Beer #218 - W/C 29 April 2019
BREWERY // Gary Henwood is a curious brewer. He is fascinated by physics, chemistry and biology which all come into play when crafting beer. Following years of home brewing, he spent a lot of time planning and building his small brewery in Kainui. It has two mash tuns and two kettles, enabling him to run simultaneous brews with room for a lot of experimentation. For Gary, brewing is a way to travel through time and space as he takes inspiration from historic and international styles. Kainui beers had been somewhat of a Northland secret until their Porter won Gold at the New World Beer & Cider Awards last year. Their varied and immaculately executed beers will become more available nationwide this year but the best place to drink them is in Kainui. Throughout the Summer, there are regular concerts and events at Kainui Road where there is also a small cafe.
BEER // Brettanomyces is a type of naturally occurring 'wild' yeast which imparts particular fruity, overripe pineapple esters to beers when used in primary fermentation. Brettanomyces (translation - British Fungus) would have occurred in many beers prior to Louis Pasteur's discovery of yeast's part in the fermentation process in 1859. Prior to that, brewers (and winemakers, bakers etc) thought that fermentation naturally occurred when leaving wort (unfermented beer) out in the open air so most beers would have had a funky, wild Brett element to them. When brewers started isolating different yeast strains Brett fell out of favour and, until quite recently, was only found in 'infected' beers when the voracious culture found its way in. Cape Brett is a showcase for beautiful Brett - the other ingredients are carefully orchestrated to let the yeasty hero shine. It has a medium body with tropical, fruity hops. Pineapple was added in secondary fermentation. Like it's monastic forebear, Orval, Cape Brett will be an ideal beer to age for vertical tastings to see how the balance shifts from hops to Brett as the months (and years) go by.
BREWERY // Kainui
BEER // Cape Brett
STYLE // Tropical Pale Ale
ORIGIN // Kainui
ABV // 5%
TEMPERATURE // Cool. 7-8C
FOOD MATCH // Quail larded with Iberico Ham. Onion Soup. Caramelised Pineapple with Vanilla Yoghurt.
GLASS // Wine Glass. Chalice