Fork Brewing is a small brewery located inside the Fork & Brewer on Bond Street. The brewery took a little while to become operational after the pub opened due to a combination of technological and bureaucratic issues, but these days head brewer and fashion template Kelly Ryan (#brewjesus) is producing over 30 beers in a myriad of styles. Look, I own 5% of the venture and I am constantly surprised at the beers produced. I am also often outraged by the number of sour beers. Fortunately, Kel always makes at least one big IPA to placate me. His strategy works too.

Over 2018 Malthouse is celebrating the best in beer through monthly tap takeover events known collectively as “Project Silver”.  On 15 September 2018 Malthouse will host Project Silver – Operation Fork Brewing which will feature at least ten beers from Fork Brewing.

Because the Fork beers are brewed in small batches, the beer list is not totally finalised, but here is latest list to salivate over:

Strawberry Fields (5.6%) – Sour Brown Ale fermented with Pureed Strawberries. Personally, I think is an attempt to include all of my least favourite beer styles into one drop. I expect it will be hugely popular.

Big Burt (15.3%) – Barley Wine with Date Honey. Yep, you read that alcohol percentage correctly.

The Gods Must Be Crazy (7.0%) – Cola Sour Ale. Yep, you read that ingredient correctly. The name comes from the indie film in 1980 where one of the main plot points involved a Coca-Cola bottle falling from a plane into a remote region. Hilarity apparently ensued. I was probably too busy watching Chuck Norris movies.

Daily Bread (5%) – Rye Pale Ale – I remember when rye beers were rare because the grain was “too hard to brew with”. Now, they are appearing frequently. Brewers are wonderfully versatile and the rye brings in a pleasing graininess and, in my view, nuttiness.

Base Isolator (6.1%) – One of the longest running and best selling Fork beers is Base Isolator. The two facts may be co-related. For Project Silver it will be served from a nitro keg and there are only 20 litres available. The nitro beer version is smoother and slightly sweeter than the standard pour.

Wheat Beer – There is definitely going to be a Fork Brewing wheat beer but we are not definite what it will be. It could be:

Ma is White – (5.2%) – Belgian Witbier with New Zealand Botanicals OR

Long Wheat Cloud (5%) – Hefeweizen OR

Stormchaser (5%) – Dunkelweizen.

If I had a vote, which I don’t, I’d go with Ma is White for the creative use of botanicals. It would also enrage Germans who still follow the Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Laws) and annoying Germans is always fun. [1]

Methode in Madness (7.5%) – Brut IPA. Named after the famous wine style, this complicated and rare beer is quite sweet yet fruity and dry – all at the same time.

Bohemian Hipster (5%) – New Zealand Pilsner. This is another cornerstone of the Fork range but it has been tweaked for Project Silver. Be sure to ask for “Batch 332” when ordering as a new malt variety was used and it’s (in the brewer’s words) “DELICIOUS”. This is one of the best Pilsners in the country for me.

Nitro or Handpull – There are more options for this tap including:

Burton Ernie (6.3%) – Burton Ale. An old British ale style given a modern twist OR

Parallel Importer (4.8%) – Porter. This was created in collaboration with British brewery Hawkshead OR

Bit A (4.1%) – English Pale Ale. Inspired by beers Kelly brewed in Britain and our own Emerson’s Bookbinder, But A has a firm malt biscuit body, some citric hops and a smooth bitterness OR

Miso Stout (4.2%) – A stout made with miso for a savoury edge.

Again, if I had a vote, which I still don’t, I’d go for Bit A but I expect the Miso Stout to be popular because not many people would have tried the style before. To be honest, I did not even know it was a style before.

Simcode (7%) – Strong American Pilsener. This is another Fork beer made to placate me for all the strawberries, miso and Fru Ju in their other brews. [2] It showcases Simcoe hops with the traditional notes of pine needle, lime and patriotism. It is one of my favourites of the range.

In related news, Fork beers are starting to appear in bars and supermarkets under the new Fork Brewcorp brand. These beers are created at Fork Brewing and then contract brewed for a much wider distribution. The theme is based on a 1980s office environment, and the packaging and merchandise are distinctive and amazing. Few visitors to Beervana could have missed Colin the Handsome yet Softly Spoken Scottish Proprietor in his retro office and super tight suit. [3] Give them a go.

The title of this blog comes from Joel Salatin, an American farmer and author. The longer quote is:

“There’s a short chain between field and fork, and the shorter that chain is – the fresher, the more transparent that system is.”

Next time we drink to the victims of 9/11. It was truly a dark day in human history.

[1] I am anticipating some correspondence on this claim.

[2] Let us remember these are all real things.

[3] It rumoured he did not need to buy a new suit to play this role…

Cheers

Neil Miller

Beer Writer

Cuisine Magazine

TheShout Magazine

Links

Project Silver – Operation Fork Brewing Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/events/523418234785216/

Malthouse Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/malthouseNZ/

Malthouse Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/malthouse

Malthouse Taps on Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/MalthouseTaps

Neil Miller on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/#!/beerlytweeting