Mr Good Bar

Winner of the ‘Barrel & Wood Aged’ category at the 2021 Brewers Guild Awards.  Aged for 14 months in NZ whisky barrels, quite possibly the world’s rarest wood, Kereru Amberine is a Belgian-style quad with an oak-aged twist rarely seen in European examples.  Burnt sugar, vanilla and toasted coconut on the nose, with butterscotch and even mysterious stewed rhubarb hiding further in.  Sumptuously full-bodied while remaining deft on the palate; initial buttery richness rapidly mobilises into more burnt sugar, then refreshing cola and drying oak tannin into the finish.  Magnificently full-flavoured, yet carrying that lightness of step that only long months of barrel maturation can provide.  Hard cheese and sharing (it’s 12 per cent ABV) is mandatory.

Mr Good Bar — Twofold & St Leonards

by | January 15, 2025 | Cover Story, Travel | 0 Comments

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....
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Two Experimental Hops In Advanced Trials

by | January 13, 2025 | Cover Story | 0 Comments

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...
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Zero Cider Helps Peckham’s Go From Strength to Strength

by | January 8, 2025 | Cover Story | 0 Comments

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...
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The Beer Project — Sunshine Brewing

by | January 6, 2025 | Travel | 0 Comments

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...
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Is It End Days For Craft Beer?

by | January 3, 2025 | Opinion | 0 Comments

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...
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The Hoppiness 100 — Jessica Allen

by | January 3, 2025 | Opinion | 0 Comments

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...
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