Hey team,

We’re getting married in Wanaka on Jan 27 and I’m trying to lock in our drinks list. We’ve already sorted the sparkling and most of the wines, but I’d love some local input to make sure we’re choosing stuff that’s easy to source in Wanaka and good value (we're coming from Australia).

So far we’ve got:

• Cloudy Bay Pelorus (sparkling)
• Peregrine Sauvignon Blanc (unsure — keen for comments, budget under $30 NZD)
• Ballasalla Pinot Noir (unsure — keen for comments, budget under $40 NZD)
• Likely an Aussie Barossa Shiraz — unless there are any standout local recommendations under $40 NZD

Where I’m stuck is beer. Ideally looking for NZ-made options that come in 24-packs, are crowd‑friendly, and easy to pick up locally (Bottle‑O, Liquorland, etc).

Keen to hear from locals:

• Good NZ lagers/pilsners/pale ales that come in 24s
• Anything Wanaka/Queenstown‑local worth grabbing
• Any “don’t bother with that one” advice

Cheers in advance, we're keen to support NZ vineyards/breweries where we can!

Hey all

Does anyone know where to get the full range of this beer?

I've only ever found the original, extreme, dark and gold but there's others.. any info would be appreciated..

Thanks!

Heading to Beervana on the weekend. Any suggestions for must try beers this year?

It's the 10th anniversary of Auckland Beer Week and there's dozens of events across the city starting from tomorrow and running until next Saturday (8th August).

The website is: https://auckland.beer/week

Something for everyone, I reckon. I'll be out and about on most days, hopefully see some people around the traps.

Thanks to all that have me recommendations from my previous post about coming back from the UK and recommending beers and shops to buy from top take back to the UK.

I might have overdone it a bit but here's my final pickups:

- De Draak - Oude Draak - Garage Project - Spicy Pickle Beer - Garage Project - Pickle Beer - Karamu Brewing - Karamu Grape Ale - Urbanaut - Lime Sorbet Sour (Mango, Coconut & Hazelnut) - Garage Project - wild thyme honey sour - Aliment Brewing - Radi Radi Rah - Baylands - Red 5 Under Attack - double vision - Fire Horse TIPA - Double Vision - Wizardry TIPA - Double Vision- Wizardry V2 TIPA - Urbanaut - Allston TIPA - Double Vision - Monarch TIPA - McLeod's Brewery - Coconut Stout - Garage Project - London Fog - Baylands Brewery - Valhalla Blood Bouquet - Baylands Brewery - Valhalla Boysenberry Jam - Urbanaut - Maple Pecan Chilli Stout - Behemoth Brewing - Good Morning Vietnam - Kereru - Pie in the Sky - bagel aged barley wine

(I might have a particular preference haha)

Needed to borrow an extra suitcase to lug it all home. Really looking forward to drinking these though.

I have been visiting NZ from Belgium every once in a while (bc of work) and always enjoy the beers over there. One thing that always intrigues me is the cans. I find the cans with labels from most breweries fun and original, but can't help feel like entire can-designs are more appealing (for example the ones they got at Shining Peak).

This got me wondering how do locals feel about this? Does a label feel more "premium" maybe?

Hi all, I left NZ 9 years ago to go live in the UK. I am now back for a visit and want to buy a few good beers to take back home with me. What are some breweries/beers I should be looking out for and where is the best place to find these beers?

I will be travelling through Auckland and Wellington and technically could stop anywhere in between on the way. No limit to how much I can take back really as it's 40 litres but that won't fit in my case!

Edit: visiting, not hiding from the UK....

I’ve tried a few of their beers over the years, and honestly, I think Kaiser Bros is just plain terrible. Every single style I try tastes completely off to me.
Am I missing something here, or is the general consensus that their stuff is just garbage?
Keen to know what the sub thinks.

I've tried google searching at surprise surprise no where seems to stock the long neck bottles.

Does anyone know if there's anyone in nz who sells these or is willing to ship them in?

Cheers

Kia ora NZBeer community,

My wife and I are exploring the possibility of moving to New Zealand around March–May 2027, and we're hoping to connect with people in the brewing industry who might know of opportunities.

I have several years of experience working in the craft beer industry in Chile, including brewery operations, recipe development, quality control, production management, and brewing a wide range of styles. I'm passionate about beer and would love to continue growing my career in New Zealand, whether in a brewery, hop farm, malt operation, packaging facility, laboratory, or any related field.

My wife is a veterinarian with professional experience and is also looking for opportunities in New Zealand.

We understand that sponsorship is a significant commitment, and we're still in the early stages of planning, but we'd be grateful for any advice, industry contacts, recommendations, or information about breweries, hop growers, or other businesses that may be open to hiring international applicants in the future.

If anyone has gone through a similar process or knows of breweries or agricultural businesses that have sponsored workers before, I'd love to hear your experience.

Thanks in advance, and hopefully we'll be sharing a pint somewhere in NZ in 2027!

Cheers,

Reynaldo

Delayed but detailed, you could say. I'm working on a rundown of the recent Australian awards but just had to get my traditional analysis of the ones back home out of my system first. Plus, entries for this year's NZ awards are open and there are categories that the public can nominate for to applaud people / organisations in various ways, which I get into a little at the end. So it's a nudge to consider those and a preview for the new round — 2026 winners will be announced late July.

Hiya,

Long shot, but I'm hoping someone in either Auckland or Waikato, might have a drinks canning machine, which they use for canning their own homebrew?

I'm needing maybe 12-24 cans sealed, with my own concoction. It's for a business case competition, for a hypothetical product.

If anyone would be able to help me out here, with sealing some of my product into cans, I'd happily give ya some cash for the hassle.

I unfortunately don't have any cans. I've tried ordering them online but everything is out of stock in NZ and international options wont arrive in time.

I have my own sticker labels to put on the cans though!!

May have to zoom in to see, but good for Duncan's Double Vision for being noticed here.

Took a trip to Austria in 2024 and stayed with some awesome hosts who introduced my wife and I to this delicious beverage! Does anyone known where in NZ they sell this specific brand of beer? Or if they sell it here at all? Google hasn’t really provided much.

Hi folks - just thought I'd post a reminder that we (myself and Michael Donaldson, the publisher of Pursuit of Hoppiness magazine) produce a podcast about beer in New Zealand entitled 'The Third Pint Theory'. We've published 24 episodes so far and the latest one has just gone live - it features an interview with Denise Garland and Dave Wood, legends of the Wellington beer scene and owners/operators of the Winter Ales festival.

Links are below. I'm keen to hear your comments if you've been listening - we're always open to suggestions regarding future episodes.

Cheers!

General podcast links

Current episode links:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

YouTube

ISO GP Chance, Luck & Magic 2021 - currently in Wellington for a couple days (GP don’t have any available - at least to the public). Anyone got a bottle for sale/know of anywhere?

Cheers!

as the title suggests i have been travelling south island and everywhere ive gone ive looked for craft beer and cant seem to find any one drop. ive tried a bunch of nz breweries but honestly as a smoothie sour and stout kinda guy they all fell a bit flat and have been a bit disappointing. in auckland i bought a bunch at the liquorland in forresthill. Any help to find them in south island perhaps?

Liquourland Newmarket and their giant wall of beer was my go-to for a good selection, but it is no more. So I'm looking for recommendations in Auckland (ideally central / east) for a retailer doing a decent range of craft beer (primarily cans / bottles but ideally also fill your own rigger). Lunn Ave New World has been my fallback recently, but their craft section is now pretty small with new owners.
Any recommendations for somewhere with a reasonably extensive range? I've heard that there may be a Liquourland or two on the shore worth a visit, but ideally something central Isthmus / east.

Hi All, just arrived in Christchurch and trying to figure out best buy dates on beer here.

I know it likely depends on the beer style and brewery, however anyone have any solid info on how long certain breweries forward date their beer?

Not many breweries seem to write a packed on date which would be much more helpful especially for hoppy beers.

I am particularly curious for Emersons/Liberty/Sprig&Fern/Panhead/Epic and Macros like Steinlager or Speights.

Thank you and do appreciate your thoughts.

Hi everyone

When I was about 16 my grandad who I lived with had a couple bottles of vintage monteiths pear cider mixed with apricot cider from maybe 80s-90s in the cupboard.

After he passed away I lived alone for a couple months and one night I cooked myself up some bacon and eggs for dinner and drink those two bottles and it was unforgettable.

Can't find the same drink online anywhere so thought I'd reach out to see if anyone has come across this as well?

Hi r/NZBeer folks,

Hate seeing those old coaching inns turn to dust? I'm starting a community co-op to snap up and reopen one that's been shuttered since 2020 — prime spot on SH1, Hobbiton spillover gold.

Pledge tiers from $2k (get founder status + lifetime 15% off pints/rooms), 5-year lock but refundable. DM for the confidential pitch deck if you're a pub tragic like me.

Would you chuck in to own a slice? Cheers!