Dogfish Head 90 Minute (named for the continuous hopping process used) IPA is one of the grandfather’s of strong American IPA.  It’s difficult to find in New Zealand, and even more difficult to find in good condition, but it’s something I think all lovers of strong IPA like myself should try at least once and taste where this thing started.   There’s distinctly barleywine-type malt intensity on the nose, with orange barley sugars before dried apricot, candied citrus peel and sweet pine.  Luscious malt sweetness is again first on the palate, tempered by juicy bitter orange and stonefruit.  With an unabashedly full body and comparatively (for 9 per cent abv) moderate bitterness, this would probably be classified as an American Barley Wine rather than IPA if it was released today.  But categories aside, this is an immensely rich and satisfying drop that’s defiantly malt forward in today’s hop dominated world.

Small & Perfectly Foamed

The year is 1850-something. Karl Marx, Edgar Bauer, and Wilhelm Liebknecht are on a pub crawl down London’s Tottenham Court Road. In one public house, by now full of ale, they clash with the fraternal order of Odd Fellows. The clash turns to high jinks on the streets,...

Brewing Up A Storm In ‘Chiefs Country’

Their team might have been thrashed in the Super Rugby final but brewers from Chiefs' country were the big winners at the NZ Beer Awards, turning the tables on their rivals from the capital by eight trophies to one. And frankly, it could have been 10 to one if we play...

Riding Auckland’s City Ale Link

The City Rail Link has been Aotearoa’s biggest infrastructure project. Aucklanders have got used to the city centre being a mess of dug-up streets, barriers and road cones for what seems like decades. But over recent months, excitement has been building as the...

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...