Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, rounds up a bevvy of winter warmers
8 Wired X Pinta Crumbs
if there’s one dark brew you should deep dive into this winter, or this year even, it’s Crumbs, a 10% imperial cookie stout, a global colab featuring 8 Wired and Poland’s Pinta Craft Beer. This is insanely brilliant — how a cookie in all its solid glory is replicated in liquid form. It’s rich decadent chocolate meets uplifting coconut and spiced cinnamon on a velvety smooth mouthfeel (yet u still think crunch). Highly recommend this, a beer you should try at least twice!
Waitoa Early Bird
Early Bird snaps the 5.8% Flat White Stout from Waitoa Beer in collaboration with Flight Coffee using their Bomber blend. It’s a perky lil’ brew with rich roasty coffee notes meeting sweet caramel, mouthfeel is mellow creamy with a fading toasty finish. Tasty stuff this — the balance of bitter sweet is bang on here, my type of cold brew!
Sunshine Dunkelweizen
This 5.5% dark German wheat beer from Sunshine is part of the Eclipse series — a delve into the darker side of brews. It pours a beautiful toffee colour, with a soft foamy head. Notes of pear, orange, clove meets bready, toasty crusts, meets chocolate and toffee. Mellow mouthfeel with a spiced chocolatey finish, rounds out one moreish brew.
Sprig & Fern Monumental
The nostalgia of a Brown Ale with a modern twist in winter — how good! Sprig & Fern’s Monumental is memorable for all its chocolatey, nutty glory with pops of citrus and pine, a gentle yet prickly carb mellows to a juicy mouthfeel and finish.
Panhead Batch 206
Winter views ’n’ brews! The brew is courtesy of Panhead Custom Ales, Batch 206 is a 6.1% hoppy red ale, with a base of sweet malts paired up with tacky toffee caramel followed by dried apricots and fleeting berry notes. A rich mouthfeel and sticky finish complete a vibrant red.
McLeod’s Blackwatch Imperial Dark Ale
The perfect brew to navigate the chilly season. Mcleod’s Blackwatch Imperial Dark Ale (10%) from the Smugglers Bay collection pours midnite black with a chunky marshmallowy head. Immediate notes of espresso and dark chocolate which follow through on the mouthfeel providing swee-tart earthy layerings. Additional sweet caramel further in with the faintest warm boozy hit, and the finish is viscous and roasty. An absolute treat.
DNA White Sands
The elusive White IPA has come out of hibernation via Marlborough locals DNZ Brewing the result being a 6% love child of a Belgian and American rendezvous, White Sands is hopped with Citra, Hallertau Blanc, Comet and Nelson Sauvin. This wheaty little freak dishes up notes of orange, grapefruit, and honey followed by more subtle clove coriander vibes. Super crispy mouthfeel and a zesty bitterness with a slightly nutty finish complete a cracking brew! Highly recommend.
Abandoned Red IPA
How good’s a red! Abandoned have smashed out a crackin example right here, this 5.5% brewty is sweet malt meets chewy toffee meets sprightly citrus and subtle pine, smooooooth soft mouthfeel an tingly carb round out a thing of beauty.