Neil Miller - NZ

Sir Kingsley Amis penned more than 20 novels, six books of poetry, a memoir, a number of short stories, several scripts for radio and television and ‘works of social and literary criticism.’  He was nominated for the Booker Prize three times and won it once, and was later made a Knight of the British Empire.  The Times rated Amis as one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.   more info

Over the last two weeks, I’ve outlined six things I particularly enjoy about beer but which aren’t actually beer itself.  It was an interesting challenge and certainly prompted loyal readers to make some additional suggestions on social media which are worth sharing.  Here are the ten things readers really, really like about beer which, like the original posts, are presented in no particular order:   more info

Dedicated readers will recall that last week I challenged myself to find six things about beer that I particularly enjoyed, with the catch being that none of them could actually be beer.  Therefore, in no particular order, I present part two of my first ever list of “six things I really, really like about beer”.   more info

After two columns spent complaining about age verification pages on brewery websites and journalists manufacturing outrage over beer names when none really exists, I was determined to produce at least two positive posts to balance out the universe.  Consequently, I challenged myself to write about six things I particularly liked about beer.  Now, that might not sound overly onerous for a professional beer writer but there was a condition – none of the six things could actually be beer itself. more info

In New Zealand, there is a growing and unfortunate trend of people taking offence at the smallest provocation and, increasingly, taking offence on behalf of others who had not actually realised they were offended by something.  This most usually happens in politics and/or advertising but there seems to have been a recent run of beer names seemingly causing offence. more info

Many years ago, I was told by a brewer that I liked every beer ever made.  That was not true then and it is not true now - but it is true that in my writing and tastings I much prefer to focus on the positive.  While I’m happy to debunk some shabby corporate marketing claims and mock mainstream beers (Tui, Corona and Flame probably the get the worst), I don’t go out of my way to write negative comments about craft brewers.  Instead, my preference is to focus on the aspects of the brewery that I enjoyed and perhaps have a quiet word with them about what things need to change. more info

The New Zealand Herald  has reported that Emerson’s Brewing Company, a former Champion Brewery of New Zealand, was sold to Lion last year for $8 million (AUS$6.5 million).  That figure was obtained from documents filed in the Companies Office and appears to end speculation about the purchase price which had been simmering in the craft beer community since Lion’s surprise acquisition of Emerson’s in November 2012.   more info

A paddock in the picturesque Wairarapa town of Martinborough will be transformed into a major celebration of craft beer and artisan food on Saturday 6 April.  The inaugural Greater Wellington BrewDay festival (http://www.BrewDay.co.nz/) will showcase thirteen breweries from the Greater Wellington region including Tuatara, ParrotDog, Garage Project, Funk Estate, Yeastie Boys, Kereru and Fork & Brewer.  The Wairarapa region, best known for its fine vineyards, will be represented by Peak, Martinborough Brewing, 50 Knots and Regent 58.  Products from those last three breweries are rarely found outside the local area and the festival represents an excellent chance to sample their products and talk to the brewers.   more info