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Owner of Epic Beer, Luke Nicholas has been brewing for 25 years - that’s half his life!  “I grew up around home brewing, with my grandfather starting brewing after WWII. It’s been in my family a long time.” After home brewing at university and then as a hobby while living in California in the 90s, Nicholas returned home to New Zealand. Asking the local brewpub for a job, he promptly turned his hobby into a profession. Nicholas’ approach has always been about making the best beer he can. This involves using the best ingredients, which sometimes means importing. At Epic Beer,...

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We’ve got an Epic collab launching this month! AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand have teamed up with our pals at Epic Beer to bring you our very own craft beer: IPAAHH. A New Zealand brew that dares you to live your life to the MAX. We sat down with Luke, owner and chief brewer at Epic Beer to get all the juicy details… So, tell us about the beer!IPAAHH is an easy to drink and delicious IPA. We wanted to make a classic NZ IPA using the new Kohia Nelson hops. This was a great chance to do that and...

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It was so great to read the article written by Martin Bridges. I thought it might be fun to write a reply which may add a different perspective to hazy beers in New Zealand. It is interesting how Martin starts out basically by saying he isn’t much of a fan of Hazy IPAs and prefers clear West Coast IPAs. I too would rather have a West Coast style IPA with its dry and confronting bitterness, balanced with the upfront fruity/tropical/piney hop flavours and aromas. Many seasoned craft beer drinkers and brewers don’t like, or prefer not to drink, Hazy IPAs....

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fresh hops, Green Machine -

The hops have been picked, the beers have been brewed, and now the trucks are chilling down for the final step in the return of Fresh Hops at New World – when the very freshest of beers will hit shelves again in April*. Eight of New Zealand’s top breweries – Baylands**, Behemoth**, Epic, Garage Project, Liberty, Parrotdog, Sawmill and Urbanaut – are working with New World to give supermarket shoppers access to a limited edition range of beers brewed using freshly-picked New Zealand hops. The beers’ super-fresh origins mean they are available in very limited quantities and for just a...

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fresh hops, hops, Nectaron -

  There aren’t many drinks that start with a dawn dash to the airport, but green hops craft beers do. Using fresh hops is a race against time for Kiwi craft brewers keen to take part in the once-a-year opportunity. They only have a 24-48 hour window to capture the little green flowers’ unique, aromatic flavours once harvested. The clock is already ticking when they're picked in the Tasman area in the wee small hours. They’ll only be good for a few hours more, so it’s onto the first flights out to Wellington and Auckland, into a van and the...

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