Emerson's Brewery Limited is a microbrewery

Microbrewery

A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....

 located in Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 established in 1993.

Emerson's produces eight year-round beers and three seasonal beers.

Richard Emerson

When Richard Emerson travelled to Scotland with his parents in 1983 he was first introduced to European style beers. After spending a year in Edinburgh, he returned to New Zealand and became disillusioned with New Zealand beers. This lead him to brew for himself.

Brewing

Emerson’s beers are not pasteurised like most mainstream New Zealand beers. The yeast is left alive in the beer to mature and enhance the flavour of the beer. Emerson’s ales are produced from malted barley, hops, yeast and water. They do not have preservatives, added sugar, artificial colouring, have not been pasteurised and some are not filtered.

Some Emerson’s beers are presented in French oak barrels. Pints are sometimes available on hand pump, ensuring that the beer is served at the correct level of carbonation, eliminating gassy beer.

London Porter

Based on what is probably the oldest style of English beer, this Porter is a deep brown colour with a toasty aroma. It is firm bodied with a creamy texture and has a sustained bitterness. It should be served at 8 to 10 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 4.9%.

1812 India Pale Ale

To survive the long sea journey between mother England and the colonies, English brewers developed a beer with large quantities of hops which acted as a preservative. This beer pours a copper colour and has a slight toffee maltiness, balanced by complex hop notes. It should be served at 4 to 8 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 5%.

Weissbier

Based on Bavarian style wheat beers, this bottle conditioned brew uses a yeast specially imported from Bavaria to give it its authentic German character. It should be served at 4 to 8 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 5%.

Pilsner

Pilsner is perhaps one of the most common styles of beer. This version claims to be the first organic style in New Zealand. It has citrus and passion fruit aromas and flavours. It should be served at 6 to 8 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 4.9%.

Bookbinder Bitter

This is an ordinary bitter, brewed with a combination of four malts and two hops. It pours a reddish brown and has a sweet perfumy malt and hop aroma. It should be served at 6 to 8 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 3.7%.

Old 95

This bottle conditioned English Old Ale is full bodied with a toffeeish malt sweetness followed by complex fruity notes and hop flavours. It has an alcohol content of 7% and should be served at 10 to 12 degrees C.

Maris Gold

Modelled on the pale English summer ales, this beer is made with maris otter pale malt and aromatic hops. Fermented at a higher temperature than a lager it produces a range of refreshing citric flavours. It should be served at 8 to 10 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 4.5%.

Oatmeal Stout

A sweet dark, creamy ale which pours a deep brown colour with reddish highlights. It is ideal as a desert drink. It should be served at 8 to 10 degrees C and has an alcohol content of 4.8%.

Taieri George

Taieri George is released every year on the 6th of March, the birthday of Richard Emerson's father George. Taieri George is a Belgian-inspired spiced ale. It is bottle conditioned ale which includes nutmeg, cinnamon and an unnamed spice in its ingredients. It weighs in at 6.8%.

American Pale Ale

The American Pale Ale is released each September. It pours a copper colour and has a strong hoppyness to it. It should be served at 5 degrees C. It has an alcohol content of 6%.

JP

The JP is a Belgian ale

Belgian beer

Beer in Belgium varies from pale lager to lambic beer and Flemish red. There are approximately 178 breweries in the country, ranging from international giants to microbreweries..-History:...

 introduced as a commemorative tribute to University of Otago

University of Otago

The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

 food scientist Jean-Pierre Dufour. Sales from the beer assist in funding an Otago University student scholarship established by Emerson's in February 2007. JP is produced annually in June and each vintage reflects a different Belgian beer style.

Dunkelweizen

This dark wheat beer is made from the same wheat malt and yeast as the Weissbier plus a little something which gives a more pronounced malty aroma and flavour. Dunkel is chocolate dark with a first hint of sweetness, but a dry finish. It is currently not being brewed.

Whiskey Porter

An infusion of dark ale and whiskey is achieved by maturing a batch of London Porter in whiskey. Three to four months are needed for the infusion to complete. Not currently being brewed.

Media coverage and recognition

The quality of Emerson's beers was praised by English beer critic Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson (writer)

Michael Jackson was an English writer and journalist. He was the author of several influential books about beer and whisky.-Life:...

, who rated the 1812 India Pale Ale as one of the best 500 beers in the world. Emerson's has won numerous beer awards in Australia and New Zealand.

External links

• Emerson's Brewery Limited