Zeffer’s innovation and dedication has them back for a second year in a row. The judges said this passionfruit variation on the original is an “absolute belter” and went so far as to suggest it was one of the best zero alcohol beverages in the country.
Brave Brewing Terrible Lizards IPA has gone from a one-off movie-themed brew to one of New Zealand’s top IPAs.
Brave owners Gemma and Matt Smith said Terrible Lizards IPA was fast becoming one of their most-awarded beers.
“First brewed for a competition in Wellington last year (The Malt House West Coast IPA Challenge), it was awarded the runner-up champion beer. Not long after that, it won Champion IPA at the New Zealand Brewers Guild Awards 2023.
“Our brewery is turning 10 years old this October, so it’s nice to see that after all these years we are still picking up a few awards. Our brewery team has grown from one to three, and everyone does such a great job at working to produce great beer.”
They said when entering awards it was important to consider that the beer was nice and fresh.
“IPAs especially rely on flavours and aromas that are very volatile and decline relatively quickly.
The Brave Brewing team, from left, Kalyn Glasscock, Matt Smith and Adam Lamberg.
“At Brave, being relatively small and regionally focussed, allows us to distribute beer ourselves and ensure that it is always super fresh and in great condition. We love to focus on brewing a variety of classic styles, focussing on quality and consistency, rather than pumping out new products week after week.”
The Smiths said the craft beer industry had had a rough few years with record tax increases, C02 shortages and the pandemic.
“It has been a bumpy ride for many. The industry is still very popular and people are still enjoying craft beer, but with the cost of living at an all-time high, customers are being very thoughtful about what they spend their money on. This is where we see that quality and consistency is very important.
“We still don’t have a lot of time to brew new and different styles, as we are so busy brewing our core range but we do still manage and enjoy squeezing in the odd new release here and there. We currently have a nice, light XPA brewed with an interesting new hop cultivar grown by Eggers Hops in Nelson. It is light, bright, really easy drinking and full of lovely sweet fruit hop character.”
Zeffer Cider’s CEO Josh Townsend said the feedback from the judges was great recognition for the hard work of their talented beverage team.
“These awards are one of the key industry awards we look forward to every year,” he said.
“It’s a tricky product to make, we spin our fermented cider to remove the alcohol and then soak in fresh passionfruit pulp. The authentic and balanced flavour this creates makes the effort worth it!”
He said they chose passionfruit because it was a great combination with their apple cider and a popular flavour with customers.
“We make a very popular Hazy Passionfruit (5%) cider so we wanted to offer a non-alcohol passionfruit option to join our Crisp Apple 0% which was the first non-alc product we brought to market and is the most popular non-alc cider in New Zealand.
He said when thinking about what to enter in this competition they looked for variants they believed would have wide-ranging appeal to fans throughout New Zealand given the fact that if they win it would be available in every New World in NZ.
Asked if non-alcohol drinks were becoming more popular, Josh replied “absolutely”.
“The category keeps growing and brands keep innovating. More and more people are discovering the great range of non-alc NZ beverages on offer.”
Zeffer was hit hard by the cyclone and has only begun repacking a few weeks ago at their new site after an extensive rebuild journey.
“We were significantly hit by Cyclone Gabrielle with our entire site being flooded by 1m of flood water in February last year. After a major rebuild which we’ve just finished we’re really pleased to be fully back up and running with a great new site! It’s allowed us to completely redesign our production process meaning we can produce more Zeffer than ever.
He said the quality of the juice for the 2024 harvest is outstanding so far this season.
“We are pleased to be refilling our tanks after a good harvest.
“We pride ourselves on making great-tasting beverages from real NZ fruit. Zeffer is all about life in full flavour and anything we make has to be made with the best ingredients we can source without using artificial flavourings. Ultimately we make drinks we want to drink across a range of categories, and great flavour is our absolute priority for every drink we make.
“We have a delicious new cider launching nationwide soon – details to be confirmed in a few months.”`
Linda Hall is a Hastings-based assistant editor for Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 30 years of experience in newsrooms. She writes regularly on arts and entertainment, lifestyle and hospitality, and pens a column.
