Great Kiwi Beer Festival draws craft beer connoisseurs and the curious to Hamilton
Sunday, 8 March 2020
Jake Gibbs was travelling around Vancouver Island, off Canada's west coast, when he experienced a beer-infused epiphany.
He'd been sampling a brew at Tofino, a destination known for its raw beauty and surfing.
'We were drinking beer at a place that had a skate ramp out the back and I thought what a great life: drinking beer, skating and surfing,' Gibbs recalls.
Five years to the day later, Gibbs and friends brewed their first beer in Raglan and went on to form Workshop Brewing.
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The men behind Workshop Brewing were among thousands of beer enthusiasts to descend on Claudelands for The Great Kiwi Beer Festival on Saturday.
The festival has been running in Christchurch for the past nine years. It's arrival in Hamilton marks the first time the event has been held outside the Garden City.
Forty craft breweries and cider producers were on site along with Waikato's own Vilagrad Winery.
Festival Director Callam Mitchell said one of the main drivers of the festival is informing the public about beer.
'We try to educate people about beer and we try and have a focus on tasting and appreciation rather than straight out volume consumption,' he said.
'And for a lot of people now, the focus is more on quality than quantity. That's reflected in craft beer sales which, year on year, have been rising, while the mainstream packaged beer has been declining.'
As head brewer at Workshop Brewing, Bruno David knows a thing or two about beer.
When sampling a craft beer, it's important to pace yourself and not drink it too quickly, David said.
'What you don't want to do is max out your tastebuds. That's why it's a good idea to drink some water or have a cracker in between sampling beers so you can reset your tastebuds.'
Brewing a good craft beer is part science and part art, and the process itself can be involved and complex.
'Beer is harder to make than wine and yet a lot of people don't appreciate that,' David said.
'They might be willing to pay $60 or $70 for a 750ml bottle of Pinot Noir and yet they look at a 750ml bottle of craft beer and say $20 is too expensive.'
Tracy Banner, master brewer and owner of Nelson's Sprig & Fern Brewery has been making beer for the past 37 years.
Affectionately known as 'The Godmother' of New Zealand craft beers, Banner said brewing - and drinking - the amber liquid is no longer the sole domain of men.
'It's a trend that I've noticed in the last five years especially, more women wearing overalls and getting into brewing beer. And you also see more women drink beers like IPA (India pale ale) and Imperial stout.'
As a wine maker, Vilagrad Winery co-owner Jacob Nooyen could be forgiven for feeling out of place at a beer festival.
But the craft beer industry and wine makers share a similar focus on quality and excellence.
'I just hope one day we could have a craft wine movement, similar to the craft beer industry,' Nooyen said.
'It's hard for wineries to survive in the Waikato because we're competing against all the big players. It's so tough getting our product into supermarkets and liquor stores.'
For punters Steve Broderson and Erin Oates, the festival was a chance to sample new craft beers - something neither typically does.
'I normally prefer to drink things I know I like but I thought even if we don't like any of the beers, there's still a great music line-up to enjoy,' Oates said.