Feeling Like a True Kiwi: Sampling Craft Beer and Local Delicacies
Seaweed ale. Raspberry wheat. Pilsner. IPAs. For craft beer lovers, this festival had it all. For me, more of a wine-drinker and lover of cocktails, all of the talk of carbonation, fermentation and hoppiness was a tad overwhelming, but incredibly exciting. The Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival was sure to please serious beer scholars, curious drinkers, and lovers of good food.
As I’m studying abroad in Dunedin, a small city on New Zealand’s South Island, it was of course necessary for me to honor the local culture by checking out a beer and food festival (a little shoutout to the rest of the world for agreeing to the 18-year-old drinking age)! The student association collaborated with over sixty different breweries, a few vineyards, some cider companies, and various food vendors to host about 4,000 students and Dunedin locals at a rugby stadium. Most of the breweries were from around New Zealand, but one vendor, Beers Without Borders, located in the city of Wellington, also offered craft brews from the United States and France. The event also offered a home brewing competition, seminars about beer tasting, and concerts throughout the day from New Zealand musicians.
I went with a few other friends who are studying abroad. While it was no Oktoberfest, it was a fun way to take part in an important part of the local culture and (all the Kiwis LOVE beer), and sample some yummy dishes. We started off by filling our bellies with some solid food at the Pierogi Joint, which makes “hand crafted pierogi from scratch with love. Rolling up our sleeves and dusting the kitchen table with flour, then kneading unleavened dough into a soft ball, and resting it until ready. Using the freshest and when possible local ingredients, we create a European Dumpling with a modern twist on the old.” They succeeded in their mission, as the European comfort food was elevated with popping flavors such as Tex-Mex, Classic Babushka, and Jalapeno Popper. They were served with garlic aioli to make the creamy dumplings even more irresistible. We later returned to indulge in the sweet pierogis also offered, splitting a White Chocolate Raspberry and Salted Peanut Chocolate. They were perfectly crispy from the fresh frying, and erupted with syrups that were the ideal mix of sweet and salty.
I warmed up then with a mulled berry cider from Sprig and Fern Brewery. “The deep plum colour and a combination of three berry fruits, boysenberries, strawberries and blackcurrants gives our Berry Cider a mouth watering appeal,” claims their website and I must agree. The fact that they warmed the cider with lemons and apples made it even more refreshing.
I next went for a New Zealand precious commodity, whitebait. Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, when they are less than an inch long. Regarded as a delicacy in New Zealand due to the difficulty and stringent regulations to catch such fish, they are adored by locals. Harbour Fish, which typically sells their freshly-caught bounty to restaurants around New Zealand, was frying them up with an egg and served with white bread and lemon, the traditional whitebait patty. You could simply taste the freshness of the tender fish. While the inclusion of an egg may seem like a very pedestrian way to cook such a “delicacy,” it brought out the subtleties and highlighted the fresh simplicity of such a delicious fish.
I washed it down with a passionfruit IPA from Birch Street Brewery–like I said, I’m not the strongest beer drinker and flock towards fruitier flavors (sorry to disappoint, German ancestors). The passionfruit flavor helped to cut the intensity and hoppiness of the IPA, and I surprised myself by truly enjoying beer. While I may not have embraced it as fully as these dirndl-donning women, I am slowly moving into the wide world of beer with excitement.
Overall, the day was a fantastic way to enjoy traditional food and drinks of New Zealand, chat with local brewers to learn more about their products, and immerse myself in Kiwi culture. The Pierogis were my surprise favorite, but the mulled cider took a close second. Hit me up if you want to join me in recreating that this winter! I would love to see a similar festival highlighting local brewers and food products in Philadelphia. Bring on the Yards Brewing Company, Flying Fish, and some top-notch soft pretzels and fresh seafood to tone down the hops!
— Grace Jemison