Town and country
From the regions to the cities – great beers are making their mark right across the country, says Michael Donaldson...
There’s an old adage that great wine-growing areas will always have good breweries close by – and that point was well on display at this year’s New Zealand Beer Awards.
Hawke’s Bay, Queenstown, North Canterbury, and Matakana – regions perhaps best-known for wine – were all home to a variety of trophy winners.
Hasting’s-based Brave Brewing took out the overall Champion Brewery title at the event in Christchurch (as well as the Champion Small Brewery title) after winning eight gold medals and three category trophies with their Tigermilk IPA, Stay Gold Pacific Ale and True Blue West Coast Pilsner.
It’s no wonder pressure from punters saw the annual Hawke’s Bay Wine & Food Festival add a single beer tent – Brave, of course – for their 2025 event on November 22.
The Queenstown and wider Central Otago region might be famed for its Pinot Noir, but it’s now equally famous for its hazy IPA after Altitude Brewing and Canyon Brewing claimed the two hazy/ juicy trophies: Altitude with their Remarks Hazy IPA and Canyon with their Vacation Hazy Pale Ale. Altitude also claimed the trophy for Champion Medium Brewery.
Another wine region, North Canterbury, will be celebrating Amberley- based Brew Moon’s triumph in the International Lager category with their Czech Please Pilsner.
Matakana’s collection of wineries have been infiltrated by two breweries – Sawmill and 8 Wired – who took home four trophies between them.
“Of the 84 Gold medals handed out, more than half went to breweries located away from our bigger cities.”
Sawmill won awards for Sustainability (the sixth year in a row), Packaging, and for their Hefeweizen in the Wheat & Other Ales category. 8 Wired tipped their hat to the wine industry with Sticky, a 12% barleywine made with dates, raisins and plums that saw them take home the Fruit & Flavoured trophy.
But the capital proved it is still a powerhouse when it comes to beer, with Wellington’s Craft Beer Capital winning the Tourism trophy and Wellington’s Garage Project reclaiming the Champion Large Brewery crown from fellow windy city residents Parrotdog.
Of the 84 Gold medals handed out, more than half went to breweries located away from our bigger cities – further proof, if anyone needed it, that the quality of beer throughout New Zealand is of the highest possible standard.
Brave were the dominant regional brewery, but the likes of Altitude (Queenstown) Shining Peak (Taranaki), Hop Federation (Motueka), Lakeman (Taupo), Sunshine (Gisborne), Brew Moon (Amberley), McLeod’s (Waipu) and 8 Wired (Matakana) all won multiple Gold medals.
Apart from Brave, the other big winners on the night were Garage Project, who scored a medal for every single one of the 27 beers they entered, including 10 Golds – a phenomenal achievement. Shining Peak (19/19) were the next best of the 100% club.
The Champion Beer also came from Garage Project, with Chance Luck & Magic 2021 reprising the achievement of the 2020 version, which was named Champion Beer in 2022.
The event drew 625 beer entries – the lowest in some years – but the overall quality was the highest it’s been with 80% of entries picking up a medal. There were 84 Gold, 208 Silver and 208 Bronze medals awarded.
The lower entries and better results are driven by breweries being judicious with what they submit – only putting in the beers they really believe will do well. Plus, the cost of entering is a consideration in tight economic times.
But with 500 beers from 70 businesses deemed medal-worthy, I take the view that you could go through the awards list and confidently pick a new brewery every week to try and you’d be safe in the knowledge that you’ll be drinking quality beer. Not a bad result at all.
Michael Donaldson is a Beer Writer of the Year, journalist and author
beernation.co.nz
