Bay of Islands - breweries or good beer venues?

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bcp

poפ ɹǝǝq
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Off to the land of the long white cloud in a couple of weeks, staying in Russell on the Bay of Islands.

Any recommendations for breweries or venues with interesting ales?
 
I cannot help, it's been a long time since I was at the Bay of Islands. I do recall some lovely Restaurants and very welcoming pubs in Russell with friendly people. So even if you cannot get intersting beers you should be right with a friendly atmosphere.
 
Pretty sure you won't find any breweries up there. Slight possibility that you could find something in Keri Keri, but I might have dreamt that one.

Nevertheless a nice area for a holiday at the right time of the year. I'd recommend stocking up on bottled beer on the way up there (if you're driving from Auckland that is) in any bigger town on the way (like the countdown in Whangarei, or Farro just off the highway out of Auckland).
 
Just walking into a decent bottlo in NZ will offer you some pretty good beers.

Macs and Monteiths range are very much not Megaswill - and then there's the Epic stuff, at Liquorland. PErhaps grab a Moa Triple 1.5L bottle at a bottlo there.

Seriously, kiwi mainstream leaves Aussie swill for dead. This saddens me. Their hop range alone speaks volumes.
 
Yup, NickJD is right. You can get decent beer in a lot of places over there, including the supermarkets.

:icon_offtopic: I dunno if you're into this kinda thing but when we were at the Bay of Islands we went skydiving and it was AMAZING. If you want to do it go with Skydive Zone (Keri Keri airport), not the place in Paihia because they go higher (20,000 feet) and you get an amazing view of the bay. Swimming with the dolphins was pretty awesome too.
 
Definitely check out the Swordfish Club. 2nd oldest fishing club in the world so its more about ambiance and the photos, mounts and trophys than what's on tap ( just keep away from the Lion Red! ). Have a handle of Speights Dark for me while you're there ha ha.
Russell has a lot of history, was originally NZs capital in the whaling days, aka 'hellhole of the south pacific' by the missionaries who came to convert the natives, ( 'cos of the whalers not the natives! ) and the license no. of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel is 0001. One more bit of trivia and I'll leave you alone; the Maori name for Russell - kororareka - means 'sweet penguins' . They didn't mean they were cute...
Cheers and have a great trip!
 
When you get back, read The House of Strife by Maurice Shadbolt. It's about where you're going.
 
Thanks guys - lots of good advice. Sorry for delay - was in Zambia last week, and my Canon 600D and passport were both completely stuffed at the vic falls, so spent the week replacing them. If Zambian immigration had've opened my photo page I would never have been boarded. 'Positive' discrimination.
 
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