Since many of you know that we’re a couple of snobs when we’re drinking, I thought I’d outline the experiences we’ve had with beer while we’ve been here.  As you may know, New Zealand is well-regarded for its wines, but it also has a selection of tasty local breweries.  We’ve tried:

• Steinlager – this was a part of our away party.  A reasonable lager for export, and drinkable, but not a beer I’d seek out in Belgium.
• Mac’s – This beer was found mostly on the North Island so far, and in supermarkets.  They have a full range of beers from their pilsner to their “Black Mac”.  I preferred their red bitter, and Hazel liked Mac’s Gold.
• Speight’s – We’ve only had their “Gold Medal”, an unremarkable but tasty ale.
• Tui – This is a local beer brewed in the south of the North Island.  Very popular judging by the number of pubs that have a sign branded Tui instead of branded with their own name.  Tastes remarkably like Newcastle!
• West Coast Brewery – We went to the brewery of this one, and tasted their range of beers there, but we weren’t too impressed.  Their two lagers were our favorite.
• Monteith’s – We also went to this brewery, which was much cooler, but we were unable to do a tour due to time restrictions.  We did buy a variety six-pack that we’re working our way through, though!  Some very tasty beers.

Some beer photos along the way:

Monteith's Brewery/Museum

West Coast Brewery Tasting

More on the wine later!