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Best New Zealand craft beers & ciders for 2025

Introducing the Top 25 of the New World Beer & Cider Awards for 2025.  

Our expert judges have picked the standout brews from around the country, featuring a thirst-quenching range of ales, ciders, non-alcoholic options and more. These 2025 picks celebrate the best of the best beers and ciders from Aotearoa's very own breweries.

Find the best of Aotearoa:

•IPAs
• Hazy ales
•Pale ales
• Lagers and pilsners
• Stouts and porters
• Weird and wonderful
• Ciders
• Brewed Soda
• Low carb and low alcohol
• Fruit, flavoured and spiced

 

Find out more about how these beers and ciders were judged here.

Best New Zealand IPAs 2025

Indian Pale Ales, or IPAs, are well loved for their strong hoppy flavour, combined tropical fruitiness with bold, bitter hops.

 

3D IPA

Isthmus 3D IPA - Supreme Winner

Type of beer: IPA

Brewery: Isthmus Brewing

Flavours: Champion beer — rich, smooth and hoppy.

Judges’ comments: Isthmus Brewing is the Auckland creation of husband and wife team Hamish Ward and Caroline Muller-Ward. Hamish was the head brewer at Deep Creek. Isthmus 3D IPA offers a multi-dimensional flavour experience. There’s a classic American hop character on the nose, featuring grapefruit and pine, wrapped in rich caramel malt that supports and enhances the hop expression.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.isthmusbrewing.co.nz/

Buy this beer: Visit online shopping

Pernicious Weed

Garage Project Pernicious Weed

Type of beer: IPA

Brewery: Garage Project

Flavours: Diesel, passionfruit and sauvignon blanc.

Judges’ comments: The first ever beer released by Wellington legends Garage Project, this strong IPA is 8% ABV. It has a bold but balanced flavour profile with diesel, passionfruit, sauvignon blanc, a chewy malt character, and a thumping bitterness.

For more on this beer visit: https://garageproject.co.nz/

Buy this beer: Visit online shopping

Thunderbird

Parrotdog Thunderbird Bright IPA

Type of beer: IPA

Brewery: Parrotdog

Flavours: Mellow, hoppy, sweet easy-drinker.

Judges’ comments: Wellington’s Parrotdog deliver a crystal clear beer with all the flavours you’d expect in a hazy, including sweet hop notes and mellow bitterness. Thunderbird Bright IPA is back in the Top-25 for the second year running and wowed the judges with “perfect clarity” and a vibrant hop character delivering sweet citrus, offset by a tingling bitterness that lingers but doesn’t dominate.

For more on this beer visit: https://parrotdog.co.nz/

Buy this beer: Visit online shopping

Best New Zealand hazy ales 2025

As the name implies, these beers have a hazy or cloudy appearance, hinting at the fullness of flavour they deliver and are beloved for their maximum fruity and citrus character.

 

Thunderbird

Remarks

Type of beer: Hazy

Brewery: Altitude Brewing

Flavours: Pineapple, mango fruit bursts

Judges’ comments: Queenstown’s Altitude Brewing collaborated with UK brewery Verdant to create a robust hazy IPA that expertly captures the full noise of New Zealand hops and the special character of Verdant’s acclaimed yeast strain. Looks spectacular in the glass. Delivers pineapple and mango flavour bursts on a puffer jacket malt base. A crunchy bitterness rounds out a real treat.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.altitudebrewing.co.nz/

Buy this beer: Visit online shopping

Thunderbird

Good George Haze of Glory NZIPA

Type of beer: Hazy

Brewery: Good George

Flavours: Mandarin, pineapple and sweet grapefruit.

Judges’ comments: If you’ve ever wondered exactly what people are on about when they talk about New Zealand hops, just try this beer! From Hamilton’s Good George, it’s the almost perfect encapsulation of the flavour of our hops — sweet fruit and bright citrus. It’s a multi-award-winning beer and an appearance in these awards rounds out an impressive CV. 

For more on this beer visit: https://www.goodgeorge.kiwi.nz/

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Thunderbird

Martinborough Brewery Hoppy Haze

Type of beer: Hazy

Brewery: Martinborough Brewery

Flavours: Citrus, pine and dank.

Judges’ comments: Martinborough Brewery returns to the Top 25 for the second time in three years with an exquisite hazy IPA. It looks stunning in the glass beer and follows up with a harmonious blend of flavours. The judges loved the intensity of the “citrus, sweat and pine” aroma. The flavour tends more towards tropical fruit, and the texture is rich, juicy and smooth but the sweetness doesn’t run away, thanks to a careful application of the brakes in the form of a dry and slightly dusty finish.

For more on this beer visit: https://martinboroughbeer.com/

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Best New Zealand pale ales 2025

Boasting a light body that’s bursting with flavour, pale ales are approachable for the novice, yet still beloved by beer connoisseurs worldwide. For the perfect bridge between a dark stout and a light lager, grab one of Aotearoa’s best pale ales. 

 

Thunderbird

McLeod's Blue Sky
American Pale Ale 

Type of beer: Pale ale

Brewery: McLeod's

Flavours: Grapefruit, mandarin, biscuity malt.

Judges’ comments: This beer also won a trophy at the 2024 New Zealand Beers Awards. Blue Sky captures a classic American hop profile of grapefruit and mandarin offset by a biscuity malt, softened by the addition of oats for a creamy texture. 

For more on this beer visit: https://mcleodsbrewery.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

Hallertau #2 Pale Ale

Type of beer: Pale Ale

Brewery: Hallertau

Flavours: Soft caramel malt, zesty lemon hops.

Judges’ comments: West Auckland’s Hallertau have been a go-to beer and food destination for 20 years and their #2 Pale Ale, aka Statesman, has been a rock-solid part of their line-up the entire time. A classic NZ pale ale with loads of tropical and zesty hop character superbly integrated on a rich malt. A gentle minerality leads to a lingering finish. “Great beer,” said the judges.

For more on this beer visit: https://hallertau.co.nz/

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Best New Zealand lagers and pilsners 2025

Looking for something accessible with clean, bright flavours? Lagers are your answer. While lagers can come light, amber, or dark, they are unified by their cool fermentation process. This results in a more malt-forward flavour, often less fruity than their ale counterparts. Among lagers, pilsners are the lightest and brightest, promising refreshingly crisp and clean flavours.

 

Thunderbird

Tiger Lager Beer

Type of beer: Lager

Brewery: Tiger

Flavours: Smooth and well-balanced lager.

Judges’ comments: In a word of global lager, the competition is intense, which also means the quality has to be super-high. Because it's brewed under licence in New Zealand by DB Breweries, one of Singapore’s flagship lagers is fresh and lively. It stood out among the other global lagers this year with the judges lauding the “delicate floral, herbal hop character”. There’s a good depth to the supporting malt sweetness. “Clean, well-balanced, smooth finish - a great example,” the judges concluded.  

For more on this beer visit: https://www.db.co.nz/tiger/

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Thunderbird

Judas Sheep Dark Lager

Type of beer: Lager

Brewery: Heaven's Brewery

Flavours: Chocolate, toast and delicate smoke.

Judges’ comments: Heaven’s Brewery is a hand-built brewery near Hikurangi, Northland.  It was founded by Ben Heaven and his wife Jodi after they returned from a stint England where they’d started Bondgate Brewery, a tiny brew house supplying country pubs and beer festivals with “real ale”. Ben’s pedigree shows with this amazing entry onto the national scene. A dark Czech-style lager, it’s a meld of chocolate, toast and smoke, with a lovely roasty charry bitterness.    

For more on this beer visit: https://www.heavensbrewery.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

Black Sands Pilsner

Type of beer: Pilsner

Brewery: Black Sands

Flavours: Zingy, herbaceous, lemon-lime.  

Judges’ comments: Repping West Auckland in the Top 25 for the first time, Black Sands is a second-generation business with brewer Craig Hebblethwaite at the helm of a brewery started by his dad Ian. This pilsner marries elements of the classic German version with New Zealand hops to create a zingy, herbaceous beer that expertly blends a lemon-lime hop character into a rich, resinous malt texture.  

For more on this beer visit: https://blacksandsbrewing.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

Lakeman Primate Pilsner

Type of beer: Pilsner

Brewery: Lakeman

Flavours: Bright, fresh, crisp and fruity.

Judges’ comments: Three years in a row in the Top 25 for this beer! That says a lot about the reliability and consistency of the team at Lakeman’s farm-based brewery in Taupo. They’ve worked incredibly hard on perfecting this recipe and it encapsulates what a New Zealand-style pilsner should be. The judges loved the “croissant” malt aroma, the “bright and fresh New Zealand hop” and the superb crisp and fruity finish.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.lakemanbrewing.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

Mad Whale Helles Lager

Type of beer: Lager

Brewery: Mad Whale

Flavours: Lemon-lime hoppiness, crisp, fresh.

Judges’ comments: Mad Whale is a Kiwi export business focused on beer, wine, cocktails and ice cream — and this Helles (Light) Lager is their flagship beer. It’s brewed at Auckland’s Steam Brewing, This is a classic lager tuned to a New Zealand frequency, with lemon-lime hop character that lifts it above a run-of-the-mill lager. Crisp and bright.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.madwhalebeerco.com/

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Thunderbird

The G.O.A.T Doppelbock

Type of beer: Doppelbock

Brewery: Sprig & Fern

Flavours: Toast, honey, chocolate-dipped raisins.

Judges’ comments: Back for another year in the Top-25 Nelson-based Sprig & Fern’s aptly-named The G.O.A.T Doppelbock is one of the most awarded beers in recent New Zealand history. They call this beer G.O.A.T because “bock” in German translates to goat. Think toast and honey overlaid with chocolate-coated raisins and spice. 

For more on this beer visit: https://sprigandfern.co.nz/

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Best New Zealand stout and porter 2025

Stouts and porters represent the darkest of ales, with rich caramel, coffee and chocolate notes. These darker styles, including even amber ales, focus on pronounced toasted barley flavours, forgoing fruit and citrus in flavour of fresh baking and sugar.

 

Thunderbird

Panhead Bounty Hunter Chocolate & Coconut Porter

Type of beer: Porter

Brewery: Panhead

Flavours: Chocolate, coconut and vanilla treat.

Judges’ comments:  Upper Hutt’s Panhead Custom Ales are best known for their hoppy beers but their dark side is also impressive. The chocolate, coconut and vanilla flavours all seamlessly and smoothly integrated. 

For more on this beer visit: https://panheadcustomales.com/

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Best New Zealand weird and wonderful 2025

In every judging event, there are beers and ciders that intrigue our judges, or spark animated discussions, and sometimes even polarise the judging tables. These unique beers have distinctive or unusual ingredients that stand out from the crowd. 

 

Thunderbird

Garage Project Spicy Pickle Beer

Type of beer: Sour

Brewery: Garage Project

Flavours: Spicy dill pickle juice.

Judges’ comments:  If you discovered Garage Project’s Pickle Beer at last year’s awards, it’s time to take things up a notch with the spiced-up version. This sour beer is infused with cucumber, dill and pickle spice, and a liberal dose of chilli. The judges noted the chilli heat hit “a good level - just on the cusp of being too hot”. The judges loved that it’s a beer that does exactly what it says it’s going to do. For spicy pickle lovers everywhere.

For more on this beer visit: https://garageproject.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

McLeod's Far North Chili Pils 

Type of beer: Pilsner

Brewery: McLeod's

Flavours:   A subtle chili fragrance with a soft, warming heat

Judges’ comments:  Northland brewery McLeod’s with its iconic Pizza Barn bar and restaurant are regulars in this event but for the first time one of their longest-standing brews has forced its way into the Top-25. This chilli pilsner gets its heat courtesy of fellow Northlanders Kaitaia Fire, who supply the chillies. It delivers a hint of heat up the nostrils on the aroma. In the flavour department. Warming finish but not overpowering spice.

For more on this beer visit: https://mcleodsbrewery.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

Lush

Type of beer: Sour

Brewery: Three Sisters

Flavours: A thick, tropical explosion with visible vanilla seeds and a sweet fusion of pineapple, guava, and feijoa."

Judges’ comments: New Plymouth’s Three Sisters emptied the fruit bowl to create a beer Don’t worry that it’s weird looking — it’s just what we were looking for — with real vanilla seeds visible in the glass. Thick and lush, the pineapple, guava and feijoa are all obvious and yet they meld together superbly. “Super thick and juicy with just enough sourness to cut through sweetness,” said the judges. 
 
For more on this beer visit: https://threesistersbrewery.store/

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Best New Zealand ciders 2025

Craft ciders and ginger beers are making waves in Aotearoa, with local brewers drawing massive audiences who are after something sweet and warming yet refreshing. With a higher sugar content and no hops, expect juicy fruit flavours and tart sweetness.

 

Thunderbird

Peckham's Cidery and Orchard Apple Zero

Type of beer: Cider

Brewery: Peckham

Flavours: Caramelised apple tart.

Judges’ comments: Peckham’s Cidery & Orchard are dedicated to growing traditional cider apples which have a distinctive aroma and flavour. These apples are used to full effect in this 0% cider with an alcohol content of less than 0.5% ABV, it delivers the character of a traditional cider while remaining non-alcoholic. They’ve crafted a full-strength cider and removed the alcohol using the “spinning cone” technique that wineries use for their zero wines. The results are stunning. The aroma is earthy and wild but the flavour is caramelised apples and hay. Off-dry with a full and rich texture.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.peckhams.co.nz/

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Thunderbird

Peckham's Cidery and Orchard Classic Apple 

Type of beer: Cider

Brewery: Peckham

Flavours: Baked apples, apricots and honey.

Judges’ comments: Peckham’s Cidery & Orchard are dedicated to growing traditional cider apples which have a distinctive aroma and flavour. These apples often bring layered flavours that move beyond simple apple “juice”. In this case the aroma is dried apricots, honey, and a subtle spice. Once you taste this off-dry cider, the earthy aromas fade and you’re left with baked apples offset by some grippy tannins and gentle acidity. The judges said it was “lovely and moreish” and a good introduction to traditional cider.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.peckhams.co.nz/

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Best New Zealand brewed soda 2025

Thunderbird

Good George Old School Alcoholic Lemonade

Type of beer: Alcoholic lemonade

Brewery: Good George

Flavours: Lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon-drops.

Judges’ comments: What a banger of a brew this is. Think of a home-made lemonade with alcohol (4% ABV) and you’ve got this super-refreshing, ultra-lemony treat from Hamilton’s Good George. The judges loved the “clean lemon-drop notes” and the “crunchy 'old-fashioned' lemonade profile”. Layers of lemon with fresh juice, and zest. High sweetness balanced by clean, lemony acidity.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.goodgeorge.kiwi.nz/

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Best New Zealand low carb and low alcohol 2025

Thunderbird

Urbanaut Beat Street Hazy IPA

Type of beer: Low carb

Brewery: Urbanaut

Flavours: Fruit salad, light, dry.

Judges’ comments: Urbanaut, based in Auckland’s food-centric suburb of Kingsland, rule supreme when it comes to low carb beers. They have four in their range, with two making the Top-25. It has a medium-light body with a lively carbonation and finishes nicely dry thanks to the low sugar. 

For more on this beer visit: https://www.urbanautbeer.com/

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Thunderbird

Urbanaut Copacabana Brut IPA

Type of beer: Low carb

Brewery: Urbanaut

Flavours: Lightweight, full-flavoured low-carb IPA. 

Judges’ comments: Urbanaut, based in Auckland’s food-centric suburb of Kingsland.  Copacabana is their flagship, a 7.1% IPA that’s incredibly light and agile with a super-dry finish.  Fragrant hops and a spritzy carbonation with a flavour profile that resembles tinned fruit salad mixed with lime cordial. A summer’s day IPA because it’s light and refreshing.

For more on this beer visit: https://www.urbanautbeer.com/

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Thunderbird

Bach Brewing ALL DAY HAZY
non-alcoholic IPA

Type of beer: Non-alcoholic IPA

Brewery: Bach Brewing

Flavours:  Full-flavoured, textured, delicious non-alc.

Judges’ comments:  Bach Brewing’s All Day Hazy Non-Alcoholic IPA The judges loved the tropical fruit hop aroma, bready malt flavour and decent level of bitterness. 

For more on this beer visit: https://bachbrewing.co.nz/

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Best New Zealand fruit, flavoured & spiced 2025

Thunderbird

Parrotdog Limited Release 24 - Coconut Hazy IPA

Type of beer: Hazy IPA

Brewery: Parrotdog

Flavours: Pina colada in a beer can

Judges’ comments: Wellington brewery Parrotdog have created the beer equivalent of a pina colada with this Coconut Hazy IPA. A judicious use of coconut, not too overpowering, blends with pineapple and tropical fruit hop flavours create a long and rewarding drinking experience. The sweet notes are offset by a gentle cedarwood character and the flavours lasts all the way to a smooth and dry finish. 

For more on this beer visit: https://parrotdog.co.nz/

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About the author

Michael Donaldson is one of New Zealand’s most renowned beer writers and was named Beer Writer of the Year by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand for a third time in 2018. He has been the Chair of Judges for the New World Beer & Cider Awards since 2016.

His writing appears in North & South, The New Zealand Herald, Stuff and Drinksbiz. He is also the editor of The Pursuit of Hoppiness magazine published by the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA).

He is the author of New Zealand's definitive beer history Beer Nation - the Art and Heart of Kiwi Beer as well as The Big Book of Home Brew: a Kiwi Guide and The Hopfather, the biography of Emerson's founder Richard Emerson.

 

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