Today is ONE WEEK until Beervana and just so happens to be International Beer Day as well! Did we plan that? …Sure, of course…yup. To celebrate we decided to reach out to a few discerning palates to get their top beer picks for the festival to guide you in the enormous maze of 381 beers.

Jamie – Our Good Beer Quality Control Officer

Earning his place as our chief beer taster, these are the first ten on his list. You will be hearing a lot more from him about a lot more of the beers too, he will be your barometer this year on what’s good. Here are his first pick…

Crux – Freak Cake
Crux is a brewery I had the pleasure of visiting last year and the beers on offer blew my mind . Crux’s ability to turn out superb Belgian-inspired beers, coupled with the innovative brett twist sounds very exciting and I cant wait to try it!

McLeod’s Brewery  – Waipu Great Migration IPA
I’m always on the lookout for great new NZ beers and the pedigree of McLeod’s brewing team almost guarantees this beer is going to be a winner. I’m really excited to try this flagship IPA from Beervana’s most northerly representative

Baylands Brewery – Woodrow’s Revenge
I’ve been drinking Baylands for some time now and, all my friends all agree that they have not made a bad beer yet. A new direction from a great brewery and I’m really intrigued to see the results

Craftwork – O’ambic
I’ve only been lucky enough to try a wee bit of Craftwork’s stuff and it has blown me away in terms of the dedication to craft and quality. Perhaps the only homemade lambic currently on offer in New Zealand and it’s one I cant wait to try.

Garage Project – Party and Bullshit
I love the East Coast style hazy IPA’s a relatively new style to NZ that’s sure to get people talking. They don’t look pretty, but they are packed with American Hops and are slightly more refreshing and zesty that the West Coast counterparts.

Hallertau Brewery – Funkonnay 2015
I love this annual release from Hallertau that seems to improve with every iteration. They are perfecting the barrel aging process in a way that not many other. I love the juxtaposition of dryness and big fruity characters this beer brings to the table.

Pirate Life – Pale Ale
Can’t ignore the hype that’s coming out of Adelaide about these guys. They have set the standard for great hoppy, drinkable beers in Australia and I’m really looking forward to seeing how they have dialed back the booze and made this session pale ale.

Hopworks – Survival Stout
A seven grain stout, made with a bucket load of Portland Coffee wizards, Stumptown coffee sounds incredible, especially when you consider Hopworks stellar reputation in the North-West of the USA. I’m excited about this one on the basis of the description alone!

North End Brewery – Rustica
North End have been quietly and assiduously creating some incredibly complex and interesting beers for some time and I’m really excited to see the latest labour of love. I think it will be great to try a beer spontaneously fermented, using yeast local to our own Kapiti coast!

Yeastie Boys – Rex Attitude
An old friend. One which makes me think of rich mahogany, kippers and whisky. In short, I like to drink this and pretend to be a Scottish laird in a highland retreat. Wearing tweed and some brightly coloured trousers.

Hamish from Bogan Beer Tasting

Hamish and his other Bogan Beer Tasters were part of our International Beer Day “Beer Olympics” that will be on Seven Sharp tonight! These guys know a lot about beer and rock hard while doing it.

Fork Brewing – Kinot Noir
There’s been heaps of Oyster Stouts but I’ve never even thought of a Kina beer, I imagine this will be a “love it or hate it” kind of affair.

Choice Bros – On the Brain
I’ve heard about this beer non-stop from the other guys in the crew but I’ve never had the opportunity to try it for myself. Hopefully it lives up to it’s hype.

Garage Project – Two-Tap Mocha
Garage Project are widely known for their outlandish projects, but a beer that is kegged separately and poured in unison is something I absolutely have to be a part of.

Lakeman – Badonkadonk
We went for a road trip for new years and on our way stopped off in Taupo for a while. When we were there we thought “Hell, let’s try the local beer” and bought a sampler back. Absolutely loved every one of them so this is one I haven’t seen, and imagine will keep up the trend of quality brews coming out their doors.

Liberty – Knife Party
For the longest time thought Liberty Brewing was an overseas company, these guys made the first beer that got us into this scene, the Oh Brother! Since then we’ve slowly fallen in love with their beers, and more so their marketing. This looks like it could be new on the lineup and we’re pumped to give it a hoon.

Lord Almighty – Rum Oaked Ursus
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of stouts, and we’ve had plenty of bourbon related stouts. I think it’s time we got some of the good ol’ pirate nectar in some more beers! If this is anything like GP’s Rum & Raisins, we’re in for a treat.

Panhead – Black Sabbath
Other than it being named after the founding fathers of Heavy Metal? I need more barley wines in my life and just the name of the beer calls this one out as the one I need. Also will be interesting to see if the recent buyout will have an effect on how they brew, and if it changes their style at all.

Sunshine – Czar Bomb
I’ve only tried Sunshine Brewery a couple of times, both have been awesome experiences. Their Black Magic Stout was beautiful, and to see their take on a Russian Imperial? This should be a fantastic drop.

Yeastie Boys – Hellzapoppin’
Yeastie Boys have always been hit or miss for me. Absolutely adored Gunnamatta, but the Rex Attitude was by no means something I’d go back to. Hellzapoppin should be an interesting drop in that I have no idea what I can expect.

Tuatara – Wild Pumpkin Ale
Okay now I’ve tried a fair amount of bizarre beers in my time but this is one that, just by looking at it, will jump into my top 10 most interesting beers.

Luke from Ale of a Time

Luke can’t make it this year, so we thought we’d taunt him by seeing which beers he’s most upset about missing out on.

“Each of these was chosen because, to me, each tells a story. Whether a personal memory, a tale of history, or a unique process. Beer should always be equal parts flavour, fun, history and context. I think my selections tick all of these boxes. They will also be fun to pair with food and Beervana always has ridiculously good food.”

Bach Brewing – Smugglers Cut
I’m a big fan of what Bach do. Clean, crisp, fragrant beers that always remind me of home. While this might be out of their usual mold, I think barrel ageing big hops and malt can be a joyous combination. While many people suggest ageing anything hoppy, like a triple IPA, is a bad thing; there are a lot of great beers that are dry hopped and age amazingly (go on, challenge me on it). I’m speculating that this will be great with some hearty food, so when it’s time to eat, keep this in mind.

Craftwork – O’ambic
Craftwork are some of my favourite people in the world of NZ brewing. Unique, passionate and lovely; they always have my interest. This was made with a koelschip (cooling vessel for post-boil beer), that they had built out of an old shower. As far as I know they are the only commercial brewers in NZ using a koelschip. And likely the only in the world using an old shower. Kiwi ingenuity at it’s best. They might not be the most glamorous brewers out there, but they are definitely amongst the most interesting. It’ll be sour, funky, and fun.

Eagle Brewing – Lichtenhainer
There aren’t many Lichtenhainers around. This sour, smokey-style was almost lost to the ages as years of homogenisation and a couple of world wars took their toll on German beer. They are still incredibly rare to find commercially. Similar to the Gose style, expect smoke instead of salt. It’ll be ideal for food, with both sour and smoke being great partners for anything from rich fatty meat to subtle fish. Or even fudgey chocolate cake. Don’t be shy.

Fork Brewing – Burton Ernie
Burton Ale can be seen as the long lost cousin to IPA, and many people confuse the two. Kelly Ryan, the brewer at Fork, is passionate about history, hops, and English styles; so expect him to give this the proper treatment. Given his track record over the years, I would love to have a sip of this and find out what he’s done. Although, I say that about a lot of Kelly’s beers. The area of Burton is famous for it’s “hard” water profile, which helps accentuate hop bitterness. So expect this beer to be about firm bitterness, along with marmalade and citrus aromas.

North End – Blanco
North End’s Flander’s Red was one of my happy moments from last Beervana (amazing with a pickled oyster), so they would have been one of my first stops again this year. I’m not sure I’ve ever had Pedro Ximenez flavours with a soured ale before, but I am sure that I want to try it. Are the pickled oysters back again this year? If they are, then take a moment to enjoy this. If they aren’t, you should still take a moment to enjoy this.

The Spring and Fern – Expresso Black IPA
One of my happiest beer-memories was winding down from a week of kayaking and tramping, in the Marlborough Sounds, with a couple of pints of Sprig and Fern beers. The sun was setting in Motueka and we sat outside resting our weary limbs, eating steak sandwiches and drinking pints. Happy memories aside, I’ve always found they excel at creating layers of flavour from the malt in their darker styles. Add in some US hops and espresso coffee and I expect this to be an absolute winner.