Taakawa Indigenous ale

by Fez Broadbent
(Beer Delegate, New Zealand)

Taakawa Indigenous ale: a true local New Zealand beer from the culture of the Maoris

Have you ever been drinking with your friends and indulged yourself in deep philosophical conversation about the intricacies of beer and superpowers? No? Just me? Well, if you have ever wondered what could be combined with beer to make it that much more awesome? What could make it more appealing? A beer that makes you lose weight? A beer that grants the drinker tunnel vision for beauty? (Okay, some beers already do that based on quantity).

Never in my research of beer have I encountered a beer that claimed to contain ingredients that hold healing properties. However the herbs of the kawakawa plant, which are used in Taakawa Indigenous ale of Aotearoa, are said to do just that. They not only lend a sense of conscience to the brew, but a slightly sweet tang too.

Astonishingly, there is absolutely no hint or flavour of sourness. It calls to you like a Waiata from across the Marae, welcoming you and inviting further indulgence. Its overall taste is smooth, a pale ale that doesn't bite but flows; much like the Waituna natural spring from which it is brewed.

It's easy to drink but at the same time is full in flavour. Before researching its origins and story, I had initially pictured a thermal, Rotorua-like setting upon taking my first sip. Steam rising off the waters and the stench of sulphur in the air as I explored its flavours.

There is something uniquely Maori about this drop and I don't mean the Once Were Warriors kind. It's the spiritual-centered beer that many have been trying to perfect and call New Zealand's own.

But where all others have failed by taking the colonists' influence in their elements of production, this has passed in attempting to combine all elements to make a true New Zealand extract.

Their local website may not seem all that flash (no pun intended), but it seems the beer is being pushed overseas in Holland of all places.

A rough translation from a friend of mine for the front page blurb on that site. "Taakawa Indigenous ale is a unique real local beer from New Zealand and comes out of the history of the oldest culture in the world, that of the Maoris."

I gather from this translation that the Dutch are attempting to market it as a beer of the warrior people and I must admit the spiritual side is there and reflected In their website's use of photography. But the "warrior" is most definitely not in this beer. It's just not that kind of beer in my opinion. It's more reflective of the individual culture of the people than their tenacity.

If you are a local or traveling here in future and wondering where you can find it, I found it at my local New World (New World Albany to be exact, where I have found many a "niche" beer) and their website states they are distributed in most New World supermarkets across the country.

So with the water from a Maori-blessed spring, herbs from a native plant used by the people of the land and a smooth finish that gives a sense of relaxation that encourages one to take the laid-back attitude reminiscent of many of my people, I hereby anoint Taakawa Indigenous ale a truly great homage to New Zealand.