NZ Beer Awards

Speight’s Mid Ale was the somewhat controversial (in some circles) trophy winner of the Specialty & Experimental Category at the 2021 Brewers Guild Awards.  The secret to this unpretentious and affordable light beer’s (2.5 per cent ABV) success is its resolve to keep things simple.  Rather than trying to emulate some hop-driven style, Speights Mid is a largely malt-driven beer that replicates the Speight’s Gold Medal Ale experience with remarkable precision, given it’s almost half the strength.  Smooth, mild maltiness with just enough hop bitterness to keep the flavour refreshing.  It’s got plenty going on to keep the palate engaged, and with a typical price of less than $1.50 a bottle, it’s supreme affordability should not be understated.

Brave Brewing Triumph At NZ Beer Awards

Brave Brewing and their cult IPA, Tigermilk, roared the loudest at last night's New Zealand Beer Awards in Christchurch. Brave Brewing, from Hastings, won a swag of trophies — with the most important being the title of overall Champion New Zealand Brewery. Moments...

Guinness 0.0 Set for Wider Distribution in NZ

Guinness 0.0 — the hard-to-get non-alcoholic version of Guinness — will become more widely available in New Zealand from later this year. Lion is the official brewing and distribution partner of Guinness in New Zealand but has not been able to get its hands on a...

Mean As Win for Mean Doses in West Coast IPA Challenge

Tiny Wellington brewery Mean Doses captured the 18th annual Malthouse West Coast IPA Challenge with their "no gimmicks" entry, The Scale of Mean. Mean Doses took out the coveted Golden Gumboots (gold spray paint, barely dried, as per tradition) last week — a big first...

Ales On The Camino Trail

I’ve been a beer guy forever. I love the taste, the industry and the social connection of sharing a beer.  In the middle of Covid lockdown in Amsterdam in July 2020, I realised I didn’t love alcohol.  Well, that’s not the whole story — I didn’t like what I...

Kegstar Picks Up Distressed Konvoy Kegs

Concerns about a shortage of kegs in New Zealand have been averted after Kegstar concluded negotiations to purchase their financially-stricken rival Konvoy Kegs. The two companies controlled the keg rental market in New Zealand and Australia until Konvoy went into...

Brothers Beer Limey B*Stard West Coast Pilsner

Much as I may still suspiciously view the West Coast Pilsner style as the former (and I thought far more indicatively named) IPL style re-entering the market with a fake moustache and glasses, it does seem to be sticking around, and more importantly, producing good...