While the previous year might have been the first to finally wrest free from the last Covid restrictions, it still stood squarely under what will likely be at least a half decade long shadow. And while no sector has gone unscathed, the year that the New Zealand craft brewing industry endured was, to put it mildly, a rough one.
Brewers were initially seeing some relief as travel returned to normal and tourism picked up, but soaring materials costs and ballooning interest rates quickly stole back any ground they had managed to gain.
Amidst all these other hurdles, an additional boot to the ribs came as the country’s supply of CO2 began to dwindle after the Kapuni plant (the only domestic producer of CO2) in Taranaki was forced to temporarily shut down the previous December. As supplies of this crucial gas ran dry, the price increased by over 500% in a single week as suppliers turned to imported stock.
For consumers, the wakeup call came in July with Epic Brewing (one of New Zealand’s most popular craft beer brands) falling into liquidation. Similarly established brewers Deep Creek followed in November, and Brothers Beer just narrowly avoided the same fate. The sector is without a doubt contracting, and the question for 2024 will be by how much.
It’s been an unprecedentedly tough year by all measures, but keep in mind that beer has been in demand since the dawn of civilization, it’s nothing if not a resilient commodity. The industry may yet have some trials to overcome, but one way or the other New Zealanders will still be raising a glass, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaking of, and to steer away from all the doom and gloom, here are a few of my top standouts for 2023 that should still be available:
EMERSONS: ‘Taieri George 20th edition’ Spiced Ale 9.0%abv
An extremely special version of an extremely special beer. Taieri George is brewed once a year in remembrance of Richard Emerson’s father George, and his commitment to the Taieri Gorge railway line (you can see how the original typo happened. A rare spiced ale, brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg and honey. This twentieth anniversary edition was boosted up to imperial strength.
PANHEAD: ‘Supercharger X’ Double APA 8.0%abv
Proving that the simplest answer is sometimes the best, Upper Hutt brewers Panhead Custom Ales have taken their titanically popular Supercharger American Pale Ale and doubled the recipe. It’s the Supercharger you know, but bigger, heavier and hoppier than ever before.
BOOTLEG: ‘Apehanger’ IPA 6.3%abv
Hamilton’s Bootleg Brewery have produced this NZ/US hybrid hopped IPA for over seven years now, and despite it being consistently one of my favourites, it always seemed to struggle to gain mainstream attention. That all changed in 2023 when Apehanger delivered a mighty performance in both the Brewers Guild Awards and the New World Top-30.
Tim Newman – hoppiness.co.nz
