DO HOBBITS DRINK BEER?<br/>ONE BEER CHICK'S BEER ADVENTURES IN NEW ZEALAND - Part Two: The Return

[Hallie Beaune The Blonde Beerchick]

On that same first day in New Zealand, Kristin and I hopped on a ferry and headed out to Waiheke Island. I had been exchanging emails with the head brewer of Waiheke Island Brewery, Alan Knight, and was eager to meet my first fellow beer geek in NZ. Though it was winter there, the ferry ride was beautiful, Auckland was sunny with a bit of cloud and nicely, nippy air. We passed by Rangitoto Island, an island made up entirely of volcanic ash. New Zealand never fails to startle you with its ancient landscape.

We arrived at the island and set out on a bus that promised to drop us at the brewery. The bus ride would have brought up lunch if we hadn’t used all of our power to keep still, breathe, and focus on the beautiful surroundings. The island seemed to be full of cute little bungalows with an artsy vibe, people who want to have a slower pace of life and water a stone’s throw away.

Upon arrival at the Waiheke Island Brewery we found ourselves staring at a ‘Closed’ sign, and my beer dreams seemed to vanish. We decided to walk up the road to a lovely winery, (yeah it was rough), and give Alan a call as this would be our only chance to catch him.

While sampling some lovely Sauvignon Blancs, (NZ is famous for them), and cheese made from local sheep (famous for those too), we reached Alan who was eager to open up the brewery and give us a tour and a taste.

The brewery had a lovely tasting room, and the brewing operation itself was cozy, reminiscent of Craftsman Brewery in Pasadena (one of my favorites), resembling a large garage with kilns-a-brewing. Many of you beerchicks who have taken brewery tours know that craft brewers can create great masterpieces of beer from such a tiny space.

Alan told us he had done a lot of consulting and contract brewing for an assortment of breweries, but when he saw the beauty of Waiheke Island, he had found his home. We took a taste straight from the kiln of freshly brewed Maltiatia Malt Beer, a toffee-tasting amber with seven different malt varieties and spicy Hallertau hops. Afterwards, we hopped into Alan’s tiny car and drove up to his house a few minutes away.

His place was cabin-like, set in the middle of majestic trees. The inside had a beachy-bungalow vibe. The place was clearly run by his friendly dogs, and was fully equipped with a home tap system. We began to work our way through the taps; every beer was a homebrew, which is quite something when the homebrew is made by a brewmaster. I tried to keep the pour to half-pints (remember, we had arrived in NZ that day at 5am and had been drinking beer and wine already, drzunk!). The standout brew was a tawny-colored ale with a fruity sweetness, followed by deep coffee notes and the bite of locally grown Cascade hops.

Alan gave us plenty of great recommendations for brews and beer bars in the north and south islands, and begged us to stay the night so that we could drink more beer and meet with the brewery’s owner. But we had plans already, to do what? Yes, drink more beer at another pub in Auckland. Alan drove us to the ferry stop and we said our goodbyes. I reflected upon the ease with which beer lovers can connect despite being from distant countries.