Croucher Brewing: the Vicar's Vice 2010 is out and about... and more...

Kegs of the Vicar's Vice (our Belgian Strong Ale brewed with buckets of citrus zest and crushed coriander seeds) left the brewery this week, and will be appearing at the following in the coming days (more to follow):

• Regional Wines & Spirits, Wellington (fill-your-own). Featuring in the Great Regional Belgian Beer Festival next week.
• The Malthouse, Wellington
• Moutere Inn, Nelson
• The Free House, Nelson
• Pomoroy's Own Brewery Inn, Christchurch
• Tonic, Dunedin

Next up in the seasonal beer department will be the Black IPA. We've gone over to the dark side for our take on the style-du-jour, India Pale Ale (IPA). Still nameless, this beer is jammed with American hops and is exhibiting simply the most delicious passion fruit aroma. Hopefully this beer will be available on tap within the next 2-3 weeks.

Croucher in Australia

Paul is right now returning home from a few days in Melbourne as part of a NZ Brewer's Guild and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise delegation of some our best craft brewers to the Beer & Brewer Expo. Paul showcased our Vicar's Vice, as well as our bottled beers so will let you know more once he has time to catch his breath.

SpecTAPular took place in Sydney and Melbourne at The Local Taphouse on ANZAC Day, where 10 Kiwi beers were pitted against 10 Aussie beers. Croucher Pale Ale was selected as one of our beers. It went down a treat! A few reviews of Croucher Pale Ale appeared on Beer Advocate in the days after the event, here are just a few choice comments:

"Oh yeah, this is a really excellent hoppy Pale Ale. Bursting with fresh hop characters and balanced for exceptional drinkability. Probably one of the top American style pales I've had, and certainly one of the best from the land of the long white cloud." - Laqueredmouse, Sydney

"Outstanding beer, this. One hell of a quaffer, sessioner, or even a cleanser. Foamy, swilly, and smooth on the feel. Almost perfect. It just doesn't have any edges, it's just meant to be drunk. Fuck it, it IS perfect." - Laituegonflable, Sydney.

Rotorua's newest pub
The Great Kiwi Ale House has opened its doors on Hinemoa Street, Rotorua (the old Cobb & Co site). It is a great looking pub, and has a few interesting beers on tap too, of most note Croucher Pale Ale and Croucher Pilsner. So get in there and support the local brewery! In terms of other taps beers, they have a Mike's beer as well as Mata's Artesian ale, Monteiths Original and Speights.

Croucher Pale Ale part of ANZAC SpecTAPular in Sydney & Melbourne

'The Local Taphouse' pubs in Sydney & Melbourne are having a Kiwi vs Aussie beer-off on Sunday. 10 Aussie craft beers vs 10 Kiwi craft beers, with one being our own Croucher Pale Ale. Read more about the ANZAC SpecTAPular here. This is the first time Croucher beer has been served on-tap outside New Zealand, and will be followed up next month when Paul Croucher introduces our seasonal Belgian Strong Ale 'The Vicar's Vice' to our Australian neighbors in Melbourne at the Beer & Brewer festival.

Our latest seasonal beer was brewed a few days ago, it is a Black IPA (India Pale Ale). It has been brewed using fantastic malts and, for the first time, we have used American hops. But not just a mere sprinkling of American hops, shed loads!! This is the hoppiest beer we have made by a mile, and that's saying something. 

Croucher Brewing: Brew Day, Seasonal Beers & a visit from the femALEist...

Brew Day
It is another brew day here in the brewery, as I'm writing this update the sweet aroma of grain and water is wafting enticingly into the office. Today we are brewing The Hef, our German-styled wheat beer. Brew day is a long day and we got off to a late start!

Vicar's Vice 2010
Paul has been brewing up a storm recently, as we look to recover from summer and get ahead of the game. The 2010 Vicar's Vice is conditioning at the moment, and is due to be released in a few weeks. A list of tap outlets will be released closer to the time.We can confirm that there will be 3 kegs of Vicar's Vice heading to Melbourne for a Kiwi craft beer expose in late May. Paul will be accompanying the beer to run tastings and generally talk it up to the Aussies.

We are very pleased where each of our beers are at, but we aren't resting on our laurels. We are set to brew our next seasonal release, which we are VERY excited about. But lets wait until it is in the can before we go making any bold statements talking it up.

femALEist

We had a visit recently to the brewery from three West Coasters (USA) on a jaunt around New Zealand. And shock horror they were all women!! And they love craft beer. We had an awesome time sampling our beers, and then they returned the favour by sharing a couple of Pliny The Elder's and a Jolly Pumpkin 'Maracaibo Especial' (a sour special brown ale). Both are wonderful beers!!

Tiila writes a blog and seems to be very active in the San Fran beer community encouraging other women to join try craft beer. Here is her post on her visit to Croucher Brewing.

Croucher Brewing: Vicar's Vice 2.0, Bottle Conditioning & House opens

Following the popularity of our recent seasonal beers, Vicar's Vice version 2.0 was brewed yesterday. This is a Belgian Strong Ale made using fresh citrus zest (yes, we did it by hand using real fresh fruit, and it took flippin' ages!) and crushed coriander seeds. The brew really did smell even more delicious than usual. We are hoping to bottle some of this batch as well as get a few kegs around the country.

With our summer festival season over we have been trying to get back on top of brewing and bottling. Batches of beer seem to be disappearing out the door faster than ever so the brewery is a pretty dynamic place at the moment.

We are about to trial some bottle conditioning, starting with The Hef. Bottle conditioning is where the final conditioning of the beer takes place in the bottle rather than in a tank, and also carbonation takes place in the bottle via the natural action of the yeast. Bottle conditioning often results in a more stable and longer shelf life.

The photo was taken by Jed Soane at Wellington's Liquorland NZ Beer Festival a few weeks back. We'd love to get some captions from you. Nigel thought perhaps it was a duet of 'You don't bring me flowers' (Paul standing in for Barbra Streisand).

Finally, a review of one of our latest outlets. House is a fantastic new bar in Hamilton, with a strong focus on craft beer. They have there own house beer (brewed by us) called Mighty, and also have Croucher Hef and Pale Ale on tap at the moment. It is very cool, and an absolute must-visit next time you are in The 'Tron. Review here.

 

http://www.houseonhood.co.nz/

Croucher Pale Ale & Pilsner on fill-your-own at Regional Wines in Welly

Croucher Pale Ale & Pilsner are on fill-your-own at Regional Wines & Spirits in Wellington for the first time. Get in and grab a rigger or two.

The Auckland version of the Liquorland New Zealand Beer Festival took place at Ellerslie racecourse on Saturday. It was a great day, with a big crowd and a high level of interest in the craft breweries. There were a few teething problems with the festivals new payment system, but nothing a few delicious beers didn't remedy for most punters. We had a big day, with our Pilsner being the most popular of our beers. Also, our seasonal Vicar's Vice and Cherry Bock beers went down a treat with craft beer lovers!

It is Wellington's turn for the New Zealand Beer Festival on Saturday the 6th of March. Book your tickets here and NOW. It is at the Westpac Stadium, and should be a doosy.

Croucher 'Vicar's Vice' on-tap from today at Galbraith's Alehouse, Auckland

Two kegs of the very limited Croucher Brewing 'Vicar's Vice' hit the taps at Galbraith's Alehouse from today.

Vicar's Vice is our big spicy, citrusy Belgian Strong Ale, brewed using a bucket load of citrus peel and crushed coriander seeds. It is a healthy 7% alc/vol, and is exceptionally smooth. Feedback has been fantastic from drinkers of this beer.

If you are in Auckland this week make sure you get it to sample it! Galbraith's is located at 2 Mt Eden Rd, Auckland City.
Thanks Galbraith's!

Happy New Year!!

Hopefully you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We've been busy at the brewery preparing ourselves for festival season. We had the Tairua Food & Wine festival last weekend, which was held on a beautiful Coromandel summers day.

On Thursday (14th Jan) we are at Blues, Brews & BBQ's at Mount Maunganui. If you are in the area you simply must attend. It is a great day of music, food and obviously fantastic beers. If you are coming along, make sure you come and say hi. We will be serving our Cherry Bock on Thursday. This is our most recent release, and is has been receiving rave reviews.

Our other recent release, the Vicar's Vice is on tap at Galbraith's in Auckland, Hashigo Zake in Wellington, The Underground Bar in Rotorua, as well as one or two locations in the South Island. It is a beautiful drop, so make sure you get to try it.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, and all our best wishes for 2010.

Thanks for your support over 2009 - a year in which we installed a new brew house and bottling system, opened our own bar in Rotorua, sent our first beers to Australia, received some lovely acolades for our beers (the latest is The Hef being named Top Wheat Beer in Consumer Magazine), and launched some new seasonal beers (the Vicar's Vice and the Cherry Bock).

If you are looking for something to do in January, come and visit us at Tairua Food & Wine Festival (9th Jan) and Blues, Brews & BBQ's at The Mount (14th Jan).

If you are in Rotorua, then you must come and see us at The Underground Bar. We have both new seasonal beers on tap along with the rest of our range.

We wish you a safe, relaxing and enjoyable Christmas & New Year.

Cheers,

Nigel & Paul

Croucher Brewing releases the Vicar's Vice...

The Vicar's Vice is the latest seasonal beer from the lads at Croucher Brewing. It is an homage to Hoegaarden's classic Verboden Vrucht, and was brewed using the peel from a bucket load of fresh New Zealand citrus (oranges, lemons, grapefruit) and a kilo of crushed coriander seeds.

Vicar's Vice is incredibly smooth on the palate, and has a delicious citrusy/spicy zing, reminiscent of the best Belgian classics.

We launched it at the UNDERGROUND bar here in Rotorua, and it has been enthusiastically embraced. It is a heavy hitter too, coming in at a healthy 7% alcohol by volume - needless to say we have shelved the pint glasses and are serving in a lovely 340ml stemmed beer glass. If you are in or around Rotorua, get in to the bar to enjoy this seasonal while it lasts.

It was just a little batch, but we have pre-sold a third of the batch to the South Island, and hope to get a keg or two to Auckland and Wellington as well. We'll let you know when and where it will be available.