New Zealand Beers

After having a bunch of Chang and Anchor beer in Thailand and Cambodia, I was pretty excited to try some New Zealand beers. My Lonely Planet book listed it as a highlight. (NZ is one of the few places in the world that can grow hops.)

It ended up being exceptional. Here's a list of some of Mitch's and my favorites:

Sleuthhound, Scotch Ale
Parrotdog Brewery (Wellington)
6.1% ABV
- This one was extremely peaty. Sweet and toasty.

Oyster Stout 
Three Boys Brewery (Christchurch)
6.2% ABV
- This was one of the first beers I had when I got to NZ. That was a long time ago, and I honestly don't remember many specifics about this beer. I do remember it being dark and thick and awesome.

NZ stout pic.twitter.com/5fXlP3cxUw
— Angry Brown Carver (@AngryBrownCarvr) August 14, 2014

Supercharger, American Pale Ale
Panhead Brewery (Wellington)
5.6% ABV
- Panhead is less than a year old. That it already is making such tasty sensible beer bodes well for it, I think. Supercharger was one of the hoppiest beers we had in NZ. Kiwis don't hop it up quite as much as American breweries.

Pot Kettle Black Remix, American-style Porter
Yeastie Boys Brewery (Wellington)
6% ABV
- Mitch liked this beer the most out of any that he had. It was dark colored, light in body, and extremely good smelling. I compulsively closed my eyes like I was in a coffee commercial when smelling this beer. (Mitch, by the way, considered himself a beer-picking savant by the time our trip was over.)

Tall Poppy, India Red Ale
8 Wired Brewery (Blenhiem)
7% ABV
- IRAs do exist! And in the case of New Zealand beers, are much better than IPAs (at least this one is). Medium bodied. Hoppy. Sweet.

8 Wired's India Red Ale. Recommended and living up to it. pic.twitter.com/f3eD3PQKuf
— Angry Brown Carver (@AngryBrownCarvr) August 21, 2014

Craftsman, Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Renaissance Brewery (Marlborough)
4.9% ABV
- Everything we had by Renaissance was delicious and well made, but I especially liked the chocolate stout. It was desert. Not so much a desert beer as actually desert. Well balanced, not too sweet, and definitely chocolate-y.

Brewski, Pilsner
Wanaka Beerworks (Wanaka)
4.8% ABV
- Big-tasting pilsner. Crisp. Spicy hopped. And the brewery was next to the Wanaka Transport and Toy Museum, so that was fun.

Captain Cooker, manuka beer
The Mussel Inn (Onekaka)
4.4% ABV
- This was the most unique beer we tried. Manuka is a flowering bush native to New Zealand, and it made Captain Cooker taste something like a Gin Ale (if there were such a thing). Like, it was to gin what a scotch ale is to scotch. Red brown. Medium body.

Dunkel
Cassels and Sons Brewery (Christchurch)
5.6% ABV
- Highly drinkable and crisp. Carmel-y and another one of Mitch's "I'm a genius at picking beers" picks.

If you're a beer fan, make a point of getting out to New Zealand (if you can) someday.