Where to start? 

The monster we are all responsible for. If we go back 20 years or so, craft beer came about because of the endless sea of industrial lager beers post World War II. There was no real diversity available in the beer market. Which is why Guinness became such a successful global brand. 

So from the early 1980’s craft breweries very slowly started to open and to brew beers that tasted different from mainstream lagers. Then came the American Pale Ales. This is where this all started. People had this incredible experience, called flavour. WOW, I didn’t know beer could smell or taste like that. 

So for years people happily drank pale ales, because they were different from the mainstream lagers. As more people drank these new flavourful beers a few would say I reckon I could open a brewery and make a great beer like that too. But my beer will have a bit more hops in it.

Then the American IPA hit the market, WOW! You have gotta try this because it has even more aroma and flavour than those Pale Ales we have been drinking. A bunch more people thought I reckon I could open a brewery and make IPA’s which everyone loves to drink. But I’ll make mine a bit more hoppy.

IPA’s were the new thing, and everyone was drinking them. There were more and more breweries making IPA’s so it was a golden age, as everyone loved hoppy beer.

It wasn’t long before the Double IPA came along, and you know what, everyone was like WOW!! These are the best beers ever. A whole bunch more people said I reckon I could brew a Double IPA, but I will make mine more hoppy. 

Hold on. These new brewers found that you couldn’t really add any more hops, and there were now so many IPA’s and Double IPA’s on the market that it was really hard to stand out. Best we try something else. 

Some tried making sour beers, some added fruit to their IPA’s, some even just took hazy, yeasty, hoppy tank samples and sold them. WOW!!! everyone loved them. It was something new. Everyone loves NEW.

We have now in a cycle of new for the sake of new. New equals good. Beer isn’t about beer any longer. Beer is about new. A new label. A new can. A new tap badge. Just new.

New, new, new, new, new, new, new.

We live in interesting times. Why are people looking for new? What is missing in their lives? Why can’t they be happy with a really great beer? So many great beers are being released as a new one off seasonal beers, never to be made again. 

Will these seasoned craft beer fans get bored of beer, and start looking for something else? Wine is always new? Every year there is a new vintage, and there are thousands of wines to try. What about spirits? How many cocktails are there to discover.

That there is the craft beer drinker dilemma.

What about the brewers? What are they doing? On the treadmill of having to come up with new beers on a more and more frequent basis, looking for the next beer style, the next crazy ingredient to add to their beer.

With an ever-increasing number of breweries, coming out with an ever increasing number of beers how can these beers get sold? There aren’t enough taps, or shelf space to move everything.

So what is a brewery to do? They make a batch of beer, they can sell a bit of it, but after a couple of weeks, outlets might say what else have you got that’s new? The brewery says but you haven’t stocked this beer, and your customers haven’t tried it yet. Yeah, but they might have tried it somewhere else. What else is new?

The brewery now has an issue, with the beer that isn’t new any longer. How do they sell it. Well, one way is to give the outlet an incentive. What might this be? Maybe a tshirt, some glassware, some free stock, or a discount on the beer. 

Oh, that discount thing worked pretty well. Cool, the beer is now sold. Interestingly though the outlet didn’t put the price down. Lucky outlet they got some not new beer cheaper and made a better margin.

Next batch of new beer and the brewery is stuck moving all the beer. Ahh discount it, that worked. Cool.

Next batch, the outlet wants a discount straight up. So the whole batch is now discounted. Oh no.

Then the outlet starts going “cool, I can get discounted beer,” and make more margin. But the discounted beer isn’t always the best, and the reason that it isn’t selling is because no one wants to drink it. 

Now the outlet has a problem. So they discount the beer. The beer drinker goes cool, I am getting some new beer at a good price. 

It takes a while but the beer drinker becomes more educated over time, and realizes what off flavours or faulted beer tastes like, and buying discounted beer isn’t satisfying. 

But they still want something new.

Smart brewer comes up with a plan. I need to be able to sell this whole batch of new, if I had my own taps that no one else can sell their beer through then I can sell it all. I’ll offer the bar some money to by the taps. 

Now the brewer is winning here. And maybe the bar for a period of time because they just got a chunk of cash. What if the beer is not to the tastes of the customers in that bar? The bar might now have a tap with very slow selling beer. They may have been better off not selling the tap and putting beer through the taps that the customers actually want to drink.

OK that is all I have now. Just some observations that are interesting.

(note: this is a first draft, and there are likely to be errors)

Colin Mallon, Malthouse Operations Guy and WCIPAC organiser, says this year’s 9th Annual West Coast IPA Challenge (WCIPAC) will expand its festivities to Malthouse’s sister bar, Fork & Brewer on Bond Street, due to increasingly large crowds turning up to see who will win Best West Coast IPA and take home the Golden Gumboots.

The annual event, taking place on Friday, 29 July, sees brewers showcase their skills with hops by brewing West Coast IPAs, a notoriously popular and hoppy style of beer, dear to the hearts of craft beer drinkers.

“I think it’s become such a big event on the calendar because of people’s ongoing and increasingly growing love affair with different beers,“ says Colin.

“The event has raised awareness of the beer style, and the fun and anticipation leading up to, and on, the night definitely brings people in who necessarily wouldn’t class themselves as beer drinkers. You get hardcore beer drinkers bringing their friends, and before you know it, it widens the appeal.

“The last WCIPAC had Malthouse groaning at its seams. The event officially kicks off at 2pm, the bar will be wall-to-wall packed by 4:30pm, with queues out the door by 5pm, and the bar often remaining near capacity until 2am.

“We sell something in the region of about 40 kegs. It is a huge night for us!

“We were turning people away at the last few WCIPACs, so it made sense to release some of that pressure this year by making Fork & Brewer a co-host.”

Colin says Fork & Brewer was the natural venue choice to expand the event, not only as it is Malthouse’s sister bar, but because it is the only place that had enough taps to accommodate the 25 beers that will be showcased on the evening.

Punters at Fork & Brewer need not fear for missing out on any of the beers, celebrations or announcements – all WCIPAC beers will be pouring on tap and announcements made at the same time as at Malthouse.

It speaks for the notoriety of the event, that the competition is making its first foray to Australia with a line-up of WCIPAC beers being flown over the Tasman to feature in WCIPAC tap takeovers at The Local Taphouses in Melbourne and Sydney.

Originally created because July was Malthouse’s quietest month of the year, WCIPAC started out with two entrants [Epic Brewing Co. and Hallertau Brewery] in a bit of a “my beer is hoppier than your beer” showdown.

“Back then the Wellington craft beer landscape was quite different – there was Malthouse, Bar Bodega and Bar Edward, so showcasing a specific style was quite unusual,” says Colin.

“Now the event showcases 25 beers, has 9-10 judges, some of whom are World Beer Cup judges, and breweries contacting us to submit entries.”

“It’s great when you see a brewery that hasn’t performed very well, and then come back and next year and they raise their game – even if they don’t win it’s really great to see.”

“The last thing I wanted this to be was something that was taken too seriously. We want to give brewers a bit of feedback on their entries, but at the end of the day, it is all about celebrating good beer with good people.”

This comment from Sam Calagione hopefully sums up what is happening

Dogfish Head founder crafts brewery’s future

Q: What does growing consolidation mean for the craft beer movement?
A: Everyone needs to realize that right now in every bar in every state there are massive global breweries going in and trying to sell those bars kegs of beer that they are hoisting off as local craft beers from somewhere in America that are really being made and distributed and marketed by the world’s biggest breweries. If the consumer doesn’t vote with their pocketbook to prioritize indie craft, we risk losing the vibrancy and diversity of our industry because the little guys can’t compete at the price points that the big brewers are hoisting this so-called craft beer off on.

[Read Full Article]

Please consider history as well

Craft Brewing Takes Flight in N.Z. (part II)

In 1923, the first New Zealand brewing giant, under the name of New Zealand Breweries (since renamed Lion), was born through the merger of ten major regional breweries (including all of their licensed hotels and tied independents) located in the major metropolitan areas of the country. Although exact figures are unavailable, it is probably safe to say this new company controlled well over half of the country’s beer production and distribution. In subsequent years Lion continued to grow, not through capital investment in new plants, but by buying additional regionals, closing some and bringing others into the corporate fold.

[Read Full Article]

Is the follow article part of making things OK? Are Kirin/Lion/Emerson’s really just good guys after all? If so maybe some of the bars they have tied might be good enough to free up a tap to two so that the small independent brewers might be able to sell a little more beer? Seems a bit pointless helping small independent breweries to make beer when on the other hand they are blocked from the majority of the market through tied agreements.

‘Big boy’ steps in to save brewers’ bacon

But Emerson’s Brewery in Dunedin came to the rescue and last month secured an organic malt supply for the micro-brewery.

At the brewery’s 5000L brew house the inevitable spillage was about 5tons a year. (pretty sure this isn’t true, and if it is it won’t be long before Kirin come and sort it out)

[Read Full Article]

I wrote the following in February 2015….

I like IPA.

I like GIN.

I thank my grandfather for beer and brewing, and my aunties for gin and tonic. Growing up and you get a sneaky little taste of something you aren’t yet old enough to have. It is something that you always remember.

Gin and Tonic was never really a drink I chose to drink once I was of legal drinking age. It was many years before it would become of interest. Actually it was something that was brought to my attention just in passing.

I’m not sure who it was exactly but I might give a hat tip to Dickie Fife, brewer of the Dux de Lux for the idea of having a G&T after drinking a few beers (probably IPA’s) several years ago, during BrewNZ week. It was something that caught me by surprise.

I was use to drinking beer with brewers over the course of an evening. Generally getting more hoppy, more bitter and stronger. Your palate gets assaulted with hops and bitterness after a few pints of big IPA’s.

One night, I’m going to say it was at the Malthouse, it was suggested that we take a break on this round and have a cleansing G&T. Everyone gasped, it was though we had heard a blasphemous comment. Then again everyone was curious to try something new. Who would have thought to try something other than another IPA.

The round was purchased. BAM! What a revelation.

================================

The follow was written in late July 2014….

I have been thinking about this for sometime now. I need to do more research into the history of IPA and how Gin effected its sales and popularity in India and around the world at the time of their peaks in the 1700-1800’s. I’m sure if I re-read Pete Brown’s awesome book “Hops & Glory” it might give some of the information and clues to the co-existence to the two drinks.

Today though it seems that Gin is becoming more popular with craft brewers and craft beer drinkers. Over the last few years I have noticed that as the evening gets later someone might suggest that after drinking a few very hoppy and bitter IPA’s, that a cleansing gin and tonic might be appropriate to reset the palate. On all occasions I have partaken in this cleansing, it has worked.

Initially like tasting craft beer, it was just the experience, and the brand, style or flavours didn’t particularly matter as long as it had the juniper driven flavours. Once there was a little experience and discussion, then flavours started to become important, and the quest to try many different gin’s started (just like a persons journey of craft beer).

The parallels between IPA and Gin are fascinating and something I plan to find more out about. They were last both very popular in the 1700-1800’s and both very popular in India, but also the rest of the world. The aromas & flavours are very similar with citrus and pine characters, as well as an array of other intertwined characters. There is also bitterness with both drinks, gin’s bitterness being delivered from tonic water and the compound quinine.

With some speculation it would seem that Gin is the next logical step for craft beer drinkers that have climbed the ladder of Pale Ale, IPA, and Double IPA, looking for bigger and bigger hop driven flavours and aromas. Good gin can deliver similar aromas and flavour, as well as increased level of complexity due to the extended range of potential botanicals.

Gin is the new IPA.

So I have started a journey of discovery into the world of gin. This year (2014) it has become more than a casual interesting beverage to taste occasionally. A couple of visits to Melbourne earlier in the year resulted in a visit or two or three to The Gin Palace

250 different gins

================================

The following is from May 2014….

“Its happened before and it will all happen again.”

• The Gin & Tonic originally was put together as an anti malaria concoction in colonial India. Quinine was added to carbonated water to give Indian Tonic and mixed with Gin to make it more appealing.

THE BIRTH OF THE GIN AND TONIC

Created as an anti-malarial for British troops serving in India, it proved such as success that no one takes a chance today, even in areas where there has never been a case of malaria. Better to have a Gin & Tonic, just to be safe.

1850

Is it just me or has Gin become a popular drink amongst craft beer drinkers. Craft beer drinkers that love IPA, because IPA = Craft Beer.

I have found myself on this new trend.

There is alot more to come…

… and soon.

And to seal Epic’s position as this country’s leading producer of hop-driven beers, Epic Pale Ale also brought home a trophy for the best pale ale, defending the title it won in last year’s inaugural awards.

Epic owner-brewer Nicholas is blown away by Armageddon’s success over the past year. It has previously taken out trophies at the Australian International Beer Awards, The New Zealand Brewers Guild Awards and the Stockholm Beer and Whiskey Festival.

“When it won its third trophy, in Stockholm, it was described as `the stuff of fantasy’ – well I think we’ve exhausted the adjectives now, it’s beyond my wildest dreams,” Nicholas said.

“The IPA category is one of the most fiercely contested in any beer competition and to come out on top in four consecutive competitions is mind-boggling.”

Nicholas was equally delighted Epic Pale Ale retained the title it won last year against stiff competition. It was the only beer or cider to retain a title from the inaugural awards and this trophy comes almost 10 years to the day after it burst to prominence when named supreme champion at the New Zealand International Beer Awards in 2006.

“It just shows what a remarkable beer Epic Pale Ale has been over the course of a decade. When it was released it was revolutionary – a big hoppy pale ale of the sort New Zealand hadn’t seen before. And despite the huge growth in the pale ale category, 10 years later it still stands above the rest.”

Epic was the only brewery to win two trophies at the awards and also picked up four silver medals for Hop Zombie, Awakening Pils, Lager and IMP session IPA. The Observer Timeless Ale was awarded a bronze medal, meaning every Epic beer entered won a medal of some colour.

A total of 464 beers were entered in the awards, with 40 winning gold medals.

All trophy winners will be available at New World stores around the country.

Tasting notes from Michael Donaldson – head judge for the New World Beer and Cider Awards.

Pale Ale – Epic Pale Ale

This has been a benchmark pale ale for a decade and its quality is reflected in the fact it’s now the only two-time trophy winner in the New World awards. At 5.4 per cent alcohol and packed with flavour, Epic Pale Ale was sessionable before `session’ became a buzzword. It’s vibrant, clean, with nice mouth weight, flavours of lychee and rosewater push through a curtain of citrus and pine aromas to dance on a stage of subtle caramel malt. A sneaky bitterness then comes in to cleanse the palate and start the show all over again. Loves to be consumed alongside anything with chilli.

IPA – Epic Armageddon IPA

Fast becoming New Zealand’s most awarded beer and it was no surprise to see it add the New World title to gongs won at the New Zealand Brewers Guild Awards and in Australia and Sweden. Brewer Luke Nicholas’ annual pilgrimage to the US hop fields to hand-pick his produce has paid off handsomely. This is the ultimate American-style IPA which surfs waves of flavour, starting with orange and grape notes on the nose, a salty lick like a sea breeze through Norfolk Pines, a caramel caress before the oily resin of the hops is brushed away with a cleansing minerality and a long, clean bitterness. Bold enough to handle rich and spicy food, such as Moroccan lamb.

Who are these companies, what beers have they entered?

• New Zealand Beer Ltd (Auckland)
• The Fox Sporting Bar & Restaurant (Auckland)
• WilliamsWarn (Auckland)
• BrewStation (Auckland)
• Long White Cloud Brewing

COMMENTS HERE!!

MEDIA RELEASE

6 April 2016

Kiwi breweries fizzing for beer’s own “Olympics”

As the world’s best athletes finalise their preparations for this year’s Olympic Games, Kiwi brewers will be going for gold at their own Olympics, the World Beer Cup, in Philadelphia next month.

The biennial World Beer Cup, known as the “Olympics of Beer Competitions”, is the most prestigious beer competition in the world.  This year, 11 New Zealand breweries will compete against more than 2000 rivals from 63 countries for gold, silver and bronze medals.

The New Zealand breweries competing are:

• Epic Brewing Company (Auckland)
• Garage Project (Wellington)
• Harrington’s Breweries (Christchurch)
• LION (Auckland)
• Long White Cloud Brewing
• Moa Brewing Company (Marlborough)
• ParrotDog (Wellington)
• New Zealand Beer Ltd (Auckland)
• The Fox Sporting Bar & Restaurant (Auckland)
• WilliamsWarn (Auckland)
• BrewStation (Auckland)

Brewers Guild of New Zealand president Emma McCashin said New Zealand breweries were highly regarded by their international peers.

“New Zealand has an incredibly proud tradition and talent for brewing. Each year the quality and range of styles being produced in New Zealand is getting better and Kiwi brewers punch well above their weight at beer awards around the world.

“It’s no wonder that New Zealand is enjoying a golden era in brewing.”

The World Beer Cup was the pinnacle of brewing excellence, McCashin said.

“The World Beer Cup is pretty unique in that there are medals only for first, second and third in each category. When there are literally thousands of high-quality entries from around the world across 90 different categories, getting a medal means you’re a member of world brewing’s elite.”

Only three New Zealand breweries have tasted success at the World Beer Cup.

LION won silver with its Speight’s Triple Hop Pilsner in 2014, with Wellington’s Garage Project also picking up silver with its Cockswain’s Courage Double Barreled Edition Porter the same year. Monteith’s Black Beer won bronze in 2000.

But the stellar growth and development of New Zealand’s $2.2 billion beer industry meant more global success was already brewing.

“The beers being produced here are already considered among the world’s best. We’ve got tremendous talent among the thousands of people involved in the brewing industry, from malt and hops production right through to bottling and distribution.

“It’s not just the great-tasting beers New Zealand breweries produce, New Zealand hops is in huge demand overseas, particularly on the West Coast of the United States. What we’re seeing now are huge opportunities in Asia, which is the next big export frontier for Kiwi brewing.”

In addition to the New Zealand breweries competing, a record number of New Zealand brewing experts will be taking part at the event as judges: Kelly Ryan and Colin Mallon (Fork & Brewer, Wellington), Stephen Plowman (Hallertau, Auckland), Joseph Wood (Liberty Brewing, Auckland), Greig McGill (Brewaucracy, Hamilton), Brian Watson (Good George, Hamilton), Shane Morley (Steam Brewing, Auckland) and Geoff Griggs (beer writer, Blenheim).

For further information about the World Beer Cup: http://www.worldbeercup.org/

Craft beer industry growth fuelling demand for skilled brewers

Attracting and retaining highly-skilled brewers is the vital next step in continuing the growth trajectory of New Zealand’s brewing industry, says the Brewers Guild of New Zealand.

Already a $2.2 billion industry in this country, growth in the number of professional brewing operations has continued in response increasing thirst for Kiwi beer overseas.

That growth has put the heat on breweries to recruit and retain skilled personnel, said Brewers Guild president Emma McCashin.

“The number of professional brewing operations in New Zealand has almost trebled in the past five years, and beer exports have almost doubled.

“As the industry’s growth continues to trend upward, there’s definitely a pressing need and demand for more highly-skilled people throughout the value chain, starting with more professional brewers.

“There isn’t necessarily a skills shortage currently but there’s increasing pressure on breweries to recruit the people they need to grow their operations and meet demand for consistently excellent beer, as well as continuing to innovate and experiment.”

ANZ’s 2015 industry insight report showed the craft beer business had grown 40 per cent from 2014. Of New Zealand’s more than 100 craft breweries, a third were either readying for or already pursuing offshore market opportunities. The thirst for Kiwi craft beer continues to boom in the United States, while demand in Asian markets is tipped to grow 300% in the next decade.

Those New Zealand breweries with export aspirations would need to expand production to take advantage of the opportunities, said Mrs McCashin. The Brewers Guild was currently investigating a number of initiatives aimed at attracting more people to the industry.

“Craft brewing in New Zealand may have started out as a cottage industry but, in the past couple of decades, it’s grown into a highly sophisticated and valuable sector.

“To continue that trend and achieve the scale required by the industry, we need to get more highly-skilled people involved. We’ve already got some of the best brewers in the world making beer here and overseas, but we need even more of them to keep pace with growth.

“That involves finding ways to attract more people from food science, chemistry, microbiology and even engineering backgrounds.”

Given the global interest in beer and brewing, the professional opportunities were impressive, she said.

“Beer is by far the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world and consumer demand for premium beers in particular is growing at a phenomenal rate. With that comes strong demand for skilled New Zealand brewers from breweries all around the world.”

–END–

About the Brewers Guild of New Zealand

The Brewers Guild is a membership-based organisation established to grow the value and quality of New Zealand’s $2.2 billion beer sector.

The Guild’s mission is to grow the value and quality of the New Zealand beer sector and to act with vision for the future of the New Zealand brewing industry through education, training and communication.

The Guild organises New Zealand’s most prestigious annual beer awards, the Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards.

For more information visit http://www.brewersguild.org.nz/

Hop shortage could result in price rise for beer

Another year another hop shortage story. I wrote about this two years ago.

How many times is this topic going to be written about. Seems like every year now a different newspaper will run this story using local breweries.

I listed stories about hop shortages going back to 2009. Yes it was me in the article in 2009 moaning about not enough hops.

You know what I did, I started taking out longer contracts. Guess what? Now my hop shortages come down to not forecasting well enough on specific varieties.

I know it is particularly hard for start up breweries to get contracts. You have to start somewhere, so start today. All breweries should be contracting the hops they need. In New Zealand, NZ Hops will contract NZ grown and imported hops.

If you contract for longer, and if everyone could pay a little more (which can be passed on in the price of the beer), then growers will grow more.

Growers want to know they can cover the cost of committing to the risk of planting out new fields. If they can get a 5 year+ commitment at a good price then they will look at growing more, as well as investing more in infrastructure (such as pickers and dryers).

My question is how do brewers offer to pay enough, over what period to get hop growers to grow more?

If they take out other crops then does the shortage of this crop, say like blueberries in Yakima, cause the price to increase in blueberries resulting in a change back from hops to blueberries.

There is much caution from the growers to invest because if you go back to right before the start of this hop shortage because of the booming craft beer industry, price were so low. For example I was landing US grown Cascade hops in the brewery in Auckland for $8/kg. that was 2006. 10 years ago 1/3 of the hop acreage in the US had been pulled out. 10 years in the life of a farmer was yesterday. There need to be assurances to invest to grow more hops.

The answer to this is brewers need to commit to hop contracts for as long as they can and at the best price they can pay to secure the supply they need.

P.S. To all reporters/journos who think they might want to write an article about “the hop storage” in the future please talk to brewers with hop contracts, hop growers or Doug from NZ Hops. Get the real story, not some chicken little the sky is falling waffle.

Maybe a little research?

The Hop Market
So how should brewers think about the coming hops market, finding a proper balance between understanding the challenges that growers and dealers will face while not giving in to extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds (aka unfounded beliefs)?

How to Estimate for your Forward Hop Contracts – by Teri Fahrendorf
In conclusion, you now have the tools to accurately predict your current and future hop needs

Epic Brooklyn OTP (One Trick Pony) is the next in a series of single hopped IPA’s. The Brooklyn hop is a brand new release from NZ Hops, and was made commercially available in December 2015, with Epic being the first brewery to place and order and brew with it.

One Trick Pony beers all use the same recipe, and just replace the hop. The Brooklyn hop, as all the others before it (Zythos, Mosaic, Comet & Equinox) is added in three additions to the kettle, one addition in the whirlpool, and two dry hop additions. This results in a beer that showcase these new hops to their full potential.

There is a minor change beyond the hops, which is the ABV, it increases by 0.1% for each batch, kind of like a version number. So this new OTP beer Brooklyn is 6.4% abv

As with all One Trick Pony beers, there are no points of reference when brewing these new hops. The key is to smell and taste the hop and the beer as many times through the process as you can, to start learning its traits. The most interesting thing about the Brooklyn hop is it has a big orange peel character in the aroma, as well as the flavour. There are also tropical fruits, passionfruit and some grapefruit that you get from this new hop. This will likely become a new favourite hop for many brewers for late kettle hopping and dry hopping.

Epic Thunder APA 5.8%abv, is the first in a series of beers under the “Stone Hammer” name. (NOTE: This is a KEG ONLY beer)

The series has been inspired by our legendary Sales Manager – “Sten Thor Soren Hansen”. In some circles he is just referred to as “Thor”. So off the back of this we have named a series of beers we are releasing in 2016 after him. The first beer Thunder was originally called Sten, but he didn’t like that.

I won’t hint at the next beers in the series just yet, but you can look forward to something special coming soon.

What I will share is that Epic Thunder APA is driven by a massive amount of Mosaic hops. There is no way you are going to miss the huge aroma of passionfruit and ripe mango. Or these flavours as the hop oils envelops your tongue. As one person has already commented “this is the best new beer release in New Zealand in a long time”

The teaser video has had some great feedback too, and hope that it captures some of the attitude this beer has. [See video here]

The name Thunder (because we couldn’t use Sten) was actually chosen in the middle of the AC/DC concert in December, during the song Thunderstruck. Hence the choice of font. But after the news of Lemmy’s passing right after Christmas, and listening to a lot of Motorhead over the holidays, including the new Motorhead album Bad Magic, the song Thunder & Lightning has become the theme song for this beer as a tribute to Lemmy.

So here it is so you can give it a listen. Thunder & Lightning.

If you don’t know much amount Lemmy, you should check out the documentary – Lemmy.