New Zealand Beers - Brew Nation Top 10
Welcome to the BrewNation Top 10 New Zealand beers. This isn't anything overly academic, not even a yearly list of the beers we carefully considered and determined winners in their class. Instead this is a real time cool wall of New Zealand beer that tickles our taste buds right now. If you turned up here for a BBQ right now with 10 beers in tow this would be a best case scenario.
The list is our selection of what we love influenced by season, trends and our own fickle taste buds. It will change as regularly as it needs to, taking into account new beer which turns up on the scene.
We love to get feedback particularly on such a debatable topic, so get in touch and tell us what New Zealand beers are winning the war for your taste buds right now.
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I’m a big fan of everything Epic but the Barrel Aged Armageddon sticks out as the big boy of the range. Packed full of hops, then aged in Oak this IPA is more than a beer. There are plenty of oak aged beers around, most with flavours which collide brutally in competition. In my opinion the Barrel Aged Armageddon gets the flavour composition just right. There is fine oaky spirit flavours which live in complete harmony with the highly hopped beer. Easily one of the most exciting beers of 2010.
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Chocolate, coffee, liquorice, vanilla, rum and raisin chocolate, cream...what more do I need to say. Perhaps that it won it’s category at the BrewNZ beer awards in 2010. This has the credentials to be called the best Stout of 2010.
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For me the depth of the bitterness is what makes a super star IPA. This big boy is made with 100% NZ grown malt and hops and has massive depth to it’s flavour right through the mouth full. It also has plenty of malty sweetness to balance out the mother load of hops 8 Wired have dropped in this brew.
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I’m loving everything from Twisted Hop at the moment. This brew is everything you expect and love in a modern kiwi IPA. If I’m going to end up with Hop induced drys I want something not only bitter but sweet and sticky. This is beautifully balanced, with a sticky tasting toffee malt sweetness balanced with big layered pine and grapefruit bitterness.
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This is the quintessential new world American Pale Ale, sporting massive pine resin flavours balanced with heaps of malt and swinging a grapefruit at your head. Tuatara has delivered the perfect APA first go with this one.
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Pilsner is one of my favourite summer drinks. Traditionally it is crisp and bitter and because of this is a great delivery mechanism for subtle flavours. However I’ve been disappointed by how many are totally bland. The Sauvin Pilsner is my favourite NZ Pilsner, it has layers of great hop flavour including the Sauvignon Blanc gooseberry. It’s a Pilsner for IPA drinkers who appreciate a bit of flavour. A totally brilliant summer drink.
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You always remember your first, and this was the beer which ushered my taste buds into manhood several years ago. This Kolsch style ale is a super accessible summer time quencher with great fruit flavours and interesting yeast. If you don’t love a glass of this fresh off the tap at Hallertau you’re on the wrong site.
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This new tap only release from Croucher is pure silk. Inky black with big hops and hints of cherry. So much taste it scrambles my tongue, burnt coffee, toffee, cast iron. Wow an instant favourite. Hurry up and get this in a bottle guys!
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To my sometimes demented taste this is the Xmas cake of the beer world. Fruit and spice mix with Belgium flavours to create something smooth and rich. Not traditional Belgium, Stout or anything else this is just a big bottle of dark happiness.
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This is a big Scotch ale for hairy highlanders who spend time their leisure time throwing lampposts. A lot of beers wander off course and end up around this style, without going properly through the door. This beer boldly embraces the style packing heaps of hardcore flavour in. If you can handle a mouth full you are blessed with a body blow of caramel, toffee, liquorice, chocolate and roasted caber.
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