Queenstown, NZ

[gatorbeer1]

I'm heading to Queenstown in a few weeks for a total of 5 days. I see there are a few beer bars (Atlas Beer Cafe, Smiths Craft Beer House), but does anyone know of anything else? Are there any breweries within a short drive? It looks like Altitude is around there but don't seem to have anything resembling a tasting room.

Any other recommendations are greatly appreciated!

 

[gatorbeer1]

Long shot but here's a little bump

 

[sobeleg]

I spent 5 weeks doing a college trip to the South Island of NZ back in the summer of 2010, although I just drank a ****-ton of Speights and Guinness on the trip so I cannot speak to much on craft down there. If you are planning on doing any "extreme" sports while in Queenstown, I highly recommend taking the short drive to Wanaka (beautiful town) and doing Skydive Wanaka. Great staff, and unbelievable scenery from the jump site.

My trip was mostly backcountry backpacking with some skydiving, ice climbing, kayaking, etc. mixed in, so if you want any recommendations on those things feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

[MULDER1010]

Wanaka makes some nice stuff. More familiar with Wellington really.
Drink Liberty beers and Epic stuff. If garage Project is reasonable in price they are worth getting. Good beers but way expensive.

 

[LukeAleTime]

Think I might be too late into this but there isn't a heap in Queenstown. It's crying out for a good can-specialty shop for people going hiking/camping/snowboaring etc etc.

Altitude contract brew in Christchurch so no visits there. Wanaka do ok, I haven't been to the brewery (not far from Queenstown) but you'll find their beers in Queenstown.

There's also a weird brewery called "Bannockburn". Afaik they only make one beer which is a pinot-barrel ferment Double IPA. I've had it a few times and it varied massively from "holy **** this is amazing" to "I wish I had beer with my butryic acid". The beer is called Killarabbit. You can get it in a couple of shops and restaurants around Queenstown. The great ones I had were spicy, oaky, fruity and bitter.

Wine is where it's at around there though. The Pinot from that region is amazing.