Bevan Read

Joe Wood at Liberty Brewing has created a classic example of a Kiwi-style Pilsner with Halo.

Three ways to tell a trend is underway:

1. Someone tells you about something.

2. Another person tells you the same thing.

3. Everyone is talking about it.

In this case, the something is Liberty Halo Pilsner.

First, a friend, who doesn't like hoppy beers, told me he'd been seeing it a lot of at restaurants, had started trying it and was really enjoyed. His wife was a convert too.

Second, a colleague in the office where I'm working, asked if I'd tried Liberty Halo ... well yes, of course.

Finally, a fellow by the name of Gordon Strong – one of the most influential figures in American home brewing (he is the only person to win the national home brew title three times) – mentioned in Liberty Halo, among others, in a piece he wrote for the August edition of BYO (brew your own) magazine.

And this is the real trend: the evolution of a unique beer style: New Zealand Pilsner which is almost perfectly exemplified by Halo.

A quick history lesson. Pilsner is a type of lager originating in the Czech city of Pilzn in the 19th century. It was defined by the use Czech hops on a light malt base.

This style of beer has dominated the world in the past 150 years and there are many Euro-variations of the style (think of most green-bottled international beers) which all rely on old-school European, or noble, hops.

Now, just as British style India Pale Ale got a radical remake at the hands of inventive America brewers from the 1980s on, Pilsner is undergoing a similar makeover after staying much the same for more than a century.

And the re-engineering is coming at the hands of Kiwi brewers, who are tweaking the beer away from noble hops (which have a spicy, grassy note) by using vibrant, fruity New Zealand hops.

These hops are known for their relatively low bitterness and great aroma and so the beer itself is changing, accentuating aroma and hop flavour but slightly dialling back the bitterness. Liberty Halo is the most obvious example – on a wide spectrum of interpretation – as it really pulls back the bitterness and emphasises aroma. It's a literal tropical fruit salad on the nose before finishing slightly sweet over bitter. 

In general, the bitterness in New Zealand Pilsner is soft rather than harsh, floral rather than spicy, but there's still a great range of bitterness and hop combos, with Panhead's Port Road Pils, for instance, taking on almost pale ale qualities with a more aggressive bitterness.

The general rule for New Zealand Pilsner is the use of hops that bring stone fruit, passionfruit, lime and fruit salad qualities as opposed to the more aggressive citrus, pine and grass qualities of American hops.

The genealogy of this style can be traced back to Emerson's Pilsner, which was first brewed around 15 years ago. It was the first Kiwi pilsner to break ranks and focus on the beauty of Kiwi hops.

Other great examples come from Croucher, Sawmill, Good George, Invercargill and Tuatara.

But if you want to be on trend, try saying hello to Halo.

Beernation.co.nz​

 - Your Weekend