There's a better beer than Speight's

[Ixion]

I have found a better beer than Speight's Old Dark. I never thought to hear myself say that but it is true.

I made the pilgrimage to Blackball a couple of weeks ago (Every true Kiwi should pay his respects on that hallowed ground at least once in his lifetime ). And discovered Blackball Miner's Stout.

No lesser beer could bear such a revered name.

Alas they do not export it. It is a long way to go for a drink.

[piston broke]

is speights old dark beer?
i thought it was syrup :dodge:

[Supertwin Don]

Don't you mean you found ANOTHER good beer - just remember, there are NO bad beers, just some are better than others.
Try Theakstons "Old Peculiar", Everards "Old Original" etc etc.:beer:

[cave weta]

I have found a better beer than Speight's Old Dark. I never thought to hear myself say that but it is true.

I made the pilgrimage to Blackball a couple of weeks ago (Every true Kiwi should pay his respects on that hallowed ground at least once in his lifetime ). And discovered Blackball Miner's Stout.

No lesser beer could bear such a revered name.

Alas they do not export it. It is a long way to go for a drink.

Ten years ago - I discovered a wee jem of a dark in Westport, Miners Dark it was called, made by the Miners Brewing company. It travelled as far north as Karamea and as far south as Greymouth. for years I would share the knowledge with only those who I deemed would appreciate the depth of such a beverage.

then ...... two weeks ago at The Kawasaki Sandpit I met this guy on a bike who was a brewery rep. It turns out, Good Barstards Brewery are the new owners of the westport brewery and its him and his dad!!!
they still employ the same brewmaster and make the same beers. and the best bit is....... the miners dark is now available in the north island:drool:

dont tell anyone :beer:

[Ixion]

Yes indeed, all good beers to be sure. But I am talking about the supreme accolade, the BEST beer.

[Tank]

Great pub the 'ol Blackball.

Scary assed locals down that way tho'. Its obvious that the girls don't see that much 'fresh talent'.

[piston broke]

Yes indeed, all good beers to be sure. But I am talking about the supreme accolade, the BEST beer.

wel that would have to be steiny then.
is there another nz beer that has won more awards?
beer,lager,ale,dark and stout etc all being beer of course

[Supertwin Don]

OK, not having been around NZ much in the last 20 years - where is "Blackball" ?

P.S. "Steinie" is a lager, not a beer!

[vifferman]

Define 'best", Professor Ixion.
I've had many beers I like better'n Speights, but only two dark beers I can remember offhand: Emerson's Taieri George (6.8%), La Trappe Quadrupel (23,497%, despite claiming to be only around 11%). Because of the aforementioned beers, I can't remember any other names.
Taieri George is the world's perfect Easter beer. :niceone:

I've decided I prefer REAL beers - not that bilge that's produced in huge vats, pasteurised and then recarbonated. Real beer is matured in the bottle, and has a memorable taste.
I'm beginning to REALLY HATE the growing trend of NZB and Lino Nathan (yeah it's a spelling mistake, but I think I like it!) of taking perfectly respectable furrin beers and "making them under licence" - that is, TAKING a licence with them. It's a cunning plot to make all beer sold in Un Zud taste like Steinlager. Then eventually, that will be the only beer you can buy, despite a multitude of labels...

[Ixion]

I tried the Taieri George (it's not a mis-spelling). It was good , but not the best. Best is what I declare it to be.

[LBD]

Mac's Black is up there with Old Dark which is my usual (When I am not drinking Russian shyte)....Looks like Blackball is on the agenda. yessiree

[vifferman]

Taieri George is INTERESTING. But no - not the best.
I'm finding it very hard to go past Belgian beers. Even though Belgium mostly sucks, its beers are good. Especially when you buy them in Belgium, because then they're also CHEAP. You can buy them at the corner dairy! :eek5:
At least, I did... Bought some fine beers for around 1.3 Euro each. Needed 'em in Italia and France, coz their beers are mediocre.

[Ixion]

I'm buggered though if I know how you South Island buggers ever keep y' buggery licences. Every buggery corner y' go round, there's another pub. And the worst of it is, that like as not, they have some new and different beer, so y' can't even just say 'yeah yeah same old". No choice but to stop n' check.

Only disappointment, ironically, was the iconic Cardrona pub. It's been totally poofterised. Full of giggling bimbos and flashy ponces. Wouldn't bother to stop again. Even the building's not the real thing , just a façade. Says it all really.


Buggered if I knbow how Naseby keeps TWO pubs busy though. Or how Ophir keeps even one!

[cave weta]

Best is what I declare it to be.

:gob:

Ive just started to crack into a new batch of a Brewing Kit 5 Malt Dark Ale made with NO sugar. and only 1/2 the amount of water.

Alcohol is low but the taste is multi award winning in my humble opinion.
In fact I gave it 7/5 last night after digging 30metres of footings for my garage floor.

[cave weta]

Taieri George is INTERESTING. But no - not the best.
I'm finding it very hard to go past Belgian beers. Even though Belgium mostly sucks, its beers are good. Especially when you buy them in Belgium, because then they're also CHEAP. You can buy them at the corner dairy! :eek5:
At least, I did... Bought some fine beers for around 1.3 Euro each. Needed 'em in Italia and France, coz their beers are mediocre.

Erdinger - a cloudy wheat beer ismy fave euro beer, no cheap at $10 a glass though

[Whynot]

Taieri George is INTERESTING. But no - not the best.
I'm finding it very hard to go past Belgian beers. Even though Belgium mostly sucks, its beers are good. Especially when you buy them in Belgium, because then they're also CHEAP. You can buy them at the corner dairy! :eek5:
At least, I did... Bought some fine beers for around 1.3 Euro each. Needed 'em in Italia and France, coz their beers are mediocre.

+1 on teh Belgian Beer


Erdinger - a cloudy wheat beer ismy fave euro beer, no cheap at $10 a glass though

that stuff is really good ...... mmmm

[Skyryder]

All ways been a fan of the Loaded Hog dark ale.

Skyryder

[Usarka]

Great pub the 'ol Blackball.

Scary assed locals down that way tho'. Its obvious that the girls don't see that much 'fresh talent'.

The whole of Blackpool is a scary place.

[Naki Rat]

Yes indeed, all good beers to be sure. But I am talking about the supreme accolade, the BEST beer.

That would be the best beer in NZ (in your opinion) as the BEST beer is Youngs Double Chocolate Stout :drinkup:

I've tried Miners Stout at the (formerly) Blackball Hilton and it's a fine drop but Emersons Oatmeal Stout and Black Shag Stout from the Dux Delux in Chch are equal contenders :drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup:

[Naki Rat]

P.S. "Steinie" is a lager, not a beer!

And a much overrated one at that :sick:

[Skyryder]

Lager is a type of beer in that it is brewed using bottom fermenting yeast as against a top fermenting yeast for ales.

The distinction can be blured due to the fermenting charecteristics of some brewers yeast. Modern ales re defined by the strain of yeasts and the fermenting temperature which is higher than the lagers.

But at the end of the day it's all beer to me.

Skyryder

[YellowDog]

Galbraiths in Mt. Eden Road brew beer inhouse.

IMO-There isn't much better on the planet than a pint of Old Bellringer.

[warewolf]

I have found a better beer than Speight's Old Dark. I never thought to hear myself say that but it is true.

I made the pilgrimage to Blackball a couple of weeks ago (Every true Kiwi should pay his respects on that hallowed ground at least once in his lifetime ). And discovered Blackball Miner's Stout.Bah humbug! Speights Old Dark is a dessert beer, best enjoyed with chocolate cake. Way too sweet for everyday drinking is a common criticism.


Ten years ago - I discovered a wee jem of a dark in Westport, Miners Dark it was called, made by the Miners Brewing company.Miner's Dark is now West Coast Brewery's (http://www.westcoastbrewing.com/?act=beer&c=range&p=westcoast) "West Coast Dark". Stout's not listed on their website, either it's the Dark or something new. They are furiously trying to expand/raise capital. They have rid themselves of the "Miner's" nomenclature because it was a barrier to wider appeal. Not a bad beer at all; I've enjoyed many at the Blackball.

If'n you like your beers, get your arse down to Nelson for one of the many beer fetes. There are heaps of craft breweries locally, plus the more distant ones are usually invited. Last Sunday's MarchFest (http://www.marchfest.com/page/7/Beers.html) had 6 breweries, all had special one-off brews for it. Dead Good Beer Events (http://www.deadgoodbeerevents.com/) ran this one, there are others. The Society of Beer Advocates (http://www.soba.org.nz/) got together members from WLG, CHC and further afield, arranged tours of various breweries and NZ Hops (http://www.nzhops.co.nz/) - the hops marketing and processing company. That was very interesting. No reason why KBers can't make a similar trip.


Ive just started to crack into a new batch of a Brewing Kit 5 Malt Dark Ale made with NO sugar. and only 1/2 the amount of water.

Alcohol is low but the taste is multi award winning in my humble opinion.That's the way! The single biggest problem with kit beers is the added sugar. The first big step to improving the kits is to use malt extracts rather than sugar. See the SoBA link above if you want to hook up with other keen brewers.

[yungatart]

Taieri George is INTERESTING. But no - not the best.
I'm finding it very hard to go past Belgian beers. Even though Belgium mostly sucks, its beers are good. Especially when you buy them in Belgium, because then they're also CHEAP. You can buy them at the corner dairy! :eek5:
At least, I did... Bought some fine beers for around 1.3 Euro each. Needed 'em in Italia and France, coz their beers are mediocre.

hXc is loving Belgian beer. He has asked me to look out for Maes here, anyone seen it?
He had a Tui in Brussels a couple of weeks ago, bought for him by some Aussie blokes. It cost Euro 5.40 and was flat!

[jim.cox]

That would be the best beer in NZ (in your opinion) as the BEST beer is Youngs Double Chocolate Stout :drinkup:

I've tried Miners Stout at the (formerly) Blackball Hilton and it's a fine drop but Emersons Oatmeal Stout and Black Shag Stout from the Dux Delux in Chch are equal contenders :drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup:

The best beer in NZ?

That's easy

Tuatara Pale Ale

I like green man, emersons, speights and steinlager (not pure) too, but they aint halfway near as good

[bungbung]

+1 for most of the Tuatara beers.

Had an Emersons Old 95 last night, also very good strong dark ale, medium hops.

[Okey Dokey]

:gob:

Ive just started to crack into a new batch of a Brewing Kit 5 Malt Dark Ale made with NO sugar. and only 1/2 the amount of water.

Alcohol is low but the taste is multi award winning in my humble opinion.
In fact I gave it 7/5 last night after digging 30metres of footings for my garage floor.

Now THAT does sound good! I must dust off my homebrew kit and start brewing again. I, too, used to double the malt and use no sugar- great minds and all that...

[Okey Dokey]

The whole of Blackpool is a scary place.

Blackpool is in England. :hug:

[Usarka]

Blackpool is in England. :hug:

D'oh too many beers :lol:

[98tls]

Heres a couple i wouldnt have minded trying,best ive got is a couple of empty bottles,there the labels from my great great grandfathers brewery,one of the first on the West coast.

[vifferman]

Lager is a type of beer in that it is brewed using bottom fermenting yeast as against a top fermenting yeast for ales.

The distinction can be blured due to the fermenting charecteristics of some brewers yeast. Modern ales re defined by the strain of yeasts and the fermenting temperature which is higher than the lagers.
Summat I was drinking in Yurp had a weird name, so I looked it up.
Lambic? WTF's that?!? Is it made from sheep?:eek5:

Not so - it's made using wild yeast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic). Very good it was too... :yes:

[Skyryder]

Summat I was drinking in Yurp had a weird name, so I looked it up.
Lambic? WTF's that?!? Is it made from sheep?:eek5:

Not so - it's made using wild yeast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic). Very good it was too... :yes:

It’s a Belgium beer brewed from yeasts said to be native to the Senne valley.

Skyyrder