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Moa – Sip and Sample tasting and the big prize
On a recent trip to NZ, this correspondent discovered an absolute cracking NZ craft beer brewer – Moa Brewing Company. The Moa Original variety was given a rave review during said NZ trip.
I came back to Oz declaring “this is the most amazing craft beer I have ever had”. Much to my disappointment, there are very few places in Oz that stock Moa. How are these guys going to allow my Aussie friends to indulge in their amazing beers?
This is no longer an unanswered question. Just like the 30,000 NZers who arrive to live in Australia every year, Moa has arrived on these shores. Kiwisinoz was fortunate enough to attend the Moa – Sip and Sample tasting afternoon run by Beer Cartel on Feb 11th. This was an unforgettable afternoon let me tell you folks!
Devon Tong from Moa was in attendance to explain the intricate details of each variety to the fortunate group of 20 people who were lucky enough to secure a ticket.
Five Moa varieties were tasted as we learnt about the journey of Moa in its short life to date. Interestingly the founder is Josh Scott, son of the very famous (in NZ!) Allan Scott. Allan Scott is a very popular Marlborough winery. You can imagine the tension between father and son when son declared his intention to open a brewery in NZ’s most famous wine growing region………
The five varieties tasted were:
- Moa Original
- Moa Pale Ale
- Moa Methode
- Moa Blanc
- Moa Noir
The Five Moa Beers
Devon Tong from Moa takes us through each variety
This correspondent had a huge session the night before so decided to drive to the tasting – SHOCKING ERROR OF JUDGEMENT!
I could only sample each one with a quarter of a glass. Each and every one of the five were sensational. They were each accompanied by the most appropriate food to complement the drop. Personal favourite was the dark beer – Moa Noir. The strong chocolate taste and aroma made this a sensational teaser. It went down a treat with the chocolate brownie. This would be a great finisher after a big meal.
Moa Noir - perfect with chocolate
It would not be appropriate to review each and every one of the five Moa beers here, I need to have more than a couple of sips to fully embrace these beers. So I purchased a mixed 6 pack to enjoy.
At the end of the tasting, a raffle was drawn with the winner taking home a 1500ml bottle of Moa Methode. And the lucky winner is……..kiwisinoz. Yes, I am now the proud owner of this monstrous bottle. I’d need a rather large brown paper bag to sneak this one past the officials on the ferry – could look dodgy.
The prize: 1500ml of heaven!
Moa has been fortunate to secure the latest Local Taphouse “Tap Takeover”. This will be held in Sydney on 21 March and Melbourne on the 20th March. Be sure to get your Moa fix at these sessions.
Moa, the giant bird has been extinct for hundreds of year, but the beer has just begun its life, and now it’s available in Oz.
Back on the back of the ferry, @HopDogBW Black Sunshine and Harlem on Central
Fire Drill
A frequent February sight
Whilst there’s been a number of one-off journeys on the back of the ferry, all of January went by before all of the foundation BotF members were able to make a trip home together in 2012. Like much of January, the journey was damp. Brollies are now an almost mandatory item out the back. February is predicted to be worse with 22 of 29 days predicted to be wet, and that’s an optimistic meteorologist’s view. Luckily the harbour throws up interesting stuff regardless and on this particular journey a seal bobbed up a couple of times playing with a fish. This correspondent can’t recall seeing a seal before. It’s also good to see that the recent Costa Concordia incident has revived the art of a good fire drill on a cruise ship.
Several needed to brighten the gloom
Manly’s continuing to add venues to its already burgeoning list. The latest addition is Harlem on Central. Even without a few bevvies under the belt, this is a hard place to find. Mainly because the entrance is not Central Avenue, but rather on Sydney Road. Once in, it is then hard to read the menu. I ended up pulling out my iPhone and using the torch feature. The menu reveals a great range of cocktails – which is the main game – but the small list of beers are solid – led by Sierra Nevade Pale Ale. A good place for date night, though we ended up eating at the local Japanese because although the food was delicious it was in morsel size.
Very dark
One of my favourite new brewers is HopDog BeerWorks . This self-proclaimed “microbrewery” has started to pump out an eclectic range of humourously named and extremely flavoursome beers. I tried a Black Sunshine last year at Harts Pub and was an instant convert. It made such an impression that it made my top 5 in the Hottest 100 beer vote. I was delighted to find it at Beer Cartel – a great little bottleshop in Artarmon. This Oatmeal Stout is packed with flavour. It has the roasted texture that I love in stouts and there was plenty of long lingering mocha happening as well. I don’t often get to South Nowra, but HopDog provides a damned good reason. They have a brewery door thing on the weekends, and you can get growlers filled up as well.
Black, black
Accurate beer label hyperbole
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BackoftheFerry Correspondents
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