2021 has seen the demand of American hop varietals such as Amarillo, Cascade, and Citra skyrocket. Trends such as craft hard seltzers, zero and low ABV beers, high ABV DIPA's, sours, and IPA's have experienced keen reception by New Zealand craft beer consumers. With the advent of cryo-hopping (which will mean that brewers will be able to brew Fresh Hop Hazy IPA's all year round!) and the induction of the Eclipse (Australian), Talus (American), and Nectaron (New Zealand) hop into the arsenal of budding brewer's all over New Zealand, the future of craft beer in good ol' Aotearoa is looking promising! Here are some of the top beers released in 2021 so far... (according to my brewery colleagues and craft beer enthusiast friends). They know their stuff!
Yu Fang, 24, a craft beer enthusiast with a love for dark beers, affirms that her favourite beer of 2021 is the "Cassels Double Cream Milk Stout: It's a smooth and rich beer. There's a nice balance of the sweetness and bitterness from the chocolate and the coffee. Stouts have been my go-to beers recently, and this one definitely hits the spot". Yu Fang's favourite brewery of the 2021 so far is Cassels.
Jack Wynston-Richards, 25, a craft beer enthusiast with a love for ESBs (Extra Special Bitters), claims that his favourite beer of 2021 is the "Cassels Best Bitter: It's just great man, not too strong in ABV so you can enjoy a few on a hot day, no carbonation, good taste, quenches your thirst just right". Jack's favourite breweries of 2021 so far is Cassels and Two Thumb.
Krystal Megan Warren, 22, a craft beer enthusiast (works at Brew Union Brewing Co.) with a love for Hazy IPA's, declares that her favourite beer of 2021 is the "Milkshake IPA by Beer Baroness. It was so good, I went back for seconds. It's sweeter than most craft beers which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. In typical IPA fashion, it's refreshing - like a milkshake on a hot day". Krystal's favourite brewery of 2021 so far is Garage Project.
Rhonel Swart, 22, a craft beer enthusiast (works at Brew Union Brewing Co.) with a love for sours, states that her favourite beers of 2021 are the "Double Take Double Raspberry Sour by One Drop Brewing Co. and the Passionfruit and Lime Sour and Blueberry Ripple Ice Cream Sour by Duncans. All delicious sours". Rhonel's favourite brewery of 2021 so far is Duncans.
Emily Honey-Ferguson, 25, a craft beer enthusiast (works at a Brew Union Brewing Co.) with a love for sours, expresses that her favourite beers of 2021 are the "Smooth Operator Cream Ale by Double Vision and the Baby Grand Flanders Brown by North End. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely others out there but these are the ones I still find myself looking for whenever I get the chance". Emily's favourite brewery of 2021 so far is Beer Engine.
Sam Derouet, 28, a craft beer enthusiast (works at Little Creatures Brewery, Perth, WA) with a love for Hazy IPA's and stouts, reveals that his favourite beer of 2021 is the "Nitro Double Vanilla Oat Cream Latte Stout by Garage Project. I thoroughly enjoyed that stout". Sam's favourite brewery of 2021 so far is Duncans, with an honourable mention to Liberty and Urbanaut.
Personally, my favourite beers of 2021 so far has to be either the Nitro White Chocolate Beer by Garage Project, the Boysenberry and Chocolate Ripple Ice Cream Sour by Duncans, the Cucumber Hippy by 8wired, the Makaha Tropical Punch Hazy Sour by Urbanaut, the Divine Wind Japanese Rice Lager by Liberty, and the Cultured Ambrosia Sour by Beer Baroness.
My favourite brewery of the year has to be Duncans. I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but they just continue to release such high-quality beers and on a very frequent basis too. From a Lychee Sorbet Sour to a Pawpaw & Mango Smoothie IPA to a Toasted Marshmallow Imperial Pastry Stout, their experimental series is very ambitious and creative. Some honourable mentions include Liberty, Beer Baroness, and Urbanaut.
So there you go! Try all of these phenomenal beers that these trusty craft beer enthusiasts have thoroughly enjoyed! Let's hope 2021 continues to see the production and consumption of exceptional brews by talented breweries. Happy Drinking!
By Lucas Barker, a budding craft beer enthusiast of 2-3 years. 4/9/21
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