BREWERY // Brewing is in Christopher Barber's blood. His Hawke's Bay brewery, Zeelandt, opened in 2012 around 125 years after his great great grandfather opened a brewery near Christchurch. Christopher honed his skills working at St Austell Brewery in Cornwall before returning to New Zealand to brew at Hallertau. The brewery's name (pronounced zay-land) reflects the inspiration taken from classic European styles with a distinctly New Zealand twist. Zeelandt have been steadily increasing their output and also releasing more seasonal beers. It's great to see more of their beers around the country. If you find yourself anywhere near Eskdale, be sure to pay a visit to their brewery taproom.
BEER // Wheatbeers have been made in Bavaria for well over 500 years but risked extinction under the Reiheitsgebot law which was introduced to ensure beer purity but also to stop brewers from using rye and wheat for beer when those precious grains were needed for bread. The law stipulated beer could only be made with barley. In a story old as time, some wealthy wheatbeer-lovers had a word and some exceptions were made. One of several wheatbeer variants, Dunkelweizen translates to 'dark wheat' and the style is a fusion of the classic Hefeweizen (characterised by a full body, fluffy head and banana and clove notes from the yeast) with a Dunkel (sweet chocolate malt flavours and complexity). Like many traditional European styles, wheat beers are very unfashionable in New Zealand so we're especially delighted that Zeelandt continue to produce such wonderfully authentic examples. Two Dukes is perfectly brewed to style with minimal hop flavours, just a touch for bittering. We also get hints of vanilla and nutmeg in this quaffable beer which is well suited to a cool evening.
BREWERY // Zeelandt
BEER // Two Dukes
STYLE // Dunkelweizen
ORIGIN // Eskdale, Hawke's Bay
ABV // 4.8%
TEMPERATURE // Cool- 7-9C
FOOD MATCH // Smoked Trout. Caramel. Goat Cheese. Banoffee Pie
VESSEL // Tall Weissbier Glass