As the craft beer scene continues to expand and explore the limits of the latest trends and drinking cultures the need to differentiate between not only styles of beer, but also brewing techniques, the dominant flavours or appearance is growing.
Beer now has so many variables that brewers are starting to treat it more like wine. Yes, for real - wine! The word Brut (pronounced “brute”) borrows its meaning from the wine world in champagne. Meaning very dry the yeast eats almost all of the sugars, giving it that typical super bone dry finish. It’s too new to be defined as a style but becoming popular amongst brewers. It has come about with the evolution of hops and farmers are now cultivating fruitier hops than ever before allowing sugar levels to go where they have not before. On our Auckland tour you can try a Brut IPA or Brut Lager from Urbanaut Brewing.
Hazy beers seem to be everywhere right now! Hazy in brewing terms is called turbidity - but yeah that’s not a terribly appetizing term! Haze in beer consists of “insoluble material”. Without completely diving down the rabbit hole, colloidal haze is when two substances bond forming molecules big enough to suspend in the beer but not too big that they drop to the bottom. Proteins are the key to a stable hazy beer, but another contributing factor is yeast. Conditioning beer in the bottle with priming sugars is a common technique being used by brewers to create hazy style beers. Due to the insoluble material the beer can change over time, so we recommend drinking your hazy while they are fresh from the brewer! Check out McLeods Brewery 802 series. The 802 name is from the telephone code of Vermont USA where Head Brewer Jason grew up! #freshisbest
What makes sour beer, sour? Well once upon a time all beer was sour. Wild bacteria and yeasts would infect fermenters, but over the years of mass-producing lagers under sterile conditions. The art of souring beer was lost, but it’s back with a blaze of glory. Giving the “I’m not a beer drinker” the option to try something that tastes completely different to the normal beer. Jump on board a Brewbus tour up to Matakana north of Auckland to visit 8 Wired Barrelworks & Taproom to taste their selection of beers styles, which their head brewer Soren describes as "new world interpretations of old world styles". The Barrelworks & Taproom has one of the largest barrel aging programmes around to make up a range of mind blowing sour beer flavours.
There are far too many beers and beer styles to describe here. Next time you are driving through Te Puke, Bay of Plenty stop by the Anann - Pineapple Pub  and have a look at their family tree of beer mural with a fresh craft beer and amazing food...or better yet, jump on a Brewbus tour there!