Over the past few weeks I’ve tried a few new brews, and revisited a couple of older favourites in new forms. Ranfurly generously sent me two dozen of its rebranded lagers and pale ale. Ranfurly is made in Auckland by Boundary Road Brewery and has sat firmly on the “value-based-proposition” end of the market. The […]
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Down here in the South Pacific, we have just changed our clocks for daylight saving. Longer, sunnier evenings are on the way, perhaps with a barbecue, and every change of season is a good excuse to explore new beers. This winter has seen many high-hopped, high alcohol monsters set loose from New Zealand’s craft brewers, […]
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This entry was edited on 20 September following further infromation from McCashins Terry McCashin is the godfather of New Zealand micro-brewing. He famously took on the big brewing duopoly back in 1980, and later sold his Macs brand to Lion. Today the McCashin brewery in Stoke is back in family hands after Lion’s lease expired. […]
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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 […]
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I was pleased to see Monteith’s Black won a trophy for European Lagers at BrewNZ last week. It’s good news for two reasons – DB is being upfront that Black is a lager; and dark lagers are something we do well in New Zealand. In many bars I’ve visited, Monteith’s Black is the best beer […]
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It’s been a monster winter for New Zealand beer lovers. We’ve had a sudden rush of new, high alcohol beers, often pushing loads of New Zealand hops. Perhaps the biggest of the monsters is MPA Imperial India Pale Ale from the Renaissance Brewing Company in Blenheim. The label tells you all you need to know […]
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Expected the unexpected from Yeastie Boys. This contract brew outfit has been surprising New Zealand craft beer fans for a couple of years now with its rockin’ attitude and giving the finger to established beer styles. Its Beervana launch will include two brews. One is the high-alcohol winter warmer Her Majesty 2010. The other, Punkadiddle, […]
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Thornbridge is an English craft brewery with strong links to New Zealand. Those links will be strengthened next week when the Malthouse launches three Thornbridge imports at Beervana. English pale ales always seem a bit understated and stiff-upper-lip to my New World tastes, but Jaipur India Pale Ale proves me wrong again. Thornbridge describe it […]
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The Society of Beer Advocates has held a national home-brew competition every year since 2007, and I’ve been a judge for the past three years. This year the competition is in Hamilton, the first time it has been held outside Wellington, and a new crew will be judging. It’s time to think about entering. The […]
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What do you get when you take our most respected brewer, our best beer retailer, our oldest beer writer, 30 young, passionate and good-looking beer fans and 9% craft beers? I’m asking because my memory is cloudy. Last weekend Regional Wines hosted another annual Master Class with Richard Emerson. Richard is the Willie Wonka behind […]
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