from global internet ranking company Alexa that this site has just become one of the top ten beer blogs in the world.  Now, this blog has exclusively obtained two press releases breaking the biggest New Zealand beer stories of 2010.  They are reprinted in full without editorial comment.

Press Release – For Immediate Release
1 April 2010
Epic Brewing Company breaks the mould with a new beer for New Zealand.
Today, a brand-new beer is launched onto the New Zealand market with the Epic Brewing Company predicting it will be this year’s “must-have” brand.  The beer is Epic Pixie, an exciting new low-carbohydrate strawberry beer from multi-award winning brewer Luke Nicholas.

Luke explains the months of thinking, planning and clandestine brewing which have gone into developing Pixie –

 “My brewing style has always relied on hops – lots and lots of hops.  I’ve been best known for my exuberant, nay, arrogant use of hops.  Over the last five years I’ve poured literally hundreds of tons of hops into all my beers and, to be perfectly honest, I was getting really quite sick of them.  My Epic t-shirt just smelt like a hopsack all the time.  It was time for a complete change and so I have re-invented myself in the same way that Yoko Ono helped re-invent the Beatles.”

Epic Pixie is made with a “punnet load” of Chinese strawberries sourced directly from a South Auckland supermarket.  The fruit are added late in the boil to a secret lager base which Luke describes as “similar to Victoria Bitter but not quite as hoppy.”

Both the bottle and the label are neon pink which he describes as “innovative and just a little bit sexy”.  The beer is expected to sell particularly well in Newmarket and Gore, and Epic is considering exporting Pixie to San Francisco. Epic Pixie goes on sale today at selected outlets.

Press Release – For Immediate Release
1 April 2010
New Zealand brewers bare all for good cause

The men who make New Zealand’s best beer have agreed to let it all hang out for charity.  Organised and produced by the Brewer’s Guild, the “Men of New Zealand Brewing” calendar follows the successful path of the ‘Calendar Girls’ in Britain and a number of Australian sports teams by capturing a series of tasteful nude portraits utilising strategically placed props.  Demand is expected to be high and all proceeds go to a good cause.
The first to be photographed was Stephen Plowman from Hallertau who habitually brews in the nude.  “It’s just another facet of my epicurean lifestyle,” he explains.  “Brewing naked really does make a difference to the final product.  Some might call it insane, I call it flavour.”
Luke Nicholas from Epic is pictured wearing nothing but an impish smile and a small sprig of strategically placed US Cascade hops.  Three Boys’ Dr Ralph Bungard, always renowned as the thinking woman’s dreamiest brewer, preserves his modesty with two lemons and a coriander plant.

Some brewers chose not to use brewing implements.  Ron Trigg from Mike’s Organic Brewery is proudly pictured with a stuffed Springbok head while Martin Bennett preserved his English modesty with a pork pie.  “What’s that camera doing in my bedroom,” he memorably quipped during the photo shoot.

Country hunk Carl Vasta from Tuatara had to go to greater lengths to keep the calendar’s PG rating by ensuring he was at least partially obscured by a gigantic grain silo.  From the Deep South, Invercargill’s pride and joy Steve Nally looks even more huggable than usual in his possum skin gloves and matching posing pouch.

This year’s designated charity is the Cryermalt Charitable Foundation (Cayman Island LLC).

Cheers

Beer Writer
Real Beer New Zealand
Beer and Brewer Magazine

Links

Men of NZ Brewing Calander orders –  info@themalthouse.co.nz
Alexa – http://www.alexa.com/
John Key on Twitter – http://twitter.com/johnkeypm
Malthouse on Twitter – http://twitter.com/malthouse
Epic Brewing Company – http://epicbeer.com/
Brewers Guild – http://brewersguild.org.nz/ 
Hallertau – http://www.hallertau.co.nz/
Three Boys – http://www.threeboysbrewery.co.nz/
Tuatara – http://www.tuatarabrewing.co.nz/
Invercargill – http://www.invercargillbrewery.co.nz/
Wikipedia Page of the Day – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools’_Day
Malthouse Facebook Group – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wellington/Malthouse/7084276173
Real Beer – http://www.realbeer.co.nz/blog/blog.html
Beer and Brewer Magazine – http://www.beerandbrewer.com/