The latest from Atlas

Monday 23 December 2013

Summer means Sangria!

We have introduced some Sangria to our Summer menu at Atlas. It's a perfect accompaniment to some Atlas tapas or perhaps a spot of lunch on a nice hot day. The sangria is bursting with fruity flavours and is served a wee dash of vodka.

Red Fruity Summer Sangria
14| $10 per glass












Please enjoy responsibly! 

Coming soon: Altitude - The Goldpanner's Profit

The Mischievous Kea went down a storm when we had it on tap back in the Spring.

We are very excited as shortly we will be featuring another beer from Altitude Brewing Studios. We can confirm that theirnext beer,  The Goldpanner's Profit, has been brewed and barrelled and we'll soon be serving it.  

The Goldpanner's Profit is a crisp and refreshing ale named after the hardworking prospectors of Queenstown's iconic goldrush. Here's a peek at the bottle labels (we'll be serving the Goldpanner's on tap at Atlas) and below are the tasting notes:

Brewed from all NZ ingredients, The Goldpanners Profit is designed around a malt profile that gives a refreshing and characterful flavour with a very dry finish. It's rich and golden in the glass and had been subtly hopped to give a light bitterness on the palate and a pleasing nose of Summer fruits.

Colour: Rich gold
Nose: Tropical Summer fruits
Palate: Clean malts with a hint of toffee and biscuit. Mild bitterness with a dry wheat finish.
Hops: Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin
Malts: Pilsener, Wheat, Toffee, Biscuit, Chocolate
ABV: 4.9%






Christmas Opening Times

Merry Christmas!
We will be open over the Christmas period so call in and see us. 

Christmas Eve – 9am - Midnight

Christmas Day – Closed

Boxing Day – 9am-midnight

New Year's Eve – 9am - late

New Year's Day – 9am - late

Saturday 21 December 2013

Atlas Beer Cafe feature Rosé

We've returned Rosé to our wine list for Summer, however, this year we will keep changing it so if you are a Rosé fan you'll have a variety to sample over the Summer months. 

We are currently serving the Lindeman's Early Harvest Rosé. It's a crisp and refreshing wine which made by harvesting the grapes a bit earlier so that the grapes have less sugars thus making it lower in alcohol (and therefore calories). It has raspberry and cherry flavours and is fantastic with Asian cuisine and Summer salads. 

Lindemans Early Harvest | 8.5% | $8

Friday 20 December 2013

New day menu - coming soon

We recently updated our evening menu with many new tasty items and now we will soon be launching our Summer daytime menu.

We've got some coconut waffles going onto the breakfast selection. Two new tasty salads, a new burger and some awesome sandwich and wraps. Also a calzone going onto the hot lunch selection.

Calzone with beef, bacon, sausage, cheese, onion jam and smoked tomato chutney with side salad | $18.50

The new menu will be available very soon, we'll keep you posted!

Emerson's Brewers Reserve on tap at Atlas


Better than the Double Down...
We currently have the Emerson's Vertumnus Brewers Reserve on tap. 
The beer is named after Vertumus who is the Roman god of the seasons, and change also gardens and fruit trees and change is the theme of this awesome pilsner.  The brewing team at at Emerson's took their favourite pilsner and swapped all the NZ hops for American ones. The beer has also been dry-hopped making it bitter, crisp and aromatic. 

And, Emersons reckon it's "the best thing that should have come out of America since triple bacon burgers and the Double Down"! 

Emerson's Vertumnus Brewers Reserve | 6% | $9 pint




Please enjoy responsibly




Thursday 19 December 2013

Atlas Gift Vouchers for Sale

Perfect for that "hard to buy for" someone
How did it get to the 19th of December? If you still have Christmas shopping to do and if you are stuck for ideas, don't forget we have Atlas vouchers available. We can issue them for any amount and they are valid for a whole year from the date of issue. 

The vouchers can be used to buy food and drinks so why not treat someone to a little Christmas craft beer cheer at your favourite beer cafe. Ask in Atlas for details and the bar-staff will be happy to help out.

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Checking in with the Atlas Athletes - Alanna

Alanna (right) enjoys one of her podium finishes
We were stoked to be one of Alanna Columb's sponsors for her Northern Hemisphere 2013 season. It was Alanna's first time racing in European and World Cup events and she scored some solid results in what was her inaugural season - and she hasn't even been riding downhill for that long!


Hello Alanna, how are you?

I'm really well, thank you!


Give us a little summary of your European Season. 

So I left NZ in the middle of May. First stop was the UK with my first race being in Scotland at Fort William. I then continued on throughout Europe, I entered a total of 12 races, a mixture of European and World Cup events and visited over ten different countries. Finishing up in Austria for my last race. I was based mostly in Morzine in France. I enjoyed Morzine - it's a great place with loads of options for riding. We had a bit of gypsy camp going on in the car park of the supermarket below the gondola!


So this was your first competitive Down Hill season, what was your highlight of the tour?

I've thought about this question for a while and not one thing pops up. The whole experience was pretty eye opening! I reckon if I have to say - the highlight of my tour was standing on the podium with Rachel Atherton (world champ) and Myriam Nicole, who was third overall at last year's World Cup. It was pretty cool to stand up there in my jeans and jandals with only two sponsors, Off Road Adventures and Atlas.


What was the low point of your tour?

Towards the end of my trip I ended up getting injured and not qualifying for a World Cup race - that wasn't too fun.


What's the vibe like on the DH race circuit? Is their a feeling of camaraderie or is it each rider to their own?

As it's an individual sport we all want to win - so I guess it's natural there's a bit of competition between us all. But on the whole everyone's really cool and it's a good vibe on tour.


Which was your favourite place to race and why?

Andorra! Without a doubt, the tracks were amazing there!


What's up next for Alanna Columb?

Home to work, save and train hard - ready for next year!


So, your stranded on a desert island you're allowed to take a food item, a luxury item and one album with you. What would they be?

Let's go with chocolate, a hammock and Florence and the Machine's Ceremonials. 


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Emerson's Dollar Donations for Queenstown Mountain Bike Club



Richard Emerson gets involved
Throughout October and also into November we donated one dollar from every pint of Emerson's sold to QTMBC for Wynyard Bike Park. 

Thanks to everyone who bought some Emerson's and also big thanks to the fantastic folk at Emerson's for donating a few extra kegs to the cause. Together we raised a total of $5461 for the club. 


Saturday 30 November 2013

Who are Herne? Find out more about brewers behind the The Hunter...

Happy hunting
We are currently serving The Hunter brewed by Herne Brewing Company.

If you haven't tried it yet it's an ESB (that's Extra Special Bitter), a true ale made from UK malts and bitterly hopped with UK Goldings and the deliciously aromatic Styrian Goldings for aroma. 

It's hoppy, but not as hoppy or bitter as an IPA, which makes it perhaps a little more drinkable and accessible for some people, whilst still being tasty!

Herne Brewery are contract brewers who brew at Wanaka Beerworks whilst being based in Tapanui, West Otago. Tom, the brewer behind Herne (known in the industry as "Tom the Pom"), has been in the beer business since 1998 when he began working at Emerson's and worked there for six years. After this he went on to found the Green Man Brewery; then in 2010 Tom left Green Man and along with his wife founded Crafty Beers. Crafty Beers do various events including formally recognised Brewer's Guild education and Herne Brewing.

The Hunter is the inaugural brew from Herne so we are excited to have this first brew on tap at Atlas. The Hunter appears to be going down well with other people too, with Yvonne Yonkin from Food TV's Thirsty Work saying,
" I love the beer, seriously, it's fantastic!".


Herne Brewing Company are looking to increase their range over the next few months so keep an eye out, in the meantime you can call in for a drop of The Hunter at Atlas.

Herne Brewing Company | The Hunter | 5% | $9 pint


As always, please enjoy responsibly

New Evening Menu - coming soon!

 Summer evenings at Atlas... *contented sigh*

As the seasons change so does the Atlas menu! We're are getting ready to release our new daytime and evening menus.  Here's a little sneak peek of what's going to be on the evening menu just to whet the appetite!

Tapas

Crispy squid with fried capers and a red pepper & chilli mayonnaise | $9 GF 

Steak sliders with onion and and blue cheese cream | $8.5

Mushroom arancini with aioli and salsa verde |  $8.5 V

Peking duck rolls with spring onions and hoisin sauce | $9.5 GF 

Grilled prawns with laksa broth and glass noodles | $8.5 GF 

Pork belly with apple glaze and sesame seeds | $8 GF

Breads with olive oil and dukkah | $8 V

Slow-roasted tomatoes with feta and olives in a pastry tart | $8.5 V

Edamame beans with salt | $7 V GF

House-cured beef with smoked beetroot | $9


Mains

Home-made beef sausage with kumara mash and onion rings | $18.5

Rump steak with chips and salad | $19.5 GF

Whole roasted sole with miso glaze chips and salad | $18.5 GF

Slow-cooked chicken in tomato, lemon and olive sauce with mash | $18.50


Hungry now? We'll let you know when the new menu is ready to go!

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Goodbye to an Atlas great

Round one
We've been really lucky to have absolutely stellar staff since we opened the doors at Atlas in 2009. We recently said goodbye to one of our longest-serving staff members who has now headed off on new adventures.

Hailing from England originally, Emma was travelling around NZ when her car broke down leaving her stranded in Queenstown (not a bad place to get stranded!). Emma decided to stick around and thanks to that auto-mobile malfunction we've been lucky enough to have her working at Atlas for the last four years.

After such a long time we're sure that many of you, like us, were sad to say goodbye to Emma. 

Emz poured her last Atlas pints on Hallowe'en and, as is the time honoured tradition, was ceremoniously thrown into the lake at the end of her shift. Twice. 

So in case you missed it here are the snaps.


Thank you for all your work over the past few years, Emma. We will miss you and all of us wish you the best of luck with whatever you do next!


Getting ready for round two

After four years, one dunk was never going to be enough.


Monday 18 November 2013

Checking in with the Atlas Athletes - Adam Barwood

Podium finish - Adam in the top spot 
We were happy to support a few local athletes over the Winter season so we thought we'd check in and see how their respective season's went and what the snowy North has in store for them. Next up, Adam Barwood who is now skiing and competing over in Colorado as this post goes online. 

Hello Adam, how's things? 

Good, thanks!


Give us a little summary of your 2013 NZ Winter Season. 

My New Zealand season was pretty full-on with lots of gym work before on snow training started. To start off I had a couple of days at Coronet mid-June before heading up to Mt Hutt for a week of technical training. It was a busy season of races with about 20 starts altogether. My first races were held at Cardrona and Treble Cone. The season also saw me over in Australia, skiing in for four day in slalom races at Thredbo in the ANC Continental Cup. After this it was straight back to Coronet for Winter Games. 


Tell us what was your highlight of the Winter was and is there an achievement that you are particularly proud of?

All up if was a pretty successful season for me, achieving a few goals and personal best results. I won the National Championship titles in slalom, giant slalom, overall men and also took out the Snowsports Alpine Athlete of the Year award. One of my highlights was gaining a personal best result in slalom and it just happened to be my 21st birthday too!


What countries will you be visiting this NH Winter? What are the places you look forward to in particular? Are there any events you are going to that you haven't yet skiied?

I left NZ on the 1st November and started training at Loveland. It's really cold and the high altitude (over 10,000ft) takes a bit of adjustment at first. One of the main races I have coming up will be some of the NorAm Cup races, these races are part of the qualifying criteria for the coming Olympics. The ream I'll be racing in will be made up of Australian and New Zealand national team members and we'll be training and racing in Loveland until we head to Austria, arriving there on Christmas Eve. Whilst I'm in Europe I'll go to Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia and Slovenia. I'm on the shortlist for the Sochi 2014 Olympics so I might even get to Russia!


Describe your best run of the season. 

It would have to be the race at Treble Cone on my birthday. Steep course, hard snow, a fairly clean run and a personal best!


As someone who travels a lot you must have a few tunes on your iPod to help you pass the time at airports. What are you listening to at the moment? Have you got any guilty pop secrets?

I seem to listen to pretty much anything that fits the moment. If I had a genre it would probably be rock or alternative. Lately I've been listening to a little Mumford and Sons and The National.


Do you ever get nervous before events? How do you get in the zone?

I do get a little nervous at times but I'm also getting used to it after competing in so many races. I have a bit of a morning and warm up routine to help get me in a good state of mind.


Final question: You're heading to Atlas for a feed, who would be your four dream people to accompany you to dinner? Can be anyone dead or alive.

1. Dalai Lama, 2.Hermann Maier, 3. Will Ferrel, 4. Steve Jobs


The best of luck from all of us at Atlas for your Northern Hemisphere Winter season! Would love to see the Dalai Lama at Atlas too...

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Beer Update - Mischievous Kea IPA

Mischievous.

We will soon be pouring a new IPA from Altitude Brewing.

Altitude are a Queenstown-based company "providing New Zealand craft beers to the discerning beer drinking community". Well, that sounds like us at Atlas!

The Mischievous Kea IPA has a distinct Kiwi flavour. It's brewed using all Kiwi ingredients - the hops are from Marlborough and the malts from the Canterbury Plains.

With this carefully selected blend of Kiwi components you can expect a vibrant hop profile with fragrant, tropical nose. The palette is also vibrant and mouth-filling with mandarin and orange flavours balanced by a toasty sweetness from the malts. The finish has a lingering sweetness.

Sounds good and it'll be on tap very soon!


Altitude Brewing | Mischievous Kea IPA | 5.5% | $9.50 per pint 


Please enjoy responsibly

Season of Shred - Limited Tees available at Atlas

Ready to shred

If you weren't able to attend the Season of Shred opening party we held the beginning of October to celebrate the start of the MTB season then you missed out of a fantastic night. But fear not - we'll holding another party next year and, in the meantime, we still have Tees for sale so you can wear one as you shred!

There's limited numbers available and you can buy them from the bar at Atlas for only $20.

Thanks again to everyone who made Season of Shred such a great night. We raised a whopping $4100 for Queenstown Mountain Bike Club The top two prizes went to:

1. Scott Voltage DH bike from H&J Outdoor World - Helen Watling
2. Two days of hire from Queenstown Bike Taxis - Tom Hey & Jarrah Healy

Huge thanks to everyone who donated prizes to the raffle - your support and generosity was and is appreciated. So massive thanks to the following:

Alpine for the heli-biking

Kore Skis for the custom skis
H&J Outdoor World for the Go Pro
Fallon Photography for the half day shoot
Pinewood Lodge for the 2 nights of accomodation and bike hire
Outside Sports for the bike mechanic kit
Spoke Magazine for the subscriptions
Quest for the clothing
Gibbston Valley Wines for the six bottle of vino donated
La Blond for the $100 voucher
Blue Shark Ltd for the MTB gear
Emily Cournane at Queenstown Sports and Therapeutic Massage for 2 x 1/2 massages

Thank you also to Quest and the volunteers who helped with selling T-shirts and tickets. Thank you to the QTMBC members who helped organise the event and to everyone who turned out, supported the night and made it such a good one!

THANKS!

Atlas Beer Cafe

Checking in with the Atlas Athletes - AndieG

We've been proud to support emerging Queenstown ski-talent, AndieG this NZ Winter. As the season is now over and we are firmly in Spring we thought we catch up with Andie to get the low-down on this year's slope-time and see what the rest of 2013 has in store for her.
AndieG with this season's hardware haul


Hello AndieG,

Hi guys!

How are you? Jumped in the lake yet?

I'm pretty good thanks, a little tired after a Winter of early starts although I am missing the snow already! Labour weekend is usual my first jump into the lake. Although, I didn't go in on Labour weekend this year as it was cold and snowing and my Mum wouldn't let me!

So, tell us a bit about your 2013 season. Give a summary of your time on skis this Winter. 

The season started well with some excellent snow early on with allowed us to train five day a week on snow - so no complaints from me there! The snow got a little thin late July/early August and once the international teams arrived lane space got a bit limited at Coronet Peak. So we moved over to The Remarkables and it was really fun to have a change of scenery. Once some new snow arrived it was back to Coronet Peak to train alongside the international teams. It was so cool and inspirational to be training alongside World Cup legends like Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin and Julia Mancuso! 

September was a busy month with the Southern Region Inter-Field races; a SuperG speed camp at Mt Hutt; the National Youth Series and in October I returned to Mt Hutt for the South Island Champs. September especially was was full-on! Mid-week training sessions and racing all over the South Island meant lots of early morning travel and late-night ski tuning with my Dad! 

What was the highlight of your NZ season?

Meeting Mikaela Shiffrin, Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso was pretty awesome and training alongside them at Coronet Peak was really inspiring. Winning the U14 National SL Title jointly with my QAST team mate Alex Hull was really cool. We finished on equal points so share the title together this year. Also the Atlas sponsorship was cool too, I blown away when Davey offered to sponsor me for the Winter along with Adam and Alanna, I felt pretty humbled to be in such great company.

And do you have an achievement that you are particularly that you are proud of?

I have two! Winning the U14 Ladies SL Title - really pleasing as I focussed hard on my Slalom this Winter. I was also awarded the QAST U14 Most Improved Athlete Trophy. It was nice to know that my coaches recognised my hard work and it made my Mum and Dad proud too!


What was your best run of the NZ 2013 season, doesn't have to be race one. Describe it for us?

That's a tough one. I'd probably say my first two SL runs at the South Island Champs at Mt Hutt. The conditions and course suited me well and I felt confident and strong in both runs. Unfortunately I was just pipped to the post (0.4 sec) by my awesome team mate, Alice Robinson, who is a phenomenal skier and my benchmark.

What's on for Spring?

I'm back in the gym twice a week with my personal trainer, the awesome Braden Lee at Fight Science, focussing on mainly speed and cardio work. I'm also enjoying doing CX Core, RPM and Body Combat classes with my Mum at the Events Centre. I'm just making sure I'm getting plenty of rest, eating well, building strength and dropping a little weight before heading away to Squaw Valley in December. Just the usual conditioning stuff and, of course, dreaming about skiing again in a few weeks!

So you are heading North in December to train with the Squaw Valley ski team again. Tell us a bit about that?

Yes, we are going to Tahoe on December 20th for a White Christmas which is really exciting as I've not had a one before. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Olympic Village at Squaw Valley dressed up with lights and decorations. I'll be training 4/5 days with the Squaw Valley Ski team for 6 weeks and doing plenty of free skiing with my parents too, which will be really nice... if my Dad can keep up!


What's on your iPod at the moment?

Like everyone I'm pretty fixated on the success of Lorde so she's on high rotate. Then there's Taylor Swift who I've liked for a few years now. Then now and again I squeeze in a bit of Macklemore's Thriftshop to annoy my Dad or that crazy song - What does the Fox say?.


What's your favourite thing to eat in the States?

My favourite thing to eat anywhere is steak (Especially at Atlas) but I do like a classic North American Caesar Chicken Salad and a sneaky Oh Henry chocolate bar now and then. 

So you're off to Atlas with your folks for a steak and fries meal, who would be your four dream people to accompany you to dinner? Can be anyone. 

Mum and Dad so they can pay for dinner because I won't have enough money!
Mikaela Shiffrin, World SL Champion and my absolute idol and inspiration; Julia Mancuso, Olympic Gold Medalist and the person I respect the most in skiing; Ivan from Outside Sport, because he's known me since I was small and started skiing and knows everything about skiing and ski racing; Davey from Atlas so he can meet my idols and understand what motivates me.


Good luck with your training  and races in the States, AndieG! We're pretty envious. 

Thanks, I'll keep my blog updated every few days so you can check out my progress over the Summer. I hope you guys enjoy the Summer here in NZ and thanks again for the support and help this Winter!


Wednesday 30 October 2013

Emerson's Porter back at Atlas


For those of you who love a darker drop we've got the Emerson's London Porter back in bottles at Atlas.

Here's the Emerson's tasting notes to get your mouth watering:

Porter is the oldest commercially brewed style. Dark, dry and mellow with some hop characteristics, it was the favourite tipple of London's porters. London Porter pours a deep brown colour with reddish tints, and the aroma is toasty, with a hint of sweetness and some earthy hop notes. Firm-bodied, but not heavy, with a creamy texture, the dryish palate is full of roasted malt, coffeeish notes and a sustained bitterness. 

So if you fancy enjoying one in the surrounds of your favourite craft beer cafe - come on down to see us. Porter's go well with any meaty dish so you could pair one with an Atlas steak & fries meal or the beefburger. Or you can simply enjoy one by itself and savour the complexity of the Emerson's London Porter flavours. Either way, it's delicious.

Emerson's London Porter | 5% | $11.5 | 500ml

As always, please enjoy responsibly.

Atlas and QTMBC: another $5000 for Wynyard!

We stoked to announce that we are donating another $5000 to QTMBC to help maintain Wynyard Bike Park. Biking is such a huge way of life in Queenstown, so at Atlas we are keen to make a contribution so can we can all continue to enjoy the trails. If you're into biking why not join the QTMBC? Not only are you helping to maintain the trails but you get a ton of sweet discounts with many great businesses around Queenstown.

We'll be keeping you updated with how the Atlas money is being put to good use at Wynyard. In the meantime here's a few pics from last season. 



Tuesday 22 October 2013

Cash cash money money! Atlas and Emerson's raising funds for QMTBC

Legend: Richard Emerson
Don't forget this month at Atlas one dollar from every pint of Emerson's sold will be donated to QTMBC

So if you are in the mood for a pint or two pop in and see us. You get to enjoy a quality Emerson's brew, help a great community cause and all without moving from your bar stool. 

Everyone's a winner!

Muttonbird Beer: Five minutes with Richard Emerson - pt 2

Richard Emerson
The second part of our Q&A with Richard Emerson.


It feels like the craft beer industry has expanded substantially over the last few years. Do you ever feel like the market is becoming saturated?


Breweries have grown in the past few years, the biggest leap has been in the number of very small breweries. There is a wide of range of beers available now and the customer is spoiled for choice!


How does the idea for a new beer start? What inspires you?  Do you ever get inspired by anything other than beer? Food, for example, or a nice view or something?

Often an event or travels inspire me to develop a new beer. Bookbinder was a “one-off beer” created for the Victorian Fete in Oamaru, I wanted an English session ale with a bit of a Kiwi infusion using the distinctive Riwaka hop.

The 2002 trip to Oregon also inspired me to experiment with the new US hop ‘Amarillo’ which enabled Emerson’s to win a Gold Medal for APA.

I’m off to the Pacific Northwest in September, perhaps another inspiration may be in the works?


Can you cook? If so, what is your signature dish (and Emerson's beer match)?

My passion is cooking on the barbeque or slow cooking in Dutch cast iron pots (known as Potijie) over charcoals. It is great being outside preparing the fire, shovelling the charcoals around the pot, searing the meat then layering the ingredients up and relaxing with a few beers in hand during all that preparation…aha.

My signature dish is the 1812 Duck. Slow-cooked on Weber BBQ on Christmas Day and matched with the 1812 Pale Ale – what a way to enjoy the day!

Beer matching with food is so exciting especially when there’s a discovery of a perfect flavour match – so good that it would be hard for a winemaker to beat.

My favourite food match is a hard one to better. Delicious, freshly-shucked, briny oysters with crisp fruity Emerson’s Pilsner…oh my god what more can I say? Unfortunately the Bluff Oyster season has come to an end but equally fantastic is Tio Point Oysters from Marlborough Sounds.


Do you bike in your spare time? If so, what? X-country, downhill or road? 

I enjoy simply riding around Middlemarch with our dogs, the chance to cruise, admire the scenery and work an appetite for a beer!


Where are you going on your next holiday?

By the time you are reading this, I’ll have been on a Beer Tour visiting US Craft Breweries in the Pacific Northwest.


Tell us a secret. 

What did you say?...whaaat?

Saturday 28 September 2013

Season of Shred!

Could this be yours?
Here's a picture of the Scott Voltage currently hanging in Atlas, patiently waiting for the SOS party on Oct 6th went it'll be claimed in the raffle by it's new owner. Could it be you?

We've also had some more prizes come in - thanks to Pinewood Lodge and Outside Sport for your donations to the raffle.

Pinewood have donated two free nights accomadation along with two mornings of bike hire. One morning hard tail and one morning DH hire. Nice!

Outside Sports have donated an ultimate tools biker kit for all your home small repairs. 

Big thanks to both companies from us all at Atlas for their generous donations and we'll keep you posted as the prizes roll in.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

SOS - The Prizes so far

Prizes so far for Season of Shred include:


A Scott Voltage bike from Outdoor World

Queenstown Bike Taxi have donated two full days of van and driver hire

3 x One year mag subscriptions to Spoke magazine along with some Spoke Tees

A half day pro photoshot with Fallon

A $100 voucher for La Blond for you ladies (or men) to get a pampering

Keep checking back as we'll be announcing more prizes soon.

Monday 23 September 2013

Season of Shred 2013

The One Day event organised by Atlas as a fundraiser for QTMBC back in March went down a storm; and now another knees-up is just around the corner...

Atlas is hosting the SOS party (Season of Shred) to celebrate the start of MTB season. It'll be another night of fun and frolics with loads of amazing raffle prizes to be won. (All the proceeds going to QTMBC.)

We'll be posting more details about the prizes so check back here on the website or keep an eye on our Facebook page. 

There's limited edition event T-shirts on sale now at Atlas for just $20. And, if you wear your T-shirt on the night you'll get one free raffle entry.

Tickets and Ts available now at Atlas and also Quest. 

Tshirts: $20 | Raffle Tickets: $5 each, 3 for $10 or 7 for $20.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Muttonbird Beer: Five minutes with Richard Emerson pt1

Richard Emerson
We were really proud to be the first establishment to serve Emerson's in Queenstown when we opened in 2009. So we thought it was high time we caught up with "Mr Pilsner" (to quote one of our regulars) himself. 


How was Beervana? Were you serving anything different? Did you make any good discoveries?

Beervana was great this year, nearly 10,000 punters came along. We felt good about our stand as we had nine beers on tap! This was great the for the customers and it was fun watching them make decisions about which beer to and watching the happy looks on their faces.

We also had our Festive Brew, Titi Stout. According to the festive rules one of the four major ingredients in beer (malt, hops, water and yeast) had to be omitted. Our Festive Brew had no hops! So instead there were a few Muttonbirds and watercress added for flavour. Just mentioning those ingredients raised a few eyebrows and of course people wanted to try it!

As Beervana was busy and along with the liquor rules it was difficult for us to have the chance to try other beers but the quality of the food was gorgeous!


We've heard that you were inspired to start brewing upon returning to NZ after living in Scotland and enjoying the ales there. Were there any beers in particular that inspired a brewing epiphany? If so, what were they?

That’s right, after appreciating delicious flavoursome beers in Scotland and Britain, it was hard to live with the mediocre bland fizzy draught beers in NZ. Those beers were Belhaven, Caledonian, Theakston’s and there were many other fine examples. Oh god, I want to go back and re-live those beers!


Tell us about the first beer you brewed that you were really proud of. 

As a home brewer I did some brewing with malt extract but I was never satisfied with the flavours in the finished beer until I did my first ‘all-grain’ mash in Mother’s kitchen in May 1986. The flavours were there! I was ecstatic with the results. The euphoria of creating the right flavours didn’t last long as I was banished from mother’s kitchen for creating a fine sticky mess and hogging the kitchen for the whole day. A good friend gave me space in his garage for me to continue the research and development process.


Any other memorable/funny moments from your early brewing ventures?

Oh where do I start? There’s quite a few…one of the first things I learnt while at the garage brewery, was not to drink with visiting mates while I was brewing – less mistakes and burnt fingers!

A memorable occasion was when Chris O’Leary from Hawkes Bay’s Roosters Brewery visited the 4 Grange Street Brewery bringing with him some authentic German style Weisswurst sausages to enjoy with the Emerson’s Weissbier. I realized we were not well organised and had nothing to cook the sausages in.
The Electric jug was pressed into service with the sausages and the button reset each time to keep it boiling…aha those Weisswurst were great with tall glasses of frothy Weissbier!

The electric jug was never quite the same…


We had a few more questions to put to Richard to check back next week for the 2nd part of our chat with "Mr Pilsner".

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Tonight's Member's Night Prize

Member's Night
Hello everyone,

Atlas Member's Night tonight. The prize up for grabs this evening is a pair of tickets for the Winter Games Adventure Film Festival. 

So pop on down with your Atlas key ring from 6pm to enter. If you haven't looked at the programme check it out. It looks awesome, with Gone Curling looking particularly rad! 

http://adventurefilmfestival.wintergamesnz.com/film-descriptions