The Best Craft Beer Spots in Taranaki, New Zealand

The Hour Glass is one of New Plymouth’s greatest bars. It’s got that agreeable combination of delicious, attractive food, attentive staff and a veritable smorgasbord of beers from around the world. Yes, you will certainly find Kiwi companies like the Garage Project, Epic and Emerson’s represented here, but they show no bias towards homegrown over international beverages. Whatever is good and tasty and right for the food and season will be in the fridge or on tap.

Frederic’s Bar and Restaurant is your typical gastro-pub. What is the sparkling jewel in its crown however, is its Loyalty Club. This is a simple rewards program where you get a free beer shouted on your birthday, and discounted beers on the reg. It’s free to sign up, so you can’t really say fairer than that. They don’t have an extensive range of craft beer, but the stuff they do is lovely, and does a marvelous job of washing down the hearty pub grub. This includes fresh fish meals, tacos, burgers and steaks. Everything that a growing boy and girl needs.

Is there anything finer than the match-made-in-heaven combo of pizza and beer? Probably not. Unless it’s pizza and beer in a beautiful and stylish courtyard. You can order one of the cracking homemade pizzas, watch it cooking away in the wood oven and sit back and enjoy a pint of hoppy nectar. Ms. White has the best selection of craft ale in this little courtyard, which is shared by a couple of other food joints, and you’d be forgiven for spending hour upon hour here on a fine day. Epic, Sawmill Brewery, Urbanaut and Hawkers Beer are all represented here, as well as many more. The selection will keep you coming until you’ve tried the set.

mike’s Brewery is probably Taranaki’s most famous beer. They supply pubs and clubs all around the country now and are a bit of a byword for quality on the Taranaki brewers’ scene. Urenui is about 45 minutes out of New Plymouth, but the drive is well worth it. You’re not going to get a fresher pint than when you’re at the brewery after all. Try the chocolate coffee porter for something a little bit different, a little bit naughty.

Here’s another bar that has cottoned onto the notion that people love beer, and people love pizza. So why not give the people what they want? You can get tasty pizza for lunch and dinner at The Mayfair, washed down with lashings of the regions’ best craft beer. And after dinner, the club is open until late so there’s plenty more time for you to try every single beer they have on tap.

You don’t have to be the sharpest knife in the draw to know what lies in store for you when you walk through the doors of Liquorland. Along with every other alcohol under the sun – more or less – there is a very extensive craft beer collection to peruse. As in life, so in Liquorland. When confronted by this mammoth choice, things can sometimes get a bit daunting. However, hold firm, and when in doubt remember that at the end of the day it’s beer, and you can’t ever really go wrong.

Prohibition has a no-nonsense approach to the craft beer that they sell. They know the domestic producers that they love, and stick with them all the way. ParrotDog, Epic, Brew Mountain, Moa and mike’s have a huge selection of their beers for the drinking. It’s quite refreshing that there are only a couple of the big worldwide lagers in the fridge. P.S: the burgers are absolutely legendary.