CSB - Michael Donaldson - Beer chat

Our weekly beer chat - This week, we are focusing on a Helensville brewery called Liberty Brewing. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
From the sports field to the shearing shed. It's the
country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on gold sport a
long time ago, way back in history.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, they was to drink whilst nothing back ups to
tea along.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
The name of wonderful he needed well.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Today being October first beer chat, we probably could talk
about Octoberfest with our with our beer expert Michael Donaldson. Morning, Michael, morning, Brian,
how are you very well? Thank you? I you been
to Oktoberfest at all? And whereas it Germany, Munich.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Or wherever I have not been. I would love to
go and have one of those big steins, like a
huge stein of German Laga. That would be fantastic. No,
haven't been so lucky, you know one day the bucket
list thing.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, absolute. Well, today's brewery comes from north of Auckland,
out of I believe Helensville.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
That's right, Yes, you've done your homework, Brian. We're going
to talk about Liberty Brewing and they are based in Helensville.
So you just keep following the State Highway sixteen all
the way out until you basically can't go too much
further and you're in Hellensville and you know it's some Liberty.

(01:25):
They're an interesting story started by a guy called Joe
Wood and he's a bit of an icon in the
brewing community. He's a sort of a legendary figure. But
his business started out when he was living in New
Plymouth and it was also a homebrew operation which was
was called Liberty home Brewing and he used to make

(01:49):
bears with the home brew kind of ingredients and kit
to show people what was possible with the home Bruce
plays that you could make really quality bear and this
thing was the bear was such top quality he was
able to start selling it and then make a living
out of it. And they're one of New Zealand's I
guess you know iconic craft breweries. They've been around for

(02:13):
a number of years now. And yeah, they and Joe's
originally from up in that northwest part of Auckland and
after sometime he came back with his family and set
up the brewery in Helensville. And they also have the
new extension of the brand is a thing called Liberty Burgers,

(02:35):
which is also in Helensville, and it's like as got
a week cap room there in the main street in
Helensville and next door they make burgers and you can
sit in there and have a bear and they'll bring
you in a burger from the next door operation. So
it's quite a nice little add on to the business.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, I mean it seems like a lot of you know,
brewing places that now do doing that kind of thing,
having sort of burgers or what are alongside their brew activities.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, well, I think it's like I was talking to
the guys who run urban Art in Kingsland in Auckland,
and they've got a burger operation called burger Nought, and
they say that that is mainly one of their big
drawer cards as people come in for the burgers. And
they were telling me that so on a busy night

(03:26):
it can be up to an hour's wait wow, because
they're in such hot demand. And of course, well what
are you going to do for an hour inside a
brewery tap room a couple of bears?

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Right, yeah, absolutely, absolutely, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
The Liberty experience that people are going there as much
for the burgers as the bears.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
So yeah, all right, so let's pick out a bear.
And apparently Liberty Brewing do a very very good sort
of like a West Coast I Pa.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yes, they do a number of them. That's kind of
their big hoppy bears is their thing. But they've just
got a new one out and it's God of War
and it down Wellington. Every year they have a competition
put on by the malt House Pub which is in
Willis Street and Wellington, and it's called the malt House

(04:14):
West Coast IBA Challenge and everyone puts in their biggest,
baddest American style i PA and it's judged by a
panel of experts and then there's just a big bash
at the end of the night. And so this year
God of War from Liberty won that event, which basically
means for this year it's the best American style big

(04:35):
hoppy i p A in the country. It's one to
get your hands on if you like that kind of beer.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
So it's from Liberty Brewing and it's called God of War.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
God of War.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeh, there we go.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
You're at Helensville popping for a burger.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Absolutely be You're in a bigger at Liberty Brewing helens
will Michael always great to chat. Made have a good
week and we'll talk next week.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
All right, Brian, Thank god.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
I had a lot to thank Charlie hot Port.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
It's for sure,