Aliment

A new all-American hopped West Coast IPA from Taupo’s Lakeman, with Amarillo, Citra and Zythos in the mix.  There’s lime and grapefruit up first on the nose, with a distinct Zythos’y tangerine note rising further back.  Remarkably focused grapefruit on the palate, with some pine and very faint passionfruit mixed in with the light and fresh malt base.  All good stuff, but the most striking thing about this 6.9 per cent IPA is the bitterness.  It kicks in right from the front of the palate, like chomping straight down on a grapefruit (skin and all), and it stays meshed with the citrus flavour right through to the finish.  Impactful, arresting and laser focused on its style.  One of the top IPAs I’ve tasted this year.

The Beer Project — Aliment Brewing

by | January 14, 2026 | Cover Story | 0 Comments

This was always the dream for Jason Bathgate and Monica Mead. Living in paradise, brewing their own beers. Tasman was where Jason and Monica lived when they first moved to New Zealand in 2009 before brewing jobs took them to Renaissance in Blenheim, 8 Wired in...
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The Hoptimist — Boom Town Brewing

by | January 7, 2026 | Cover Story, Travel | 0 Comments

Sunshine, scenery, and a cold beer—Marlborough knows how to show off. But when that beer is a Boom Town APA and your interviewee colleague is Clive Macfarlane, the man behind the brews and the banter, you’re not just having a good Sunday—you’re starting a great story....
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The Man Behind The Cans

by | January 5, 2026 | Cover Story | 0 Comments

If you’re prone to a tipple of craft beer, chances are you’re more than familiar with the work of Wellington creative, art director and artist, Anton Hart. For more than 20 years, he’s been the force behind the aesthetics of multiple, high-profile Kiwi craft...
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Fermented Culture — Elysian Fields

by | December 31, 2025 | Opinion | 0 Comments

Kieran Haslett-Moore dreams of the beers he might drink in paradise “Sitting at rustic tables in rural pub gardens in Hertfordshire on long, warm, sunny summer evenings, talking with friends, clouds of cow parsley nodding over the car park wall and martins high above...
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The Start Up Series — Twofold

by | December 30, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

This is the final part in a series dedicated to breweries that have opened up since the Covid-19 pandemic. The past five years have been tough for those in the brewing industry. The data is there: higher costs, lower consumer spend, alternative drinks. All are eating...
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The Start Up Series — BS Brewing

by | December 29, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

This is the fifth part in a series dedicated to breweries that have opened up since the Covid-19 pandemic. The past five years have been tough for those in the brewing industry. The data is there: higher costs, lower consumer spend, alternative drinks. All are eating...
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The Start Up Series — Alchemy St

by | December 19, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

This is the fourth part of a series dedicated to breweries that have opened up since the Covid-19 pandemic. The past five years have been tough for those in the brewing industry. The data is there: higher costs, lower consumer spend, alternative drinks. All are eating...
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8 Wired Superconductor Double IPA

by | December 18, 2025 | Recommended | 0 Comments

Christmas has come early for me this year, as Warkworth’s 8-Wired has revived one of their (and very much one of my own) all time classic beers.  Superconductor Double IPA (8.8%) channels a similar energy to its legendary stablemate Hopwired, with sumptuous aromas of...
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The Start Up Series — DNA Brewing

by | December 18, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

This is the third instalment in a series dedicated to breweries that have opened up since the Covid-19 pandemic. The past five years have been tough for those in the brewing industry. The data is there: higher costs, lower consumer spend, alternative drinks. All are...
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The Start Up Series — Coromandel Town Supply

by | December 17, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

This is the second chapter in a series dedicated to breweries that have opened up since the Covid-19 pandemic. The past five years have been tough for those in the brewing industry. The data is there: higher costs, lower consumer spend, alternative drinks. All are...
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The Start Up Series — Renegade Brewing

by | December 16, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

This is the first in a series dedicated to breweries that have opened up since the Covid-19 pandemic. The past five years have been tough for those in the brewing industry. The data is there: higher costs, lower consumer spend, alternative drinks. All are eating into...
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Beers Of The Year 2025

by | December 15, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

There were some standouts and commonalities when the Pursuit of Hoppiness team compiled their beers of the year for 2025. An overwhelming favourite was Emerson's Pride of The Plains Pilsner, the 30th anniversary rebrew of the genre-defining NZ-style pilsner that...
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Three Sisters Expand Into Wellington

by | December 12, 2025 | News, Travel | 0 Comments

New Plymouth brewery Three Sisters is expanding into Wellington, taking over the site that was once home to Black Dog brewery in Blair Street. It's a massive step for a small provincial brewery but comes with the support of their shareholders and off the back of a...
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Mr Good Bar — Epic Taproom

by | December 11, 2025 | Travel | 0 Comments

After a while, being Mr Good Bar has become a little like living a replay of Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray movie that famously celebrates repetition. And I mention that because making a professional habit of visiting various of the nation’s small army of brew bars...
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An Epic 20 Years

by | December 11, 2025 | Features | 0 Comments

Achieving two decades in craft brewing is a titanic feat for any producer, but few (it could be argued none) have been as formative a presence in the New Zealand industry as Epic Beer. Epic and its founder Luke Nicholas were not just at the forefront of the glory and...
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Instagratification: Dusty’s Best Summer Beers

by | December 9, 2025 | Opinion | 0 Comments

Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, picks his highlights from the latest releases. Eddyline Weizen Shine Hefeweizen Eddyline have summer in a glass with their 5% Weizen Shine Hefeweizen. All the usual suspects here: banana, clove, lemon &...
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Renaissance Takes Over Kaiapoi Site From Chinchiller

by | December 5, 2025 | News | 0 Comments

Renaissance has taken over the brewery in Kaiapoi that was previously home to Chinchiller and, before that, Eagle Brewing and Five Peaks. It's the third home for Renaissance, which started in Blenheim in 2005 before moving to Christchurch under new owners Brandhouse,...
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Beer Festivals — Your Guide To What’s On In Early 2026

by | December 2, 2025 | Travel | 0 Comments

There are plenty of beer festivals popping up around the country this summer. Here is a run-down on the main festivals coming up in the first part of 2026. Saturday, 31 January 2026 — Great Kiwi Beer Festival at Hagley Park, Christchurch...
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Three Boys Sold

by | December 1, 2025 | News | 0 Comments

Three Boys, one of New Zealand's most important craft breweries and a two-time champion brewery, is in new hands after being sold. The brewery, founded by Ralph Bungard and his wife Brigid Casey, is now owned by the head brewer Damian Treacher and his business...
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Bach Brewing Polygamy Pilsner

by | December 1, 2025 | Recommended | 0 Comments

Summer heat has now well and truly arrived so it’s time to crack out the Pilsner. Bach Brewing's Polygamy (maybe one of the weirdest naming decisions ever) Pilsner is a re-brew of one of Bach Brewing’s early beers, a Bohemian style Pilsner called Czechmate (itself a...
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