Village brew club masters the art of craft
When head brewer, John Duncan and the rest of the ‘Up the Creak’ Brew Club aren’t checking on the golden lager brew they’ve put down, they’re organising the ingredients for their next beer.
The popular brewing club has now grown to more than 80 members, the largest club/group in the Arvida Waimea Plains retirement community.
The club is made up of a core group of budding brewers that like to turn grain and hops into aromatic brews, and those who just like to watch the process and come along to taste test the beer.
“We’re putting down one brew a month and we’re up to 55 brews since we started a few years ago,” John explains.
John is a fifth-generation brewer and he thought his brewing days were behind him when he retired. Thankfully he chose a retirement community in Nelson that encourages resident-led activities based off people’s interests, giving John an opportunity to get back into brewing.
From pale ale to pilsner, the tiny brewery produces less than 50 litres of beer each month, but ‘Up the Creak’ Brew Club believe it’s more about the process rather than drinking the end result - though they do enjoy that as well.
“We do learn from each brew we put down. We play around with the ingredients because we don’t want to make a bad one,” fellow brewer David Simpson says.
John adds that it’s not just about beer, a few residents have also been involved in producing a couple of ciders in the brewery too.
“It’s learning about microbiology and chemistry and not so much about the alcohol. It’s the hops, the yeast, the grains - the whole science and art behind the beer. It certainly does get everybody involved which is what it’s all about.”