Bach Brewing Freebird Hazy IPA
Craig Cooper and the team at Steam Brewing have delivered a beauty of an East Coast IPA with Freebird (6.5 per cent ABV).  It pours thick, juicy and bright which speaks volumes for what’s ahead. When it comes to aroma, you can’t avoid the big grassy pine notes plus some sweet apricot and peach underneath adding to amazing experience. Drinking is the best part; the beer delivers strong bitterness throughout which is unusual these days as brewers try to make their beer more palatable to a wider audience.  Citra, Riwaka and Amarillo have been beautifully blended together and produced what I think I the best example of a East Coast Hazy IPA I’ve tasted in a longtime.   True beer lovers will enjoy this one so get onto it before they’re all gone!

Instagratification: Dusty’s Best Spring Beers

Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, picks his highlights from the latest releases from this winter. Isthmus 3d IPA One of the best an under the radar IPAs in NZ gets some well-deserved shine and credit taking out supreme champion brew for 2025 New...

Fermented Culture — Holy Mountain

Before the Kapiti Expressway opened, a drive north up State Highway One from Wellington would take you under a 14m statue of the Virgin Mother standing high on a foothill of the Tararuas. As a child it was an important landmark on our journey to my grandparents’ house...

Lakeman Primate Pilsner

Awards season rolls on, with the New World Top 25 joining the scrum of medals just last week. On that incredibly hotly tested list (and not for the first time either!) was Lakeman Primate Pilsner from Taupo.  The pilsner style (particularly of the NZ persuasion) is...

Hop Federation Closing Down

Motueka-based Hop Federation will cease brewing next month following a strategic review by owners Kono NZ LP. Kono general manager Marina Hirst Tristram says the decision wasn’t easy and reflects a deliberate focus across the commercial businesses of Kono. "As part of...

Garage Project Take Over Fortune Favours

Garage Project are opening two new venues in Wellington, including taking over the Fortune Favours taproom in Leeds Street. Fortune Favours closed its doors for the last time on Sunday but the venue will continue as a craft beer destination, with Garage Project moving...

New World Beer & Cider Awards Winners

The 2025 New World Beer & Cider Awards have been announced. Here's the list of the Top 25 winners which will be available in New World stores over the next month. Champion Beer Isthmus 3D IPA Isthmus Brewing is the Auckland creation of husband and wife team Hamish...