Mr Good Bar
My quest to discover new Zealand’s best fridge filling hazy pale ale continues. I must admit, I haven’t tried too many Double Vision beers in the past, but based on the quality of this beer I’ve been missing out! Mouth Party Hazy Pale Ale (5.3 per cent) is beautifully balanced, a nice mix of tropical fruit flavours, strong body and a nice hint of bitterness.  The marketing team at Double Vision score 10/10 for the label — it’s bloody awesome and one of the best I’ve seen on the shelves for quite some time. So, all being said and done, I now promote Double Vision Brewing Mouth Party to top spot on my list for 2022.  A solid fridge filler that won’t disappoint at any occasion.

Mr Good Bar — Twofold & St Leonards

The good news is that, despite the occasional bad news, there are great new brew bars are still bubbling up all over the place. In central Auckland, for instance, I came upon two in a single afternoon – a sunny Sunday afternoon on the edge of summer, hope in the air....

Two Experimental Hops In Advanced Trials

Two of NZ Hops Ltd’s experimental hops are in advanced trials this season and they couldn't have asked for a better start. Both NZH-106 and NZH-109 have been selected for advanced growing trials so we’ll see more of those hops in our beers later this year. Andrew...

Zero Cider Helps Peckham’s Go From Strength to Strength

One of the best new drinks to enter the market this year is a) not a beer and b) contains zero alcohol. Step up Peckham’s Apple Zero. This 0% cider is made from proper cider apples with a wild ferment and the result of those two “ingredients” it’s unlike anything else...

The Beer Project — Sunshine Brewing

I visit Sunshine on a hot Thursday afternoon in January. The bar is starting to hum with locals enjoying beers on the deck. There was a time when Wellington was the biggest market for Gisborne Gold but that has definitely swung back home. In addition to the...

Is It End Days For Craft Beer?

The day after I was born a human error was made on a US national security computer the size of a car. A training tape was fed into the machine and in return it concluded trouble. Screens across America showed the sky was full of Soviet ballistic missiles. As is often...

The Hoppiness 100 — Jessica Allen

We’ve asked the Pursuit of Hoppiness writers to come up with their top picks for the beers of the year. Between us the aim is to have exactly 100 beers. TOP PICK: Altitude Jam Session Volume 13: Strawberry & Sea Buckthorn In my humble opinion, it doesn’t get...