It’s been a long time between beers.
The last edition of this column ran before the Covid lockdown.
“I’ll get it up and running soon,” I have regularly told Gary and David between beers.
You might recall the column came about because David – Mackenzie, the publisher of Good Local Media – and Gary – Bulling, the man who designs and lays out the pages in the Cambridge News and Te Awamutu News – enjoy discussing the pros and cons of a good ale once the papers have been put to bed.
No claims to fame of expertise, we just like a good beer.
The Three Beers – David, Roy and Gary. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
So, at our end of year gathering, Gary’s contribution was enough to motivate me.
Gary arrived with a six pack of a one-off run of low carb Epic ales. Beers that no longer exist from a brewer who stopped brewing. What’s more, it was called Beer O’Clock. This was a special run for the Trade Tested crowd – at the same time Epic had it under the Blue brand. It surprises me that more companies do not get special runs of beer made with their logo attached as gifts.
It surprised me even more to hear of the demise of Epic – liquidation was announced in July – was a real shame – they produced great beers constantly. This one might not be as memorable as some which were available at the Tap Room in Nelson St – but it was a nice drop and an even better conversation piece. And those low carb numbers are getting popular.
In August it was announced the Epic Beer had been bought by the Russell Group and Hancocks Group – so fingers crossed, we will see the brand on shelves again.
In the meantime, I’ll be reporting on what’s being sampled around me – I might even look at a zero alcohol wine and some offerings from the Williams Warn home brewing world.
