June 24, 2024 • 6 mins
Our weekly beer chat - This week covering some 0% beer ahead of Dry July.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
From the cricket field to the cow shed. It's the
Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on Gold Sport.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Two three, A long time ago, way back. Well they
to drink while Anna Wonder.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Joining us now is the editor of beer magazine The
Pursuit of Happiness, as well as the author of a
number of beer books. Michael Donaldson Morning, Michael, Morning, Brian. Today,
with dry July looming not that far away this time
next week it'll be dry July, let's touch on non
alcoholic beers that are available now. The first thing I
(00:49):
want to ask you is, you know I haven't drunk
a lot of them. Do you still get the taste
of real beer from them?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
You do?
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Like?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
This is the major break through in this area has
come in the last two or three years really and
a little bit. It started with the popularity of Heineken Zero.
I have to say that sort of came in around
COVID time, around twenty twenty, and it pretty much resembles
normal Heineken. You know, it's got the same taste profile.
(01:19):
But anyway, what's come hand in hand with that, it's
just a whole lot of technological advances that have allowed
brewers especially craft brewers who do a different method than
the big breweries to kind of get really decent beer.
Tasting beer, it's you know, you're never going to be
(01:39):
completely satisfied. I think if you want to go looking
to peck holes in a non alcoholic beer, you'll find them.
But if you take it for what it is, I
find them incredibly satisfying, to be honest. Yeah, just the
advances in the as I say, the technology, the yeasts
that they use, the malt, the way they use the
whole they create. There's some terrific beers out there. There,
(02:04):
really are.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
If you were doing a blind tasting test on if
you lined up, say three or four different brands and
tried them, could you tell the non alcoholic from the
one with the alcohol?
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Well, it's interesting you should say that. I actually did
that recently with another guy. He didn't know much about beer,
and it was one of the ones from the New
World Beer Insider Awards and the Epic zero Super Zero
the beer is called. Was in the line up against
a whole lot of others and he couldn't pick it
what he got it down to two, but he went
(02:37):
the wrong way. He's another radio guy. He's in your
line of work called Clint. I think he's on one
of the ZM stations or something, if we're allowed to
say that. Yeah, anyway, it was fascinating to kind of
like he was like, no way, and so yeah, I
think I could because I know there are sort of
(02:57):
little signatures that some of them have, but honestly, you know,
if you didn't know, you could be fooled by a
lot of them. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So on the craft being the local craft bearing front,
there are quite a few available now.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Oh there are heaps. All the big breweries have at
least one non ELK and the one I wanted to
talk about is a brewery that only does only does
non alcoholic pairs. So it's called State of Play and
it was started by a guy called Grant Cornter. And
(03:34):
Grant he started out with dB back in the nineties.
He was down in the work for them down in
the South Island. He went up through the ranks. He
was working for Heineken in Europe and he was head
of their kind of craft division in Europe. And by
his own admission, and this is all over his website
and his Instagram and all that, I think he think
he weighed one hundred and forty kilos when COVID struck,
(03:59):
and he decided it was going to be a moment
to change his life. And here's a guy wh's been
in beer all his life and he gave up drinking
and yeah, and he started walking and he lost something
like forty five kilos in a year, and and he's
now like this. You know, he is the preacher of
(04:20):
his own gospel. And he's the shining example of what
you can do when you put your mind to it.
And you know, and he's I think he's off to
Europe soon to walk. You know. What was it called
the caminoum eight hundred k's or something ridiculous. And he
loves to put up photos of old Grant and new Grant,
you know. And and he's a real spokesman for the
(04:42):
non alcoholic movement. And there are a lot of people
who are really what's the word, they've got a religious
fervor about it, you know, white people, you know, the converts,
and they gave up smoking, you know, the reform smokers
were always the the ones who campaigned the hardest, you know.
(05:04):
And so he came back here from Europe and decided
to take a risk on making a non alcoholic brand.
And he's got three beers and you can buy them
in a mixed six pack. There's an I p A
which is sort of nicely hoppy, little bit sweet, pretty nice.
There's a hazy beer, which is really good. I think
(05:28):
it's you know, got lots of flavor in it and
ginger lime and honey ale and they all taste great.
And you know, I think it's a he's hitting and
I think he's two and a bit years he's been
at it now, and you know, he's kind of picked
his moment to enter the market with a non elk brand,
(05:51):
and he's doing pretty well. And it's you know, for
people who are curious about what you can get, his
brand's not a bad starting point because it's totally focused
on nine elks and there are three different types of beers,
so you can kind of go, yeah, like that one,
didn't like that one. I might buy a six pack
of this one kind of thing. You know. It was
a good way to explore what's out there, really, all.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Right, So the beers a look out for is the
state of play.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
State of play. Yeah, and as he would say, check
your own state of play, you know where are at
with the health and all that. You know. I like
talking to him because he ses good, you know. In
that regard, it's all about, you know, being a better person.
As he said, drive July is me months.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Perfect time to try it, Michael. Always good to catch up, mate,
Have a good one all right.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Hey, thanks Brian, appreciate them.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Charlie MUCKs one yeah, three wow, great song beer beer beer.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
And there we are with Dryjr. Lie Looming. Hands up
those that are doing and I might
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Actually do it.
From the cricket field to the cow shed. It's the
Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on Gold Sport.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Two three, A long time ago, way back. Well they
to drink while Anna Wonder.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Joining us now is the editor of beer magazine The
Pursuit of Happiness, as well as the author of a
number of beer books. Michael Donaldson Morning, Michael, Morning, Brian. Today,
with dry July looming not that far away this time
next week it'll be dry July, let's touch on non
alcoholic beers that are available now. The first thing I
(00:49):
want to ask you is, you know I haven't drunk
a lot of them. Do you still get the taste
of real beer from them?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
You do?
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Like?
Speaker 1 (00:57):
This is the major break through in this area has
come in the last two or three years really and
a little bit. It started with the popularity of Heineken Zero.
I have to say that sort of came in around
COVID time, around twenty twenty, and it pretty much resembles
normal Heineken. You know, it's got the same taste profile.
(01:19):
But anyway, what's come hand in hand with that, it's
just a whole lot of technological advances that have allowed
brewers especially craft brewers who do a different method than
the big breweries to kind of get really decent beer.
Tasting beer, it's you know, you're never going to be
(01:39):
completely satisfied. I think if you want to go looking
to peck holes in a non alcoholic beer, you'll find them.
But if you take it for what it is, I
find them incredibly satisfying, to be honest. Yeah, just the
advances in the as I say, the technology, the yeasts
that they use, the malt, the way they use the
whole they create. There's some terrific beers out there. There,
(02:04):
really are.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
If you were doing a blind tasting test on if
you lined up, say three or four different brands and
tried them, could you tell the non alcoholic from the
one with the alcohol?
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Well, it's interesting you should say that. I actually did
that recently with another guy. He didn't know much about beer,
and it was one of the ones from the New
World Beer Insider Awards and the Epic zero Super Zero
the beer is called. Was in the line up against
a whole lot of others and he couldn't pick it
what he got it down to two, but he went
(02:37):
the wrong way. He's another radio guy. He's in your
line of work called Clint. I think he's on one
of the ZM stations or something, if we're allowed to
say that. Yeah, anyway, it was fascinating to kind of
like he was like, no way, and so yeah, I
think I could because I know there are sort of
(02:57):
little signatures that some of them have, but honestly, you know,
if you didn't know, you could be fooled by a
lot of them. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So on the craft being the local craft bearing front,
there are quite a few available now.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Oh there are heaps. All the big breweries have at
least one non ELK and the one I wanted to
talk about is a brewery that only does only does
non alcoholic pairs. So it's called State of Play and
it was started by a guy called Grant Cornter. And
(03:34):
Grant he started out with dB back in the nineties.
He was down in the work for them down in
the South Island. He went up through the ranks. He
was working for Heineken in Europe and he was head
of their kind of craft division in Europe. And by
his own admission, and this is all over his website
and his Instagram and all that, I think he think
he weighed one hundred and forty kilos when COVID struck,
(03:59):
and he decided it was going to be a moment
to change his life. And here's a guy wh's been
in beer all his life and he gave up drinking
and yeah, and he started walking and he lost something
like forty five kilos in a year, and and he's
now like this. You know, he is the preacher of
(04:20):
his own gospel. And he's the shining example of what
you can do when you put your mind to it.
And you know, and he's I think he's off to
Europe soon to walk. You know. What was it called
the caminoum eight hundred k's or something ridiculous. And he
loves to put up photos of old Grant and new Grant,
you know. And and he's a real spokesman for the
(04:42):
non alcoholic movement. And there are a lot of people
who are really what's the word, they've got a religious
fervor about it, you know, white people, you know, the converts,
and they gave up smoking, you know, the reform smokers
were always the the ones who campaigned the hardest, you know.
(05:04):
And so he came back here from Europe and decided
to take a risk on making a non alcoholic brand.
And he's got three beers and you can buy them
in a mixed six pack. There's an I p A
which is sort of nicely hoppy, little bit sweet, pretty nice.
There's a hazy beer, which is really good. I think
(05:28):
it's you know, got lots of flavor in it and
ginger lime and honey ale and they all taste great.
And you know, I think it's a he's hitting and
I think he's two and a bit years he's been
at it now, and you know, he's kind of picked
his moment to enter the market with a non elk brand,
(05:51):
and he's doing pretty well. And it's you know, for
people who are curious about what you can get, his
brand's not a bad starting point because it's totally focused
on nine elks and there are three different types of beers,
so you can kind of go, yeah, like that one,
didn't like that one. I might buy a six pack
of this one kind of thing. You know. It was
a good way to explore what's out there, really, all.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Right, So the beers a look out for is the
state of play.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
State of play. Yeah, and as he would say, check
your own state of play, you know where are at
with the health and all that. You know. I like
talking to him because he ses good, you know. In
that regard, it's all about, you know, being a better person.
As he said, drive July is me months.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Perfect time to try it, Michael. Always good to catch up, mate,
Have a good one all right.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Hey, thanks Brian, appreciate them.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Charlie MUCKs one yeah, three wow, great song beer beer beer.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
And there we are with Dryjr. Lie Looming. Hands up
those that are doing and I might
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Actually do it.
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