Real ale a real treat for beer enthusiasts
BY ANGELA CROMPTON
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Beer
It took just 45 minutes for enthusiasts to drain a small barrel of hand-pumped beer, but every drop was savoured.
The crowd wasn't a large one at the Old Bank Cafe and Bar in Redwoodtown last night, but those who turned up enjoyed a rare occasion in a licensed premises – craft beer poured from the barrel.
Proprietor Mike Pink had some initial bad news: the barrel from an Upper Moutere brewery had sprung a leak earlier in the day and four litres of ale were lost.
"That's Peter's quota," one man laughed. "So he will be going home early!"
The reference was to wine writer Peter Morice. He likes an ale too and is one of the regulars at the Old Bank because it specialises in craft brews brewed in the top of the south. Locally produced food is also served and last night complimentary plates of grilled garlic mussels were finding their way to most tables.
Sitting at Mr Morice's table was beer judge and The Marlborough Express beer columnist Geoff Griggs. He explained that beer poured from a hand pump didn't have the carbon dioxide that was pumped into draught beer. Because its "fizz" came through natural fermentation, it was a "real ale", he said, and didn't leave people with the bloated feeling often experienced after drinking draught beer.
Mr Griggs guessed real ale had not been been poured for a long time in a Marlborough licensed premises. However, a friend had obtained a hand pump for a Dunedin bar.
At first, it was used one night a week, but its popularity prompted a second hand pump to be obtained. Finally, both hand pumps started operating seven days a week at the bar.
Mr Morice predicted Blenheim beer drinkers would gain a taste for real ale, but Mr Pink was keeping quiet about when his bar would have a hand pump again. The next novelty event for Old Bank patrons would be a home brew competition on November 26, he said.
- The Marlborough Express
