Over the past year our beer and hospitality industries have been hit hard by Covid-19. They have been focusing on recovery and thanks to their tenacity we have a plethora of new beers for us all to enjoy.
Far and away the most common style entered in the 2021 tasting was Hazy IPA. Interestingly, there were more entries of kettle-soured and farmhouse ale, as well as traditional European styles.
For readers who like to drink outside of conventional styles, some of the recommendations will ring a bell. Ice-cream sours, milkshake IPAs, experimental saisons, and stouts are becoming more popular, while style guidelines and ingredients are toyed with constantly by brewers.
Our judges this year focused on the consumer experience. They looked for beers that were consistent with the style and description on the label. If you are looking for a broader experience I would recommend trying all of the beers in this list. Drink local, support local.
Tasting convenor, Vanisha Pullan
The Six Pack
These brews hit the judges for six out of six stars. From lean clean lagers to delectable sours, the top six is a refined, diverse mix.
Lager
Whistling Sisters
Lager
Whistling Sisters is in our very own capital city Wellington. It opened in 2018 in commemoration of the owners’ daughter who died of cancer. Twenty cents from every can sale goes to a fund for research on and treatment of advanced breast cancer. Whistling Sisters brew a range of styles and specialise in hand-making fermented foods and bread, and they also roast their own coffee – how neat is that?
This lager ticked all of the boxes. It was clean and clear, with light bready malt characters and a tropical hop aroma that ends crisp and dry and is not overly bitter. This was a standout lager for the judges and is an all-round great drop.
Strung out on Lasers
Choice Bros Brewery
Kettle Sour
Choice Bros Brewery is another standout brewery in Wellington. It opened in 2016 down a small alleyway off Ghuznee Street and has had exceptionally talented head brewers at the reins.
Strung Out On Lasers has been a staple Choice Bros beer. Its bright pink hue is hard to miss, and it is filled with delicious raspberry and lime flavours. It has a dry tart finish and the judges said it was well balanced and refreshing. This beer never fails to impress.
Passionfruit and Lime Ripple
Duncan’s Brewing Co.
Ice Cream Sour
Duncan’s Brewing Company is located in Paraparaumu on the Kāpiti Coast. It opened in 2017 and is owned and operated by George Duncan. He has recently been experimenting with ice-cream sour and smoothie IPA-style beers with some exceptionally cool artwork on their cans.
The judges were extremely impressed with this beer and it is indeed outstanding. They described it as tasting like “vanilla, passionfruit, and lime deliciousness” and found the multiple ingredients very well balanced. Be sure to check out Duncan’s fillery and popup bar at the brewery. It’s a great excuse for a trip to the Kāpiti Coast.
Black Monk
Zeelandt Brewery
Schwarzbier
Zeelandt Brewery opened in 2012 in sunny Hawkes Bay. Owner and Head Brewer Christopher is super talented and has been executing impressive traditional European styles. Schwarzbier, a dark German lager, pairs well with hearty spicy foods such as jambalaya or desserts such as candied ginger and pear cake or dark chocolate.
The judges raved about this beer. They thought it was true to style. It was clean and crisp and light-bodied but had a well-balanced roasty character with hints of chocolate and coffee, and had a light bitterness to it. They said they would happily drink a few of these, and fortunately for you, it comes in six packs.
Sin Eater
North End Brewery & Small Gods
Mild Ale
This beer was brewed in a collaboration between North End Brewery and Small Gods (who also run an awesome craft beer subscription service called Beer Jerk). You may want to check out their Auckland shop, called the Fridge and Flagon, and also North End Brewery in Waikanae.
This beer was outstanding, in a style that is not so commonly found. The judges said it smelt like chocolate, dark fruits, and prunes. They tasted complex malt flavours of chocolate and biscuits and said it was incredibly well balanced and highly drinkable. Mild ale is a style which originated from the English Midlands and is thought to be one of the oldest beer styles in England.
Naughty Hopper
Double Vision Brewing
IPA
Double Vision Brewing is located in Miramar, Wellington, and is jointly owned and run by best friends Warren, Evan, Harry, and Mario. They say they aim to take traditional styles and push their boundaries.
Naughty Hopper is a great example of this. It is a double IPA coming in at 8.9% abv. The judges said it tasted like pine resin, tropical fruits, and oranges, with a well-balanced sweet malt character. The hops used in this beer (Simcoe, Amarillo and Mosaic) are known as the “Rockstar” hops of America. They are low in bitterness but juicy and fruity and this beer is a great example of these qualities.
The rest
The innovation and creativity we saw from breweries this year fizzed into an admirable array of porters, pilsners, and other very pleasant pints.
This selection of beers scored three stars or above, and are worth a sip. Check out the full list of three-star+ brews in the current issue of Capital.
We have a tasting session template for you to run your very own tasting with these beers. Download it here and find that new Friday night favourite.
Lagers
A lager should be crystal clear, crispy, and on the lighter side of hop and malt character.
The Trailblazer
Fortune Favours
Hoppy Lager
This beer was clean and crisp with hop characters of pine, grapefruit, and mango. Although strong in aroma it was light in bitterness with light caramel biscuit malt flavours.
American Amber Ale
This style got its name from its golden colour, derived from roasted caramel and crystal malts. These malts give beers their amber colour, a fuller body, and toffee-like flavour.
The Oregonian
Fortune Favours
American Amber Ale
This is the only amber ale entered this year. With hints of caramel on the nose, it tasted of stewed fruits with toasty burnt caramel malt flavours and ended with medium bitterness.
Pale Ales
Pale ales should be refreshing and hoppy and have a good balance between bitterness and fruitiness from hops and sweetness from malt.
Abandoned APA
Abandoned Brewery
American Pale Ale
This beer was amber in colour with excellent clarity. The judges tasted fruity pine hop flavours and said it has great carbonation, allowing you to drink more than one.
Reg’s Pale Ale
Three Sister’s Brewery
Pale Ale
This beer was an easy drinker, fresh and tasting of pineapples and mandarins. It had good body with a hint of toffee malt flavour.
Chillax
Double Vision Brewing
Extra Pale Ale
This beer was full of juicy orange, and tropical fruit flavours. It had strong guava and pineapple notes.
It was clear and bright with a long bitter finish.
Expatriate
Double Vision Brewing American Pale Ale
This beer had 100% clarity. It was bright,
with strong pine hop character, biscuit,
honey malt flavours and a clean dry finish.
Abandoned XXPA
Abandoned Brewery
Imperial Extra Pale Ale
This beer tasted of cake batter and tropical
fruits. It was bright and finished with a hint of passionfruit. It was a big beer for an imperial XPA.
Download the tasting pdf here
IPAs
IPAs are known for their stronger hop aroma and bitter finish. They can have a range of fruity flavours but must be balanced well with malt flavour.
Nexus
8 Wired
Double West Coast IPA
This beer tasted of lemon and lime
sherbet, with a pine hop character. It was spritzy, full bodied, and well balanced.
Mean Red IPA
Mean Doses
Red IPA
This beer was complex with a good malty
caramel backbone. It had light hop
character tasting of tropical fruits, and finished with a hint of bitterness.
Juniper IPA
Duncan’s Brewing Co.
American IPA
This beer was fresh and juicy. It tasted of mandarins and juniper. With good carbonation and mouthfeel, it was well balanced and well rounded.
Mt Alpha
Rhyme and Reason Brewery
Old School IPA
This beer had strong stone-fruit flavours with moderate bitterness. It had good mouthfeel and a refreshing bitter finish.
Abandoned IPA
Abandoned Brewery
IPA
This beer was a pale golden colour that tasted of passionfruit and mango. The body was light and spritzy and well balanced. It was clean and had a refreshing finish.
Mean IPA
Mean Doses
IPA
This beer was golden in colour. It had pine and lychee hop aromas and grapefruit flavours, with a moderate body and a refreshing light bitter finish.
IPA
Tuatara
IPA
This beer was bright and golden, with a dank hop aroma with a grassy hop flavour. It had a medium body ending on a zesty note.
Sours and Funky beers
These beers were either brewed to be sour through a process referred to as “kettle souring” or through spontaneous ferment. This happens when brewers use wild yeast strains such as Brettanomyces, giving the beer earthy, barnyard characteristics.
Become the Ocean
North End Brewery
Gose
This beer never fails to impress. Tasting fresh, it had hints of spiced lemon and salt. It was juicy and refreshing with a good level of tartness contributing to a great mouthfeel.
Yeehaw
Rhyme and Reason Brewery
Habanero Saison
This beer lived up to its label. It had aromas of spice and capsicum and tasted fruity with a hint of spice. It was complex and refreshing, ending with a spritzy mouthfeel.
Wild Feijoa ’20’
8 Wired
Barrel Aged Sour
This beer had strong Brett and feijoa aromas. A great a level of acidity blended well with the fruity feijoa flavour.
Soor Plooms #2
Three Sisters Brewery
Imperial Sour
This beer was a vibrant red colour. It tasted of boiled berries and blackcurrants with a great fruity acidity. It was juicy and well balanced for its abv.
Rustica
North End Brewery
Wild Ale
This beer had
strong farmhouse
aroma, smelling of
vanilla and overripe lemons. It is delightfully spritzy with earthy sherbet flavours, and well balanced.
Download the tasting pdf here
European
This broad category covers several different styles from traditional European beer countries. These beers exhibit brewing techniques developed over hundreds of years, which have laid the foundations for some of the New World beer styles we enjoy today. Belgian-style beers are known for their yeast character, reminiscent of clove and fruit, and for alcohol levels that are typically on the higher side. Whereas German-style beers are malt accented, which balances well with floral hops.
The G.O.A.T Doppelbock
Sprig & Fern Brewery
Doppelbock
This beer had big malt characters. It tasted nutty and had hints of alcohol in the aroma. It was full bodied, although on the darker end of this style.
Hefeweizen
Tuatara
Hefeweizen
This beer had a big juicy fruit-gum aroma with light spice and hints of grain. It showed great head retention, a must for this style. It had flavours of cloves from the yeast and ended with light carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel.
Jerry Rig
Zeelandt Brewery
Helles
This beer had a light floral hop aroma and a white-bread-crust malt character to its flavour. It ended with soft carbonation and was well balanced. Although not quite to style, this was an enjoyable beer.
Brunhilde’s Fate
Zeelandt Brewery
Rauchbier
This beer has a nice smoky aroma, which was not overwhelming. The smokiness carried on the palate but ended with a clean finish. There were also hints of bitterness from the darker malts.
Hopunzel
Double Vision Brewing and Fork and Brewer
Fresh Hop Belgian IPA
This beer had strong yeast aromas of clove and gum. It tasted fruity and chivey with light bitterness from the fresh hop addition. Overall this was a well balanced beer.
Hazy Pale Ales and IPAs
These beers are juicy and fruity often packed with tropical fruit flavours such as mango, pineapple, orange, and lychee. Beers in this style are well balanced with bitterness and can often be thick and creamy. This style arose on the East Coast of America, and many New Zealand breweries have recently been experimenting with it.
Oat Cream V.2
Duncan’s Brewing Co.
Hazy IPA
The beer had great haze. It smelt and tasted of sweet peach candy, lime, and coconuts, with a great balance between the hop and malt characters.
Tiny Mammoth
Double Vision Brewing
Little Hazy IPA
This beer had a light hop aroma. The bitterness was well balanced with the bready malt character. It had great flavour intensity for a low abv beer.
Hazy XPA
Abandoned Brewery
Hazy XPA
This beer has a big
tropical fruit character. Ripe pineapples are the dominant flavour with hints of toasted white bread. This beer has a strong bitter finish, a bit more bitter than most in this style. Overall it is well balanced.
Welcome Back Maaaate
Whistling Sisters
Hazy IPA
This beer had a golden hazy appearance with a big fluffy head. It had strong sauvignon blanc
passionfruit hoppy aromas, and a lighter body that ended dry, almost wine-like.
Mean Juice
Mean Doses
Hazy Pale Ale
This beer had an orange zest, pine resin aroma with pithy grapefruit flavours that were well balanced with malt character. It ended dry with light green hop bitterness.
Download the tasting pdf here
Porters, Stouts and dark beers
This style of beer uses darker roasted malts to give beers rich fuller bodied flavours of coffee, chocolate, and burnt toast. Similar to the roasty-ness of coffee, the darker the malts the more burnt richness the beer will taste of. Hop flavour and bitterness are typically less apparent in this style, but bitterness from darker malts is not uncommon.
Pit Boss
North End Brewery
Smoked Doppelbock
This beer was bright orange in colour. It had an aroma reminiscent of smoked meats with honey. It was a rich full-bodied beer with smoke character that does not overwhelm you.
MMXX
Fortune Favours
Smoked Stout
This beer poured a stunning jet-black colour with a pillowy tan-coloured head. It had aromas of milk coffee with hints of smoke and brine. It was well-rounded and full bodied, and ended with a soft warming carbonation.
The Nutter
Fortune Favours
Chocolate Peanut Porter
This beer had big chocolate aromas on the nose with hints of nuts. The strong chocolate malt flavour had hints of berries on the end.
Russian Imperial Stout
Whistling Sisters
Russian Imperial Stout
This beer smelt and tasted of raisins, coffee, and chocolate, and had light boozy vanilla aromas. It ended with light bitterness and was full-bodied and well balanced for its abv.
iStout Affogato
8 Wired
Imperial Stout
This beer had strong coffee and chocolate aromas with hints of booze. It was thick and full bodied, and well balanced for its abv.
Hand and Flowers
Three Sisters Brewery
Milk Stout
This beer had strong cocoa aromas. It tasted of dark chocolate with some sweetness. It was a well balanced full bodied stout.
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