Double Vision
With the flood of new beers on the shelves of our local retailers it’s easy to go past something that stands out from the rest.  Luckily for me I stumbled across this beauty of beer from the team at Abandoned Brewing.  I must admit I have limited knowledge about the brewery and the beers they produce, but after sampling their hazy pale ale you can now count me as a fan! After doing a little investigating I discovered that Abandoned Brewery is located in an old disused factory in Lower Hutt.  The remnants of an old brewery were left but the team pretty much started again from scratch.  Their branding really effective…put simply, it looks like they’ve got a plain white can and used crayons to create the text.  You won’t find any psychedelic, multi-layered brand campaign on these cans, they simply describe the style of beer you should expect, which is really effective! The beer itself is bloody good! Pour the can and you get this light honey coloured liquid with the gentlest haze.  Nectarine, peach and passionfruit aromas galore and mouthfeel that is best described as light and powdery! At 5 per cent ABV the beer really holds up its complexity, very easy drinking and totally smash-able. If you’re looking for a summer fridge filler then you shouldn’t go past this beer… it’s now top of my list!

The Hoptimist — Double Vision Brewing

How do you connect an all-terrain stroller with Double Vision Brewing’s Expatriate American Pale Ale? Well… it’s not exactly written in the Phil & Teds instruction manual, but the answer involves four workmates: Mario, Warren, Evarn and Harry — proof that...

Urbanaut install bodyguard against ‘silent killer’

Urbanaut Brewing in Auckland are the first craft brewery to install a LogiCO2 carbon dioxide monitoring system to protect staff and patrons against a “silent killer”. Urbanaut founder Bruce Turner said CO2 monitoring was on his to-do list when he started the brewery...

Shining Peak Shining Bright Three Years Running

You have to go back to 2023 to find the last time Shining Peak missed a medal at the New Zealand Beer Awards. The champion small brewery — for the third time in four years — scored a perfect 20 out of 20 medals at the 2026 event. It was the most medals won by a...

Pilsners Power to Podium

The two best competition beers in New Zealand this year are pilsners — and two absolute classics. Curiously they both come from craft breweries under the Lion umbrella, and they both use Riwaka hops (of course). What they also have in common is the way they push the...

Garage Project Buy bStudio

Wellington's Garage Project have bought bStudio in Napier, moving from client to owner. It is a massive investment as bStudio — housed in the landmark National Tobacco Company building in Ahuriri — is one of the largest breweries in the country. It features a...

Instagratification: Dusty’s Best of Winter

Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, picks his highlights from the latest releases. Aliment X Froth Waimarama Wilding ale Waimarama Wilding Ale is a 5.8% colab ft Aliment Brewing x Froth Tech & Nelson's Brook Waimarama Sanctuary. Just wow! A...