New Zealand’s only dedicated craft beer magazine.

Bringing you news, reviews, features, opinion and travel writing from around the country.

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Cover Story

Nectaron — A Familiar Song Played Differently

Monday 25 May 2026

Nectaron hops are capturing the imagination of American brewers, particularly after the most recent harvest where it was the standout in sensory testing. NZ Hops Ltd, in their post-harvest report…

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Cover Story

Two Bays Widens NZ Gluten-Free Market

Monday 25 May 2026

Just about anywhere you go to eat these days understands a large chunk of the population is gluten-free. You see GF beside dishes listed on menu and on packaged food…

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Cover Story

Brewer Becomes Co-Owner at Searchlight

Monday 25 May 2026

Ash Hutchinson, head brewer from Searchlight in Queenstown, is now a co-owner of the business — and one of his first big jobs will be showcasing Searchlight to the wider…

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Cover Story

150 years of Speight’s

Monday 25 May 2026

Speight’s Brewery in Dunedin — New Zealand’s oldest brewery — is celebrating its 150th birthday. It’s quite the yarn, because it’s a brewery that has risen, fallen, partly revived, fallen,…

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News

Altitude’s Trophy-Winning Attitude

Friday 15 May 2026

Queenstown’s Altitude Brewing are celebrating (another) stunning awards performance at the Australian International Beer Awards, held in Melbourne last night. They increased their haul from last year’s AIBAs — taking…

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Features

Features

My Life In Five Beers — Matt Warner

Wednesday 1 April 2026

While still at university in 2008 and after a hot Friday of Wellington hillside landscaping, I vividly remember propping up at the end of The Malthouse bar with my flatmate…

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Features

Drinking In The Middle Lane

Wednesday 1 April 2026

When my recent piece ‘A slow walk through paradise’ was published, a mate joked, “Jeepers BH, you’re a bit middle-of-the-road in your beer tastes to be talking to the craft…

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Features

Ask An Expert — How To Enjoy A Fresh Hop Beer

Friday 20 March 2026

Brewing has been part of my life for 25 years now and even in this small amount of time, the innovations and experimentation that have all come about in the…

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Features

The Beer Project — Lakeman Brewing

Friday 20 March 2026

You can thank local government regulation for the existence of Lakeman, a brewery located on a farm 20 minutes west of Taupo. Farmer James Cooper didn’t expect to become a…

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Features

Hemp And Hops Align

Thursday 19 March 2026

It’s all about balance – that’s what Andy Duke at b.effect says about his latest brewing escapades. Down in Wānaka, he’s been using hemp in a number of b.efect beers,…

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Recommended

Recommended

Bach Brewing Sticky Buds III

Tuesday 12 May 2026

I’m far from ready to declare a favourite from this year’s fresh hop season, but I surely have some contenders, and the third edition of Bach Brewing Sticky Buds (by…

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Recommended

8 Wired Fresh Hopwired

Tuesday 12 May 2026

It’s here… the full force of the fresh hop storm is upon us, and I find myself again in the (not so arduous) position of having vastly too many releases…

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Recommended

Hallertau Fresh Hop Belgian Ale

Tuesday 12 May 2026

When it comes to fresh hops, it’s a bold move for a brewer to step outside the IPA and Pilsner paddocks, but Hallertau Fresh Hop Belgian Ale is unique (and…

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News

News

Altitude’s Trophy-Winning Attitude

Friday 15 May 2026

Queenstown’s Altitude Brewing are celebrating (another) stunning awards performance at the Australian International Beer Awards, held in Melbourne last night. They increased their haul from last year’s AIBAs — taking…

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News

Three Sisters Buy Sunshine Brewing

Thursday 19 March 2026

Bold New Plymouth brewery Three Sisters is the new owner of Gisborne’s iconic Sunshine Brewing. It’s an unprecedented move in the New Zealand brewing industry with one craft brewery buying…

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News

“Unicorn” Brewery For Sale — Emporium On Market

Friday 6 February 2026

Here’s a big opportunity for someone who wants to get into the brewing game: Emporium — a profitable, successful business is — for sale! You heard that right. Profitable, successful.…

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Podcasts

Podcast

Garage Project A Creative Studio Working in Beer

Monday 25 May 2026

“The way we look at it is that Garage Project isn’t just a brewery, it’s a creative studio that happens to work in beer. It’s always coming up with new…

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Podcast

Is It Dank — A Look At the Fresh Hop Season

Monday 25 May 2026

“I think it’s a little bugbear of mine that a lot of people demand or seem to want “dank”. I think dank is not necessarily a fresh hop characteristic and…

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Podcast

From Menswear to Brewing — The McLeod’s Story

Tuesday 19 May 2026

“In essence we’re a country pub where people come together, brought together mostly by food and sociability” Geoff Gwynne on the magic of the Waipu Pizza Barn. In this episode…

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Friday Night Beers 

Opinion

Opinion

Fermented Culture — Is The Party Over?

Monday 16 March 2026

Some years ago, I found myself wandering through St Clair in South Dunedin. I stopped to sit awhile taking in the view and taking off the weight. The roadside bench…

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Opinion

Beer Drinking For Beginners

Monday 16 March 2026

I’m often asked “what is your favourite beer?” A lot of people assume that because I’m broad and varied in my beer tastes that I must have one.  Lucky for…

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Opinion

Instagratification: Dusty’s Favourites

Tuesday 10 March 2026

Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, picks his highlights from the latest releases.

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Travel

Travel

Roots Brewing — Small But Mighty

Thursday 19 March 2026

Back in the early 1900s, Whanganui wasn’t just lively as New Zealand’s 5th largest city — it was one of Aotearoa’s great beer strongholds, proudly home to 13 breweries. Thirteen!…

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Travel

Beers A Plenty in Bay of Plenty

Monday 16 March 2026

The summer months bring tourists flocking to the beaches and seaside towns of the Bay of Plenty, but there’s an increasing number of reasons for craft beer lovers to make…

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Travel

Eruption Brewing — Lyttelton’s Local Legend

Wednesday 18 February 2026

To understand Eruption Brewing’s place in Lyttelton, it helps to zoom out — first a couple of centuries, then a few million years. The town sits inside the remnants of…

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