Jamie from England enjoys an evening at Pomeroy's, a...
Yeastie Boys, Wellington
Sam Possenniskie & Stu McKinlay, two diehard beer ‘activists’ from Wellington, are together fine examples of the new wave in New Zealand brewing—enthusiastic home brewers turned pro and loving it! And, like others we know, they put themselves in the capable hands of Invercargill Brewery’s Steve Nally to make it real. Yeastie Boys big thing is fresh, seasonal beer, tweaking and perfecting recipes in Stu’s Seatoun ‘laboratory’ before giving Steve the go-ahead for 1200 litre batch brews.
Sam & Stu became friends as teens, went to Uni together and probably had a bloody fantastic time drinking ‘Ice’ and ‘Flame’ beer, until their beer epiphany—Emerson’s Bookbinder—an experience that opened their eyes (& palates) to a whole world of beer. For 10 long years Stu beavered away brewing in his ‘laboratory’, while Sam ponced around the world “tasting” beer. Talk about Research & Development! They were perfectly set up to start Yeastie Boys. Mind you, neither has given up their day jobs.
So far, having been in business for just over a year, they have produced 5 distinctive seasonal beers, with their marvellous brew debut ‘Pot Kettle Black’ featuring here at Pom’s in October 2008. The Yeasties call it a black IPA or is it an American-style porter? Whatever, it seems to make grown men swoon. This was closely followed by ‘Golden Boy’, a refreshing summer ale, ‘Kid Chocolate’, an low-octane English mild with notes of chocolate and ‘His Majesty 2009’ is an IPA, the first of a two-part release to celebrate their commercial anniversary. Then there’s ‘Plan K’. Could this be a spicy, citrusy Belgian Pale Ale or their 11th attempt at world domination? All these sound like beers worthy of in-depth consideration by Pomeroy’s beer aficionados and so it will be with joy we anticipate the arrival of Craig’s January pick—the Yeastie ‘Nerdherder’.
The 2009 ‘Pot Kettle Black’ took top honours for Stouts & Porters at this year’s BrewNZ Awards and also ‘People’s Choice’ at Beervana. Enjoying the confidence that comes with success, PKB is set to become their first regularly produced beer in bottles. But never fear, they will still be cooking up enough great seasonal releases to keep their fans happy. Yeastie Boys—they’re spreading.
