{"id":17655,"date":"2015-10-16T16:15:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T03:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/?p=17655"},"modified":"2016-04-29T12:09:32","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T00:09:32","slug":"91-aro-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2015\/10\/16\/91-aro-street\/","title":{"rendered":"91 Aro Street \u2014 a backstage pass to Garage Project’s bar"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Main<\/a>
The main mural, though other art and easter eggs abound<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Front<\/a>
An open door, at last<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Way back in August 2011, the Beer Diary Podcast’s first ‘away mission’ took place in the then-fledgling Garage Project, er, garage<\/a>. Yesterday, George and I were invited to record another at the ‘dress rehearsal’ test-run of their new bar just up (and over) the road \u2014 which opens today. As it turned out,<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> I spent most of the four year stretch between episodes actually working at the brewery myself and though\u00a0the idea for this place was locked in a while ago, I didn’t personally work on it and not much non-paperwork progress had been made before I left. So it was a real treat to drop in and see what they’d been up to on the eve of this, their latest Next Big Thing. The episode will be online soon<\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span> and disclaimers ahoy<\/em>, obviously, given my lengthy association with the company and the fact we were there on a special invite and drinking on their dime, but I just wanted to share a few photos and some brief first impressions \u2014 because the place is a) gorgeous and b)\u00a0interesting<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Garage<\/a>
Mirror mischief<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s tiny<\/em>, for a start, and that put me very much in mind of the 24\/24 series that the brewery itself started with;<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span> a little bar, so close to the mothership, will let them tinker in the open and test and evolve ideas before spawning bigger operations further afield \u2014 whether that’s downtown, or overseas, or one, then the other. Launching a much-larger venue as their first bar would’ve been entirely feasible, given their level of success, but this fits with how they’ve done things before and feels very them<\/em>.\u00a0The decoration takes cues from their sprawling family of label artwork and the design is reminiscent-enough of their existing cellar door, so it all hangs together well already and should be even nicer once it’s lived-in a while and the final touches are finished off. Aro Valley has until now lacked a local, as well, so it’ll be fascinating to see how the locals react and to gradually get to know a few of the soon-to-be regulars.<\/p>\n

\"Garage<\/a>
Rum & Raisin and taps<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among its quirks, I have my early bets for which will prove problematic and need revision and what’ll be a hit and radiate out among other bars \u2014\u00a0their own and otherwise. How they’re serving their beers looks hugely promising; gorgeous glassware,<\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0a broad range (eighteen taps, with two handpulls inbound from the UK and a\u00a0dedicated\u00a0cask fridge to supply them), with lines at different temperatures, and the ability control gas pressure and mix for each beer thanks to some nice hardware like\u00a0adjustable taps and a\u00a0Flux Capacitor<\/a> \u2014 a fitting thing to get going in October 2015<\/a>. So my White Mischief (a 2.9% peach gose) was cold and had lively carbonation, emphasising its snappy acidity, while\u00a0the Rum & Raisin was considerably warmer and softer, which works nicely for something so dark and rich and boozy. Garage Project always makes a splash at festivals with unique ways of presenting beer; the famous fire-poker porter<\/a>, the ‘flat white’ blend of coffee stout and nitro cream ale, IPA slushies, beer ice cream<\/a>, and such.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0This place will let them do that more regularly and more broadly, to resurrect favourite old tricks, and prototype new ones. Win-win-win. The only sticking point\u00a0\u2014\u00a0especially for locals and, um, normals dragged along by pilgrims\u00a0\u2014\u00a0might be the\u00a0non-beer<\/em>. There’s the locally-ubiquitous Six Barrel Soda, but currently all the booze in the building is GP-brewed. An on-license in New Zealand mandates the availability of a sub-2.5% beer, so they brewed one (and it’s great, actually), but\u00a0there’s no wine or spirits at all, for the simple reason that there’s (as yet!)<\/span>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> no GP winery or distillery. It’s a bold move, and one worth trying<\/span>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u2014 and if too many mixed groups balk at it the brewery has at least done enough work with other producers that bringing\u00a0their<\/em> stuff in to fill any gaps could still feel cozy and focussed enough.<\/p>\n

It’s awesome to see the increasingly-numerous staff so excited, and to see the founders so chuffed that such cool fruits are sprouting from years of slog. Welcome to the world, 91 Aro Street; you’ll be an excellent little addition to the many maps I scribble\u00a0for people at bars and tastings.<\/p>\n

\"Beer<\/a>
Tall taps and tiny tiles and lovely brass and laboratory glass<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Way back in August 2011, the Beer Diary Podcast’s first ‘away mission’ took place in the then-fledgling Garage Project, er, garage. Yesterday, George and I were invited to record another at the ‘dress rehearsal’ test-run of their new bar just up (and over) the road \u2014 which opens today. As it turned out, I spent … Continue reading 91 Aro Street \u2014 a backstage pass to Garage Project’s bar<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-locations"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17133,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2015\/08\/02\/beer-diary-podcast-s05e01\/","url_meta":{"origin":17655,"position":0},"title":"Beer Diary Podcast s05e01: 3G Coverage \u2014 Garage Project, GABS, and gastrophysics","author":"Phil","date":"August 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"And so the Beer Diary Podcast is back for a fifth season\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and with our traditional delay in hitting 'publish', no less. Episodes should return to their usual non-super-sized format and a sharper turnaround in this back half of the year\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but you all know what kind of paving projects are undertaken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast episodes"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast episodes","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/podcast-episodes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mash tun hopback for Trip Hop (Garage Project, 6 July 2012)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mash-tun-hopback-at-Garage-Project-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4083,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2012\/05\/23\/gabs-glass-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":17655,"position":1},"title":"GABS Glass #1: Garage Project ‘Double Day of the Dead’","author":"Phil","date":"May 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"At GABS, I was understudy for Local Taphouse's Guy Greenstone, who was set to host 'Beerista' introductory tasting sessions at the 'Craft Beer College' series of free seminars running at the festival. He had a run-in with pneumonia, but was looking hearty during Friday's Session One, so I seemed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Actual Diary entries"","block_context":{"text":"Actual Diary entries","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/diary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Garage Project 'Double Day of the Dead'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-DDOTD-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3242,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2011\/06\/04\/beer-diary-podcast-s01e05\/","url_meta":{"origin":17655,"position":2},"title":"Beer Diary Podcast episode 5: The Garage Project","author":"Phil","date":"June 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For our first podcast 'on the road' (or at least 'out of the house'), we went to visit the Garage Project in Aro Valley (on 26 August 2011, for the record -- this blog has an obscure and confusing, but ultimately meaningful, system for dating its posts...). We sit down\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast episodes"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast episodes","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/podcast-episodes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beers of the Week","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-podcast-Beers-of-the-Week-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3957,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2012\/05\/10\/beer-diary-podcast-s02e01\/","url_meta":{"origin":17655,"position":3},"title":"Beer Diary Podcast s02e01: Collaboration","author":"Phil","date":"May 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Back for a second 'season' -- are more-or-less arbitrary division, but we watch a fair amount of (good) TV and can't help but think of things like that -- George and I sat down a little while ago to talk about collaboration in craft beer. 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For the first time, the Guild has released information on what was\u00a0entered, as opposed to just telling us who\u00a0won, and I couldn't be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Beer awards"","block_context":{"text":"Beer awards","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/beer-awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mural detail (Garage Project, 10 October 2017)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-mural-detail-fixed.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-mural-detail-fixed.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-mural-detail-fixed.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-mural-detail-fixed.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-mural-detail-fixed.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17965,"url":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/2016\/03\/16\/will-it-shandy\/","url_meta":{"origin":17655,"position":5},"title":"Will It Shandy..?","author":"Phil","date":"March 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"At Golding's, where I work with Dylan of The Bottleneck blog, it's not uncommon to see us indulging in a little game we call 'Will It Shandy?' when we're trying out new arrivals to the taps. A shandy \u2014 that's a beer mixed with lemonade, on the remote chance the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Podcast episodes"","block_context":{"text":"Podcast episodes","link":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/category\/podcast-episodes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Garage Project 'Beer' (My house, 6 September 2015)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-content\/uploads\/Garage-Project-Beer-tall-226x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17655"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18199,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17655\/revisions\/18199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philcook.net\/beerdiary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}