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. Their beautiful new brewery bar, Cone & Flower, was recently completed and their upcoming SausageFest sounds like a real good time.
BEER // After enjoying the Altbier of Düsseldorf we head 40km downriver to sample Zeelandt's take on the native beer of Cologne (or Köln), Kölsch. The Kölsch Konvention demands that the style must be pale in colour, be top-fermented, hop-accentuated, highly attenuated and between 11 and 14 °P and this Eskdale take is perfectly to style. Of course the Konvention also states that Kölsch can only be brewed within the metropolitan area of Cologne but we'll ignore that part. While the style is somewhat reminiscent of a lager, it is made with a top fermenting ale yeast making it fruitier but still as gleamingly fresh as it's bottom fermented cousin. This Frenemy is a delightfully sessionable and light ale. The German malts give it a slightly soft mouthfeel and a bread-y character. There's a fruitiness present that comes from the noble hops as well as the top fermenting ale yeast. Check out the video to hear a lot more about Kölsch...
BREWERY // Zeelandt
BEER // Frenemy
STYLE // Kölsch
ORIGIN // Eskdale, Hawkes Bay
ABV // 5%
TEMPERATURE // Cold. Straight from the fridge
FOOD MATCH // Boiled Pork Knuckle. Bratwurst. Sourkraut
VESSEL // Stange