Black Oak Brewing Motueka Rice Lager, Currently available at the brewery, $3.45/473ml

I was talking to Adam Broz from Czechvar at Godspeed the other week, and he said that the thing he liked about the beer he made was that it was everyday beer. You could drink it all the time and not get tired of it. That quotidian quality is a good one because it suggests this slots into your day. I always felt that beer should be enjoyed at the end of the day and that it should be a reward for your effort. 

It’s not a really popular view from the standpoint of social media beer posting. Mostly beer has become some sort of aspirational thing and people tweet that they’re day drinking. While that can be fun, I always felt that beer tasted better when I had earned it. Also, I think organoleptically speaking, you’re a better taster if you approach something with a little bit of a hunger worked up. Not thirst. Hunger.

Back when we were writing the craft beer guide, my preferred method was to get around on foot. Collingwood, for example, was quite a good day out. Not only the scents of roadside wildflowers, but the anticipation of reward. Even if it’s self imposed the idea that you get rewarded for effort makes the prize all the sweeter.

So it was that I found myself working at Black Oak in the walk in fridge everyday for basically two weeks, managing the cellar logistics for the Canada Beer Cup. It’s tough, physical work. In a limited space you’re moving boxes around, unpacking them and separating the contents into larger bins separated by category. If a bin gets big enough, it might contain 14x6x473ml cans. About 90 pounds, all told. Some days I did this without breaks and some days without lunch. We were on a timeline. I figure I might have lost a pound a day.

The first day, the keg of Black Oak Pale Ale blew in the taproom. I really like Black Oak Pale Ale. I’ll drink it just about every time I see it at the Only Cafe or C’est What. It’s brilliant stuff, and I couldn’t really be more pleased by the fact that it won a gold medal in the competition I was helping arrange. It’s nice when people confirm your instincts.

That said, it was replaced with a new beer, brewed by Adam Shier: Motueka Rice Lager

I must have had fifteen pints of Motueka Rice Lager over the sixteen days I was on site. It never got old. I never thought about it as I was drinking it. It never occurred to me to give it plaudits at the time, and yet, I think it’s the best thing Black Oak has done in half a decade. Taking advantage of the thirst for drier finishing beers, Black Oak has used New Zealand hop variety Motueka to create a bright lime and mango character on the aroma that is met with a pear ester, practically sake style fermentation character. The malt bill contains enough caramel malt to balance out the fermentability of the rice so that you’re not sacrificing body, and while there are other nuances, they’re not important on draught when you’re commiserating the day’s activity and planning tomorrow’s attack. It’s the lager equivalent of the Pale Ale, which is to say it feels like it should have always been part of their lineup. There’s enough going on that it is interesting, but it just slides by you on the way down.

I think it’s as good as the rice lagers being made by Rorschach or Junction or just about anyone else in the city. Black Oak makes very good beer, but sometimes they fall off the radar because we’re familiar with them. If they can keep moving in this direction, I think that might help a lot.

Did You Buy This Beer?: I bought a six pack on the way out the door despite being in charge of much other beer. I gave three of them to Robin because I thought she should try it.

Knowing What You Know Now, Would You Buy This Beer?: Yeah. Although, it’s never going to taste quite as good as it does on draught in their taproom, which you should visit. They have Duck Hunt. Plus, Hollisha made us feel very welcome.

Did You Finish It?:   And sometimes had another.