not for pussies

Known for producing craftier, but still affordable six-packs, McCashin’s Brewery is now taking a similar approach to individual cans in the Legacy series.  Aside from the enticing price tag for this 5.9 per cent IPA, there was something that got my attention immediately: 500ml cans!  It proves there’s no logistical reason why I should be deprived of 60ml when craft beer goes from glass bottle to aluminium can.  But as ever, value alone can’t prop up a bad beer, so does this one have the chops? The nose on this certainly checks all the West Coast boxes, with grapefruit, apricot, rockmelon and gentle pine.  Pithy grapefruit is very dominant on the tongue, with a light but still reasonably chewy malt and a drying bitterness.  It might not have the rockstar razzle of a super-premium craft example, but it’s easily 90 per cent of the way there and at damn near half the price ($5.99) of a 440ml can (plus that 60ml extra) the value here is incredible. 

I Am Hope Rejects Funding Over “Not For Pussies” Beer

Mental health charity I Am Hope has refused to take money from a boxing fund-raiser because a beer with the tagline “not for pussies” is being co-promoted alongside the event. Swordfish Mojo is a low-carb lager created by Matt Watson, the star of the ITM Fishing Show...

Duncan’s Drop The Lactose For Vegan Beer

New Zealand’s self-professed biggest user of lactose (milk sugar) in the brewing process is set to find new customers after creating a lactose-free, vegan-friendly smoothie sour. The use of lactose in dessert beers, ice cream sours, smoothie sours and milkshake IPAs...

The Beer Project — Karamu Barrelworks

It's a magical drive into Karamu Barrelworks on Daryl Bryant's rural Waikato lifestyle block. The morning light softly filters through the trees he and his wife Lynette planted when they first moved onto the property. Vision, a bit of hard graft, followed by time has...

Sprig & Fern The G.O.A.T Doppelbock

Over the next wee bit I’ll be exploring the trophy winners from the recent New Zealand Beer Awards, starting with The G.O.A.T Doppelbock (7.9%) from Nelson brewing legends Sprig + Fern.  As the name implies, this is a beer with a long history of awards, including a...

Fermented Culture – A Moment of Communion

This column was pitched to me as a vehicle for me to reprise “The Grumpy Brewer” a character I played during lockdown that comedically allowed my frustrations with the world of beer and my general eccentricities out into the world. However I didn’t want to wallow in...

Craft Reaches New Heights at Broken River

With news of brewers and premises in strife seemingly now a daily headline, it’s with some relief that I find myself writing about one reaching new heights. The Broken River Ski Club recently completed upgrades to its hospitality offering at 1600m, making it one of...