Brew Pubs &/or Brewery Tours Auckland

[Sydneybrewer]

gday all,

the wife and I heading over to Auckland in april for a week and i will be looking to spend at least a day or 2 at a brewpub or a brewery tour etc... anyone able to enlighten me as to what's on offer? we are going to be based in Auckland, as we are also meeting up with some Yankee inlaws there, i have been to Auckland once before but only spent a day as part of a cruise so only saw the city really, i doknow the Epic brewery is in Auckland but cant seem to find any info on whether or not they do tours or have a pub attached. anyway, ideas fellas.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

so has anyone been to auckland and had craft beer?

 

[gap]

so has anyone been to auckland and had craft beer?

Lookup Galbraiths Ale House .-- Mainly hand pumped ales
brewed on site. They also do some other beers. You walk past the brewery as you enter.

Regards

Graeme

 

[Sydneybrewer]

Cheers

 

[barls]

cant remember much of my last visit unfortunately.

 

[sinkas]

will you be in the cbd or some fucked up suburb?

 

[mika]

Emersons ?

 

[Sydneybrewer]

staying in the cbd from what i could gather at the hilton

 

[Tilt]

Auckland (and NZ) have a cranking craft beer scene - good on ya for wanting to check it out.
Jamil Zainasheff was damned impressed on a visit here last year - and has since done a few clones of NZ beers on Can You Brew It (Epic Pale Ale and 8 Wired I-Stout ).

Best places IMO for a cross section of NZ craft beer in Auckland in no particular order:

Galbraiths
Hallertau
O'Carrolls
Cock&Bull Newmarket or Ellerslie

Check out the local NZ HB forum for more info on beer and HB enthusiasts breweries/ tours etc. RealBeer.co.nz
If you're here on March 26th then the Ellerslie Beer Festival is on - an annual gathering of craft brewers (+ some megaswill sorts but no need to mention them) from all around NZ. Great bang for your buck if you want to taste the best from around the country and have a talk to the brewers themselves.
Also have a look at the NZ Society of Beer Advocates website for more info SOBAThey hold regular drinks on a Friday at O'Carrolls if your interested in meeting a few locals.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

Auckland (and NZ) have a cranking craft beer scene - good on ya for wanting to check it out.
Jamil Zainasheff was damned impressed on a visit here last year - and has since done a few clones of NZ beers on Can You Brew It (Epic Pale Ale and 8 Wired I-Stout ).

Best places IMO for a cross section of NZ craft beer in Auckland in no particular order:

Galbraiths
Hallertau
O'Carrolls
Cock&Bull Newmarket or Ellerslie

Check out the local NZ HB forum for more info on beer and HB enthusiasts breweries/ tours etc. RealBeer.co.nz
If you're here on March 26th then the Ellerslie Beer Festival is on - an annual gathering of craft brewers (+ some megaswill sorts but no need to mention them) from all around NZ. Great bang for your buck if you want to taste the best from around the country and have a talk to the brewers themselves.
Also have a look at the NZ Society of Beer Advocates website for more info SOBAThey hold regular drinks on a Friday at O'Carrolls if your interested in meeting a few locals.

sweet thanks dude, i was looking at hallertau but i couldnt tell if it was in or around auckland

 

[Sydneybrewer]

thanks all i have had a look at location maps and galabraiths and mac's northern steamship look like they are goers as they are close to our hotel, which is a plus when you have a gut full of craft beer. we are hiring a car for 2 days to do a bit of exploring so might be able to persuade the missus and her old college friends to stop in at hallertau too. cheers

 

[Jord]

thanks all i have had a look at location maps and galabraiths and mac's northern steamship look like they are goers as they are close to our hotel, which is a plus when you have a gut full of craft beer. we are hiring a car for 2 days to do a bit of exploring so might be able to persuade the missus and her old college friends to stop in at hallertau too. cheers

Keep walking past Macs and visit Brew on Quay at the other end of the block. Good range, local and imported, but no house beers though from memory. This place had the best food IMO, and the building is an old cop shop with plenty of character.



Then walk up the hill to Shakespeares on Albert Street. Brewery behind the bar, and an excellent range of beers. The old ale is delicious. They do tasting plates, and have 2L flagons for takeaway too!



I loved Auckland, enjoy mate.

PS If you get to Shakespeares, play Slice of Heaven for me on the juke box... for old times sake

 

[Sydneybrewer]

thanks looks like a auckland pub crawl might be on the cards

 

[sinkas]

There is also a bog "countdown" same as woolworths right near brew on quay, where you can get some reasonable raft beer.
there is also good range in Glengarry wine shop nearthe hilton, adn aslo near the hilton is a good smaller bottle shop, which is on a street starting with "S" most of the shitty little bottle sops in the cbd have virtually no craft beer, and appear to be marketed toward asina students, with lots of korean beer advertising

galbriaths, as as far as I know a fiar cab ride out of the cbd, and if you ahve a car, you might want to consider hallertau, but I thought was extremely overated, and thier pinnacle beer poternoir, is terrible, as is thier IIPA, sorry abotu apelling no time to fix

 

[sinkas]

Oh and shakepears dont brew anymore, its just a dero hangout

 

[bluedoors]

Brew on Quay is quite nice.

here's an article i wrote on it last year.

---------

Brew on Quay

Sitting at Sydney Airport about to join a flight to Auckland, New Zealand (NZ), I quickly realised Id be
heading to fine craft brew territory. Even on a short business trip it would be just plain wrong not to
at least enjoy some of what the NZ craft brew scene has to offer. But with only 3 days and working
during business hours how would i even plan such a trip Enter Twitter! A quick request for good
Auckland bars/pubs and a few re-tweets and replies later and my first destination is set. Brew on
Quay down on Auckland Harbour.

Open only 12 months, Brew on Quay is pretty new to the pub scene. But dont be fooled by its
youth, this is a beer lovers paradise. Over 100 beers in the cellar list in with 12 on tap, many of
which are in the huge floor to ceiling fridge right behind the bar. First point of call is the drinks
menu. 18 pages, nicely organised by style (Even if they are hidden behind 2 pages of wine and one of
cocktails). While i devour the menu I settle in to a Epic Pale Ale (on tap), and APA style with big hop
flavours.

Speaking of eating, Brew on Quay dont just offer a good selection of beers they also have a great
selection of food. I settle on a ploughmans platter, of cured meats, picked onion, pickles, bread, dips
and cheese which arrives neatly arranged on a wooden chopping board. I defer to Louise behind the
bar for a matching selection to which an English Ale is suggested. Being in NZ i decided to venture
to a local brew but with no local English style ale we agree the Mata Manuka would be worth a
try. Wonderful honey tones meet my nose as it is poured into a fat wine style glass, and is quickly
finished as i eat my meal.

As a business traveller it is usually quite a lonely, boring experience eating out alone, but with
friendly staff and magazines and newspapers to read there is that homely feeling. In amoungst
the papers i notice the latest newsletter from the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA). So instead
of checking my mobile for the 100th time Im reading about how hops go from flowers on a
bine to pellets I throw in my home brew. My great grandfather was a brewer in the Uk, and my
grandmothers stories and playing in the hop fields and picking hops seems old school in comparison
the fancy equipment used today. As an aside i feel sad i cant tour around NZ this trip, reading about
Sauvin variety of hops Im keen to head out and grab some for my next brew.

Visually the interior of Brew on Quay is anything but boring. Built in an old police station complete
with original check-in desk and safe, the owners have made good use of space with the old armoury
door leading not to guns but to the office, and the old cell space converted to toilets. Candelabras
and chandeliers adorn the high ceiling and deep tone furnishings sit within a selection of smaller
rooms. Each with its own character; whether a bookshelf, fireplace, couches or a mounted steers
head.

Currently aligned to Lion for 12 more months the taps will soon start to offer more craft and rotating
beers, and the bottled beer selection continues to grow. In fact I heard they wanted to install
another fridge on their 2nd level of just weird/odd named beers, but the engineer knocked them
back due to the weight of all the bottles they planned to put in.

As I look for a darker beer for desert I release a fatal error Im in NZ right in Buff Oyster season

and i should have started my meal with Stout and Oysters. Looking at the menu im surprised it
isnt offered. A quick query to the bar and proved correct, no Oysters on the menu. But they do
have a beer club night (1st Wednesday of the month) and last month was Oysters with Guinness for
entree. I scan over the fridge stacked some with beers Ive never even heard of when a distinctive
label catches my eye. A Brew Dogs Rip Tide stout, all the way on the opposite side to the globe from
the eccentric Scottish brewers. I select the Rip Tide with glee as ive been keen to try some of the
Brew Dogs beers ever since they released a beer titled Tactical nuclear penguin. Its like melted
chocolate in my mouth and I ignore the desert menu entirely and settle into my comfy chair and
happily ignore the fact I have to go to work tomorrow.

---

Rip tide label

Serving Suggestion: Pour into a glass and enjoy with an air of aristocratic nonchalance.

 

[Snowdog]

I did enjoy the Cock & Bull in Ellerslie last October, mainly because it was within walking distance from the motel where work put me up. The beer was pretty good if leaning toward the safe side. I tended to drink their dark the most, and that after sampling the line. Wasn't able to get anywhere else.

 

[Sydneybrewer]

our hotel is on quay st so brew on quay is one of our must do destinations no excuses