I’VE always found it strange that the UK, with its rich heritage of brewing, doesn’t have a regular publication devoted entirely to beer.
 I find it even more remarkable that France, a nation more commonly associated with wine, does. I discovered this last week when I met a French beer writer who was travelling around New Zealand to research a story about this country’s thriving craft brewing industry.
We crossed paths at New Zealand’s oldest pub, The Moutere Inn, which is set amongst vineyards and hop fields in Upper Moutere. Today Upper Moutere consists of a petrol station, a general store, a fish and chip shop and the pub, but it wasn’t always such a sleepy place. The area was first settled in the early 1840s by German immigrants who brought with them hop plants and grape vines. The settlers originally called the town Sarau, after a town in Germany, but anti-German feelings during WWI saw it renamed.
The town’s historic two-storey pub was built by Cordt Bennseman in 1850 and a second wing was soon added to create living quarters for his family. Cordt and his wife Anna would have needed the extra accommodation; they went on to have nine children!
The Moutere Inn is New Zealand’s oldest licensed premises to remain operating in its original building. That the structure remains almost intact today is due to the area’s declining fortunes. Electricity and telephone lines didn’t arrive until the late 1950s, so commercial pressures that saw other historic pubs demolished didn’t affect the inn, leaving it largely untouched.
The current owners took over in October 2008 and since then the pub has dispensed 119 beers from 32 New Zealand craft breweries. Offering a friendly welcome, good food and an exceptional selection of beers and other beverages, the pub now attracts a broad base of customers. With an ever-changing range of 13 craft beers and ciders - three of which are cask conditioned “real ales”, served by traditional handpumps - the pub should be an essential stop on any visiting beer tourist’s itinerary. Visiting beer lovers can sample the brews without having to drive afterwards by booking one of the pub’s rustic bedrooms.
With 13 of the nation’s 54 craft breweries and some of the country’s finest pubs and bars, the Nelson Marlborough region is attracting increasing numbers of beer-minded visitors. A new website has recently been set up specifically to cater for them.
The Top-of-the-South Craft Beer & Brewing Trail (www.beertourist.co.nz) opens up with a scale map of the region, stretching from Blenheim to Collingwood, with numbers indicating the locations of the breweries and some of the best places to enjoy craft beers.
By clicking on any of the numbers, or on the names and addresses below, the visitor is taken to the website of that particular brewery or beer outlet. It’s is an invaluable resource for those in search of a great pint – and visiting French beer writers.
Cheers!