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....

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...

  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...

Epic Beer's Onehunga taproom originally launched as a pop-up in October 2019 and has since been operating across select weekends with special liquor licenses. After more than 12 months of delays from COVID-19 and a drawn-out licensing process, the craft brewery's sprawling space is now open to the public. The taproom can be found right in the middle of the brewery's functioning warehouse down the driveway at 230B Neilson Street. The delightfully no-frills beer hall was inspired by owner Luke Nicholas' trips to similar industrial spaces in Los Angeles. Between the warehouse roller door, wooden storage pallets and walls lined with product,...

What an incredible night we had last night at the Epic Beer HQ Taproom. After an intense, busy, stressful, confusing week I think we pulled it of while complying with the distancing rules of Level 2. We turned a crazy mess that has been our lockdown home of packing Mixed Six Packs, and shipping online orders into an amazing Beer Hall with an inside food truck - Home Grown Food Truck. I'm so proud of the team at Epic. Not only have they been work so hard all week getting the warehouse ready while doing their normal jobs, they then...