(AND ONE IN TWENTY/11)

VIP YOURSELF AT THE NORTHERN KNIGHTS TWENTY/20 MATCHES AT BLAKE PARK THIS SUMMER

Moa Beer and Weka Cider will be flowing at the Northern Knights Twenty20 matches at Blake Park this summer, and some of the Moa team, including the tall, dark and handsome Daryl Tuffey, will be there hosting some VIPs in the Moa tent.

To be in with a chance to win VIP tickets to the Moa tent, email Jeremy@moabeer.co.nz with your appeal, so he can refer it to umpire Tuffey for a final decision.  6 x Moa VIP tickets to the Knights 31st of December match are up for grabs, as well as 2 x Moa VIP tickets to each of the Knights matches on 4th, 5th and 8th of January.  Written appeals will be reviewed, but video appeals will provide umpire Tuffey with additional evidence to assist in accurate decision-making. Full terms and conditions and other boring stuff below. But before you read that enjoy this, our boundary signage. Ah cricket humour, you gotta love it.

Terms and Conditions: The promoter of the VIP YOURSELF competition (“Competition”) is Moa Brewing Company Limited (“Moa”).  The Competition commences 23 December 2011 and closes 30 December 2011 (“Competition Period”).  The Competition is open to anyone 18 years of age who completes the entry during the Competition Period.  Moa and its employees and their immediate families are ineligible to win a prize.  Moa reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to exclude any entries that fail to meet the entry criteria.  Moa also reserves the right to disqualify any person for tampering with the entry process.  Moa is not responsible or liable for any late, lost or misdirected entries or for any problems which may result in delay or failure to enter the draw.  Prize winners will win VIP tickets to the Moa hospitality tent.  6x Moa VIP tickets to the Knights 31 December match are up for grabs, as well as 2x Moa VIP tickets to each of the Knights matches on 4,5, and 8 January.  Winners will be drawn on 30 December 2011.  Winners will be contacted via email and/or phone on 30 December 2011 and must accept the prize by 31 December 2011 otherwise their prize will be forfeited and another winner will be drawn.  The prize is not transferable or exchangeable and are not redeemable for cash.  The decisions of Moa on all matters relating to this Competition are final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Moa is entitled, in its absolute discretion, to change these terms and conditions without notice (including without limitation substituting any of the prize offered with a prize that it believes is of similar value or benefit) or to cancel the Competition at any time without prior notification.  No claim may be made against Moa or any of its agents, contractors, employees or other representatives in connection with such change or cancellation.  To the extent permitted by law, Moa excludes any liability or loss arising directly or indirectly with the Competition.  By entering the Competition, you consent to Moa publishing your entry and name for promotional and media purposes without any further reference, payment or other compensation.  You also consent to receiving information about Moa Beer and any special offers or promotions run by Moa.  Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Moa Beer and Weka Cider will be flowing at the La De Da New Year’s Festival in Martinborough and some of the Moa team will be there to ensure everyone has a sweet time (especially Moir Laird, our Facebook comp winner).

BEAST BOUNTY

We will also be unleashing some giant beasts on the festival in honour of the giant Moa (dinornis giganteus). This will be in the form of photo backdrops. Hunt these beasts down, shoot them (with your camera/phone) and you could be rewarded with FREE MOA BEER (if you win).

Simply upload your photo to Facebook, tag yourself and tag MOA BEER. The best photo as judged by the Moa team will win 10 cases of Moa Beer. Full terms and conditions and other boring stuff below.

Terms and Conditions: The promoter of the Moa Beast Bounty (“Competition”) is Moa Brewing Company Limited (“Moa”).  The Competition commences 30 December 2011 and closes 01 January 2012 (“Competition Period”).  The Competition is open to anyone 18 years of age who complete the entry during the Competition Period.  Moa and its employees and their immediate families are ineligible to win a prize.  Moa reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to exclude any entries that fail to meet the entry criteria.  Moa also reserves the right to disqualify any person for tampering with the entry process.  Moa is not responsible or liable for any late, lost or misdirected entries or for any problems which may result in delay or failure to enter the draw.  The prize winner will receive ten cases of Moa Original beer. The winner will be drawn on 09 January 2012.  The winner will be contacted via email on 09 January 2012 and must claim the prize by 31 January 2012 otherwise their prize will be forfeited and another winner will be drawn.  The prize is not transferable or exchangeable and are not redeemable for cash.  The decisions of Moa on all matters relating to this Competition are final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Moa is entitled, in its absolute discretion, to change these terms and conditions without notice (including without limitation substituting any of the prize offered with a prize that it believes is of similar value or benefit) or to cancel the Competition at any time without prior notification.  No claim may be made against Moa or any of its agents, contractors, employees or other representatives in connection with such change or cancellation.  To the extent permitted by law, Moa excludes any liability or loss arising directly or indirectly with the Competition.  By entering the Competition, you consent to Moa publishing your name for promotional and media purposes without any further reference, payment or other compensation.  You also consent to receiving information about Moa Beer and any special offers or promotions run by Moa.  Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

As their website boosts “there’s an energy and passion about Depot. Not overly precious or pretentious – just fast, fun and fresh.”

It’s chef Al Brown’s place and reflects perfectly his attitude towards food: in season, beautifully cooked, to be enjoyed with friends.

The founder of Moa Beer Josh Scott and Marketing man Sunil Unka recently took the opportunity to sit down with Al and some of his team, Kyle Street, Joe Williams and Catherine Cordwell to Moa-match the succulent offerings.

MOA BREAKFAST  – DEPOT BACON & EGG DOONA

Depot is “open since 7am” and this combination gets the day started off on the right foot.

Soft pillow like white bun, free range (Frenz SPCA approved) egg, Mahy farms bacon – double pressed pork belly and Al’s signature recipe cherry relish – cherries, fresh ginger, spice (Chinese Five Spice) and sherry vinegar.

A refreshing and fruity lager made with a blend of premium wheat malt, floral Nelson hops and cherries.

The spice and fruit in the relish matches the beer well. Devoured rapidly with sticky fingers this is the ultimate Breakfast of Champions.

MOA BLANC — DEPOT KINGFISH SASHIMI W/ ORONGO BAY OYSTER CREAM, APPLE & TOASTED FENNEL SEED

New Zealand is blessed with exquisite bounty from the sea and no one appreciates this more than Al Brown.

Sweet and clean line caught Kingfish, small-plump and creamy Orongo Bay (Russell) oysters, infused cream with sherry shallots. Granny smith apple providing a crisp-tart finish, with toasted Fennel adding floral notes.

A wheat beer brewed using a blend of 65% wheat malt and 35% barley malt which results in an elegantly smooth beer, with hints of spice and uplifting esters.

The creamy fatty notes of the kaimoana compliment the beer majestically.

MOA ORIGINAL — SKIRT STEAK W/ TOBACCO ONIONS & HABANERO MUSTARD

It wouldn’t be Kiwi cuisine without a slab of beef.

Juicy skirt steak, cut from the plate of a steer. Chargrilled to produce flavoursome smoky notes. Tobacco spice (smoked paprika, flour, salt, black pepper) fired onions and another one of Al’s signature touches a habanero mustard. Made with NZ habanero chilies from “Orcona Chillis ‘N Peppers”.

A classically brewed lager created from a blend of New Zealand premium malts and Nelson hops. Moa Original shows an array of smooth velvety characters on the palate but also has a refreshing floral nose.

The crisp smoky flavours are reminiscent of “bar food” and the sweet hot spiciness is nicely tempered by the beer.

Photos by: Ruth Keber
http://www.fotovisura.com/user/Ruthanne/
http://ruthkeber.wordpress.com/

THE MODERN MAN’S GUIDE TO ETIQUETTE (ACCORDING TO MOA BEER)

Part two of the ongoing series for Denizen magazine, by the founder of Moa Beer Josh Scott.

The first Christmas with my girlfriend and her family, she got me a cool pair of boardies, I then gave her my gift in front of her parents and said “I hope I know you as well as you know me”.  I got her a tiger outfit, handcuffs and a whip.  It was the only time I had ever seen her go bright red and be rendered speechless.  It was a good result and the relationship was swiftly terminated – such is the power of the perfect gift.

So for what it’s worth my gift to you this Christmas is some gift giving advice that I’ve found to be particularly useful over the years and I hope you do too.

TIP ONE:  Never give your Mother a better gift than the one your Father has given her.   Your Dad has to work a lot harder than you to win your Mothers approval.  He gets in trouble for not separating the recycling correctly.  You, on the other hand, can still get away with running over the cat.  So if you upstage your Dad on the 25th do not expect him to bail you out of any financial difficulty for at least the next 12 months.  Dads totally buy into the revenge/dish served cold ethos.

TIP TWO:  Always give your sister something completely inappropriate.  Girls are bought up differently from boys, they learn social skills and seem happy to apply them whenever possible.  Because of this they will instinctively be over appreciative of whatever crap you decide to give them as a gift.  Turn this into a game with your brothers for your own amusement.  See who can get the worst gift to be proudly displayed on her mantlepiece for the longest amount of time.  Interestingly my sister currently has a monkey playing guitar on her kitchen shelf and it’s not the one I gave her in 2008 as my older brother stole it sometime that year.  So she has actually gone out of her way to replace a gift she hates just so she doesn’t offend me.  Brilliant.

TIP THREE:  To impress a new girlfriend get your sister to find the gift.  Your sister will slave over this task for weeks – weirdly she will attach her entire feelings of self worth to choosing something perfect for someone she doesn’t even know for no direct benefit to herself. I don’t know why this happens.  It’s a huge fault in the feminine psyche but also very useful.

TIP FOUR:  Brothers don’t get jack. Seriously.  The only thing your brother requires from you is to lie for him three or four times a year to get him out of trouble with A.) A wife/girlfriend  B.) An employer/member of the IRD C.) A representative of the legal system.  Exchanging wrapped gifts with brothers is awkward at best and the sooner you all recognise that amongst yourselves the better.  The only exception to this rule is the giving of a dead animal that you have just caught/shot.  That’s perfectly fine.

TIP FIVE:  Prime your long-term partner for the ‘us gift’.  If you’ve been with your partner for a while you may be ready to take it up a notch and start investing in ‘us gifts’. An ‘us gift’ is a gift that you pool your money together to buy for each other.  This is a brilliant strategy for getting the things you actually want and also getting your partner to help pay for them.  Traditional ‘us gifts’ include a boat, a motorbike or a trip to the F1 in Melbourne.  The secret to the ‘us gift’ is to start selling it in at least six months in advance by using key female trigger-words.  When describing a boat don’t make the mistake of justifying it with it’s actual purpose (fishing, preferably not with her), instead talk about gliding through the glassy water on a moonlit night in search of the perfect harbour to share a glass of pinot.  Preferably with her.  Similarly Melbourne is all about shopping and restaurants.

TIP SIX:  Christmas is all about the children.  No one likes a Grinch, especially children, so no matter how you’re feeling on Christmas morning make sure you go out of your way for the kids.  Most likely it’s the one day of the year that has the most impact on them so make sure you’re the star attraction.  They will always remember you because of it and in your twilight years you’ll want to trade on that whenever you need stuff shifted.

Right-oh, that’s all.

Merry X

Unlike most of New Zealand who went straight to the drinks cabinet to toast New Zealand’s rugby win, your dedicated Moa team headed down to the shop floor to brew up a celebratory batch they’re calling the ‘Four More Years’ beer.

The Four More Years beer is brewed like a Moa Imperial Stout, infused with Guatemala coffee beans, then added to French barriques for extended maturation.

Moa founder Josh Scott says the beer was not only inspired by the All Blacks’ triumph over the French but also looks ahead to future ABs’ wins at the 2015 World Cup.

“Because the next World Cup is in the UK, we thought a stout was fitting. Plus, it’s big and black like our team – and at 10.11% ABV, it packs a punch equivalent to Jerome Kaino in a crash tackle.

“Given we had France over a barrel, the French barriques are appropriate, and the coffee is a nod to the fact Kiwis will all be getting up early or staying up late to watch the next Cup in 2015.”

Josh says Moa selected the coffee beans after a cupping (tasting) session with boutique Marlborough roasting company CPR Coffee.

“As with beer, there’s a huge difference between good and bad coffee beans. Our cupping session not only helped turn us into proper coffee snobs but, more importantly, it ensured we got the finest quality beans that best fitted our beer.

“The Guatemala beans were chosen because of their low bitterness levels, high aromatics, chocolate aromas and low oil content.”

The Four More Years beer will be lovingly stored in the Moa cellar until 2015, when it will be bottled in 500 750ml bottles, as well as 1.5 litre Magnums, 3 litre Jeroboams and – to ensure there’s plenty to go around at the victory party – 6 litre Methusalahs.

Moa plans to design and unveil the label in 2015, with each bottle numbered and signed by Josh Scott and Moa master brewer David Nicholls.

Fans will have to wait until at least 2013 to place their order… although bribes will be accepted in advance for a place on the waiting list.

MOA ‘FOUR MORE YEARS’ NOTES

Style: French oak aged and Guatemala coffee infused imperial stout.

Tasting notes: Big robust beer. Like a gutsy red wine. Rich dark roasted malt and leather characters, all infused with a delicate coffee aroma that exudes a typical freshly roasted coffee and handmade chocolate flavour.

10.11% Alc.

WIN SIX TICKETS TO LA DE DA

Register with Moa Beer and you and five mates could be punching it out at the La De Da New Year’s Festival in Martinborough.

La De Da is back following the success of the inaugural festival last year with a killer line up including Six60, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Kora, Kids of 88, Donavon Frankenreiter, Katchafire, GZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Zowie, Mt Eden, Computers Want Me Dead and more!

The winner will also snaffle six 1.5L magnum bottles of Moa Beer, six Moa t-shirts, six Moa glasses and six Moa leather coasters. Simply enter your details on Facebook to go in the draw.

By entering your email address you agree to receive occasional, random, mildly entertaining and slightly educational email newsletters from Moa Beer. We reckon they’ll be cool, but if you think they’re stink you can unsubscribe at any time.

For tediously boring legal guff see the full Terms and Conditions below.

Terms and Conditions: The promoter of the Moa Beer New Year’s Experience (“Competition”) is Moa Brewing Company Limited (“Moa”).  The Competition commences 15 November 2011 and closes 04 December 2011 (“Competition Period”).  The Competition is open to anyone 18 years of age who complete the entry form during the Competition Period.  Moa and its employees and their immediate families are ineligible to win a prize.  There is a limit of one entry per person.  Moa reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to exclude any entries that fail to meet the entry criteria.  Moa also reserves the right to disqualify any person for tampering with the entry process.  Moa is not responsible or liable for any late, lost or misdirected entries or for any problems which may result in delay or failure to enter the draw.  The prize winner will receive six General Release tickets to the La De Da New Year’s Festival 2011, a case of Moa Methode magnums (6 x 1.5L), a set of Moa leather coasters, a set of Moa glasses, and x 6 Moa t-shirts. The winner will be drawn on 05 December 2011.  The winner will be contacted via email on 05 December 2011 and must claim the prize by 16 December 2011 otherwise their prize will be forfeited and another winner will be drawn.  Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable and are not redeemable for cash.  Additional costs incurred by the prize winner in the fulfillment of the prize, including but not limited to travel to and from the event, accommodation and/or incidentals, are not included and are the responsibility of the prize winner. The decisions of Moa on all matters relating to this Competition are final and no correspondence will be entered into.  Moa is entitled, in its absolute discretion, to change these terms and conditions without notice (including without limitation substituting any of the prizes offered with a prize that it believes is of similar value or benefit) or to cancel the Competition at any time without prior notification.  No claim may be made against Moa or any of its agents, contractors, employees or other representatives in connection with such change or cancellation.  To the extent permitted by law, Moa excludes any liability or loss arising directly or indirectly with the Competition.  Moa collects your personal information in order to conduct the Competition, for its internal research purposes and for promotional and publicity purposes, and will hold such information about you in accordance with its obligations under the Privacy Act 1993.  You have the right to access, update and correct such information.  If the information requested in the entry form is not provided, the entrant will not be eligible to participate in the Competition.  By entering the Competition, you consent to Moa publishing your name for promotional and media purposes without any further reference, payment or other compensation.  You also consent to receiving information about Moa Beer and any special offers or promotions run by Moa.  Entry into the Competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

You may or may not have heard of Weka Cider.

If you have heard of it, you may or may not have seen Weka Cider.

If you have seen it, you may or may not have tried Weka Cider.

If you have tried it, you may or may not have known Weka Cider comes in two variants – Apple and Pear.

If you did know that, you may or may not have known that Weka Cider is actually made by Moa Beer.

Depending on your responses to the above, the following may or may not be of interest to you. The branding, labels and packaging for Weka Cider has changed.

We have also created an ad for Weka Apple Cider:

THE WEKA STORY…

Back in 2006 Josh Scott, the founder of Moa Beer, decided to make some cider as not that many people were buying his beer. And so he created Weka Cider. This came in two varieties – apple and pear.  The reason for this was because in New Zealand apples and pears were grown in abundance and the government department that was established to sell them wasn’t doing that flash a job so you could get them really cheaply unlike plums, cherries and apricots that didn’t have any government help and were therefore selling quite well. Anyway as it turned out this new Weka Cider didn’t sell that well either because no one had heard of it and it didn’t come in a plastic flagon like all the other brands. Also it was a bit more expensive as it actually contained apples and pears.

But even though it wasn’t selling that well Josh Scott continued to make it and now he sells quite a lot of it. So there’s probably some sort of lesson there for all of us. Another lesson is not to think you’re going to make a killing by growing either apples or pears in New Zealand. Because you’re just not.

Moa Beer has become New Zealand’s first craft beer to be sold in duty free stores.

The Marlborough craft beer is now being stocked in JR / Duty Free stores at Auckland Airport Arrivals and Departures, ranged alongside the champagne and premium spirits sections.

Moa General Manager Gareth Hughes says the JR / Duty Free deal is huge news for the brewery.

“We know the powerful impact duty free stockists have on liquor sales and product consideration, so we couldn’t be in a better place than the JR / Duty Free stores at the nation’s busiest airport.

“It’s the first time a craft beer has been offered in duty free in New Zealand and, we’re told, the world – we’re excited to be blazing the trail and hope more of our craft colleagues will follow.

“It’s great news for us because it introduces our brand to travellers who might otherwise not have had an opportunity to sample Moa.  It’s also great news for travellers because they can get decent beer when they arrive on or take off from our shores.”

Kate Gorman, General Manager, JR / Duty Free Australia & NZ, says the company has been delighted to partner with Moa, a brand she believes fits the bill perfectly for duty free shoppers.

“Our customers love products that represent a little piece of New Zealand for gifting to friends and family, or as souvenirs. They also enjoy products that feel unique and exclusive, something they can’t necessarily buy everywhere on the high street. As a premium craft beer that’s undeniably Kiwi, Moa ticks all these boxes.

“Moa also provides a more engaging experience on the shop floor, which ties in with our philosophy of surprise and delight for our customers. Its quirky point of sale has a point of difference and immediately creates attention.

“This is backed up by the extensive training Moa provides, which ensures all of our team are true Moa advocates and who can offer our customers knowledgeable, personalised service.”

To cater for the different shopping patterns of Arrivals and Departures customers, different Moa products are ranged in each location.

“Because Arrivals customers are after immediacy and convenience, we’ve ranged Moa 750ml bottles and triple packs so they can grab and go,” Gareth Hughes says.

“Departures customers, on the other hand, have more time to browse and make more considered purchases for gifting or souvenirs – such as our Moa magnums.”

Roger Winnewisser, General Manager Sales & Buying NZ, JR / Duty Free, says Moa is likely to be stocked in JR / Duty Free’s Wellington and Christchurch Airport stores before Christmas.

“Our people have been so enthusiastic about the Moa partnership that they’ve told us they want the product in their stores. We’ve been delighted to work with the Moa team so far and look forward to extending our offering.”

Moa Beer is available at JR / Duty Free Stores at Auckland Airport Arrivals and Departures in 1.5l magnums, 750ml single bottles and triple-packs. Customers can mix and match their triple packs from the four Moa Estate range variants.

News articles:
M2
NZ Herald

This is the latest Moa Beer print ad which will appear in M2, IdeaLog and Denizen in October-November-December 2011:

Belgium is located in exactly the part of Europe that no one ever thinks about going to and is known mainly as a popular venue for wars between non-Belgians over things that have nothing to do with Belgium. The most famous being World War 1, World War 2 and the Battle of Waterloo, which is now marked by an enormous pile of dirt topped with a copper lion from which a terrific view of some nearby council housing can be had.  It also features an interactive visitors centre where you can buy toy French soldiers and watch a surreal film about some small children running through a hay paddock.

Interestingly, despite its violent past, Belgium is still the only country in the world that has more soldiers than actual guns to give them, so whenever there’s any sort of military parade half the army carry replicas. It’s as if the military in Belgium consider showing too much force as being somewhat impolite so the front line of Belgium’s defense is actually bureaucracy.  The making of an apparently simple task rather less straightforward by positioning carefully drafted bits of paper between the subject and their desired object is a Belgian art form and the main defender of its borders.  Not that you’d want to invade Belgium anyway as its only natural resource seems to be piles of bricks.

Generally speaking, Belgium is a pretty safe country with most of the crime taking place at enormously high levels and involving horrifyingly large scale corruption and swindling, all of which leaves the citizens on the street less well-off but otherwise fairly unharmed. Strangely however the process of taking into one’s possession a bicycle that is actually owned by a known or unknown person other than oneself is not actually a crime and is almost encouraged. It also has a King called Albert who’s just an ordinary guy that likes to party and also happens to live in a big house and be on almost all the Belgian stamps.

Not that anyone goes out of their way to collect Belgian stamps as most Belgians are highly embarrassed about coming from Belgium in the first place and feel a need to hyphenate their nationality to other nations as a way to compensate.  There’s no such thing as a ‘Belgian’ as the country is made up of people calling themselves French-Belgians, Dutch-Belgians, German-Belgians and misc-others. There are officially four national languages but depending on which part of Belgium you’re in, people will pretend to not understand the three that are not associated with their adopted hyphenated ancestry.  This internal ‘war of languages’ came to an interesting head last year when the newly elected Belgian Prime Minister chose to sing the National Anthem of France rather then the Belgian one at his swearing in, which, of course, caused quite a ruckus and made parliament promptly collapse. The upshot of which is that Belgium has been running now without an actual government for over a year (beating the previous world record holder, Iraq, by over 200 days).  Weirdly, this doesn’t seem to have had any impact on Belgium at all, mainly because of Belgium’s preoccupation with their one true talent, the making and consumption of over 1,400 different brands of beer.

In Belgium beer is the very essence of the land, the blood of the nation. Beer is something that Belgians have perfected over hundreds of years thanks to generations of intense contemplation by silent orders of monks and atrocious weather. For some reason it’s served in a variety of peculiarly shaped drinking receptacles – not all of them that practical – which adds to the novelty.

We’ve been over to Belgium lots and quite like the place so it’s probably no surprise that Moa St Josephs is brewed in the traditional style of a classic Belgian Tripel where “strong spice and clove characters create complex flavours and aromas which are heightened by its extended bottle conditioning” (thanks Wikipedia).  French-Belgians who have sampled Moa St Josephs say that it is on a par with their own Belgian Tripels and infinitely superior to the Belgian Tripels made by the Dutch-Belgians. Somewhat predictably the Dutch-Belgians say the same thing but in reverse, while the German-Belgians just complain about how crap everything is now thanks to Greece.  So who knows.

I just think it’s funny that Belgium only has two famous residents, Inspector Poirot and Tintin, neither of whom actually exist.

The NBR New Zealand Opera has announced its 2012 Season, revealing an exciting and diverse programme for audiences.

Three operas will be staged in 2012: two main stage productions in Auckland and Wellington – a new production of Verdi’s much-loved Rigoletto, and Smetana’s comic masterpiece The Bartered Bride; and Hōhepa, a new opera, having its world première at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington.

At the 2012 Season launch event, Moa Beer was also revealed as a new sponsor of the NBR New Zealand Opera, and the occasion was marked with a song by the Opera Chorus about drinking beer.

Photos by: Ruth Keber