Bach Brewing Sticky Buds

Three Boys Gas NZIPA was originally brewed as a collaboration with Burkes and took third place at the 2021 Smiths IPA challenge.  Now Three Boys have got it into cans for a wider release in their Brewers Reserve series.  For an NZIPA the nose manages some strikingly American notes. Grapefruit and orange citrus, apricot and lychee with some spice and rosewater. The palate is packed with rich juicy malt, bittersweet red grapefruit and candied orange peel.  Great concentration of flavour precisely contained by a firm bitterness.  A superb reminder of just how good an all NZ-hopped IPA can be.

Bach Brewing Sticky Buds III

by | May 12, 2026 | Recommended | 0 Comments

I’m far from ready to declare a favourite from this year's fresh hop season, but I surely have some contenders, and the third edition of Bach Brewing Sticky Buds (by way of Steam Brewing) is most definitely on the list.  Fresh Nectaron is the pick here, supporting a...
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8 Wired Fresh Hopwired

by | May 12, 2026 | Recommended | 0 Comments

It’s here… the full force of the fresh hop storm is upon us, and I find myself again in the (not so arduous) position of having vastly too many releases to choose from. So for this week’s feature, I’ll pick one that I’ve been most looking forward to reuniting with. ...
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Hallertau Fresh Hop Belgian Ale

by | May 12, 2026 | Recommended | 0 Comments

When it comes to fresh hops, it’s a bold move for a brewer to step outside the IPA and Pilsner paddocks, but Hallertau Fresh Hop Belgian Ale is unique (and bold) for even more reasons. A fleetingly rare example of a North Island hopped beer, using hand picked cones...
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Thief Brewing Brood Mother

by | May 12, 2026 | Recommended | 0 Comments

One of the first Canterbury fresh hops on the scene this year, Brood Mother Hazy IPA is brewed just over the hill at Thief in Banks Peninsula. While most freshies tend to stick to one or two hop varietals (for logistics as much as anything else), Brood Mother casts a...
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Sprig + Fern Harvest Pilsner

by | April 13, 2026 | Recommended | 0 Comments

Sprig + Fern’s ultra-classic Harvest Pilsner is always amongst the very first heralds of the impending hopocalypse, and frequently remains one of the best till the end of fresh hop seasons. This season’s release (it’s 16th outing!) presents a gentle citrus and cut...
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Haagen Lager

by | April 13, 2026 | Recommended | 0 Comments

As consumers, we all have two lines that constrain our habits.  Above, there’s the price ceiling, when the cost of beer gets above a certain point we’ll turn away.  That price ceiling has been talked about to death over the last five years (at least). ...
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