, played some poorly co-ordinated air guitar and made the long-suffering bar staff put endless repeats of Def Leppard on the sound system. Just one week after the Impish One led the infamous Epic Tap Takeover, three benevolent and mellow dudes all called Matt will host the contrasting ParrotDog Showcase on 19 December 2012. 

As we teeter at the brink of the end of the world, [1] it is absolutely critical to restore some balance to the universe – Good/Evil, Ying/Yang, Epic/ParrotDog and  Mike King/People Who Are Funny. Consequently, Colin the Handsome Yet Softly Spoken Proprietor proudly presents the first annual ParrotDog Day. It is a bit like Groundhog Day but infinitely better because there is beer available and you don’t have to watch Bill Murray go through the motions. [2]

Contrary to what Colin may have you believe, these events are not all about the Mallon. Matt Warner from ParrotDog explained the real reason behind the soon to be annual celebration when he said “the purpose is to thank all those who have helped the new brewery get off the ground this year in one way or another, to thank all of our customers and to launch our latest seasonal release.”  . 

The ParrotDog story is amazing and inspiring. Three guys in their mid-twenties go from being university students and accountants to brewers and brewery owners in just three years, courtesy of talent, hard work and enormous mortgages. [3] Even before they embarked on this life changing journey which (rightly) made the rest of us regret our utterly directionless mid-twenties I had declared ParrotDog BitterBitch as my number one beer of year for 2011. 

From 6pm on 19 December 2012, there will be discounted prices at Malthouse on the standard range of ParrotDog beers – these are Dogg (Dark Mild Ale, 3.9%), FlaxenFeather (Blonde Ale, 4.7%), DeadCanary (Pale Ale, 5.3%), BitterBitch (IPA, 5.8%) and Bloodhound (Red Ale, 6.3%). It should be noted that these beers were brewed by the very talented Matt Warner, Matt Kristofski and Matt Stevens – all of whom are expected to attend the event – just 455 metres walk away from Malthouse. 

Forget about food miles, those are beer metres. 

However, just like a television infomercial there is more – much more. At 7.30pm on 19 December 2012, ParrotDog will tap and launch their new American IPA (7%). Now, this beer is so new it does not yet have a proper name though the final result is likely to reference dogs and/or parrots. [4]

In a new move, the first 100 people through the Malthouse doors from 6pm will be able to grab a token and consequently receive a free pint. Once that first keg runs out, the hardworking and often Irish staff at Malthouse will put another one on. [5] After that, drinkers will need to take their chances. [6]

As a responsible beer journalist, [7] eager for a world exclusive I asked Matt Warner for the world exclusive scoop on their new American IPA. He said it is “a huge, pungent American-hopped aroma soars out of an equally sized rich, golden malt base.  The finish is very bitter.  This is our biggest beer yet in terms of malt, hop and alcohol levels – you’ve been warned!”

Oh, challenge accepted. 

Any beer that turns out to be even better than my revered BitterBitch will be a force of nature indeed.

[1] Possible causes include maths, Mayan maths, Nostradamus on PSY and/or Justin Bieber.

[2] Honestly Bill Murray’s movie career took off at the start of Ghostbusters and peaked just as the credits on that same film rolled at the premiere.

[3] “We all have mortgages but no houses.” – Matt Kristofski as quoted in a quite brilliant Dish magazine article. 

[4] Suggestions should be sent to info@parrotdog.co.nz

[5] It is called supply and demand – the cornerstone of my beloved capitalism.

[6] That’s socialism or libertarianism – hard to tell sometimes.

[7] An author who has veered into politics even more than usual in this column.

Cheers

Beer Writer
Beer and Brewer Magazine

Links

Epic Brewery – www.epicbeer.com
ParrotDog Brewery – www.parrotdog.co.nz/
Malthouse Facebook – www.facebook.com/pages/Malthouse/7084276173
Malthouse Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/malthouse
Malthouse Taps on Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/MalthouseTaps
Neil Miller on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/#!/beerlytweeting
Beer and Brewer Magazine – www.beerandbrewer.com/