After my hang gliding adventure, I continued North into Golden Bay and the small town of Takaka. I had started testing out the local brews once I got to Nelson, and the highlight of the tastings ended about 17 km North of Takaka at a place called the Mussel Inn. I stuck my thumb out to hitch a ride and ended up in a VW van with the brewmaster himself(unfortunately, I did not find this out until I was in the bar). The Mussel Inn is a small tavern that brews all of its own beers and there are a lot of them. I tried 4 of them. There was the Captain cooker, Dark Horse Ale, Monkey Puzzle, and the Weka Ale. All of them were good. The Weka was my favorite tasting, but the Monkey puzzle was a really good Belgium brew and it was 10% alc. which was great. This place was a real treat. After about 2 hours of tasting, I hitched back to Takaka.
I got a ride with an old hippie from the states named Ro. He no resides permanently in the Nelson area. He was really cool. Through out my travels in the Nelson area, I tried beers from Founders, Harringtons, Mac's, Townsend, and Bennet's. Trust me, the Nelson area has some great beers on tap. If ytou ever get there, amke sure to try a Harrington's Wobbly Boot or a Townsend No. 9. You won't be disappointed.
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After my hang gliding adventure, I continued North into Golden Bay and the small town of Takaka. I had started testing out the local brews once I got to Nelson, and the highlight of the tastings ended about 17 km North of Takaka at a place called the Mussel Inn. I stuck my thumb out to hitch a ride and ended up in a VW van with the brewmaster himself(unfortunately, I did not find this out until I was in the bar). The Mussel Inn is a small tavern that brews all of its own beers and there are a lot of them. I tried 4 of them. There was the Captain cooker, Dark Horse Ale, Monkey Puzzle, and the Weka Ale. All of them were good. The Weka was my favorite tasting, but the Monkey puzzle was a really good Belgium brew and it was 10% alc. which was great. This place was a real treat. After about 2 hours of tasting, I hitched back to Takaka. 
I got a ride with an old hippie from the states named Ro. He no resides permanently in the Nelson area. He was really cool. Through out my travels in the Nelson area, I tried beers from Founders, Harringtons, Mac's, Townsend, and Bennet's. Trust me, the Nelson area has some great beers on tap. If ytou ever get there, amke sure to try a Harrington's Wobbly Boot or a Townsend No. 9. You won't be disappointed. More Beer
