The one with the end of year story.

The excitement is palpable, and yes there is a piece missing

It’s true, the end of a year, and what a year, just like all the others but different. I’m away on holiday writing this, and the beer offering is green bottle lager, and I’m missing a decent beer. But that’s not the worst thing that could happen is it?

Not different though is that well worn cliche of what I thought were the best things and worst things in 2016, wherein I wrote about 380 and a bit beers, getting form 500 to 881

The best of the beers in 2106, or as I thought at the time of drinking, those beers that had something extra, something special, and I’m not saying that on re-drinking or re-visting these that it’d be the same, just at the time the moved me on some way. Well that came to 25, that’s like two beers each month, seems a lot, but there are some excellent beers to be had. Only 3 of them are from overseas, which reflects what I drink probably, drink local. Not always but.

There was one stand out event though, and not because it was the best beer, that was the Carlsberg Re-Brew beer, which really sold me on the story.

Looking through the list a couple stand out though, as being very good beer, and in no particular order;

The Good George Black IPA was lovely and I had it more than once, I really liked the Uranium breath from Mash Palace, but I’m note sure it’s been the same since. Deep Creek, who are incidentally dentaly very local to me have a couple of beer, the Angel of the Presence, and their Lulupin effect beers amaze and amazed. The rest of the list is;

Beer – #851 – Speakeasy – Black Hand (10)
Beer – #829 – Deep Creek – Lupulin Effect (10)
Beer – #821 – Liberty Brewing – Alpha Obsidian (10)
Beer – #804 – Mash Palace – Uranium Breath – A Redux (10)
Beer – #803 – Tuatara – Tiramisu (10)
Beer – #796 – Good George – Black IPA (10)
Beer – #789 – Rogue Farms – 7 Hop IPA *Redux* (1o)
Beer – #783 – Panhead – Green Hop Vandal (10)
Beer – #780 – Yeastie Boys – His Majesty 2015 (10)
Beer – #740 – Fork Brewing – Godzone Beat (10)
Beer – #713 – Deep Creek – Angel of the Presence (10)
Beer – #702 – Mash Palace – Uranium Breath (10)
Beer – #699 – Epic – The Observer (10)
Beer – #676 – Garage Project – Hellbender (10)
Beer – #666 – Panhead – Hardtail Henry Oaked Stout (10)
Beer – #650 – 4 Horsemen – Hopocalypse (2015) (10)
Beer – #633 – Theakston – Old Peculier *bottle* (10)
Beer – #623 – Sparks Brewing – Frontier Extra Stout *keg* (10)
Beer – #611 – ParrotDog – Rarebird Kakapo Wet-Hopped IPL – Bottle (10)
Beer – #593 – Renaissance – Grandmaster Fresh Hop IIPA (10)
Beer – #585 – Behemoth – Hopportunity Double IPA (10)
Beer – #548 – Sparks – Prospector (10)
Beer – #546 – Tuatara – Sauvinova (10)
Beer – #539 – Nøgne Ø – Red Horizon 2. Edition – a redux (10)
Beer – #506 – 8 Wired – Farmhouse Pale Ale (10)

Much much harder was the music, I listen to a whole album of music with each beer, usually a new release, usually from a band I’ve never heard of, and often wish I hadn’t or won’t look out in the future. These aren’t in any order but the music I listened to this past 12 months that I’d listen to again, and probably have is as follows, but there are two in particular that I’ve played this week a couple of times, Milkey Chance and The Veils.

London Grammar ” “ If you wait ”
Jack White ” ” Blunderbuss “
” The Verlaines ” ” The Verlaines “
Black Swan Lane “
“ Status Quo “ “ Stripped Bare the Acoustic versions “ Listen Here
“ Kings of Leon “ “ Mechanical Bull “ listen to the album here
“ Milky Chance “ “ Sadnecessary “ here on the Spotify
“ The New Pornographers “ “ Brill Bruisers “ Listen on Spotify
” Chvrches ” ‘ The bones of what you believe ‘ on Spotify.
“ The Brian Jonestown Massacre ” ” Revelation ” on the Spotify
” Foreigner ” “Acoustique “ on Spotify.
” Fat Freddy’s Drop” ” Bays” on Spotify
“The Pineapple Thief ” with ” Your Wilderness” on Spotify
” Slim Cessna’s Auto Club ” and ” Jesus Let Me Down ” on Spotify
” Jack White ” and “The Acoustic Recordings” on Spotify
” The Veils ” and their album ” Total Depravity ” on Spotify

I had a couple of suggestions to listen to and took them all up, including “The Tallest Man on Earth”, so suggestions are always welcome.

Things: The BeerJerk beer Club, every 12 weeks a dozen beers arrive, some of them are outstanding, most of them are surprising, and frequently beer that I’ve not seen in the shops, let alone brought.

Places: There are a couple of local places that go to, Deep Creek in Browns Bay, The BeerSpot in Birnkenhead, and I’ve been known to visit 16 Tun on the Viaduct, I need to get out more. Liquorland in Forrest Hill though, if you want good people and good selection of beers this is the place, only beaten by the perennial best in Auckland Liquorland Newmarket, which sadly I didn’t get to more than twice this year. Whilst at the beach house there’s always the excellent Luke’s Kitchen to visit and they have their own beer too, I should write about that one day.

The Future: Well 1000 beers would be nice. I had a few weeks where the motivation was lacking, but I’d like to round things out with a whole number, or a comedy one like 999 and leave it at that, It’s been a few years and it is a hobby, I’m glad I went back to bottles of beer (or cans) rather than the fill your own keg beers, as this reflects that core thing about “beer you can buy” rather than “odd beer that I found a keg of here and there.

Supporters: MrsPhil, who still thinks every beer smells like ‘beer’ and Simon and Mark for keeping me on my toes, and everyone who reads the things I write and talks to me when I’m out, I’m not an expert just an enthusiastic amateur.

p.s. It’s not all a wilderness at the beach, tonight I have a Good George Sparking Pale ale and the IPA too, but I’ve been happy with the Steinlager Pure that I’ve been having, and it’s not like that I couldn’t have brought beer with me, but then having it an enjoying it and musing over it in a house full of witterers is something else.

Philip