I first arrived in New Zealand in 2010 when the craft beer scene was gaining momentum but still a far cry from where we are today.
At the time, I loved the adventurous thrill of discovering new and small breweries like 8 Wired, Parrotdog, and Wanaka Beerworks which could be found on the shelves in certain shops (no cans — single 500ml bottles only). Parrotdog didn’t package anything then so finding them on tap somewhere outside of Wellington was a huge win.
I can still ride that dopamine rush that comes with the thrill of seeking out new and fleeting brews, but I’ve got to look further than the supermarkets and bottle shops. As craft breweries have expanded and conquered shelf space once firmly controlled by larger multinational breweries, I’m chasing a new niche.
Thankfully, there are still hidden gems to be found for a new generation of beer nerd: the fringe and fractured group I’m calling “The Curious”.
Over the past year I’ve learned that there are still lots of these curious beer drinkers out there looking for the wild, weird, and wonderful side of beer.
They’re either craft beer fanatics like myself who feel they’ve come full circle with the trends and have now wandered off the beaten track to find their next thrill.
Or perhaps they’re those marginal outliers on the scatter plot who never really got into traditional styles and only sneak into the house party through the back window, raid the fridge, and leave without any of the other guests noticing (I see you).
Or sometimes they’re regular people who made a big mistake when they started reading the label. They get swept up in the bottle art and end up way over their heads.
Breweries like Wilderness, Brood Fermentation, Cell Division, Craftwork, Small Gods, North End, and even Garage Project’s Wild Workshop are committed to producing beers that are made and/or aged slowly or their recipes are off the rails or modelled after styles that few modern beer drinkers know about. They’re produced in limited runs as one-offs. Wild fermented, barrel-aged, mixed ferments, spontaneous ferments, never to be made quite the same way again.
They take an unreasonable and uneconomical amount of time to capture a unique and sometimes chaotic combination of ingredients, effort, and terroir, in a single can or bottle.
There’s small market demand and it can take a couple of years after these beers are released for the breweries to move all their inventory. They’re expensive, hard to sell because most people don’t want them, and hard to find for the people who do want them.
These committed breweries are the new pioneers fighting against the grain (and maybe their own better judgement) to produce a truly craft beer that stands apart from styles that have won the same fight over the past couple of decades.
For me, they have replaced that thrill of discovery I used to get from the first time I tried Guinness, Emerson’s Bookbinder, 8 Wired iStout, or Parrotdog Bitterbitch.
At Eddyline Pizzeria & Brewpub in Nelson (just down the road from Eddyline Brewery), we’ve put together a fridge full of rotating beer “Curiosities”. It’s like an island of misfit toys. The aim is never to stock what you can find in the supermarket. I’m confident that it’s the most unique collection of beer in the region.
I love watching people browse the fridge. Generally, they fall into three categories.
Some know exactly what they’ve found and love it.
Some have taken a wrong turn, are quickly confused or offended, and we safely guide them back home to the hazies.
I have the most love for the third group. These people wander over, browse thoughtfully, take the bottles out, read the labels, and sometimes share their finds with friends. They often don’t even buy anything. They’re just…. curious.
For curious drinkers looking for other great beer selections we can point you to — among others — Punky Brewster in Christchurch, Monkfish in Wellington, 16Tun and Small Goods in Auckland.