Monday 13 December 2010

NZ beer trip - Dunedin




Sunday 28 November, Dunedin
And so the great bike trip ends. It will indeed be, I think, unforgettable (for the right reasons!) And we are off to Dunedin, to get as far south as possible in the time allowed, and to take a photo of the tiles at the railway station. We wave goodbye to the rest of the group, who head back north, and catch the bus to Dunedin, a city on a slope. Find the Green Man Organic Brewery brewpub right in the centre, where I taste (but do not drink) the most hoppy beer I've ever met in my life - a true headbanger. My choices were their Strong (6.5% draught) and IPA (5.5% bottled, great label). Good beers but a bit too hoppy for me. All the beers have been good, has been amazing. Score: Trip days 24 Beers drunk 36




Monday 29 November, Dunedin
After breakfast in sunshine at St Clair, the surfing beach, and a walking tour of the sports venues, it is time to look round Speight's Brewery. A pleasure, with all that copper brewing kit. And a fitting end (nearly). Sipped half-halves of Speight's Gold and (very good) Porter at the brewery, then on to a bar for a Stoke Amber from McCashin's in Nelson. Score: Trip days 25 Beers drunk 39

Tuesday 30 November (part 1), Auckland
Fly back to Auckland, but no time to leave the airport - have a Speight's Old Dark as wait for the big plane to Los Angeles. This is the first time I've not managed to find a completely new beer - but, what the hell, at least I've seen where it's brewed. Indeed you could argue that because of the time zone change - crossing the dateline, we are going to get another Tuesday 30 November - I may not have failed at all! And so, goodbye to NZ. Score: Trip days 26 Beers drunk 39

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