Latest news with #AltitudeBrewing
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Local brewers tap into gold
Queenstown's Altitude Brewing's done it again. Having earlier this year been named Champion International Small Brewery, last Saturday Altitude was crowned Champion New Zealand Medium Brewery at the 2025 Beer Awards, four years after winning the small brewery category. Additionally, Altitude won two beer category trophies — the NZ Lager & NZ Pilsner for 'Powder Day', and the Juicy/Hazy IPA trophy for 'Remarks' — and brought home a total of five gold medals, seven silvers and seven bronzes. Another home-grown brewery, Canyon, made a bold debut at the awards, winning the Juicy Hazy Pale Ale for 'Vacation', and bringing home seven medals — one gold, three silvers and three bronzes — from their eight entries. Canyon Brewing also received an honourable mention in the Sustainability Award, recognising their commitment to low-waste brewing, local sourcing and regenerative practices, including growing its own malt in Central Otago. Glenorchy Brew Co picked up three silvers and two bronzes, while The Cargo Collective brought home one bronze medal. Run by the Brewers Guild of NZ, the awards this year attracted 625 beers made by 70 brewers. Head judge Tina Panoutsos says the NZ craft beer industry continues to show strong creative energy and a deep commitment to quality. Brewers Guild of NZ executive director Melanie Kees notes this year's awards highlight a growing trend — more towns and regions claiming their status as beer destinations, when historically only major cities were seen as 'beer hotspots'. "Queenstown and the Southern Lakes are rising stars, as reflected in multiple awards."
Otago Daily Times
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Altitude to unleash bugged-out brew
The Altitude Brewing team including, from left, Rob Garrett, Eliott Menzies and Dan Jaffe, has come up with an ant-astic new beer garnish. PHOTO: SUPPLIED A Queenstown brewer is, quite literally, upping the ant-e. Award-winning Altitude Brewing, which recently won the Champion Small International Brewery and Best Modern Pale Ale for its draught 'Sled Dog' at the Australian International Beer Awards, is soon to unveil a new beer, garnished with freeze-dried Green Tree Ant garnish. Altitude founder Eliott Menzies plans to unleash the Lemon Curd and Strawberry Pastry-Sour at Beervana 2025, being held at Wellington's Sky Stadium in August. Having made the pilgrimage north for eight years in a row, Altitude's become a fan favourite at the long-running event and Menzies says it's always been the place to push boundaries. As to where the idea for the newest brew came from, Menzies says one of his team came back from Australia last year and was "raving" about the flavour of ants he'd tried, describing them as a "citrusy-sherbert-bomb flavour". Found in tropical Australia, Green Tree Ants are said to be the nemesis of arborists, as they don't like being disturbed and have a sharp bite — but when you bite into them, they burst with a lemon flavour. "We knew a clever garnish would pair perfectly with this jammy delight of a beer, and the green ants' sharpness cuts through the rich custard notes the classic lemon curd delivers," Menzies says. "We can't wait to hear what punters think." Last year, more than 10,000 people attended the two-day Beervana celebration, being held on August 22 and 23 this year — tickets go on sale next Wednesday.
