With so many great local breweries now in New Zealand, who do you trust to make the best craft beer that’s reliably tasty and of high quality?
The New World Beer and Cider Awards are a great starting place. Each year we select the top-30 beers, plus the top-100 highly commended.
But there are some breweries who regularly come to the party with beer that the New World judges love. Here are the best of the best.
8 Wired
Warkworth-based brainchild of Soren Eriksen who started brewing when his wife Monique gave him a homebrew kit for Christmas. He learned his trade at Renaissance in Blenheim where he moonlighted to create 8 Wired. Eriksen parlayed his winnings as New Zealand poker champion into one of New Zealand’s unique breweries, specialising in sour, barrel-aged and fruit-influenced beers such as his vintage Wild Feijoa Ale and Cucumber Hippy.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| 8 Wired Baltic Smoke |
Bootleg Brewery
Bootleg Brewery is based in an old dairy factory in Matangi on the south-east side of Hamilton. It’s worth a visit for the Chernobyl-chic look and feel of the taproom. Run in the same spirit as the old bootleggers who faced adversity and responded with innovation, they’ve been crafting beers against the odds since 2016.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beers
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| Bootleg Apehanger IPA | Bootleg Late Night Monk Fight Quad |
Martinborough Brewery
Martinborough Brewery is South Wairarapa’s only craft beer brewery, filled to the brim with award-winning wines, lush produce and local eateries, and quaint little shops that your mum will love. Technically a microbrewery, Martinborough expertly crafts brews on a small(ish) scale which means they focus on quality and clean ingredients making their beers a true craft.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Martinborough Brewery Hop Elixir IPA |
Otago Brew School
The Otago Brew School brewery is located right in the heart of the campus and is not only a brewery it is the future of brewing, by offering hands-on learning to help craft the brewers of the future!
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Otago Brew School Klassenbester Dunkelweizen |
Burkes Brewing Co.
Burkes Brewing Co evolved from Seb Burke's home brewing operation in June, 2015. From supplying one Twizel restaurant, to becoming the Mackenzie's local drop, and now being distributed throughout the country, the rise of this small outfit has been stellar. No second-year syndrome for Burkes Brewing # FakeNews Hazy IPA, with the Tekapo-based brewery returning to the Top 30 after a stunning debut last year.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Burkes Brewing Co. Unforgiven Porter |
Deep Creek Brewing
Deep Creek started life as a quaint seaside brew pub in Auckland’s Browns Bay and soon grew too big to be contained in the small suburban footprint, so they moved up to a major production brewery in Silverdale. Deep Creek won Champion International Small Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards in 2017 and consistently bag medals for their beers. On top of their core range they explore other beer flavours through their various ‘Projects’ – with their hazy and fruit sour beers reliably good.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Deep Creek Aloha Guava Passion Fruit Sour |
Double Vision Brewing Company
Double Vision is based out of a popular brew bar in Miramar, Wellington. Created by four friends who had the vision of making craft beer more accessible and building a community in their local area. They won the BGNZ Packing award for outstanding artwork and brand consistency and have won silver and bronze medals on various brews from the Brewers Guild of New Zealand competition.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Double Vision Brewing Mouth Party |
Ruapehu Brewing Co.
Ruapehu Brewing Co. started out small, a tiny brewery in the heritage railway station building in Ohakune in 2017. The first brewery in the area, they focused on serving the local community. In 2022 they joined forces with Big Mountain Mead to build a brewery & meadery production facility in the heart of Ohakune, which has an off-licence for rigger fills. They will be looking to build a taproom in the heart of Ohakune in the coming years.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Ruapehu Brewing Co. Unlimited Vis Hazy IPA |
Shining Peak Brewing
Shining Peak Brewing is a New Plymouth brewery that uses their brews to tell local stories. Every month, 5% of their beer revenue is donated to a different local Taranaki organisation. They take their name from Taranaki. In Te Reo Māori, tara means mountain peak and naki is thought to come from ngaki meaning shining – referring to the mountain’s winter snow cover.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Shining Peak Petite Pegasus Session Hazy |
Baylands Brewery
Baylands Brewery was started back in 2012 as a small brewery based on Baylands Drive in Newlands, Wellington. The brewery was in a double garage under the house with a 300L system but quickly outgrew that space and moved to Petone in 2014 with a 1200L brewery. The first Baylands beer was launched at Goldings Free Dive, a popular freehouse dive bar in Wellington in May 2013 and it's been full steam ahead since then. Now with a 2500L brewery in the heart of vibrant Petone with a large tasting room with 30+ taps of beer, wine, spirits and great bbq style burger & taco menu, the small team, family owned business is dedicated to making awesome independent beer.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Baylands Skull Cracker |
Monteith's Brewing Co.
Monteith’s Brewing Co. has a long history dating back to 1868 when Stewart Monteith joined Phoenix Brewery as its head brewer and shareholder. The brewery quickly became known as Monteith’s Brewery. With investor DB Breweries, Monteith’s was able to grow and blossom with a new brewery and taproom in Greymouth. With a long standing reputation for producing award-winning beer and cider, it is no surprise they are on our top 30 award-winning list.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Monteith's Tight Lines Pale Ale |
DB Breweries
DB Breweries Tiger Beer was born in Singapore, and brewed with the idea of embodying the iconic asian city. All conventional thinking would suggest Tiger is a beer that shouldn't even exist. But it does. It exists specifically because of its defiance of convention. Its willingness to take risks. To turn adversity into opportunity. And make the unexpected happen.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Tiger Ultra Low Carb 4.2% |
McLeod's Brewery
McLeod’s started out as a small brewery attached to a pizza restaurant in Waipu, two hours north of Auckland, and has bloomed into an award-winning brewery in its own right (although the Pizza Barn restaurant is definitely worth a visit). The arrival of brewer Jason Bathgate – from Renaissance via 8 Wired – lifted the beer quality to truly world class. Originally from Vermont, USA, the spiritual home of hazy IPA, it’s no surprise Bathgate also makes some of the best unfiltered IPAs in New Zealand. His sour and barrel-aged programme has a great repertoire too.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| McLeod's Paradise Pale Ale |
Morningcider
If you want to be cider-makers from Morningside, the Auckland suburb just down the road from Eden Park, what else would you call yourself except Morningcider? The business was founded by Tim Shallard, Louise Giles and Nigel Cottle, who are all connected with the trendy Morningside eateries Crave and Kind.
2023 Top 30 award-winning cider
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| Morningcider Cherry Bomb Cider |
Mount Brewing Co.
Mount Maunganui-based Mount Brewing have been to the Top 30 before with their cider but this is a beer debut for a small brewery located inside the Rising Tide taproom in the Mount. They’re mostly known for super fruity and juicy APAs like Mermaids Mirth which has been quenching thirsty locals at the Mount for years. But they’ve recently started bringing out bigger, badder and bloody delicious new brews. It’s their hazy extra pale that caught our eye this year.
2023 Top 30 award-winning cider
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| Mount Brewing Co. Tart Rhubarb Cider |
Paynters
If you’ve not had a cider from Hawke’s Bay-based Paynters, you’ve almost certainly eaten fruit grown by the Paynter family under the Yummy brand. The Paynters had been growing fruit for decades when Paul Paynter decided to add classic English cider apples to his orchard such as Kingston Black and Stoke Red. The Pilgrim is made at Linden Estate Winery, in Esk Valley, where Cyclone Gabrielle tragically wreaked havoc in February.
2023 Top 30 award-winning cider
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| Paynters Cider The Pilgrim Dry Cider |
Zeffer
Zeffer’s cider making journey began in 2008 with Sam and Hannah throwing in their day jobs with the (some said crazy) idea to craft real New Zealand cider from freshly crushed apples in a small shed in Matakana. Since then, they have experimented with flavours, won awards (including the World’s Best Cider in 2017) and shown the world just how good New Zealand craft can be. Zeffer is now pouring in all corners of the globe and every drop begins its journey at our home in Hawke's. Bay.
2023 Top 30 award-winning cider and gingerbeer
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| Zeffer Alcoholic Ginger Beer | Zeffer Passion Fruit Cider 0% |
Panhead Brewery
Panhead became symbolic of the potential within New Zealand’s craft beer scene after Lion paid $15m upfront (with another $10m to be paid over four years) for a brand that had only been in existence for three years. It all had to do with the power of the petrol-head brand created by Mike Neilson – he even set it up in an old Dunlop tyre factory to double down on the theme. The beers were the driving force behind the brand – including the uber-popular, and now top 30 winner, Supercharger American Pale Ale, which broke down barriers across demographics to bring craft beer to a wider audience. Other hop-driven stars in the Panhead garage include Port Road Pils and Quickchange XPA.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Panhead Supercharger APA |
Lakeman Brewing
From farming Simmental cattle and lambs to brewing award-winning craft beer, Lakeman Brewing was born out of a time of change and uncertainty in the farming district around Taupo. Back in 2009, James and Elissa Cooper were a young couple who enjoyed drinking a beer but had absolutely no idea how to make one. Fast forward as Lakeman approaches their 10th anniversary you will find James and Elissa with their team of 7 Taupo locals doing everything from farming, brewing, canning and distributing to marketing, managing events and pretty much hands down everything to get their award winning craft beers delivered to you and see the Lakeman brand finding its way throughout New Zealand.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Lakeman Primate Pilsner |
Mac's
Since 1981, Mac’s has been creating craft brews that changed the world of craft breweries. Founder Terry had a spirit of ‘What if’ which led him to create the Mac’s original beer under less than perfect circumstances. Today, that spirit is what drives Mac’s brewery to continue to impress by creating flavourful beers for people to enjoy across New Zealand.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Mac's Gold Lager |
Parrotdog
A charming story of three guys called Matt, a parrot called Schmee and a beer named Bitterbitch (the original brew was extremely bitter and a bitch to brew) propelled Parrotdog to fandom at Beervana in 2012. After setting up in Vivian St in central Wellington, the Matts – Warner, Kristofski and Stevens – raised a scarcely believable $2m in crowd-funding to build a new brewery, taproom and bar in Lyall Bay and they continue to forge an independent path. Well-designed beers, simple but attractive packaging and a genuine “nice” vibe defines the brand.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Parrotdog Sundog Pilsner |
Asahi Breweries
Born in 1987 out of curiosity, Asahi Breweries master brewers dared to be different, taking inspiration from the dry taste of sake to redefine beer forever. In Tokyo, on 17th March 1987, they created the world’s first Super Dry lager, a taste like no other. Today Asahi Super Dry is Japan’s No. 1 beer, and is proud that its innovation has become a global icon of modern Japan.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Asahi Super Dry 0.0% |
Sprig & Fern
Founder Tracy Banner has long been hailed as the mother of craft brewing in New Zealand. She learned her trade in England and then in New Zealand for Mac’s in Nelson and Speight’s in Dunedin before returning to Nelson to buy Sprig & Fern. They make reliably good beer, often traditional European and British styles such as their gorgeous Scotch Ale – a regular in the New World Beer and Cider Awards Top-30. A chain of pubs under the Sprig & Fern banner make this one of New Zealand’s most visible suburban Breweries.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Sprig + Fern Norty Porter |
Steinlager
At the heart of Steinlager is a beer that champions New Zealand greatness and national pride in the face of a challenge. Steinlager Classic was born from a challenge. In 1958, the infamous Black Budget cut beer imports and the challenge was put out to New Zealand brewers to produce a lager of international quality. The response was Steinlager Classic which has made our top 30 list two years running. Internationally recognised with countless awards on the world stage and envied by brewers the world over.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Steinlager Pure |
Urbanaut Brewing Co.
This suburban Auckland brewery has embraced adventure in their beer and their 2022 winning beer is typical of their flair. Founded in 2017, Urbanaut Brewery can be found in a legendary old warehouse in the central suburb of Kingsland, where a dedicated team of beer enthusiasts and party scientists work together to create some of New Zealand's freshest and most innovative beers.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beers
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| Urbanaut Newtown Hazy Pale Ale | Urbanaut Silver Palace Citra Hazy IPA | Urbanaut Bronx Double IPA |
Three Sisters Brewery
Three Sisters Brewery has been brewing commercially since April 2017 after winning the first Taranaki SOBA Homebrew Competition in 2015 with 'Rain In The Face'. A husband-and-wife team (Joe and Sarah) who first started brewing boutique craft beer in our garage in coastal Taranaki have a meticulous approach and respect for quality ingredients that produce an exciting range of craft beers that are distinctive, fresh and remarkable.
2023 Top 30 award-winning beer
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| Three Sisters Brewery Rumours in the Dark |
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.