Historic Empire Hotel
Ross, NZ
Our van broke down in the small town of Ross. I think this was the only bar in town. Kind of felt like a hang out for the local rednecks. But they had cold beer which made it all good!
Speight’s Old Dark 🍺🍺🍺
A very nice black beer. Malty with a nice finish. Very refreshing as it is very light but still has a robust flavor.
DB Draught
All the locals were drinking these big bottles of beer in Ross. I got one in the grocery store in Franz Josef to give it a try. I see why the locals were drinking these. Good beer and saves you a couple of trips to the bar and you can tell your wife you only had a couple! Also when someone at your table buys a round you get a bonus… oh the joy is endless!
Altas Pub
Queenstown, NZ
This little pub packed a wide variety of beer! And had a great atmosphere.
Cassel and Sons Milk Stout 🍺🍺🍺🍺
Liz really liked this one. A really excellent beer! This is a milk shake for beer lovers.
Cassel and Sons Best Bitters 🍺🍺🍺
Hand pulled draft. I’m all above best bitters beer and hand pulled is old school! This was a good one.
Altitude Board Meeting Pineapple Hazy 🍺🍺
Draft. Maybe it was just too piney or didn’t match well with the tacos I had. Should have just had another bitters.
Hawks Bay Peach Bomb 🍺🍺
Draft sample. This was a cider style beverage made with just peaches! Very peachy and thick. It was just a little crazy.
Urbanaut Roswell Lime Sour 🍺🍺
Draft sample. I love sours, but this one was just too limey. It smelled just like Rose’s lime juice.
Doubtful Sound Cruise
Fiordland Navigator at Sea
Canyon Brewing
Arthurs Point, Queenstown NZ
Cardrona Hazy ‘80 IPA 🍺🍺🍺
Can. A nice easy drinking IPA.
Point Pressed Apple Cider 🍺🍺🍺🍺
Can. This cider was just about perfect! Strong apple flavor with just the right bit of sweetness to balance the tart and dryness.
Steamer Basin Brewery & Taproom
No Name Alley, Dunedin NZ 🇦🇺
This was a great little brewery! But just a little hard to find on an alley that only opened on two sides of the block it was on. They were having an event with some locals and it looked iffy on getting a table. But the owner/brewer/bartender told us no problem as they had a table upstairs. So we ordered pizza, beer, cider, and wine. We had been really craving pizza and these were awesome. I needed more time to check out their other beers!
Dark Lager 🍺🍺🍺🍺
Draft. Great dark beer with a hint of chocolate with candied orange. Light unlike normal chocolate stouts.
Cherry Grisette 🍺🍺🍺🍺
Draft and bottle. This was so good we had to get a bottle to go! Just a great cherry flavor with sparkling sourness.
Kawakawa Saison 🍺🍺🍺
This is a festival beer made with kawakawa leaf and cones. Right… what is kawakawa? These plants were used for medicinal purposes by the Māori. The leaves are used for a tea. The flavor is very subtle as both a tea and in beer. It added some fruitiness and spice to the beer.
Speight’s Brewery Alehouse
Dunedin, NZ
Speight’s is one of New Zealand big boys of brewing. They have 12 ale houses across NZ. This one is right next to the brewery. We got into Dunedin late and most places close had closed and this place was just a block away. Plus the kitchen was still cooking the snack menu. Perfect! You cant go wrong with beer and snacks.
Cloudy Apple Cider 🍺🍺🍺
A solid cider which was consumed at more than one location. Why is cider and beer better on draft?
London Porter 🍺🍺
A good porter but nothing special.
Other Speight’s products were reviewed in earlier beer reports. I went with an Old Dark on that night.