Wellington’s Big Beer Quarter

Wellington has a new craft beer precinct. Three new craft beer bars, with more than 100 taps between them, opened recently, all centred around Manners Street and all within a three-minute walk. The Taphaus is on the corner of Victoria and Dixon Streets. The site was a curry joint for years and the decor still […]

Craft beer census – draft results

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the craft beer census. We have had good returns from around the country, with an exceptional commitment from the Nelson crew. The results to date are available here: Draft beer census The craft beer industry is growing fast, and this census will give us a benchmark to track […]

Helpers wanted for craft beer census

I’m looking for people with a good idea of their local craft beer scene to get national coverage. There’s no pay, but I will owe you a beer or two.

Support your local beer store!

The United States has ‘Support Your Local Record Store Day’, which is on April 16 this year. Perhaps I should declare April 16 to be the Official NZ Beer Blog Support Your Independent Bottle Store Day.

D4 – Beer and the business lunch

When major breweries rationed supplies to freehouse D4 on Featherston, proprietor Dermot Murphy found a new market for craft beer. Dermot came to New Zealand from Dublin, and named his first bar after the postcode where he grew up. His accent came with him, and his beer specialist Finbarr Clabby is another Irish import. Finbarr […]

Happy Birthday Hashigo Zake

Hashigo Zake is a bit complex. It’s a craft beer bar with a Japanese theme operating out of some old police cells in central Wellington. NZBeerBlog caught up with proprietor Dominic Kelly in between preparing for his bar’s first birthday party and planning a trip to Japan. “There’s an Old World/New World divide in beer, […]

More to Marlborough than wine

Marlborough has been a quiet achiever in the New Zealand craft brew industry. It has an international profile for its grapes and winemakers, but there’s more to Marlborough than wine. One of the pioneers of the current generation of craft brewers was Pink Elephant, with the quirky and challenging Pink Elephant PDA. This was on […]

Pass the beer list, please!

When I visit a restaurant or bar for the first time, I’ll often ask to see the beer list. I do it out of curiosity, because I like a good beer, and to be slightly annoying too. Sometimes I get a funny look, sometimes they’ll flick to the back page of the wine list, and […]

The beer giveaway that sells punters short

What do you say when a friend tells you all beer tastes the same? People who pride themselves on good taste in wine will tell you they can’t tell one beer from another. Those who know good coffee will say they’ve never had a good beer. I can completely sympathise with beer sceptics, because it’s […]

Is there good beer north of Auckland?

I travel the country for work (business travel, that is – I’m not a hobo*). So I’m regularly looking for something interesting in towns where Monteiths is flash and the Chinese restaurant is exotic. This month I was in Northland. The forests are subtropical but finding a good beer is like finding an oasis in […]

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