Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, picks his highlights from the latest releases heading into summer.
Sprig + Fern Ridgy Didge
Crikey! What a lil ripper! Sprig + Fern’s latest sud tube Ridgey Didge is an all-Aussie hopped 4.4% hazy pale ale featuring Galaxy and Vic Secret. Notes of lemon, grapefruit and peach lead out here with undertones of floral & passionfruit. A pithy bitterness, light biscuity malt backbone and a drying finish tie together a beaut of a brew.
Brave Brewing Kid Dynamite
Brave Brewing just set the standard. Period. Whether it’s the People’s Pils, cult brew Tigermilk IPA, the enigmatic effervescent Sparkle Juice Brut or this brewty. Kid Dynamite is a dynamic 6.6% special release IPA with stateside hops alongside the best of NZ. The outcome is soft gooseberry, passionfruit guava & melon melding seamlessly on a continuous effervescent carb. A prickly citrus bitterness and smooth finish round out a must-have brew.
Urbanaut Habanero Yuzu Lager
What do you get when you combine habanero, yuzu & lager? You get one of the feel-good hits of the summer thanks to the party forever crew at Urbanaut Brewing. This is poppin’ with sweet tart components of yuzu, the warming prickly heat of habanero and that built-for-summer crispy boi lager freshness … ripper!
Parrotdog X One Drop Bays To Baes
Banga of a trans-Tassie colab here with Wellingtin heavyweights Parrotdog teaming up with Aussie legends One Drop to create a bangin 7% West Coast IPA hopped with Simcoe, Centennial, Mosiac & Citra. Chocca full of zesty grapefruit & tangerine initially followed by hits of melon, peach and floral pine on a resiny, oily mouthfeel. A drying finish completes a highly recommended westie.
Shining Peak La Laguna
New sud tube from New Plymouth’s Shining Peak, La Laguna is a 4.6% cerveza built for all summer activities whether you are beaching, hiking, fush ’n’ chuppin, or getting’ horizontal hammock-style. Hopped with the legendary Green Bullet and some back up from Motueka, it’s crisp asf with zesty citrus pops & subtle floral spicing. There’s an initial underlying sweetness from the malted maize, a vibrant mouthfeel and a slow drying finish rounds out an all day crusha.
Brothers Beer Bruh
New seasonal drop from the good folk at Brothers Beer, Bruh is a 6.5% Bright IPA hopped up on Mosaic, Kohatu & Nectaron. The result being a fruit forward juiced up mouthfeel featuring notes of ripe pineapple, papaya, blueberry and peach which is offset by a snappy oily bitterness reminiscent of a top tier West Coast IPA. Another sublime example of Bright IPA.
Beers Beers Beers Luke Drywalker
Beers Beers Beers have nailed the brief here with their 6.8% Luke Drywalker Brut IPA. A symphony of zesty lemon, orange & lime upfront with secondary floral notes complement the crispy effervescent carb an prickly mouthfeel with the signature bone dry finish completing an excellent example of the style . . . luv it!
Ruapehu Brewing Full Send
Straight Outta Ruapehu comes Full Send, a 7% IPA with Nelson Sauvin, Motueka & Clayton Hops Riwaka & Nelson. It’s packin’ punches of lime, mandarin gooseberry & passionfruit with a slap of piney bitterness. An oaty, chewy malt bill with soft caramel undertones completes a smashable IPA with old school tendencies . . . diggin it!
