BREWERY // Back in 2011 we were in the aftermath of the last Global Financial Crisis which meant Chris Mills and his wife, Natasha Dahlberg, weren't getting much work for their movie visual effects business. Fortunately for us, Chris was able to crank up his home-brewing hobby and start supplying a local Lower Hutt market with beer he brewed in a tiny 50L kit in their rumpus room. He figured that, while the demand for pixel polishers may fluctuate, the thirst for beer would ride out any recession. Demand for Kereru beer quickly grew and they custom-built a brewery in a former linoleum factory where you can now visit for a tour and try beer fresh from the tank at the cellar door in Upper Hutt's BrewTown.
BEER // With the current boom in Hazy IPAs, a brewery really has to work at making releases stand out from the crowd. Never ones to shy away from innovation, Kererú have created a pretty unusual take on the style with Stand Up Guy by making it a showcase of tropical hops. The dominant hop is the wonderfully unique Sorachi Ace which has an array of lemon, dill and tea-like notes. The hop was invented by Dr. Yoshitada Mori in the 80s for Sapporo as an attempt to replicate the noble Saaz variety but the result was something completely different. It was pretty much exclusively used by them until the 2008 hop shortage when US brewers started looking for other interesting varieties. The iconic NZ Green Bullet and US Tahoma & Santiam are the other hops used to result in a very tropical, satisfyingly bitter beer. The malt base is round and smooth but not as extreme as the basically-drinking-a-cloud vibe of some hazies. We'd probably class this as the best of East Coast & West Coast IPAs. A Mountain IPA if you will.
BREWERIES // Kererú
BEER // Stand Up Guy
STYLE // Hazy IPA
ORIGIN // Brewtown, Upper Hutt
ABV // 6.5%
TEMPERATURE // Cool - 15 minutes out of the fridge
FOOD MATCH // Welsh Rarebit. Buffalo Fried Cauliflower. Spicy Sausage. Double Chocolate Brownies
VESSEL // IPA Glass, Tulip