The Garage Project's Chateau Aro

How on earth can I pick a single wine of the week from my two week trip to New Zealand? The answer is I can’t so I’m chickening out and going for a beer

That’s not such as cop-out as it might sound as a) New Zealand has an incredible craft beer scene and b) the beer - Wellington-based Garage Project’s Chateau Aro - also has a wine connection.

It’s a lager brewed with the juice and skins from Larry McKenna’s 2014 Escarpment pinot noir so not surprisingly it’s deeply vinous but there’s also a rich dark lager character. If you come across it (and I suspect that’s only likely to be in New Zealand*) watch out - it’s strong at 8.5% ABV - a bit reminiscent of a barley wine only drier (think a pumped up Rodenbach).

It was very good on its own when I drank it with Larry and his winemaker Huw at the end of our tasting but I reckon I’d enjoy it with venison or pigeon - or a cheeseboard. It would be spot on with Stilton.

(Incidentally if you find yourself in Wellington check out Hashigo Sake, an amazing underground beer bar with over 300 beers. Perversely I ended up drinking a beer from San Francisco - the Almanac Dolores Saison.)

* If you fancy a similar beer closer to home try the Wild Beer Co’s Modus Operandi though it’s not quite as winey.

Snuffle dog beer: rated 5* by dachshunds

Yes, you did read that right. It’s not April 1st. It’s not a misprint. A dog beer. A Belgian beer for dogs. It doesn’t actually have any alcohol I hasten to reassure you but it does smell vaguely beery.

As soon as I found out about it I thought I must give it a try. Or rather that I must find some dogs to try it out on. My neighbour up the road who has three dachshunds and a couple more she was dog-sitting obliged. They went absolutely nuts for it.

There are two flavours, the original version which smells and tastes vaguely like dilute Marmite and a chicken version*. It’s hard to say which they preferred - they fell on them both.

You can buy Snuffle in the UK in specialist online pet stores such as astarpets.com at around £10 a four pack** (see the website for stockists). It’s also widely available in Belgium, Holland and - somewhat randomly - Greece.

I'm guessing it would pair with a bone . . .

* it's apparently made with beef or chicken and malt barley extracts, mineral oils, vitamin B and other “doggy goodies”. Having tasted it before I read the bit about it not being suitable for human consumption I’m not sure I want to know what those are. Apparently we should have also shaken the bottle before pouring it which would presumably have made it even meatier. But the dogs didn’t seem to care . . .

** The manufacturer recommends no more than half a 25cl bottle for small dogs, 1 bottle for medium-sized dogs and two bottles for a large dog. Jack (right) obviously hopes we will overlook this advice and begs for more.

Mutiny on the Beagle IPA

With its own university brewing department (at Heriot Watt) Edinburgh is very much a beer-drinking city so it seems appropriate after spending a few days there this week that my drink of the week should be a beer

It’s actually made by 5 MSc students who collaborate each year with Stewart brewing to design, create, market, and launch a new beer. You can read about the project here.

This year’s brew is an IPA called Mutiny on the Beagle brewed with three British hops - Pilgrim, First Gold and Admiral including whole leaf hops from last year’s harvest.

It has a slightly different flavour profile from many modern craft beers - more restrained, more herbal, less citrussy. The label talks of marmalade and lime but I don’t get either strongly - maybe a whiff of Rose’s lime marmalade. It’s a very British - or rather Scottish - beer with a crisp, clean bitter finish and despite its 5.8% ABV, a refreshing session beer.

And the name? It apparently refers to Charles Darwin’s home voyage on the Beagle where he bemoans Fitroy’s obsession with hops. “I abhor the sea and all the ships which sail on it. The only thing which provokes a deeper loathing is Captain Fitzroy and his incessant quest for hops.”

At the launch the beer was apparently served with pulled pork sandwiches and mac’n’cheese which seem a couple of good pairings.

You can buy it for £3.40 from Edinburgh wine merchants like the Bon Vivant’s Companion, a really excellent bottle shop (pictured above) or £3.29 online from the Scottish Beer Shop. It also seems to be available in Edinburgh branches of Oddbins.

Republika Pilsner: possibly the best lager in Britain?

The idea of a Czech-style lager made by a very traditional-sounding British brewery may sound bizarre but this is one of the best lagers - if not the best - I’ve tasted in the UK.

It’s a collaboration between Windsor & Eton brewery and Tomas Mikulica, Head Brewer at Pivovarsky Dvur which is just outside Prague. They used Saaz hops and Czech yeast which Mikulica brought over with him and the resulting brew was lagered for six weeks. It’s quite simply delicious - really fresh and full-flavoured. I was sorry I was tasting and couldn’t have a full glass.

You can buy it from the brewery website for £29 for 12 x 330ml bottles, from beermerchants.com (who seem to have run out of stock currently) and from the brewery shop in Windsor. Oh, and it's 4.8% if you're wondering.

As a footnote Windsor & Eton has also brewed a Brazilian blonde beer flavoured with guava called Maracana for the world cup in collaboration with a new Brazilian brewery Container who are brewing the same beer in Blumenau (rather hilariously called Wembley). Given both England and Brazil’s ignominious exit from the World Cup I imagine they may well still have stock. It too is available online and in pubs in the Windsor area. If you're a local have one tonight for Brazil!