Beer #156 - Good George / Zealand Tea Amber Ale

Beer #156 - W/C 19 February 2018

BREWERY // Good George take their name from their home in Frankton, Hamilton. The brewery and dining hall was formerly St. George's Church. Way back in the early 2010's a group of beer loving friends got together to open Hamilton's first independent pub. Good George have grown exponentially since those early days, opening another 6 pubs and taprooms in exotic locales such as Cambridge, Tauranga and Rototuna. Their solid core range (their enigmatically named 'IPA' is a favourite of Luke's) is regularly complimented by interesting seasonals and collaborative brews. Next time you're in Hamilton, be sure to pay them a visit and take a brewery tour. Last week Good George celebrated their 2,000th batch after five and a half years of brewing. We've got a feeling it won't take them that long to reach the next 2,000.

BEER // 22 years ago Vincent Chen observed a flourishing camellia plant flowering in Waikato. As tea is also a kind of camellia, he thought he'd see how well it grew and promptly planted 130 cuttings. Today there are over 1.2 million tea plants on the Zealand estate which produces 100% organic tea that has won awards across the world. It seems inevitable that Good George's tea brewing neighbours would pay them a visit to start a collaboration. After several test brews, Amy Reason (master blender) and Brian Watson (master brewer) decided on a blend of black tea and oolong tea to infuse in the amber ale. There is a rich and sweet malt profile and an earthy bitterness from the oolong. "It's like having tea and biscuits in one sip" says Amy.

BREWERY // Good George
BEER // High Tea
STYLE // Amber Ale
ORIGIN // Frankton, Hamilton
ABV // 4.2%
TEMPERATURE // Cellar Temp. 7-11 C
FOOD MATCH // Crab. Fried chicken. Pancakes & maple syrup.
GLASS // China Mug

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