of mashed bananas and various grains in central equatorial Africa. Mongozo means cheers in the language of the Chokw people based in this region and the brand (originally known as Mongozo African Breweries) was started in the Netherlands by Henrique Kabia who left Angola as a refugee in 1993.The first Mongozo beer was actually a palm nut beer based on an old recipe handed down through Henrique’s family, and was commercialised in 1998 when Henrique teamed up with a chap called Jan Fleurkens.The Mongozo Banana Beer followed in 2001, but this one was brewed in collaboration with the Huyghe Brewery in Belgium, and it seems that from then onwards, the Mongozo brand was ingested into the workings of one of Europe’s largest breweries.Yes, Huyghe is big. This is the sort of outfit that spots a gap in the market - and then buys a brewery making that beer to fill the gap.When smaller entities are swallowed up by big corporations, it always feels like something has been lost. That said, Huyghe makes some real gems such as Delirium Tremens, and anyway, most of us live in a capitalist society where this sort of thing is seemingly going on all the time.The Mongozo beers have also kept authentic in many ways, and the banana expression was the first beer to carry a Fair Trade stamp. Further to this, the Mongozo Premium Pilsner launched in 2010, was the world’s first first Fair Trade, organic gluten free beer. No mean feat.Today’s beer is the Mongozo Mango - let’s give it a go…Pours a salmon, apricot colour reminiscent of a glass of rosé from provence (but with a white, and not particularly prominent head). What is that I’m getting on the nose? Oh wait - it’s mango! In fact it’s fair to say it smells almost exclusively of mango, perhaps with some white stone fruits if I am being generous. On the palate, things get a bit more exciting as the hops start to vie with the mango flavours. It’s still pretty sweet and mango driven, but there’s a dash of very welcome cleansing bitterness that lightens it up nicely.Would I drink this beer everyday - no. But would I drink it on the deck under the sun in the summer months - abso-bloody-lutely!For me this beer is all about the bliss of ignorance. It markets itself as an exotic beer and, well, it’s fair to say it nails it. That said, the beer’s strongest attribute is its hidden heritage, and so you’ve got to ask why the labelling doesn't make more of its African roots?Although the romance of an Angolan refugee and an original family recipe has certainly evaporated at some stage, this beer has certainly awoken a desire in me to track down a “real” African banana beer… and that can only be good!

There’s a lot of action these days in the low to no alcohol beer category with new non-alcoholic brews seemingly popping up daily. So where does this leave the session beer?The term is another of those slightly subjective ones (the beer world is riddled with them) and appears to have different boundaries depending on where you are drinking. Generally speaking though, session beers are lower in abv.The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) has these definitions…Session-strength < 4% ABVStandard-strength 4-6% ABVHigh-strength 6-9% ABVVery-high-strength >9% ABV… which makes me realise just how much beer these days is high strength or above, which itself would suggest that the session category is far less populated than it perhaps would have been 10 years ago.On the other hand, framing beer by ABV actually makes for an interesting and broad categorisation, as the beers are stylistically free in every other sense and can be dark, light, hoppy, sour or - you name it.In the aforementioned guide, the category includes American light lager, German Leichtbier, Czech pale lager, ordinary bitter and Berliner weisse - which is a bit like the United Nations of beer styles!Today’s beer is from the Pizza Port brewery in southern California and is a session IPA - which is a bit of a contradiction in terms really, but I presume we’re looking at a good ‘n hoppy lighter ABV beer! Let’s crack it open…Pours a pale gold with a white head. The nose is crisp and full of bright, clean citrus notes - complexed with earthy and piny hints - this is hoppy but certainly not dank. The palate is light and highly attenuated and there’s certainly an IPA hop vibe to proceedings - with more citrus and apricot flavours and a lovely bitter finish. Does what it says it is going to do on the can!The current popularity for ‘lighter and lower’ would have us thinking the session beer should be right on trend. That said, massive adjunct riddled and barrel aged stouts are also on the rise, and so the shift we are currently witnessing is one towards an all or nothing approach. This puts the session beer firmly in no man's land.In some ways beer is a reflection of the world, which is arguably more complicated, polarised and extremist than ever. In times where we are constantly forced to pick sides and align with movements and beliefs - why not choose the session beer - after all, sometimes sitting on the fence is the best place to be…

Cheeky by name and age worthy by nature, Tongue in Groove's only ever Clayvin Vineyard Pinot Noir has been released in small volumes as a library release this month and we are thrilled to have it in store now. The 2013 Tongue in Groove Pinot Noir costs RRP $55.99 and is a plush and powerful Pinot Noir from one of the great vineyards, Clayvin. This vineyard was the first hillside site to be planted with grapevines in New Zealand's largest wine region, Marlborough in the early 1990s by Mike Eaton. His visionary viticultural aim was to give grapes an elevated site on which to ripen where cooler than usual nights would provide longevity to the ripening season...  Remarkable price for the quality The proof is in the bottle of this stunning aged nine year Pinot Noir, which was made with 40% whole bunch fermentation from the relatively warm, relatively dry 2013 vintage in Marlborough. This wine has been superbly aged in cool temperature controlled conditions and is now available to lovers of great wine. The price is remarkable, considering the quality.  Tongue in Groove is now owned by winemaker Lynnette Hudson, who is the long term winemaker for the brand. Watch this space for exciting new wines from Hudson's experienced winemaking hand.  Buy the 2013 Tongue in Groove Pinot Noir here

More famous for The Godfather than for blood coloured red wine, Francis Ford Coppola has forged a name for both and this month we have one of his big reds on special. The wine is the 2020 Coppola Zinfandel Diamond Collection, which usually sells for RRP $36.99 and is now on special for $33.99.  Buy here The mysterious origins of this delicious grape were uncovered in 2002 when DNA fingerprinting confirmed that Italy’s Primitivo and the slightly trickier to pronounce, Crljenak Kastelanski, an ancient Croatian variety, are genetically identical to Zinfandel. One grape, three names and innumerable differences in winemaking styles, not to mention climate variations in these three countries. The origins of California's mystery grape have now been revealed so is there another key difference between Zinfandel and Italian Primitivo? The main one is said to be differences in vine vigour and the size of grape bunches, also known as cluster size, but these factors can often be pinpointed to the growing conditions in different areas, even within the same general geographic area.  Where does the name come from? So, what's in a name? Well, on labels in the United States, a wine made from Zinfandel grown in the States must legally be called Zinfandel where as Primitivo from Italy can only be labelled Primitivo on the labels of bottles sold in the States. The first written use of the name Zinfandel was recorded in 1832 in Boston bya nursery owner, who was advertising Zinfandel for sale. The grape is thought to have been brought to California during the region's gold rush, which was between 1852 and 1857. Zinfandel is now the third most popular wine grape variety in California in terms of the overall area planted with this grape, which is grown in all of California’s 58 counties. And the taste?  Zinfandel is a big bold red with layers of aromas and flavours. Popular descriptions of Zinfandel include black plums, black pepper, cloves, star anise and dried green herbs. Zinfandel is also used to make pink wine, which is often so pale in colour that it is frequently referred to as White Zinfandel.