Epic, the favourite beer of the Dropkicks and well liked by the Wellingtonista, will be adding another wonderful brew to its stables. Enter Epic Armageddon!!!

Armageddon is another version of the popular Indian Pale Ale (IPA) but with more hops and more punch. Luke, the mad scientist behind this creation says "6.66% alc, 66.6% more hops than Epic Pale Ale (well nearly) it's a hop monster".

Event: Epic Armageddon IPA - The Official Launch (that's a Facebook link, kids)
When: Thursday, July 17 at 5:30pm
Where: The Malthouse

We're not cock(tail)teases, really. We do want to let you in on all the secrets, but first of all we want to give you the chance to prove that you're hipper and groovier than everyone else by identifying the bar in question.

In the end, it wasn't long before one of the many anons picked the last mystery bar as Duke Carvell's Swan Lane Emporium, run by the Bresolin boys and delectable in every way. But who's going to be the first to identify this place?

About half the Wellingtonista now call Newtown home, so we thought it was about time we did some exploring of the area. Therefore, on this coming Saturday, we're going to be doing a Newtownista Pub Crawl, and you should come with us!

We're going to start on Riddiford St down near the zoo around 7.30pm, and work our way back towards town, aiming to end up at Amigo's for tapas. Most of us haven't been to most of the bars, so we'll be intending to give them all a go-to, even the dodgy ones - but we may change our minds on the night when we look in their doors.

To come along, either show up in that area at that time, get in contact with a cellphone number so we can text you our progress, or follow my twitter account as hopefully I'll remember to update it as we go along. We're going to boldly go where some people have gone before, and it should be a jolly good time.

Gorgeous photo by Dead Possum, yanked from flickr

Yes, it's Valentine's Day again. There may be some of you out there in need of last minute inspiration to "score brownie points". Don't you hate those bill boards trying to get men to buy flowers around town? They are almost as limited in their conception of masculinity as this little beauty

[contributed by Robyn of the Aucklandista.]

Those of us holed up in the Molesworth precinct earnestly "leveraging" this, getting "traction on" that and generally "actioning" the hell out stuff all day long, hardly need Valentine's Day as an excuse to have a wee -tipple. Fortunately Cellar-vate on Molesworth are having free wine tasting from 4:30 till 6:30 this afternoon, and they are promising bubbly no less! So grab your office-bound honey and head on down.

I am going to avoid any cliched suggestions involving flowers or chocolate but spare a thought for all the Japanese office ladies who suffer through the Japanese version of Valentine's Day where the onus falls on the woman to buy men chocolate and flowers. One month later, on White Day the men reciprocate three-fold, read into that what you will.

The top tip for Valentines Day, in this office lady's opinion, is the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. They are having an adults-only night at the Sanctuary (oh la la) tonight with free boat rides on the lake, birdsong at dusk and most importantly, no children. They are open until 8.00pm so get a babysitter and get back to nature.
(Ed note: we take no responsibility for anyone caught getting really "back to nature")

...there's a bar in Cuba Mall. Okay, so that doesn't swing quite as well as the original, but those with a longing for outrageous costumes and hard drinking, but who can't stomach the Sevens, ought to know that it's Tiki Bar weekend at Matterhorn.

That's right: you have one more night to savour concoctions based on classics by Trader Vic and Beachbum Berry; bar staff dressed as Hawaiian deities; bubbling cauldrons of lethally refreshing punch; and some of the cheesiest slices of lounge exotica ever committed to vinyl.

Now, don't get me wrong: we Wellingtonistas are not usually parsimonious when it comes to paying for drinks. On the other hand, we're a canny and logical bunch, and it only takes about 10 free glasses of house wine to save up enough for a Mega Mai Tai, so in the long run it pays to seek out gratis grog.

Let's start with the obvious: gallery openings and launches. You can get lucky by simply cruising the streets on a midweek night seeking the tell-tale sounds of clinking glasses and poststructuralist discourse, but dedicated cheapskates know that the best way to guarantee results is to get on the mailing lists.

Poster tells it all, really...

The good folk who brought you the Berlin Bonanza invite you to savour the sights, sounds and flavours of Berlin once more. Relive the city's ubercool vibe with the Saturday market, get the true Berlin with a mondo doco, dig in to hot'n'heapin' plates of currywurst, thrill to the heady mashup of ping pong and country music, groove to alt-country cowpokes channelling the Heimat, and finish the night with a flourish of Deutschland disco dancing.

Full programme after the break...

At the wind whips at us with its chill flails, the blustery wet drizzle envelops our heads as we peraumbulate along the streets of downtown, as the night glows into the dawn with a dull damp violet cloud -- we're gonna need a drink to ward off the misery of the season. So I present to you the mulled-wine of the cocktail family: The Negroni.

It seems there are not a lot of people who will admit to a fondness for Campari. Indeed it was not two nights ago that a drinking companion of mine brayed something incoherent about "earwax" when the dreaded C-word was mentioned during a free-ranging session over at mine. However, for all its perceived sins, without Campari you would not have a Negroni.

It is the Campari that is the medicinal "bitter" and provides the characteristic flavor of the Negroni. A little background: according to my sources, Compari was concocted by Gaspare Campari in the 1850s. Gaspare, at only age 14, was the master drink maker at the Bass Bar in Turin, which was the commercial center for aperitifs at the time. Campari is made with natural ingredients that include herbs, spices, bark and fruit peels. The exact formula is of course a highly guarded secret. And as far as the Negroni is concerned, as with all great cocktails stories differ, but the most popular account of its origin is that Count Camillo Negroni, a Florentine aristocrat, decided one day to add some bite to his favorite drink, the Americano. He had the bartender add gin. From that time on he ordered the same drink every day. Eventually the bartender named the drink after him.

The Negroni. Complex. Spicy. Bitter, although not overly so. The tiniest bit of sweetness to offset that. It's a drink to warm a cold breast. It's a perfect aperitif, a drink to wake up your taste buds and shout "Ciao, ragazzo bello! Come stai?". And the colour! The rich brown and deep red tones seem to glow with soft light and autumnal hues. Hold one near a light and your Negroni will erupt in orange novas. It's the obvious drink-of-Autumn for a Wellingtonista.

"Bene, grazie!"

Get your mask ready: it's time to party quasi-anonymously with friends and strangers at a Venetian Masquerade Ball. Champagne! Chandeliers! Canapes! Cleavage! (if the poster is anything to go by)

Stately Dransfield House in upper Willis Street will play the gracious host for "Ballo di Sciocco" on the 31st of March. The venue and the imagery may me old-fashioned, but the ball itself must be Generation Next, since it has a myspace page. Looking at the organisers' page and list of friends, I get the feeling this will be no ordinary ball.

Tickets $120 from Madmat on 027 290 3591.

The Capital Times has begun its 2006 Best of Wellington survey (not online), inviting readers to vote for their favourite things under dozens of categories.

However, one category is glaringly absent: best bar. They have best barman, barmaid, music venue and nightclub, but no bar (or best Martini, for that matter).

[read on...]

When one thinks of Jerry Collins, one's mind immediately turns to ... elderflowers. That's because Matterhorn's "Jerry Collins" cocktail (a version of the classic Tom Collins) incorporates such manly ingredients as elderflower cordial and feijoa vodka. That's hardly news to Wellingtonians, but its fame has spread across the Tasman and got a whole article in the Sydney Morning Herald's "Rugby Heaven" (hat tip to Duncan in Sydney for the link).

When I asked the bar staff about it this morning, they hadn't heard of the article, but they were amused to read their boss's quote that "When the All Blacks or Hurricanes play in Wellington and feel like going to a bar for a drink they can come to the Matterhorn and nobody will mob them for autographs, or in many cases even know who they are". They probably get mistaken for members of Fat Freddy's Drop.

Apparently the name is ironic. Really? I thought it was because elderflowers are a diuretic.

Here are a few things to keep your mind off the weather this weekend.

The World Press Photo '06 exhibition kicks off at Shed 11 today. It's been interesting to see that the publicity around town has taken a very political angle this year.

Just along the waterfront at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea (I wish they'd find a shorter name!), they're already two weeks into the month-long Wellingtonia LIVE event. The word "eclectic" doesn't even begin to describe the range of things going on there: there's a performances from the Tinakori Handbell Association, a Matariki celebration with Toni Huata, hurdy-gurdies, shanty singers, ghost tours, kete weaving and a debate on the controversial Marine Education Centre. My main interest will be in the series of talks organised by the Architectural Centre entitled "Why I do architecture". These kick off at 1pm tomorrow with Anna Kemble-Walsh and Martin Hanley of Red Design and John Mills of John Mills Architects.

From eclectic to electric: new synth-pop band The Blush Response have their debut gig at Sandwiches tomorrow night. The band may be new, but the musicians will be very familiar to Wellingtonians: Jeramiah Ross (aka Module), Rhian Sheehan, Raashi Malik (of Rhombus, among others) and Paul McLaney of Gramsci.

Finally, you could always try to figure out the location of the current Mystery Bar. If you do, you'd better get looking tonight because it's closed on Saturday nights (that's a clue). It also has something in common with Sandwiches.

Because she is obsessed with Elvis, and also maybe due to some experiences on tour buses that she alludes to but never puts her photos on flickr from, our intrepid publisher decided to treat us all from the Wellingtonista towers to lunch at Harem to celebrate the launch of the new URL.

The little side street at the Taranaki Street end of Courtenay Place has been due for big changes for a while, and now it all looks like it's finally happening. In June, work will start on closing the street and turning it into a pocket park: more details will be released by the council in a couple of weeks. Also, the long-abandoned toilet block which has been the subject of various suggestions over the years (including, hilariously, wetarium and sexual health museum), will undergo a more predictable but nonetheless welcome transformation. Ian "Ferg" Ferguson will convert it into a wine bar by doubling the underground space, lining the walls with wine racks and adding an outdoor drinking area on the roof. This work will also start in June and is expected to open by Christmas under the name "Wine Cellar" (WC for short, of course). If only the walls could speak!

But the first change that we'll see here is the opening of the first downtown Wellington branch of Burger Fuel. That explains the loud drooling noises emanating from Wellingtonista towers. There's no official word on the opening date, but construction work looks well advanced, so I'd guess that it's just a few weeks away. Mmm, booze, burgers and a sunny park: that's got to be better than a turning lane and a handful of car parks.

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there are cheap and/or free things for you to do every single day in Wellington. Because Wellingtonista not only loves Wellington, but also YOU, we've compiled a bit of a list for what you can do every day. Please make sure you get in touch with the venue in question beforehand to confirm availability and avoid disappointment in this fast-paced world though...