Yeastie boys are a boutique, punky brew label based in Wellington but starting to be found throughout the country. The brand is the brain child of Stu McKinlay and Sam Possenniskie, dedicated home brewers and craft beer aficionados.
The owners of Yeastie Boys live in separate cities, with Sam in Auckland and Stu in Wellington. A love of creative craft brew brought them together and the label was launched in August 2008, initially producing seasonal offers by the keg for brew bars. After a year of building the brand and experimenting with different styles their Pot Kettle Black (PKB) won the Peoples Choice award at Beervana. That gave them the impetus to produce it as their first year round bottled beer.
Their next bottled beer was His Majesty, a big boy IPA in a black champagne style bottle. The success of these two beers pushed the team on to produce more creative releases like the Belgian style Her Majesty, an English red called Punkadiddle and some remixes. These are all seasonal releases which disappear quickly as the team moves on to new things.
In winter 2010 Yeastie Boys released two 6% monster IPAs. Both IPAs are brewed with the same UK malt, but the Yakima Monster uses US hops and the Motueka Monster contains the same measure of NZ hops (Southern Cross, Nelson Sauvin and NZ Cascade). This offers the rare opportunity to experience the flavours that different hop varieties bring to beer.
This drive to constantly change and experiment, rather than build a range, makes them unique in the market where craft breweries stick to the same range for years to gain market recognition. Their formula isn’t aimed at the mass market but has won fans in craft brew circles where it keeps things new and interesting.
Their seasonal releases are found on tap across the country at bars like Pomeroy's and Galbraiths which now has a dedicated Yeastie Boys tap.
Stu works on new styles from his home based brewery in Wellington, trying new styles and following creative ideas until recipes are perfected. The bottled beer is produced under contract by Steve Nally of Invercargill brewery, a man who seems to have a hand in everything. This leaves the Yeastie Boys duo free of the prohibitive setup costs required to brew and bottle commercial sized batches. This arrangement is common to many of the local brands, 8 Wired, Epic and Croucher to name a few.
When asked about the future, Stu says their ultimate aim is to grow the label then start a Yeastie Boys branded Brew Bar. This would definitely suit their fast moving style, giving them an outlet for small highly creative batches, rather like the Dogfish Head Brew Bar in Delaware.
Yeastie Boys - 2011 Year Round Bottled Range
In 2011 Yeastie boys will bring out Rex Attitude their second all year round beer. Set to break new ground the Rex is made with 100% peat smoked distilling malt from Islay in Scotland. Yes that’s the same malt used to make whiskey. Even though it’s labeled an IPA Stu says, “It's more akin to a Belgian Blond than an IPA., think Laphraoig meets La Trappe”.
They will also revisit their three bottled seasonal beers - His Majesty, Her Majesty and PKB Remix. They haven’t made any firm decisions on the style of these yet but they won’t be a repeat of last year.
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Pot Kettle Black (PKB)
A Black IPA, a unique mash up between a dark porter or stout and an IPA.
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Rex Attitude
An IPA made from 100% Islay peat smoked malt. Described as Laphraoig meets La Trappe.
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Yeastie Boys - Bottled Sessional Specials
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His Majesty
English Strong Ale in 2010, no style fixed for 2011 yet
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Her Majesty
Belgian style in 2010, no style fixed for 2011 yet
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Remixs
Create out takes on existing styles
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Yeastie Boys Tap Seasonal Releases for 2011
Their two summer tap releases are heading out to pubs this week. Similar to the Monsters, both are brewed to the same recipe but use different yeasts.
Yeastie Boys Europa uses a Kolsch yeast and Rapture uses an Abbey one. It’s a real education in brewing. I certainly hope to see them both on tap side-by-side soon.
For Autumn they will release Mild Thing a play on traditional styles with a Belgian Yeast. Following this, the winter special will be another IPA collaboration with Joseph Wood of Liberty Brewing. This is a return of the Yakima Monster versus Motueka Monster duel, with two IPAs produced with different hops.
Information
www.yeastieboys.co.nz
