Parrotdog Bruce Fresh Hazy IPA
Being my first fresh-hopped beer of 2022, I was eager to get Bruce out of the can — expectations high!  My eagerness was rewarded immediately as the room quickly filled with that dank, grassy fresh hop aroma I live for each season!  While Nectaron may be the industry’s new love affair, using Nectaron in conjunction with Riwaka hops in this beer is the master touch!  The drinking experience is everything you can hope for —nice upfront peach and tropical fruit flavours with a neat, dry finish.  The best part of this beer for me is how it seductively coats the inside of your mouth with trademark oily resins, envying that of a Texan Oil Baron. I’ve always felt it a challenge to bring fresh hop and hazy characters together successfully in a beer, but luckily for all of us Parrotdog have nailed it.  Bruce is beautifully balanced, and jam-packed full of those familiar fresh hop flavours and aromas we all dream of each April.   We are truly blessed here in New Zealand to have a hop industry that’s hot right now!  As beer drinkers we are the winners!

 

Lakeman Primate Pilsner

Awards season rolls on, with the New World Top 25 joining the scrum of medals just last week. On that incredibly hotly tested list (and not for the first time either!) was Lakeman Primate Pilsner from Taupo.  The pilsner style (particularly of the NZ persuasion) is...

Hop Federation Closing Down

Motueka-based Hop Federation will cease brewing next month following a strategic review by owners Kono NZ LP. Kono general manager Marina Hirst Tristram says the decision wasn’t easy and reflects a deliberate focus across the commercial businesses of Kono. "As part of...

Garage Project Take Over Fortune Favours

Garage Project are opening two new venues in Wellington, including taking over the Fortune Favours taproom in Leeds Street. Fortune Favours closed its doors for the last time on Sunday but the venue will continue as a craft beer destination, with Garage Project moving...

New World Beer & Cider Awards Winners

The 2025 New World Beer & Cider Awards have been announced. Here's the list of the Top 25 winners which will be available in New World stores over the next month. Champion Beer Isthmus 3D IPA Isthmus Brewing is the Auckland creation of husband and wife team Hamish...

Isthmus 3D IPA Takes Top Award

Isthmus Brewing in Auckland have taken top spot at the annual New World Beer & Cider Awards with their 3D IPA. The awards, in their 10th year, feature some major changes with the Top 30 reduced to a Top 25, making it an ultra-competitive event. And this year,...

Red Sea Conflict Drives Garage Project-Mikkeller Deal

The congoing conflict in the Red Sea is driving an unusual beer hook-up, with Garage Project brewing and distributing beer into Asia on behalf of Danish craft giant Mikkeller. Yemen's Houthi organisation, in reprisal for Israel's attacks on Gaza, are firing missiles...