Good Luck Whooping Crane Beer is a special brew which can be found at the Good Luck Bar in Cuba Street Wellington. It’s quite a nice drop with a distinct Japanese Lager flavour and served at very affordable prices. Now the deal is, if you drink this lovely beer you will be showered in Good Luck, well we certainly didn’t find any bad luck after drinking it..so it must have worked.  The Good Luck bar has been running for about 9 years and as well as their Whooping Crane Beer they are also known for their Harry Debu Gaki Sake and their interesting cocktails. It’s a nice little bar to visit with some pretty funky sounds for anyone in Wellington’s main entertainment district looking for something a bit unique.

Tuatara Pilsner is brewed by Tuatara Brewery from Paraparaumu which is just under an hour’s drive north of Wellington along the west coast of the North Island.  Tuatara is a growing microbrewery which is has been awarded some fairly prestigious prizes for its beer.  Using the best German traditions the brewery produces five main beers in the classic European style. One of the ones we were lucky enough to try was the pilsner which was sold in draft form and very fresh and crisp.  The beer a Czech style pilsner has an alcohol content of 5% and is the brewery’s bestselling. The beer is brewed with noble Saaz hops, German Malt and Czech yeast plus some of New Zealand’s softest and purest water making it a very delicious drop indeed.

Tuatara’s  website : http://www.tuatarabrewing.co.nz

http://www.monteiths.co.nz/beers-and-cider/staples/celtic

Overlooking Auckland’s waterfront in the city’s port district is a great brew bar for anyone visiting New Zealand’s biggest city. The bar is pretty cool, it is built in, as the name suggest the old building once home to The Northern Steamship Co. It’s been totally refurbished and designed by some very clever designers who have turned it into a very funky beer palace.  Before we get to the beers we need to talk about the space, it’s amazing, there are floor lamps hanging from the ceiling, some incredible artwork including a huge piece behind the bar broken up into dozens of random photo frames, book cases full of cool stuff and some really funky furnishings.  Well now for the good bit- the beer there are about 8 of Mac’s finest on tap, we will talk about them in more detail in coming weeks, but  some of the line-up included Macs Gold All Malt Lager, Mac’s Sassy Red, which was delicious, Black Mac, and our favourite Mac’s Great White which was an awesome wheat beer, just to name a few. Mac’s also has some of their great ciders on tap including Isaacs’ which is a must and their food was pretty good too.  Auckland isn’t the only place to have one of these great Brewbars, in fact there are five in the city, there are also bars in Christchurch, Nelson and Wellington.

for more info: http://www.macs.co.nz/Brewbars/Northern-Steamship.aspx

About half an hour’s drive out of Auckland along State Highway no 16 is the lovely rural area of Riverhead. The area has plenty of farmland, vineyards and fruit producers.  We came across a great little brewbar and restaurant which had an incredible range of quality beers called Hallertau.  They produced beers using the traditional artisan processes with nothing other than water, yeast, hops and barley and rainwater. The brewers produce four regular beers and a range of seasonable brews, we were lucky enough to try a few of them including the Copper Tart or No 3 beer which as the name suggests is a red ale with a very tasty caramel and chocolaty taste. Delicious. Their Statesman Beer or No 2 was a very rich pale ale which had a fairly bitey hops kick. They also did a nice Kolsch style beer called Luxe or No 1 which had some delightful fruity aromas and aftertastes and plenty of character. The venue had great food, there was a as they called it grazing menu in the bar area with a range of tasty treats and more of a restaurant style menu in the main part of the complex.  The beer has been recognised by many leading critics in New Zealand and due to the small quantities produced is pretty hard to get outside the brewery but several places around Auckland are stocking it as a boutique craft brew.

for more info www.hallertau.co.nz

We had a wonderful afternoon visiting the Tui brewery and headquarters in Mangatainoka New Zealand, which is a short drive from Palmerston North on the North Island. What an awesome little set up the guys have, it is fantastic.  Set amongst farmland the historic Tui tower can be seen for miles so there’s no problem finding it.  There’s an amazing welcoming centre complete with bar and giftshop, plenty of outdoor seating and a huge expanse of grass to enjoy a beer or meal. The bar features some pretty interesting drops of beer too, not only do they serve the Tui we have come to love on our Beer tour of New Zealand but they also stock a couple of beers not sold anywhere else- so it’s pretty special.  Tui offer tours of the brewery which is amazing, seeing how they produce beer from the freshest of ingredients. The friendly staff not only show you behind the scenes of the brewing process they end the tour as all good tours should end finishes with a taste of their tasty brews you even get to take home a Tui glass- how good is that!

For more information: http://www.tui.co.nz/default.asp

May at Hoppsy is New Zealand Beer month and the first of our beer stories from the land of the great long cloud is Speight’s Summit Golden Ale.  This 4% alcohol lager was first brewed back in June of 2008 and is the brewer’s first all natural beer. Speight’s use only natural ingredients including lovely Pacific Hallertau Hops from Nelson which is added late in the brew to the kettle, delicious malted barleys and crystal clear New Zealand water to produce a pretty tasty beer. It is a fairly light beer in comparison to the mainstream Speight’s Gold Medal but has a wonderful fruity flavour with some floral aromatics. The beer like many New Zealand beers has a sweet and smooth taste.   Speight’s part of the Lion Nathan suite of brands has been marketing this beer as a smooth flavoured golden larger that embodies the spirit of the modern Southern Man and is aiming at younger and more active customer, who might purchase a imported product instead of the traditional beers.

For more information: http://www.summitlager.co.nz

Unfortunatly this beer might be a bit hard to get now as it was a seasonal release, we have only got around to tasting it and it was really worth the wait.  Monteith’s is one of New Zealand’s major brewers and make some beautiful seasonal beers. Their ginger tasting summer ale was one of our favourites last summer. This winter ale follows the German traditions with its full roasted malted flavour, just the amazing red colour is enough to tell you how good it is, it nearly looks like wine.    Beers like this were produced in Germany for winter to nourish people during the fasting season and nourish it certainly does. It’s not a beer you could drink dozen after dozen it is a beer to be enjoyed like a fine port and goes splendid with rich food like roasts or tasty deserts.  You might struggle finding the 2010 release, but we are heading into the time of year when they might just make another for 2011.  Cant wait!

Monteiths Zezty Radller Bier is another one of the tasty beers with a touch of citrus added. This time lemon. It is a high quality beer based on the Bavarian lager. The beer is rather refreshing and it is hard to stop at just one. Monteiths is one of New Zealand’s best brewers dating back to 1868, they have a whole range of classic beers which are well worth trying including an original ale, golden lager, a black and a Celtic red. Some are seasonal so keep an eye out for them, you wont be dissapointed.

For more information: http://www.vailima.ws/

The Waikato is a region on the Western side of the North Island of New Zealand around the city of Hamilton extending along the pristine Waikato River and is home to Waikato Draught. Now a Lion Nathan beer the beer has a very rich history dating back to 1864 when brewer Scot Charles Innes arrived in New Zealand.  Charles Innes started a brewery in 1871 at Ngaruawhia and then a new brewery was established in 1873 in Hamilton East. A bit of tragedy followed with fire destroying the brewery in 1897 and poor old Charles Innes drowning while bathing in one of his beer vats- what a way to go.  His wife Mary took over the reins and it later became a public company with what is now Lion Nathan merging with the brewery in the 50′s.  The beer brand has a strong tradition with Rugby and is a real tasty beer- They have won Gold Medal and Best in Class at the 2005 BrewNZ awards just to prove it.

For more information: http://www.waikatodraught.co.nz

Massey University in New Zealand has got one of the coolest courses going around. They have built a microbrewery at their School of Engineering and Advanced Technology and have produced their first beer called Pilot Pils, which even adheres to the sacred Bavarian brewing laws. The brewery was set up to provide teaching for students who are studying brewing and beverage technology. There are plans underway to actually grow the barley on farms around the Massey University and process the grains on site to produce a truly Massey Beer. The microbrew has also the potential to be able to make wine. Over the years there have been quiet a few graduates who have left the university to pursue brewing careers, and with this new installation there should be plenty more over the coming years.

for more information: http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-us/news/article.cfm?mnarticle=micro-brewerys-pilot-pils-a-good-kiwi-brew-04-04-2008

Monteith is one of New Zealand’s best brewers and their New Zealand Lager is a very tasty drop indeed. Naturally brewed with none of those nasty chemical additives or preservatives this beer uses the freshest of New Zealand ingredients and crystal clear water to deliver a very crisp clean and somewhat fruity taste. The beer has recently been introduced into London, and has gone crazy- The other half of New Zealand (the ones that don’t live in Sydney) live in London and they just cant get enough of the stuff. At the moment the huge Corney and Barrow bar chain has exclusive rights to the beer in London. The bottle is one of the best looking bottles you will find in the pub’s fridge it’s distinctive New Zealand fern emboss and classy black and silver label makes this beer stand out and say buy me- and our suggestion to you- is do it… it is a real good beer. Now New Zealand Lager isn’t the only tasty drop Monteith’s make they have a whole suite of products one range to look out for is their seasonal ranges, Their fruity summer ale is probably just starting to go off the shelves to make way for the Winter Ale which if it is anything like last years will be sensational. Look out for it!

Lion Brewery, the home of Lion Red, New Zealand’s biggest beer brand, and Steinlager, Lion’s flagship international beer has a fantastic and educational experience for anyone visiting Auckland. The Lionzone is an innovative, interactive and entertaining experience centred around the breweries great products. Opening in 2001 the centre has two levels with level one focusing on beer history and a visit to the gift shop and Captain Cook Brewery. Level 2 has some great exhibits showing how beer is made and a bit of history of its famous products. There’s a fascinating virtual tour on the making of beer. But the highlight of the tour for many is tasting the freshly brewed product at the Brew Floor Bar and learn the best way to pour and taste the beer!

For more information: http://www.lionzone.co.nz

There’s only one thing South Island New Zealander’s really love is Speights. Originating from the beautiful city of Dunedin the beer is known as the Pride of the South. Now we all know there are thousands of New Zealanders in England, well they couldn’t get a Speights there so they had to resort to drinking Steinlager or even worse Fosters. Over 500 emails protested to the Speight’s company so they decided to send a pub on a boat to London to stop them whinging jam packed full of tasty Speights. The 10 week world voyage took in Samoa, Panama, New York before reaching London in October.

For More information: http://www.greatbeerdelivery.co.nz