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We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.
Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!
New Zealand
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El Pinguino
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:02 pm
- Location: Downtown TO / Galapagos Islands
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New Zealand
Anyone have tips on bars, pubs, places to visit in New Zealand? Will be heading that way next month.
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inertiaboy
- Bar Fly
- Posts: 556
- Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:18 pm
- Location: Steve, Ottawa West
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I visited:El Pinguino wrote:Anyone have tips on bars, pubs, places to visit in New Zealand? Will be heading that way next month.
Shakespeare's, Auckland: good beer, good atmosphere. watched NZ-Tonga 2003 and met some friendly Kiwis.
Dux de Lux, Christchurch and Queenstown. enjoyed these as well. nice Sunday brunch in CHCH, great building and conversation in Queenstown.
Mac's Brewbar / Wellington Brewing, Wellington. The windiest place in the world. Great location on the waterfront.
The Malthouse, Wellington. Best draft selection of the places I visited - 20+ taps, some great selections
I had a few beers from Pink Elephant in Blenheim at the Malthouse and they definitely stood out.
This site looks like it has lots of info.
Places to drink:
Loved the Dux De Lux in Queenstown. Hated the one in Christchurch. It's hard to believe they have anything to do with each other. The nachos at the Queenstown location might just be the best I have ever had. It had a nice cosy pub atmosphere with a fire going. The one in Christchurch felt more like a Boston Pizza. The beer was decent at both.
The Mini Bar in Queenstown is also worth checking out. It's a nice, small space with a decent bottle selection.
The Mac's Brewpub chains are all right. I enjoyed the Hop Rocker Pilsner and their witbier the most. The sassy red the least. They kind of reminded me of Mill Street in that they seemed to do a lot of things fairly well but nothing particularly great.
The Malthouse in Wellington had a good bottle selection all kept in a really neat glass door fridges: http://www.themalthouse.co.nz/
The Twisted Hop Real Ale Brewpub in Christchurch had some great cask conditioned ales.
Beers to try:
They have quite a thriving craft scene that is well supported. Most groceries stores seemed well stocked with a wide selection of local stuff, which is always nice to see.
Nothing from Speight's is worth trying.
Emerson had some good stuff, especially the Dunkelweiss.
I enjoyed the stout and IPA from Green Man.
A lot of people recommended Epic Armageddon but I found it to be all bitterness with no finesse or balance. Great if you like hop juice. Not so much if you like beer.
Things to do:
The absolute highlight for me was doing an overnight cruise in Milford Sound. It's one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life.
If you like wine and good food (I mean, really amazingly good food) then stay and eat here: http://www.mvh.co.nz/links.html
Other than that, spend as much time in Queenstown as you can, and if this is your first time, prepare to see more sheep in a day than you have seen in your entire life.
And I agree: Wellington really is the windiest place in the world. It doesn't matter what direction you're walking in there, you'll find yourself walking into the wind. It's crazy.
Enjoy your trip!
Loved the Dux De Lux in Queenstown. Hated the one in Christchurch. It's hard to believe they have anything to do with each other. The nachos at the Queenstown location might just be the best I have ever had. It had a nice cosy pub atmosphere with a fire going. The one in Christchurch felt more like a Boston Pizza. The beer was decent at both.
The Mini Bar in Queenstown is also worth checking out. It's a nice, small space with a decent bottle selection.
The Mac's Brewpub chains are all right. I enjoyed the Hop Rocker Pilsner and their witbier the most. The sassy red the least. They kind of reminded me of Mill Street in that they seemed to do a lot of things fairly well but nothing particularly great.
The Malthouse in Wellington had a good bottle selection all kept in a really neat glass door fridges: http://www.themalthouse.co.nz/
The Twisted Hop Real Ale Brewpub in Christchurch had some great cask conditioned ales.
Beers to try:
They have quite a thriving craft scene that is well supported. Most groceries stores seemed well stocked with a wide selection of local stuff, which is always nice to see.
Nothing from Speight's is worth trying.
Emerson had some good stuff, especially the Dunkelweiss.
I enjoyed the stout and IPA from Green Man.
A lot of people recommended Epic Armageddon but I found it to be all bitterness with no finesse or balance. Great if you like hop juice. Not so much if you like beer.
Things to do:
The absolute highlight for me was doing an overnight cruise in Milford Sound. It's one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life.
If you like wine and good food (I mean, really amazingly good food) then stay and eat here: http://www.mvh.co.nz/links.html
Other than that, spend as much time in Queenstown as you can, and if this is your first time, prepare to see more sheep in a day than you have seen in your entire life.
And I agree: Wellington really is the windiest place in the world. It doesn't matter what direction you're walking in there, you'll find yourself walking into the wind. It's crazy.
Enjoy your trip!
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inertiaboy
- Bar Fly
- Posts: 556
- Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:18 pm
- Location: Steve, Ottawa West
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+1 on the Milford Sound. We did it in sea kayaks in a driving rainstorm and loved every second of it. There were even penguins.TJ wrote:The absolute highlight for me was doing an overnight cruise in Milford Sound. It's one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my life.
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El Pinguino
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:02 pm
- Location: Downtown TO / Galapagos Islands
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Did someone say Penguins???
Yes, I'm making a side-trip to Dunedin and the Otago peninsula just to see them.
Milford sound is on the list and I'll also have 3 days in Queenstown.
I've been seeing a lot of good thinkgs about Galbraith's in Auckland, but nobody mentioned it here yet -> www.alehouse.co.nz
Anyone had the Moa beers? From theri website "New Zealand's native Moa is the only beer to be fermented in the bottle, like French champagne. It is also one of the rarest beers in the country."
Really looking forward to this trip. I usually visit obscure countries, so this will be a treat.
That MVH link is helpful...will definitely be switching it up for some wine every so often.
Shakespears looks great too.
Not sure if I'll hit Wellington / Blenheim / Nelson areas but still in the planning stages.
Thanks guys, didn't expect many tips so this is great!
Yes, I'm making a side-trip to Dunedin and the Otago peninsula just to see them.
Milford sound is on the list and I'll also have 3 days in Queenstown.
I've been seeing a lot of good thinkgs about Galbraith's in Auckland, but nobody mentioned it here yet -> www.alehouse.co.nz
Anyone had the Moa beers? From theri website "New Zealand's native Moa is the only beer to be fermented in the bottle, like French champagne. It is also one of the rarest beers in the country."
Really looking forward to this trip. I usually visit obscure countries, so this will be a treat.
That MVH link is helpful...will definitely be switching it up for some wine every so often.
Shakespears looks great too.
Not sure if I'll hit Wellington / Blenheim / Nelson areas but still in the planning stages.
Thanks guys, didn't expect many tips so this is great!
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Andrenaline
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 11:22 pm
I spent 9 months there about 5 years ago, so my suggestions are a bit dated, but might be useful nonetheless. Not too sure if you're hitting the west coast of the south island (Greymouth), but I really enjoyed Monteith's when I was there and they tend to have some unique seasonals...
http://www.monteiths.co.nz/
I second the cruise in the sounds, though I chose Doubtful Sound over Milford. Milford has the higher peak, but Doubtful is larger overall... Either are worthy though.
I spent much of my time north of Auckland, and if you get the chance I'd highly recommend driving north through the rolling hills and along the coast. The Coromandel offered some fantastic coastal views. Also catch an All Blacks game if you can (though I'm not too sure if the rugby season is on right now?!) as this remains one of my only regrets!
There's countless hidden gems, just depends on the adventure you're looking for. Some of the best places I visited was when I was with the locals trying to find random point breaks in the north island. The countryside is spectacular and I can assure you that you won't be disappointed!
http://www.monteiths.co.nz/
I second the cruise in the sounds, though I chose Doubtful Sound over Milford. Milford has the higher peak, but Doubtful is larger overall... Either are worthy though.
I spent much of my time north of Auckland, and if you get the chance I'd highly recommend driving north through the rolling hills and along the coast. The Coromandel offered some fantastic coastal views. Also catch an All Blacks game if you can (though I'm not too sure if the rugby season is on right now?!) as this remains one of my only regrets!
There's countless hidden gems, just depends on the adventure you're looking for. Some of the best places I visited was when I was with the locals trying to find random point breaks in the north island. The countryside is spectacular and I can assure you that you won't be disappointed!
I had the Moa original. It's been over a year now so I forget anything specific other than it was merely okay. And I certainly saw various bottles of Moa's beers at various times and various places throughout my trip there, so I'm not sure why they're playing up the rarity of their beers on their website.El Pinguino wrote:Anyone had the Moa beers?
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inertiaboy
- Bar Fly
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- Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:18 pm
- Location: Steve, Ottawa West
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The rarity angle is likely a marketing spin on the extinction of the Moa bird. Definitely better that Tui, another bird-inspired label in NZ.TJ wrote:I had the Moa original. It's been over a year now so I forget anything specific other than it was merely okay. And I certainly saw various bottles of Moa's beers at various times and various places throughout my trip there, so I'm not sure why they're playing up the rarity of their beers on their website.El Pinguino wrote:Anyone had the Moa beers?
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El Pinguino
- Seasoned Drinker
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Sun Jan 02, 2005 6:02 pm
- Location: Downtown TO / Galapagos Islands
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Thanks for the extra tips. I have read about Monteiths and will look them up.
I will be along the west coast, and I will have 1-2 days free from Auckland that I haven't planned yet, so perhaps a trip up the Coromandel.
All Blacks are on tour in the Uk while I am in NZ (my luck) and Rugby season is over...so slim pickings, which kind of sucks. perhaps there will be a local game somewhere as it was something I wanted to take in.
Will report back here after the journey...
I will be along the west coast, and I will have 1-2 days free from Auckland that I haven't planned yet, so perhaps a trip up the Coromandel.
All Blacks are on tour in the Uk while I am in NZ (my luck) and Rugby season is over...so slim pickings, which kind of sucks. perhaps there will be a local game somewhere as it was something I wanted to take in.
Will report back here after the journey...