Moa wins India Pale Challenge at Malthouse
18 July 2011
Moa Brewing Company of Blenheim has taken out the Fourth Annual West Coast India Pale Ale Challenge, held at the
Malthouse bar on Courtenay Place last week. Craft brewers from around the country entered their individual takes on the
strong, hoppy, pale ale style of beer so popular on the West Coast of America. The entries were then blind-judged by a
panel of beer experts.
In an extremely tight contest, the winning entry from Moa was intriguingly titled McMoa IPA. The name is a reference to
the fact that Malthouse proprietor and co-inventor of the West Coast Challenge, Colin Mallon, flew to Blenheim to help
Moa with the brewing last month. Judges were taken with the beer’s balance and power. It should be noted that Mr Mallon
did not take any part in the judging.
Second place was awarded to Hallertau Stuntman. Hallertau is an award-winning brewpub in Riverhead, just outside
Auckland. The beer’s robust floral nose and zesty citrus notes were popular with the judges.
Epic Brewing Company’s latest offering, Hop Zombie, picked up third place. The Hop Zombie is often described in brewing
circles as a ‘hop bomb’, with lashings of fruity and spicy flavours followed by a long and deep bitterness. It uses two
varieties of American hops and two varieties of New Zealand hops to create an IPA which has been described as
“devilishly drinkable.”
The Challenge was held at a packed Malthouse bar on Thursday 14 July. In addition to hundreds of punters keen to sample
the unique brews, a number of the country’s finest brewers were in attendance including Josh Scott (Moa), Luke Nicholas
(Epic), Stu McKinlay (Yeastie Boys), Joseph Wood (Liberty), Ron Trigg (mike’s), Soren Eriksen (8Wired), Kelly Ryan
(Epic) and Martin Townshend (Townshend). Judging the Challenge were beer writers and experts Geoff Griggs, Kieran
Haslett-Moore and Neil Miller.
“Malthouse is proud to organise and host the West Coast Challenge each year. This year, we opened up the contest to all
breweries in New Zealand and were delighted at the response. Congratulations to Moa and the other brewers but the
ultimate winners are definitely the customers. They made some remarkable beers for the event and our remaining stocks on
tap are going fast,” Colin Mallon said.
Malthouse was named Best New Zealand Beer Venue 2011 by Beer and Brewer magazine.
ENDS