Editorial: Time to hop on the grain train

Photo / Thinkstock

Frankly, I'm still rueing the dark day in 2007 that Chris O'Leary, formerly of Limburg Brewery, left this province.

The Hastings brewer was the maestro behind the best beer ever fermented in this province - the outrageously flavoursome Hopsmacker Pale Ale.

Described as a full-bodied hop nose, hints of passionfruit, lychee and a cloudy malt swirl, it was all that and more. 'Twas the most glorious ale I've ever imbibed. A former home-brewer myself, it was revelatory to lift that first glass.

In brewers' parlance, Chris' departure from these parts was part of the grain drain.

Thankfully, our region's beerscape is looking up.

Namely, we're lucky to have a handful of craft breweries (the beer version of wine estates) producing a quality product in these parts. Two of them, Hawke's Bay Independent Brewery and Zeelandt Brewery, triumphed at the 8th annual Brewers Guild annual awards in Wellington last week, winning six and one medal respectively.

Thanks to these breweries, and pioneers like Chris, the days of watery session beers are but a distant memory. And kudos too to the local pubs - unfettered by allegiances to the big breweries - that offer taps to these smaller artisans.

The next step, surely, is to grow hops in this province. If it's good enough for Nelson, with its comparable climate, it's good enough for us.

Locally grown hops would afford the region's beer enthusiasts the right to brag as proudly about provenance as their grape counterparts.

When all the raw ingredients are ours, the product goes down much smoother.

What a luxury it'd be, as a province, to become a destination for both grape and grain.