NZ recs?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jedwards

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2013
Messages
599
Reaction score
3,949
Location
SF
Will be in New Zealand Dec 10-25, north and south -- anything specific worth checking out or making a detour for? Anyone want to grab a beer?
 
Excellent, thank you! Only one of those I've had anything from so far is Garage Project. Unfortunately we'll likely only be in Wellington for a night before catching the ferry, but I'm sure I can make it to a couple spots. We'll be doing some camping so I'll need to stock up on bottles as well.
 
Where are you going specifically? The top of the South Island has a few random breweries making interesting things but a few are hard to get to depending on where you are.

If you're in Nelson check out the Nelson Freehouse. It's in an old church, and has four handpumps and eight or so taps. All rotating and mostly local.

Blenheim has Renaissance Brewery who are hit or miss but when they hit, they are pretty good. Their Scotch Ale (and BA version) is one of my favourites. Also their Red IPA recently was great. Next door to the brewery is a bar that has a heap of taps.

In that part of the world there is also:

Mussel Inn - been around for years, in the middle of nowhere. Make some interesting beers.

Hop Federation - In Motueka. They make some nice American influenced styles. Nothing crazy but worth a go.

Sprig and Fern - A chain of pubs with a central brewery supplying them all. Their darker traditional styles are all solid. Nothing spectacular but the one in Moteuka does a pretty great steak sandwich and is a god send if you've been hiking/kayaking/camping.

Townshends - In the middle of nowhere. Mostly British style real ale but does some interesting things. His Flemish Stout is really fun, as is his new(ish) BA cider/beer blend. I love his ESBs on cask (you'll find them in Wellington and in Nelson at the Freehouse). The Upper Moutere Inn is in that part of the world and stock all of his stuff.

Moa - In Blenheim. Their core range is unremarkable to fine. The sour and BA stuff is pretty interesting to really good. Unfortunately they've spent a lot of time focussing on marketing, business and the stockmarket, rather than making the brewery a fun place to visit. I've never felt less excited by a brewery visit when I went there. They desperately want to become a big player in global "premium" beer. The current owners had massive success with 42 Below Vodka and have been trying to recreate that with beer. If you ignore all that garbage, the beers are good.

In regards to Wellington, if you have one night then I would go to Garage Project, Fork and Brewer, Golding's Free Dive, Little Beer Quarter, Hashigo Zake and maybe Tuatara's Third Eye. Start at Garage Project though, as they are everyone's favourite.
 
Where are you going specifically? The top of the South Island has a few random breweries making interesting things but a few are hard to get to depending on where you are.

Not totally sure yet (hence trying to accumulate some info before I make more detailed plans). We'll definitely be in the Tasman area for a night or two on our way to the west coast though, so should be able to check at least a few of these out!
 
Stuff like the Bannockburn Killarabbit that you mentioned in the Queenstown thread is definitely the sort of thing I'm looking for -- idiosyncratic products that I might only be able to try in one place.
 
Didn't do a ton of beer related stuff while there so can't say how it compares to other places... but we did make a stop at Brothers Brewing in Auckland, and had one hell of a time. Awesome staff, great beer, and fun environment on a beautiful afternoon.
 
Stuff like the Bannockburn Killarabbit that you mentioned in the Queenstown thread is definitely the sort of thing I'm looking for -- idiosyncratic products that I might only be able to try in one place.

I'd definitely look at visiting Mussel Inn then. Also, kayaking/camping in the Tasman area is amazing. That time of the year is crazy with tourists but still stunning.

Also, drop Townshend's a line if you think you'll be going past. He's literally a dude in his farmhouse shed making cask ale in the middle of nowhere. He won the Champion NZ brewery title at the major awards a couple of years back.

If you are heading further south, Craftwork in Oamaru (http://www.craftworkbrewery.co.nz/) are also up to interesting things. Their saisons, when on point, are really great. They have recently built a coolship out of an old shower, and are playing with barrels and spontaneous fermentation. Really lovely, friendly, people whose primary business is bookbinding.

The West Coast used to have a great brewery (West Coast Brewery) but the brewer left and now it's a disaster. If you are in Westport, pop your head in but don't go out of your way to do it. The only other brewery there is Monteiths (unless something has appeared that I don't know of). They are owned by one of the big players and have some "ok" beers but nothing to write home about. When I was 18 I loved their Celtic Red, so they are partly responsible for me getting in to beer before I knew wtf anything was.

In Christchurch, I really like Cassels and Sons, and the Twisted Hop. Both do a lot of cask ales. Cassels has a brewpub which is a good visit for their milk stout on handpump. Twisted Hop has a small pub serving everything on cask, and a bigger restaurant/bar/brewpub which I haven't been to but is apparently really interesting.

Also Pomeroy's Pub is a must do. They have about 20 taps, 4 handpumps, and their own small brewhouse. They also have accomodation.

Christchurch is still a bit of a mess after the earthquakes but finding it's feet and really interesting as a whole. Lots of public art/creative spaces where there was once a skyscraper. Good coffee there too.

I'll have a think about anything else interesting/unique.
 
The fruited things from Peckham's Cider (located between Nelson and Motueka) were as good as anything I tried at Shelton Fest 2014.
 
Back
Top