Sunshine Stockies Can

Fresh off a gold medal at this year’s Australian International Beer Awards, this American/Australian hopped sessionable hazy (4.2 per cent) is riding high and rolling out in six-packs.  Big tropicals on the nose, guava and mango with white grape and gooseberry.  The palate is crisp and extremely fresh, more tropical ripeness with some herbaceous astringency towards the finish.  A compact and focused hazy that’s supremely refreshing, and at a breezy ABV a few glasses won’t weigh you down. 

Mr Good Bar — Twofold & St Leonards

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....

Two Experimental Hops In Advanced Trials

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...

Zero Cider Helps Peckham’s Go From Strength to Strength

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...

The Beer Project — Sunshine Brewing

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...

Is It End Days For Craft Beer?

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...

The Hoppiness 100 — Jessica Allen

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...