The GB's Club

For the past few years, during October, Atlas has hosted a fundraising event for the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club called 'Pints for Wynyard'. Last year alone we raised a whopping $6,794.50!

This year a ton of other good bastards have jumped on board to sponsor the event. We decided to change the title so we could truly capture the new awesome supports we have this year. So welcome to THE GB's CLUB (The Good Bastards Club).

From October 16 until November 20 Atlas is going to donate heaps of $$$ from all our GB's products – beer, food, coffees, drinks etc! The more you eat and drink, the more money we raise! All you need to do it get down to Atlas and treat yourself over the five weeks and a ton of cash will be donated to the mountain bike club. The money raised is going to epic new trails, jumps and track maintenance in the Wynyard/Fernhill area!

This fundraiser is not possible without the help from all these Good Bastards:

Steamer Wharf, Altitude Brewing Studio, Octane Coffee, Ivy & Lola’s, Emerson’s Brewery, Coopers Brewery, Thatcher's Cider, Bidvest, QT Laundry, Tuatara Brewing, Zeffer Cider, Terraces, Garage Project Brewery, European Bakery, Southern Hospitality, Liquor King, Alpine Milk, Farelli's.

Don't be shy this month, come on down to Atlas and help us, and the GB's, support the Queenstown Mountain Bike Club. Happy eating and drinking!

Summer means cider: Thatcher's Gold at Atlas

Thatchers Gold

During last Winter our General Manager, Amy, headed to the Northern Hemisphere for some summer sunshine. Whilst roaming around in the West of England she had the rather enviable task of sampling many of the fine ciders that Somerset had to offer. 

Inspired by Amy's cider tour of the Westcountry we now have Thatcher's Gold on the lines for the summer. If you haven't had the chance to try it yet it's more of a medium cider - as opposed to the delicious and dry Zeffer, which we still have on the lines. The Thatcher's gold has a smooth, appley flavour and a bright sparkle to the mouth feel.

Traditional food matches for cider are often pork-based. Pork belly goes particularly well with cider and coincidentally we have a pork belly main and also a pork belly tapas on the Atlas evening menu. 

Thatchers Gold Cider | 4.8% | $10 pint

Amy Abroad: Into Somerset for Cider

There is no greater satisfaction than a cold, refreshing cider in the sun!

Once upon a time in 1230AD, Jocelin Bishop of Bath was the first recorded man to press apples into cider for the Royal Charter. Ever since then the county of Somerset in the heart of England’s West Country has been synonymous with the production of cider. This rural area with its rolling hills is abundant with cider orchards with 10 different types of cider apples being farmed here. With over 25 cider farms in Somerset to choose from I had a busy day ahead of tasting and meeting the cider makers, so Rich and I hit the road.

Amy with Chris Hecks

First stop, Hecks Traditional Farmhouse Cider.  The shop was rustic, old and full of character with hundreds of awards and certificates mounted on the walls. I learned that the Hecks family have been pressing apples here at this location for the last 118 years, however the farm has been in the family since 1840. Chris Hecks is a sixth generation cider maker and was very pleased to give me a tour of the premises. Hecks produce over 20 single varieties of cider along with perry and various apple juices. They have three orchards of their own and also purchase apples from local growers to add to their cider varieties. A few weeks ago their Kingston Black cider won Reserved Supreme Champion at the Royal Bath and West Show and won British Farm House Champion at the CAMRA festival. I gave the The Kingston Black a whirl and it’s really delicious. It is copper coloured, bitter sweet and full flavoured. All in all a super tasty cider which could make for a great guest drink at Atlas next summer!

In the cider barn at Wilkins Cider

Through the fields and over the hills I was pointed in the direction of the CAMRA award-winning Wilkins Cider. This cider barn, in the middle of nowhere, is a much smaller operation; however don't let the size discourage you. With three varieties of cider; dry, sweet and medium (which is dry and sweet mixed together), you find yourself sipping on very clean, fresh half pint straight out of the oak vats! The barn is literally, just a barn. A few arm chairs are set up beside the old apple engine; old photos hang on the walls of Roger Wilkins and his grandfather; there’s an old table set up selling farm products like cheese and vegetables and of course the old wooden barrels containing sweet and dry cider. At Wilkins Farmhouse you come in, say hello then continuously serve yourself letting time pass as long as your heart desires. I could’ve stayed here all day, it was simply blissful!

Cider barrels at Thatchers

My final stop of the day was Thatchers, the most commercial of the three cideries I visited but still with a proud heritage. Four generations the Thatchers family have worked in the orchards here and Thatchers have become one of the most well-known craft cider makers in all of England. They distribute bottled and draft ciders to the Wadsworth pubs and also to watering holes across the country. They have hundreds of acres of orchards which are the family's pride and joy. There is also a popular cycling path called Strawberry Lane which runs through several of their orchards with many people making a day of a trip to the farm. My favourite from the ciders I sampled was the Cheddar Valley which is a naturally cloudy cider that is matured in oak vats, giving it a strong and robust flavour.

After a day of journeying deep into the cider farms of Somerset, I found myself quite tipsy and returning to Wiltshire with a boot full of cider! We purchased a gallon of  Hecks sweet cider, a gallon of medium cider from Wilkins and a gallon of Cheddar Valley cider from Thatchers. Next stop will be Europe so I’ve got French wine and devouring mouth-watering cheese to look forward to! 

Special thanks also to Richard for being designated driver on my Somerset cider tour.

Amy Abroad: Cruising the Kennet and Avon Canal

When you can’t go biking, you go barging, and cider drinking of course!

The British canal system is a nationwide network which connects almost the entire country by waterways. Since the Roman times, canals have been used for transporting coal, building materials and many different goods. Nowadays they are used by avid excursionists, off for a spot of recreational travel or as homes on water. These decked out holiday homes are called "narrow boats".  Anyone can hire them as no special boating licence is required! Rich and I were lucky enough to jump aboard his Aunt and Uncle’s 50ft "Phoebe Jones" and motor off for the day.

Please note the average speed of a narrow boat is approximately 2.5 to 3 miles per hour, we weren't getting far quickly! Even the people walking along side of the canals on the towpath were travelling faster than us!  The towpaths were once used by horses to pull the barges along before they had engines. Today they are now very popular with cyclists or locals strolling to one of the 70+ pubs that line the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal. We, of course, were heading to the pub however we had a full day’s work ahead of us before stopping.

Cider time

The 29 Devizes locks of the Kennet and Avon Canal are known for being one of the longest flights of locks in the World. "Locks" are devices built into the canal to raise and lower boats between two stretches of waterway. Caen Hill of Devizes has 16 consecutive locks which form a steep flight up the hillside. Over the course of a long day we opened and closed the 29 locks of Devizes, travelled 2 miles in distance and had risen 72 metres from our original starting point.  A pint of cider was nearly in our sights and we had definitely earned it!

Hello Dave Zee!

We arrived at the Barge Inn at Seend and moored up the narrow boat. Here we bumped into one of our favourite Atlas locals, Dave Zee, as Seend is his hometown! With Thatchers Gold cider on tap we all couldn’t resist. This traditional English cider, perfect for any occasion, is smooth and fruity fresh with the sparkling taste of crisp apples. There was a massive steak burger on special so we indulged in an evening of delicious drinks and food. Being a Wadworth pub I had to sample a couple of tasty Horizons too!

Thatchers is one of many cider farms located in the Somerset area. Next week I will head across to the border into Somerset for a cider tour. I’ll be visiting a few farms to find out what makes all these ciders so unique and tasty!