The idea of nominating a 'Real Ale Bar of the Month' is to showcase a variety of New Zealand's emerging purveyors of real ale. If the award simply went to the establishment serving the best real ale every month, things would get boring, as there is always one clear winner. With the Twisted Hop in Christchurch closed for the foreseeable future following the earthquake (although South Island readers will be glad to know that they are looking in to the possibility of opening a new brew pub outside the city, and a bar in the suburbs), the only other hostelry in the country that might challenge Galbraith's' supremacy is Nelson's Free House. In truth, Galbraith's is so far ahead of the competition, that there's no chance of anyone beating them anytime soon. On every recent visit the beer has been absolutely outstanding, with several pints (sorry, "Colonials" - i.e. the same price as pints used to be, but a smaller volume!) of the Bob Hudson's Bitter amongst the best beer ever consumed by a notoriously hard-to-please British expat. There are very few pubs in Britain that would come close to serving beer of this spectacular quality, so Galbraith's is more than just champion of the southern hemisphere. Admittedly, they do have a huge advantage over other bars wishing to serve real ale - it's brewed on the premises. Nevertheless, this shouldn't be used as an excuse not to try to reach their standard. The quality of NZ-served real ale could be improved immeasurably by sending all publicans and bar-tenders up to Auckland for an obligatory tasting session at Galbraith's. If they can't serve up beer as deliciously fresh, and with that ridiculously smile-inducing clarity and aroma, then they shouldn't be serving beer at all. It is very difficult to fault Galbraith's at the moment. The only criticism that springs to mind is that every time one gets up to buy another pint, one's newspaper is whisked away in an instant by an over-attentive member of staff and added to the communal pile. The 'attention' would be better directed at serving customers at the bar swiftly. And if you see a gentleman in the corner with an inanely silly grin on his face, and tears trickling down his cheeks, purring with pleasure as he lifts a pint to his mouth, it'll be someone who's been away for a while, and just can't believe how good the beer really is. This is why we drink beer. Beer that cannot raise the hairs on the back of one's neck and produce such an emotional response shouldn't be consumed. Unfortunately, drinking beer this good only happens a few times in a lifetime. Get there and try it!
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