On a beautiful hot Saturday, Matt and I dressed up in our finest colourful clothes, brushed off our Birkenstocks, donned a pair of straw hats and went down the Brooklyn Hill (housesit number 6) to taste the first sip of Summer - Beers in the Basin.
While I’d never been to Beers in the Basin before, I was curious to see what the fuss was about. Heaps of our friends were going and Summer’s been just around the corner for weeks now. Furthermore, I was excited to try out all the different beers on offer in a convenient central location, and especially looking forward to trying some new brews by one of my favourite craft beer brewers, Sprig & Fern.
If you’ve never tried a craft beer, my dear friend, you’ve been living in a bunker under the Beehive. Yes, I’ll admit - back in the day beer used to be all about the blokes. However, in the last 7 years, the tide has turned.
As you’ll know if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, I really do love me a craft beer on a warm day. In Wellington, we’re lucky to live in the Craft Beer Capital of New Zealand and are spoilt for choice. We truly have so many great beers on tap all around the city - from the Poneke region and beyond. Crucially craft beer is more than a drink - it has a whole culture that has blossomed from the tasting, branding and whanau who labour in, and love, craft beer.
Now more and more women like me drink craft beer regularly. Instead of the same boring old Sav, I used to get, I’ll buy my favourite Tasman Reserve 888ml bottle on a Friday night from the supermarket. Lots of my friends weren’t beer drinkers a few years ago. Yet today they enjoy craft pints on the regular. From sours to stouts, there really is a beer for every palate. Good craft beer has the alchemy to turn a wine-snob into a beer-lover, just like that.
For beginners, Beers at the Basin is the perfect place to start (and, if you’re an experienced connoisseur, it’s a great place to do a comprehensive tasting-crawl without the expense of travelling all over New Zealand). It’s is an annual Summer beer festival which is staged right in the beating heart of Wellington. With food, live music and easy-to-top up wrist bands, Beers at the Basin sets the standard of what a well-run event looks like.
My first stop on arriving with friends David and Ollie, and of course, Matt, was to head to the Sprig & Fern stand. By way of background, Sprig & Fern are a Nelson-based brewery who do great craft beers - and also some excellent ciders. Owned by women-in-beer legend Tracy Banner, who I was lucky enough to interview a few months ago, they’re all about making accessible, delightful ales and larger that aren’t the hoppy stale dark beers, or thin watery lager your Dad used to drink. Each beer is flavoursome without being too heady. You can easily drink it and - I swear it’s true - not get a hangover.
Amazing Tracy was helping serve ales, cider and lagers to the crowd - what a boss (personally, I love when the owner of a business gets stuck in so that warmed my heart a little)! Sprig & Fern were offering the festival crowds Mango & Lime Cider, Berry Cider and Dry Hopped Pilsner. But they also had some new and exciting offerings which we tried, that you’ll want to know about. Their new Limited Release Brut I.P.A has a very drinkable 5.9 per cent alcohol and will be popular beer style for the Summer. I asked the amazing Tracy about why people love a Brut IPA and she said that its popularity continues to grow due to its light, dry champagne-like finish and bold fruity aromas. This is a golden example of just that!
They also have created a new cider with the good-old radio station, The Breeze for a recent cider festival in Nelson which is quite fun. This delicious fruit cider with Cranberry and Orange juices and an Apple Cider base is so refreshing for the Summer. A perfect option for those who just want something different! Make sure you look out for it on tap in their four Sprig & Fern bars around Wellington or in the supermarket this Summer.
Looking like Joan Collins in her heyday with his incredible twenty-seven names hat, David (my hair therapist, wedding hairstylist and very good friend) admitted that he NEVER drinks beer but he decided to enjoy it at the festival to be a good spot. After his first sip of the Brut IPA, he was converted. “It tastes like a warm hug!” he said, smiling.
Matt, Ollie, David and I took our beers and ciders and went and sat upon the slopes of the Basin Reserve, looking down on the huge crowd. I chilled with David and Ollie, while Matt found his friends Rachel and Monique for a while. I loved that because we knew so many people there, we could all kind of go and do our own thing for a while if we wanted to, but then also come back together again. For example, I bumped into so many great women at the event, from my old school friend Torzie who looked super glamorous to my sister-in-blogging, the gorgeous Josie from Lost in Silver Fern. She and David and I got a photo together because aside from being my friend, he is also both our hairdressers at Matt Forsman. Isn’t that so Wellington? I love how happy and Summery we look - so much so I couldn’t decide which of these two pictures I liked more.
Later, we went and treated ourselves to one of the food trucks down in the main field. I was craving a Fritz Weiner so I paired it with my Brut IPA - a match made in heaven! We ate our late lunch a picnic table while David sang songs from Sister Act (I can’t believe I have to admit - I haven’t seen it!) and then we made friends with some Irish and Scottish lasses. It was a real pleasure to have so much seating available too!
Beers at the Basin was such a fun day. I honestly haven’t enjoyed myself out like that for such a long time. Personally, going from 3 pm - 7 pm was the perfect length of time for Matt and I (there are no pass outs so you’ve got to commit). We managed to catch up with so many friends, and really soak in the start of the Summer. Matt and I drank and enjoyed everything – and left pleasantly buzzing (the glasses don’t hold too much).
If you’re looking for a great girls day out, or a couples activity that everyone can enjoy, this summery event is for you! Cheers!
Brut I.P.A is on tap in Sprig & Fern taverns from 27th November and on the shelf in 888ml 2nd December. The Breeze Cider went on tap in taverns from November 17th and launched on the shelf in 1.25L PET on 18th Nov.
Visit Sprig & Fern in Wellington or buy stock at all good bottle stores and Supermarkets.
