lackbook bottoms up lackbook bottoms up craft work Time was when an Aussie or Kiwi beer amounted to little more than a glass of strawcoloured fizz with an alcohol content just above a bag of wine gums. But things are changing, reckons Alex Mead Right: Josh Scott and David Nicholls, the brains behind the award-winning Moa Brewing Company in Marlborough; left: Moa Breakfast Beer – a smooth lager with a dash of cherry aroma For a pair of nations that pride themselves on having a good time and count “having a few beers with mates” among major pastimes, it was always a shock to discover just how flavourless and flaccid the beers of these proud blokey countries were. Just as so many Europeans still struggle to tell the accents apart (it’s all about the “i” and “e”), the same could be said with the beer. You were limited to a choice of two lagers with a level of alcohol at which drowning in the stuff was a more likely danger than getting drunk. That was then, however; now – if you know where to look – you can find a new breed of brewers taking bars across Australia and New Zealand by storm and forcing punters to think about what’s in their schooner. For instance, walk into the right bar in Melbourne and you might find up to 20 different beers on tap with names that are as varied as the taste. Enjoy a drop of a Wooly Nelson, French Kiss, Beelzebub’s Jewels, Wilkinson’s Curse or Gary the White. Or how about a Wheaty SchwartzHopf or Defibrillator? Want the flavour of oysters, mussels or anchovy in your beer? How about something chocolatey with a rich malty aftertaste? Not a problem on all counts. Even without going for something with a comedy name, beers such as Coopers – based on American pale ale – have become FROM TOP: Jim Tannock, © moa 40 departures-international.com Contact platinum card service for bookings
ENJOY PREMIUM BUSINESS WITH LAN AIRLINES When you sleep well, You dream well 100% horizontal bed seat Contact your Platinum Travel Service on 1800 673 760 (Australia ) or 0800 377 421 (New Zealand) to take advantage of your Airline Privileges Program Fares.
