marchfest

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05/02/10
by Clemmie Harvey

Nelson is known for world class wine, amazing scenery and sun, but little do people know it’s also New Zealand’s only hop growing region. And with hop comes….you’ve guess it, beer! This explains why Nelson is home to the most craft brewers than anywhere else on the island.

a good 'handle' of kiwi beer

Craft brewers use traditional brewing techniques and local ingredients to produce fresh, tasty beers. They produce beer in small batches and do not use chemical preservatives to make the beer last longer. New Zealand has a great climate for barely cultivation, allowing aworld-class hops grow in Motueka where there are abundant supplies of mineral-rich clean water.

To celebrate the good stuff, the guys in New Zealand have been holding MarchFest, which takes place this year on April 17th (not too confusing we hope). The date of the festival is no random selection, but has been chosen carefully to coincide with the last few weeks of the local hop harvest. This means that local brewers are able to use the local hops to create new beers especially for the festival.

This year there are eleven ‘festivAles’ being specially brewed by the local craft breweries, namely: Founders, Lighthouse, McCashins, Moa, Monkey Wizard, Renaissance, Sprig and Fern, The Golden Bear, The Mussel Inn, Totara and Townshend’s – no this isn’t the line up for the Saturday races. The ‘festivAles’ won’t be available till the day of the festival, so be sure not to miss out!

If you like the sound of all that freshly brewed beer, why not have a tipple on our world class wine and indulgent cuisine experience.