Amberley brewery 'stoked' to bring home coveted award
An Amberley-based brewing company has brought home a coveted International Lager trophy from the recent NZ Beer Awards in Christchurch.
The winning Czech Please Pilsner is a long-standing favourite in the Brew Moon Brewing Company line-up. It marks the first trophy win for Brew Moon in its 20-plus-year history, despite a strong track record of medal wins.
The award also enhances its reputation as one of Aotearoa's leading independent breweries.
Brewery manager Oscar McCauley says the team was "stoked" to get this level of recognition from the judges.
"These awards are incredibly competitive, with over 600 entries from around Australasia, judged by the best in the business.
"It makes it extra sweet to win with one of our classic, go-to beers - and in a category as stacked as International Lager."
Dani Wild. Photo: Facebook
The award-winning batch was brewed by Head Brewer Dani Wild, who joined Brew Moon just a few months ago.
Remarkably, this was only her second Pilsner brew on the Brew Moon system.
"Dani is so meticulous and detailed in everything she does," Oscar says.
"The amount of data she captures for every brew is mind-blowing. This trophy is a huge credit to her process and her skill."
Brew Moon's Dark Side of the Moon Stout also scored a gold medal, and six other beers from the brewery earned Silver and Bronze medals, making for a clean sweep of eight entries, eight medals.
"It's awesome to show that level of consistency across the whole range,'' Oscar says.
Brew Moon's award-winning beers are available at the Amberley taproom and select stockists nationwide.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
7 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Housing deprivation a growing concern in Whanganui and surrounding districts
Housing deprivation is an increasing issue for Whanganui and surrounding districts, including uninhabitable homes and people living without shelter. That's according to Wellington-based economics consultancy Infometrics, which has released its 2023 data analysis. The data for homelessness and housing deprivation is made available every five years, with the latest data
Otago Daily Times
8 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Battle against gulls gears up
Installing seagull deterrent technology on an Oamaru business' roof yesterday are (from left) Hitman Pest Management business owner Leighton Hynes, Activeoxy business owner Brendon Spencer and Birdzout commercial and industrial and innovation manager Charlie Johnson. PHOTO: NIC DUFF Oamaru businesses may soon have a "serious option" to keep seagulls off their roofs. The birds have plagued the Thames St businesses for years. Their screeching can be heard throughout most of the day and their excrement on the roofs and footpaths leaves behind a pungent smell. Activeoxy business owner Brendon Spencer noticed this as he was passing through town one day. He noticed the building on the corner of Thames and Coquet Sts was particularly bad with seagulls on the roof. That inspired him to contact the Waitaki District Council about trialling new deterrent technology from a West Coast-based company Birdzout, which was installed yesterday. A series of wired capacitors are placed on the roof and once switched on, they create an electromagnetic dome covering the roof. When the gulls fly near this dome, it gives them the seagull equivalent of vertigo to deter them from landing on the roof. Birdzout commercial, industrial and innovation manager Charlie Johnson hoped to see "immediate results". It is the third of its kind installed in New Zealand. Mr Johnson said the company used similar technology on a building in Christchurch which used to house between 200 and 300 birds and is now almost entirely gull-free. Mr Spencer hoped the technology could offer a reprieve to business owners in Thames St. "If it works like we know it can, it's going to give the retail owners a serious option to remove the birds. It doesn't harm the birds, it just stops them from landing on the roof." The trial will last for the duration of the seagulls' breeding season and is tentatively scheduled to end around the end of March. To test the effectiveness of the technology, the installers have left half of the roof without the capacitors so they can compare how much of a difference it will make.
Otago Daily Times
8 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Clubs battling DCC charge increases
Higher ground and facility user charges could force a community football club to shut up shop, a Dunedin-based sports administrator says. Southern Football chief executive Dougal McGowan told the Otago Daily Times that Dunedin City Council charges have risen sharply since 2018 and the organisation is bracing itself for another price hike. Southern Football shelled out $42,202 to use the city's venues and grounds in 2018. But those costs have swollen considerably. This year, despite using six fewer fields, Southern Football was charged $98,119 and it expects the bill to climb to more than $100,000 in 2026. "You can't put the fees up to be able to cover all of that," Mr McGowan said. "It's just not possible because people can't afford to play the game otherwise." "We try to keep our game as cheap as we possibly can because ... we want to make it as accessible to everybody as we can. "But these price rises are making it really, really difficult." For one small community club in the region, who Mr McGowan declined to name, it could spell the end. "The amount we have to pay for the ground that they use ... is more than what we get from them in fees. "Next year this cost to the council will go up again for the ground usage and then lights and changing room costs on top. "So, we're going to have to have a conversation with them about maybe they might have to close. "That's a really sad indictment on what we're doing in our communities." Community sport is beset by other rising costs, and competition for funding has increased as the city's sinking lid policy on class-4 gambling starts to bite. The proposed Online Casino Gambling Bill could strip further funds from the community. But McGowan said every small increase was felt, and it was forcing administrators into making some tough decisions. "Even though we've got more people playing the game, we've had to cut the number of grounds we can use because we just can't afford it." Otago Rugby Football Union chief executive Richard Kinley said the main codes had met to discuss how they could work together to address the impact increased ground charges will have on clubs and "ultimately participants". "Most of our clubs actually operate really well, but they operate on a really fine margin," Mr Kinley said. "However, these potential impacts of fees going up and the Online Casino Gambling Bill just have more of an impact, and we know that class-4 gaming is dropping slightly anyway across the country." DCC group manager of parks and recreation Heath Ellis said staff were in contact with sports codes across the city and were always available to meet. "Councillors asked for a review of fees and charges for sports fields to ensure equity between different codes," Mr Ellis said. "Previously, some codes were paying up to 4.9% of total costs for sports field use, while others were paying as low as 3.2%. "Staff presented councillors with a table detailing the potential costs to the different codes — recovering 4% of costs from all sports field users, or alternatively 5%. "Councillors decided to consult the public on the 5% option, and later voted to confirm this amount. "Just two submissions were received raising concerns about potential increases in sports field fees." Sport Otago chief executive James Nation felt the savings to the ratepayers were minimal. "When you look at the actual money that the council's saving by going from a 4% to 5%, it's negligible in the grand scheme of things," Mr Nation said. "But the impact on an individual sports person is massive."
