Try my Weta infused lager?

Friday, October 23, 2020


I was cleaning a beer bottle at the sink and noticed something would not come out when I upended it. 


Was it a clump of sediment? 


Some sticky hops?


None of those, it was a Weta! For now, we'll call him an 'ale cricket'*



weta in home brew beer


If you don't know what a Weta is, they are a rather large insect, native to New Zealand. They are strong beasts with a massive set of pincers which can draw blood from human skin. They are so big they can catch and eat mice. 


So how did this now alcohol pickled 6 legged friend get into my beer?


I'm based in Wellington, New Zealand where Weta are a fact of life - they are every. This little fellow would have decided to climb into the empty bottle for a snoozed. 


Come bottling day, he ended up permanently in the drink. 


As a consequence, I can confirm that this particular Weta infused lager didn't taste too bad!


But honestly, once I'd released I was drinking the fermented remains of a Weta, I poured the rest of the beer down the sink. I just couldn't bring myself to finish the drop! Still. better than finding a dead mouse at the bottom I suppose...


I rescued the bugger, here it is:


weta in a beer bottle


I got to thinking, given some Tequila brands through a worm in the bottom of their bottles, maybe I could spearhead a campaign for Kiwi homebrews to have their own little present at the bottom of the bottle...


The real lesson here is that when bottling your beers, you've got to not only rinse and sanitize before filling with your liquid gold, but you must also do a visual inspection! 


But seriously, you gotta watch what you eat when drinking for the consumption of slugs did not end well for this poor lad. The slug was infected with rat lungworm so I'm kinda hoping the alcohol pickled anything else lurking within the Weta...


* not actually sure if male or female. 

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