with my wife who is here on a scholarship, and I was really excited about trying craft beers from a new country that aren't big names from belgium, UK, germany, etc. (my first time outside the states). I know a lot of hops are grown here and everyone told me they have a young but good craft scene. What I found is 101 takes on a basic pale or golden ale for an insane price tag. 98% of beers I have tried have been super fizzy, light on alcohol, light on hops, and light on taste. For all those who have been here, I know that everything is expensive and they include tax on the price tag, but so much money for such basic beer? $16.99 for a sixer of 4.7% pale ale? $18.99 for a 4 pack of 6.2% "extra strong" ale? God forbid you wanna drink a stout, they must tax the use of roasted barley. Please don't think I'm being that cheap, just confused. Even the super macro stuff is higher priced than some crafts. Also, wine is really good and really inexpensive here, so its not really the alcohol. I have been drinking Cooper's sparkling ale and Cooper's dark ale from Aus. Its bottle conditioned, cheap at $12.99 and really tasty. My whole point of this post is to say that I am so spoiled to be from the US (especially Philly) and I find myself yearning for my old standbys in the dark watches of the night. I know that I cannot compare to someone who moves to a tiny country with only one beer option (called something like CLUB PILSNER BEER), but anyone else feel my pain? Or know any good NZ stuff thats not too high on the price? Someone shed some light! ps. Im in Wellington so PLEASE no one suggest Yeastie boys. Their bottles are like 9oz and about 10 bucks each.
Get used to it is the inly thing to say. Beer is expensive in New Zealand (and even worse in Australia). The good stuff is very expensive at $9 to 20 for a 500 to 750ml bottle. Buying on tap is probably going to be where the value proposition is. As for brands, I love Epic, 8wired, Renaissance and Garage Project. I know Parrot Dog does growlers and I think that Garage Project does to. Also, try Regional Wines & Spirits for growlers.
Different tax for different alcohol. I am not entirely sure what the tax regime is in New Zealand, but to give you some perspective on tax in Australia: Beer is taxed based on alcohol percentage. Wine is taxed at 29% based on the price that the winery sells it. So for instance, if the winery sells the wine at 1c, you pay 29% of 1c. Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere!
This is just what we're used to paying round these parts. I will say however that price is not very correlated with quality. You will get lots of rubbish beers for $20+ a six pack, and some good ones for slightly less than that. Definitely pays to do your research before you lay out the cash for anything. I would recommend Epic, Croucher, Tuatara and 8 Wired in particular. Tuatara's Pale Ale is like an IPA, and Croucher don't seem to make bad beers.
free beer here http://www.brauhaus.co.nz/ i dont know what the beer is like but i wish there was somewhere like this in WA
I feel your pain. Moved to Australia from Arizona almost 5 years ago. Went through that phase for a year. Now have no issue dropping 30-45 for a locally produced barleywine or RIS. It is not Philly, nor will it be. Wellington is a great beer town that only few know of. Go to hashigo zake and little beer quarter. Can find sculpin, wcipa, bear republic and lost coast. I know regional wine and spirits had cantillon so that is better than the US right now. Drink lots of liberty and Mikes. C!tra is a great DIPA. 8 wired and epic make good beers. Drop the US palate and open your mind up. Says me with all the US BA stouts.
Welcome to Wellington! It sounds like you've had a rough introduction to the local beers here. We are very close to having our cellar door open, but in the meantime feel free to drop me a message and we can setup a time for a visit and taste of what we're up to. Hopefully we can help get you onto some good bars and local beers! A few recent releases of ours that hopefully run against the notion of beer 101.... - Rye Chai IPA - Chosen Few - White Truffle Honey and Fresh White Truffle Belgium Blonde Ale with Champagne Yeast Secondary - Lola - Sour Cherry Cola Rye (11%) - Cockswain's Courage - Imp Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels - Red Rocks Reserve - Pinot Barrel Edition - Hoppy Red Ale brewed with Stein technique (super heated rocks) - Summer Sommer - Nogne / GP Collaboration - Blonde Rye Ale with Pohutakawa Honey - Dark Arts - Doppel Bock with huge cold coffee infusion (100L in 1500L brew) - Day of the Dead - Chili Chocolate Black Lager with Agave Secondary - Calavera Catrina - Maize Blonde Lager with Habenero Chilii, conditioned on Rosewater and Watermelon - Kava Coconut - Brown Ale brewed with Coconut Sugar and conditioned on Kava and Toasted Coconut And, as an experiment to see how many locals use Beer Advocate, an until now unannounced beer, we have a Chinese New Year celebration (slightly late!) brew coming out shortly made with Red Rice, Lotus and Chrysanthum flowers and conditioned on Wolfberries... Cheers, Jos Jos Ruffell Garage Project www.garageproject.co.nz
Thanks for the response. My OP was more of a rant built on 3 weeks of pent up frustration than anything else. Had the Aro Noir today at Fork and Brewer. Delicious, though perhaps a bit too much coffee flavor for me (I prefer chocolate in my stouts and porters). Thanks for the heads up. Will check out more soon
All good. We just opened our cellar door this last week. Feel free to drop by for a chat and taste of the beers.
Check out www.craftbeercollege.co.nz to try a few beer tastings and meet some beery people at Hashigo Zake. It is a great beer bar. There is a lot on offer in NZ. It is not all dire.
