This is just a tribute

"This is not the greatest beer in the world - this is just a tribute" - Jack Black, if he brewed beer.

 Tributes. Before a book series made that word remind us of teenagers sent to their death, being a tribute was actually a pretty cool thing. It meant someone thought something was so cool, it decided you would be created in its image. It's all very biblical really.

Creative people usually come up with the best kind of tributes. Musicians write songs, artists paint/sculpt/draw and brewers brew beers. I've already blogged about the alcoholic tribute to Wellington's stoner/sludge/metal group Beastwars. And while I love that beer a lot, it probably isn't my top musical tribute beer.

That accolade goes to Epic's nod to Kiwi record label Flying Nun, in the form of the Flying Nun 30th Anniversary Pale Ale. The label is brilliant, in all its textured vinyl awesomeness. You can't help but run your fingers along it a few times, almost wishfully thinking some jangling guitar riff would pour out of it. It poured - while I listened to Die! Die! Die! - a clear-gold more akin to a mainstream lager. The taste, while calm and approachable, had a great smooth bitterness which instantly made you want more. Really, I can't think of a beer which sums up Flying Nun better - as approachable as The Clean, but with edge like only The Mint Chicks could bring to keep things interesting, keep you coming back for more to scratch that slightly-left-of-centre itch you just picked up. And it tasted great on the deck, in the sun, while blasting Die! Die! Die!, then surely it would taste good with any other Flying Nun act.

But there are also tribute beers to writers. One quite close to home is another Epic beer - their Zythos IPA. While not specifically branded as a tribute beer, on the bottle are the words "One Trick Pony". This refers to a post where blogger and genuine good bugger Phil Cook described Epic as a brewery which pumped out far too many IPAs. In typical cocky and confident Epic fashion, brewer Luke Nicholas made yet another IPA. But this time, it was made solely using the new Zythos hop blend. It's brash, but brilliantly balanced - exactly what the Phil Cook I know would go kittens for.

So while not exactly a tribute beer, I like to think it is a nod to the fact Luke cares about what Phil thinks and, thereafter, writes. Which really is the reason why most bloggers blog - to be read and paid attention to.

But the ultimate tribute beer has to be Flying Dog's Gonzo. One look and taste of this beer is enough to let you know that the brewers have made a seriously effort to uphold the ethos of Gonzo - quirky, queer and somewhat questionable in taste while being totally unpredictable and alluring, all at the same time. Not that Hunter would give a crap weather you like this beer or not; it is what it is, and if you don't like it you can be force-fed some acid and shiver off the high while chewing your cheeks to shreds among your portraits of Barbra Streisand. And not that these guys care what you do with the beer. Heck, they're happy enough to blow it up.

As Hunter said, good people drink good beer. Well, good people should be immortalised in good beer as well. I can't really think of a better way to say to someone 'hey, you're pretty awesome'. Here's hoping I can make a beer someday to let someone know they're pretty cool.