BREWERY // Small Gods. A long time ago, before they dreamt up Beer Jerk, founders Luke & Brent enthusiastically got into home brewing in their Auckland kitchens. They devoured books, blogs and videos to learn all they could about brewing and named their brewery (a few pots, bags and a copper coil) Small Gods in honour of the yeasts and Terry Pratchett. Today they rarely brew at home but the Beer Jerk team has grown and they spend a lot of time talking about recipe ideas. And fortunately they're friends with lots of real brewers, some of whom oblige to collaborate on brewing the experimental and unfashionable styles they're interested in. Baylands. After 22 years working in IT, Aidan decided to follow his passion for beer and started brewing commercially in his double garage on Baylands Drive. He partnered up with with his friend (and former colleague) Steve and the rest is history. From their start in 2012, their beers quickly gained a following and with more than a few awards. They've scaled up a couple of times since then and the brewery is now based in Petone along with a tasting room where you can sample all their latest brews.BEER // The lemon. Simultaneously exotic and commonplace. Its origin and parentage are unknown but humans have cultivated and prized this unique citrus for two millennia in medicine, decoration, religion and the kitchen. The concept behind this beer was to showcase that most marvellous fruit alongside complimentary Lemongrass hops atop a very light malt profile. Alongside lashings of lemon juice, we added oats and wheat to the pilsner malt to give the beer a full, soft mouthfeel without adding malt flavours. Consider The Common Lemon has low bitterness but with some pithy tart zesty notes. We think it's a refreshing, quaffable and rather unique ale.
BREWERY // Small Gods & Baylands
BEER // Consider The Common Lemon
STYLE // Unfiltered Pale Ale
ORIGIN // Petone
ABV // 6%
TEMPERATURE // Cool- 7-9C
FOOD MATCH // Pad Thai. Smoked Salmon Tartine. Salami Pizza. Meringue
VESSEL // IPA Glass