#6 Harrington's Brewery - Finest Lager - 5% ABV

Brewed in Christchurch, South Island NZ. Harrington's Brewery was established in 1991 and has grown to be one of NZ's most-awarded micros with over 20 brews in their range.

Finest Gold pours an energetically bubbly pale straw with a lovely billowy head that stayed to the end. It's crisp and clean on the nose, with a little yeasty bite.

It's lively, light and clean on the palate with a nice hop bitterness at the end. A refreshingly good lager. 6/10.

#5 - McCashin's Brewery - Stoke Dark. 4.5% ABV

From Nelson, South Island - the heart of craft brewing in NZ. Stoke Dark pours a deep red/black with a soft espresso like head and plenty of effervescence in the glass. The nose is sweet and caramelly with a hint of bitter coffee bean.

It's velvety and roasty with a lovely bitterness at the end. The body is nicely contrasted with the bite of the effervescence.

And to finish off there's just a touch of raisiny sweetness.

Probably best to let it sit in the glass for 1/2 an hour to let the bubbles mellow and the flavours develop even more. Just take it out of the fridge for a while before serving. A nice easy-drinking dark beer. It'd be easy to put a few of these away on a crisp autumn evening. Almost as good as their Amber. 6/10

#4 - Valley Brewing Co. Muster Red Ale. 4.4% ABV

I imbibed this delicious drop on December 30. Here's what my notes say.

Muster Red Ale hails from Geraldine - it's in the South Island... never been there. Its website says this about the small town of 3000.

"Surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled in the heart of Canterbury, Geraldine is a must visit for the whole family."


Muster Red Ale lives up to its name with an incredible ruby-red colour. It's head disappeared in a blink but I could smell its warm, healthy maltiness while I was lining the bottle up for a photo. Muster's maltiness coats the mouth beautifully, and leaves a warm, medium roastiness that's perfectly balanced with a little sweetness that fades to a touch hoppiness - everything a good red ale should do.

Muster is a lovely beer. I'd definitely go again. Valley Brewing also do a Pale Ale - now I have a good reason to visit Geraldine. 7/10

Lost signal.

I started off with every intention to post a new adventure in beer everyday. After three days I failed. You'll be happy to know though that I have kept notes about the beers I've been drinking (most of them). So I'll begin posting the notes as soon as I can.

#3 DB Export Beer - The Original Brew

According to the side of the beautifully designed box - this drop was first brewed by The Waitemata Brewery in 1960 to offer New Zealand's working men an affordable option to heavily taxed imported beers. So kind of them.

And now, to celebrate its 50th Anniversary (although I don't recall it being around for at least 20 years - happy to be corrected on that one), DB Breweries has made this award-winning (Supreme Award Winner Brewers' Exhibition London 1968) lager available again. Although it's not so affordable at $12.50 for two 750mL bottles. I did get a limited edition bottle opener with it however.

After cracking the top off with my shiny new opener, DB Export Beer is a crystal-clear pale gold, with a soft head and medium carbonation. It has a subtle sweet, malty aroma that is neither pleasant, nor offensive.

I was bracing myself for a musty cardboardiness.

DB Export Beer has a body and sweetness that coats the entire mouth nicely, and quickly fades to a slight, clean citrusy bitterness.

At 5.35% ABV I was expecting a little warmth but it didn't deliver - so you'd need to be careful if you were picking this for a session. Or not.

As a limited edition, it's not really worth the song & dance, and the huge TV production that went with it. But the packaging was flash.

#2 Stag Lager Beer

Stacked majestically in the front row of the supermarket chiller I found Stag Lager Beer.

Stag pours a pale straw with a nice head and a small amount of carbonation. It's vaguely malty with a touch of citrus but there's an unpleasant aroma of damp cardboard that overpowers the desire to want to savour this beer. It reminds me of the odours that emanate from all night bars in the city - the sweat of old men, cigarette butts and beer soaked carpets; familiar but not very inviting.

Maybe that's what a wild stag actually smells like.

Stag is far from the powerful beast its name suggests, with very little body, 3.5% ABV and an incredibly sweet palate. The sweetness quickly gives way to a watery, unripe mandarin bitterness that lingers for quite some time - much like the smell of those all night bars.

Stag is definitely one to be left alone.

#1 - Carter Original Lager

I expected this beer to be well, awful. It's the cheapest beer I've ever purchased and it comes in a convenient '20 for 20 - drink 'til you spew' box - so I imagined that I'd have to struggle through every can.

To tell you the truth, I was surprised, not pleasantly surprised, just surprised.

Carter Original Lager is not awful - it pours a very pale straw, with the kind of head you'd expect from a mainstream European Lager. It has a very mild malt aroma, a little like plain, unbuttered popcorn that's been left out overnight. Its nose reminds me a little of Corona but not as intensely weighted on the corny side.

The taste was the main reason I didn't think it was awful because it had almost no taste at all (much like its colour and aroma) - just a hint of tart citrus. This hint is about as prominent as a twist of lemon in a large, cold glass of soda water. And the overall mouthfeel (despite being described on the box as full-bodied) is that of soda as well. It's gone as quickly as you can swallow it.

So, Carter is a beer all right because it's 4% ABV, but it's more like a soda than a beer. So I'd recommend it to people who don't really like beer at all.