Top of the Hops: Sidewinder Brewery

Wanaka's Sidewinder Brewery is new to the market. Photo / Supplied

It's Top of the Hops! The Country Early Edition's Dom George tirelessly investigates New Zealand craft beer - today it's the turn of Sidewinder Brewery.

Sidewinder is a new brewery out of Wanaka and is a joint creation between Luc Waite and his buddy Dave Telfer. Dom had a chat to Luc today to find out more about the origins of Sidewinder.

After attending Beervarna the guys noticed that their brewing heroes were actually a bunch of mates getting together doing something they love. So they decided to take on the task of brewing themselves.

They had a DIY approach and managed to get some stainless steel wine tanks before enlisting the help of a local engineering company for the tricky stuff and to make up for the duo's lack of technical know-how.

This dearth of knowledge didn't last long and with the help of internet research and a kiwi-DIY attitude they eventually had their very own brewing equipment that was cheap yet functional.

Next - where on earth do you get the ingredients from?

Sidewinder use Gladfield malt which is malted from barley grown in Canterbury and a mixture of New Zealand grown and imported hops.

Hops are generally grown by a co-operative NZ Hops which is like a one-stop-hop-shop if you like.

However Waite has also been growing hops at home and has been known to "reach out the window and snap off some fresh hops" before chucking them into the mix.

Sidewinder have created two beers in their range while they're starting out.

They have a Pilsner called Après to reflect the skiing culture and the kind of beer you'd like to drink after the adventurous activities Wanaka offers.

For the more daring, there's a very hoppy pale ale with a strong bitterness that's surprisingly easy to drink. This one is called Yard Sale because if you have too many you can "lose your stuff".

Dom is keen to try Sidewinder's strong and bitter Yard Sale Pale Ale, even though he may 'lose his stuff'. Photo / Supplied

Where did the name Sidewinder come from? Rather than a reference to the snake (or that odd REM song), it's a skiing run that is a favourite of both Waite and Telfer. The pair agreed it's a good name and the rest is history.

If you'd like to try the Sidewinder Après Pilsner or test your luck with the Yard Sale Pale Ale, the beer will be Pouring at Chefs Table Restaurant at Rippon Vineyard from Sunday July 10 onwards.

Have a listen to The Country Early Edition's Dom George's full interview with Sidewinder's Luc Waite in the Soundcloud embed below: