TRAVELLER

Brewery Tour

VERY N
ext time you
walk down the
beer aisle, take
a good look through the
craft beer section. If you
see what looks like a
half bottle of wine, don’t

RARE
panic. If you take the
bottle home and notice a
funk wafting from your
bubbly beverage, fear
not. If you enjoyed your
drink, do not be ashamed,
you are not alone. You
have just tasted a beer
brewed by Moa Brewing

BEER
Company, a brewery crafting a range of unique
beers from the heart of New Zealand’s wine
country.
Moa Brewing Company got its start in
2003 when wine maker Josh Scott returned
to NZ from travelling Europe. Inspired by the
ÀDYRXUIXOEHHUKHKDGWDVWHGRQKLVWULSKHVHW
out to apply his winemaking expertise to the
brewing process. From a 13,000L brew house
located in Blenheim, NZ the company currently
produces a range of seven bottled beers. As
head brewer David Nicholls [left] revealed in a
recent interview, these beers are created more
Ryan Sloan on the basis of what he and Josh want to taste

Me
LQWKHEHHUWKDQRQVWULFWVW\OHGH¿QLWLRQV
finds that while 7KHUHVXOWLQJEUHZVDUHDUHÀHFWLRQRI
this philosophy, and the unique nature of the
its namesake product is apparent even before cracking a
bottle open. Instead of the usual 500mL or
may be extinct, 300mL brown bottles used by most craft
breweries, Moa have opted to bottle most of
Moa Brewing their beers in 375ml green bottles modeled
after champagne splits. The wine connection
Company’s continues through the bottling choice to the
company’s choice of beer names. Noir, Blanc
brewery is very and Methode Moa are all nods to beer’s
fermented cousin.
much alive More importantly for both the beers’
unique nature and the company’s connection
to the wine industry, is what’s happening
inside the bottle. With the
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THEIR exception of their Weka
Lager, all of Moa’s beers are
WEKA LAGER, ALL OF MOA’S BEERS bottle conditioned. While
carbonating beer by adding
ARE BOTTLE CONDITIONED sugar and/or yeast is not
uncommon in the world of
beer, Moa’s choice of champagne-yeast to
perform the task is. Their Noir, Blanc, Harvest

WHAT IS A MOA?
Australian readers may not be as familiar with the moa
as our readers from New Zealand. The moa was a large
flightless bird that became extinct a few hundred years
before colonisation of New Zealand (around 1500) from
Maori hunting. There is some speculation that the species
may still exist in the deepest of New Zealand’s forests, but
such claims are almost always dismissed as myth. The only
Moa you’ll ever be seeing is the one you’re drinking.

48 www.beerandbrewer.com

1109_Tour_MOA.indd 48 10/26/2009 7:32:11 PM

 TRAVELLER
Brewery Tour

Lager, and Methode Moa are all conditioned
in this unusual fashion. Their Five-Hop Winter
Ale, and Tripel are conditioned in a more
conventional manner, through the use of the
original pitching yeast.
The primary effect of bottle conditioning
is to give the range of Moa beers a distinctly
¿QHJUDLQHGFDUERQDWLRQ2QFHWKHDGGLWLRQDO
yeast has done its work to carbonate the beer, it
does not get disgorged as it would in a bottle of
champagne. Instead, it sits in the bottle, giving
the beer a hazy appearance and impacting the
taste and smell of the brew. The remaining
yeast also allows for a longer shelf-life, a key
component in allowing Moa to ship their beer
as far as the US.
While the bottling yeast is noticeable in all
of their beers, it has a marked effect on their
Methode Moa. The beer, labeled a German
Pilsner, has a yeasty note in both its smell
and on the palate. It also has the usual pilsner
characteristics of grassy and spicy noble hops
and raw-grain malt. The combined effect leaves
the beer tasting more like a Belgian Saison than
a German Pilsner.
Moa Blanc is the other beer in which the
unusual choice of yeast is given space to come
through. The yeast presents
itself predominantly on
the nose. The palate is
raw grain, spice, and a bit
of sweetness. Their other
bottled beers range from
the Belgian inspired St.
Joseph Tripel, a balanced
sweet and spicy brew, to
the fruity, cherry-extract
infused Harvest Lager.
Somewhere in the middle
\RXZLOO¿QGWKHKRSS\
Five-Hop Winter Ale, the
malt-driven Noir, and their
easy-drinking Weka Lager.
If you are thirsting for a
0RDEHHU\RXFDQ¿QGWKH
green bottles on shelves
throughout NZ and in
select stores in NSW and
Queensland. The brewery itself is only open :KLOHWKHFRPSDQ\¶VFODLPWKDWWKHLUEHHU
for tastings during the summer, from 11am to is “very rare”, is currently accurate, expanded
5pm Wednesday through Sunday. There is also production may make Moa sightings a more
a small restaurant in the brewery compound; common occurrence. In any case, keep your
DFRPSRXQG¿WWLQJO\ORFDWHGDVWRQH¶VWKURZ eyes peeled for wine bottles in your local beer
from the Allen Scott Winery cellar door. DLVOHDQGDJDLQGRQ¶WSDQLFMXVWHQMR\

Melbourne’s Home of Beer

With one of the most extensive ranges from Australia and the World
over, we’ve got something for every palate.

Come in and try one of our innovative beer missions, where for a
fantastic price, you can get an ice bucket packed with an expert
selection of bottled beers.

With great pub food, free live bands and DJ’s every weekend and three
spacious beer gardens, Transport is the perfect meeting place this summer.

Love beer as much as we do?

Come along to our FREE BEER
tasting every Tuesday night 6:30pm

Transport Hotel_Bar. Federation Square. Melbourne. www.beerandbrewer.com 49

Open 7 days. 03 9654 8808. www.transporthotel.com.au

B7RXUB02$LQGG 10/26/2009 7:32:31 PM