Stouts and porters, often called dark beers, are packed with roasted flavours and richness that make them an indulgent treat.
While stouts are a very dark, often creamy ale associated with acidic coffee and chocolate flavours, porters tend to lean toward being more mellow, featuring slightly more savoury malt.
Our list for the best Kiwi porter of 2025 is small but mighty, featuring just one that is the cream of the crop.
However you prefer your beers, the New World Beer & Cider Awards 2025 have something for you.
Browse our award-winning stouts and porters below, complete with food and beer pairings to take your at-home tasting experience to the next level.
Panhead Bounty Hunter Chocolate & Coconut Porter
Type of beer: Porter
Brewery: Panhead
Flavours: Chocolate, coconut and vanilla treat.
For more on this beer visit: https://panheadcustomales.com/
Buy this beer: Visit online shopping
Thirsty for more top New Zealand beers?
If you’re after dark beers, lagers or more unique craft varieties, don’t forget to check out the articles linked below, or browse the Top 25 from the New World Beer & Cider Awards 2025.
Not sure what you like? Our craft beer guide will walk you through what makes craft beer special and the different styles and flavours you can find in Aotearoa.
Related articles:
Best New Zealand craft beers for 2025
Best New Zealand IPAs and pale ales for 2025
Best New Zealand lagers and pilsners for 2025
Best New Zealand hazy ales for 2025
Best New Zealand wheat, saison and sours for 2025
Best New Zealand ciders for 2025
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.