Journals #28 and #29: Auckland
3/29/16-3/30/16
Cover Photo: “High Speed”
Sheep Spotted: 0
Today’s Photo: One Tree Hill in Auckland (Or as Ben the Bus Driver would say “No Tree Hill, since a protestor knocked down the only tree there”)
Nearly a month into my two-month trip! Madness…it seems like almost yesterday that I was arriving in Queenstown. Tomorrow is my last day in New Zealand- so I’ll use that entry to do a full recap of my month here.
Anyways- these past few days have gone super quick. The weather has been beautiful, so I’ve spending most of the day outside.
Yesterday (29th) I went to the Brothers Brewery, where I tried about 5 different beers. Brothers is a small microbrewery right in downtown Auckland (note: Kiwis refer to downtown as the “CBD” or “Central Business District”) and you can grab a table right outside and just drink and eat food- it’s pretty legit. That said, the beers I tasted were fairly average- I’ll post the (long overdue) Auckland beer review at the bottom of today’s blog.
Today (30th) I then took the Auckland Ferry out to Rangitoto (Rahn-gee-toh-toh) Island-which is the youngest volcanic Island in the area. It’s a beautiful green nature reserve just 30 minutes from the CBD. I did the “Summit Walk” which is about a 10km walk to the top of the Island.
Here’s what it looks like from the top of the Island:
Overall- it’s a good (but not great) hike. The biggest downside is the ferry times- it takes about 2.5-3 hours to fully explore the island, but the ferry comes every 2 hours with the earliest arrival being time 10am and the latest departure 3:30pm. So pretty much no matter what you have to decide between either cutting your tour short or spending longer than you want to on the island.
If you have the money you can charter a private vessel to drop you off (it cannot dock)- just keep in mind that there’s little to no cell phone reception on the island, so you’ll need to figure out a way to communicate with your boat captain.
Finally- as promised- here are my beer reviews from Auckland:
1) Behemoth “Dump the Trump” IPA: On the website: “We are going to make a huge wall of beer and make Mexico pay for it!” Lightly sweet, mostly bitter. Appropriately is slightly orange colored. Decent beer- I would give it a slightly above average rating in NZ.
2) Tuatara Belgian Tripel- “A Religious Experience”: Madness! I know- who would have thought a NZ based brewery with a Maori sounding name would create a beer that is traditionally (and still!) made in Belgian monasteries.
For the uninitiated- a Belgian Tripel is a strong ale that tastes like a heavier and smoother version of a Hefeweizen. Despite running at about 8.5-10%, the alcohol taste is basically invisible to the tongue because those crazy monks add a bunch Belgian candy sugar to the beer (hence the sweet taste). The bigger brother to the Tripel is called a “Quad” and the younger brother is called a “Dubbel.”
This version of a Tripel is decent- on the light end of the style at 8.5%, it sacrifices some of the sweetness for heavier flavors, meaning you can definitely feel the punch of the beer. Overall solid- would definitely drink again.
3) Moa “Festive” IPA: One of the more American tasting beers I’ve had in NZ (edit: I looked it up and does indeed use 100% American hops). Found it in a bomber at a local liquor store- gives the appropriate bitter kick at 6.5%. Goes down easy- overall solid beer.
4) Hobbiton Stout: In Hobbiton (the Lord of the Rings film set) you can have either a light ale or a stout. Being an upstanding beer drinker, I went with the stout. It was absurdly light- like a light version of Guinness. But it was free, so drink it if you’re there!
5) Wild and Wolly “Diplodocus IIPL”- I have no idea what this beer is. I looked it up online and apparently it’s supposed to be a lager with a bunch of hops (IIPL is apparently India (2x) Pale Lager). It actually works out pretty decently- the hop taste is light but nice and the beer goes down smoothly.
6) Choice Bros “Brewing on the Brain”: Light Peanut-butter ale. Is actually a light amber color (which I found surprising- most peanut butter beers seem to use dark roasts). Taste like a lightest ale with a peanut butter taste up front. Average
7) Behemoth Brewing 4 foot 5 Session IPA: Solid overall IPA. Nice and hoppy- goes down smooth. I ordered 2 of these.
8) Te Aro Grapfruit IPA: I have no idea who decided that Grapefruit should go in beers (looking at you Ballast Point) but it’s a bit of a microtrend right now in the craft beer scene. Full citrus taste with a big kick of hops- mostly grapefruit flavor on the way down. Personally I hate grapefruit, so I didn’t like this one that much.
9) Brothers Beer Wayfarer IPA: I’m convinced something happened to the keg on this one. Totally bizarre tasting- odd mixture of malt and hops. Did not like it.
10) Boundary Road “Flying Fortress” NZ Pale Ale: Light, sweet tasting Pale Ale. Decent- I actually bought a 6-pack of this, so it has been my goto light drinking beer.
Tomorrow is my last day in NZ, so expect a big recap!
-Morgan
