Season of Shred T-Shirts Now on Sale!

Long Live the Loop T-Shirts $25

Long Live the Loop T-Shirts are now on sale at Atlas!

The proceeds from this year's Season of Shred party will be donated to Queenstown Mountain Bike Club's Long Live the Loop campaign, which aims to raise funds a-plenty for the new Fernhill Loop extension. 

We're really excited to be backing this QMTBC campaign, more trails = more fun is what we think! If you want to show your support too, then why not get one of the T-shirts?

The stylish, charcoal grey Ts are $25 each (with proceeds going to QMTBC) and you also get two free tickets for the Season of Shred Party raffle. 

5 Things You Didn't Know About Beer: How Beer Was Flavoured Before Hops

Twiggy

If you thought that hops had been used to flavour beer since beer began, you'd be mistaken. This dose of beer facts is about how beer was flavoured before hops. Be thankful that twigs and mugwort aren't the only options anymore.

• The 11th century is the first time hops are documented as being used to flavour beer.

• Before this beer was flavoured using a variety of plants including dandelion, burdock, marigold, heather and the rather Harry Potter sounding, Mugwort.

• Gruit (or grut) is an old herb mixture that was used to bitter beer before hops. Gruit varied in recipe with different producers having their own special blend. Some gruit ingredients are now know to have preservative qualities.

• Gruit itself lost popularity with the onset of hops in brewing but some non-hopped beers still survive today such as Sahti. Sahti is a traditional Finnish beer that is flavoured with berries, twigs and juniper.

• Gruit has had a bit of a revival though due to the craft brewing's recent renaissance. Many smaller breweries in the US and Europe have experimented with unhopped beers and found inspiration in the old herbs (and twigs) that were previously used to flavour beer.

Season of Shred 2014 - Sunday 16th Nov 2014

Season of Shred is back for 2014! We are super excited to announce that our party to celebrate the start of the MTB season will be held on Sunday 16th Nov and it's going to be a great night!

We'll be kicking off the proceedings this year with a trick competition in front of Atlas. You'll be able to watch some QT biking talent huck themselves of a ramp and into Lake Wakatipu, competing for the best trick prize.

There'll also be Atlas food and drink specials, a rad DJ, bike videos playing on the bid screen and, of course, an epic raffle. Our star prizes this year come from Queenstown Bike Taxis who have donated two full days of bike taxi hire and H&J Outdoor World who have donated $1,000 worth of bike gear. We've had raffle prizes galore donated by loads of other fabulous QT businesses who are supporting the event and will be posting the full prize list soon. 

The money raised from this year's SOS will be donated to QMTBC for their Long Live the Loop campaign. Roll on the 16th Nov!

Altitude Brewing Studios: Collarbone Cure

Not just for crook collarbones...

If you've tasted Altitude's Collarbone Cure you may find you already recognise the flavour . . . That's because it's the former Goldpanner's Profit Golden Ale, now in a new MTB-friendly guise. We regularly serve Altitude Brewing Studio beers at Atlas and you've not heard of them before, they are a locally-owned business who brew their beers with all New Zealand ingredients.

If you haven't tried it yet Collarbone Cure is a refreshing, session-able ale that's perfect for Summer drinking. We guarantee it will go to go down a treat after a day of dusty laps on the bike trails. Or perhaps the ideal choice for a few relaxing, lake-side quiets on a hot day.

You can expect a fruity nose thanks to the Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin hops, and a palate that delivers hints of caramel and biscuit due to the combined profile of pilsner, wheat, toffee, biscuit and chocolate malts. The finish is refreshing and lingeringly dry.

Now, who's for a pint of Collarbone Cure and a bowl of fries by the lake?

Altitude Brewing Studios Collarbone Cure | 4.4% | $9.5 pint

As always, please enjoy responsibly.