{"id":548753,"date":"2026-07-29T01:23:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T01:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/548753\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T01:23:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T01:23:35","slug":"sunlive-tauranga-brewers-toast-awards-haul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/548753\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – Tauranga brewers toast awards haul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tauranga\u2019s craft beer industry is enjoying national recognition after five local breweries combined to win 33 medals, three trophies and two Champion Brewery titles at the 2026 New Zealand Beer Awards.<\/p>\n

The strong performance has bolstered Tauranga\u2019s reputation as one of New Zealand\u2019s leading craft beer destinations and comes just weeks before the inaugural Tauranga Taps Beer Festival on August 8.<\/p>\n

With 660 entries from 74 breweries across the country, the New Zealand Beer Awards are regarded as the industry\u2019s premier competition, a media release stated.<\/p>\n

Local breweries Mount Brewing Co., Neck of the Woods Beer Co., Alchemy Street Brewing, The Island and Fitzpatrick\u2019s Brewing Co. collectively earned eight gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze medals across a wide range of beer styles.<\/p>\n

\"\"Neck of the Woods Beer Co owner Scott Taylor, left, and\u00a0 head brewer Reid Lidington.<\/p>\n

Tauranga Taps co-founders Kevin Downie and Brian Jarreau said the results reflected the strength of the city\u2019s brewing community rather than the success of any single brewery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis wasn\u2019t one brewery having a great night, it was an entire brewing community demonstrating the quality and creativity that exists here in Tauranga,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see five local breweries recognised across such a broad range of styles shows the incredible breadth of talent we have in our region. Every medal reflects years of passion, craftsmanship and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the standout results, Mount Brewing Co. was named Champion New Zealand Medium Brewery after collecting 11 medals and two category trophies. Neck of the Woods Beer Co. claimed the Champion New Zealand Micro Brewery title with six medals.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alchemy Street Brewing owners Kat Hay, left, and Ed Bolstad.<\/p>\n

Alchemy Street Brewing collected nine medals and won the Specialty and Experimental Trophy for its smoky-sour beer, HOT BOX.<\/p>\n

The Island secured five medals, while Fitzpatrick\u2019s Brewing Co added two medals to the region\u2019s haul.<\/p>\n

Downie and Jarreau said the achievements also reflected the support of Tauranga\u2019s hospitality sector, which had helped independent brewers thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud of every brewer, every team member and every hospitality venue that supports local beer. Together they\u2019ve helped make Tauranga one of New Zealand\u2019s great beer destinations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Mount Brew Co head brewer Pawe\u0142 Lewandowski, left and managing director Niall Harley.<\/p>\n

The awards success will be celebrated at the inaugural Tauranga Taps Beer Festival at The Cargo Shed on the Tauranga waterfront.<\/p>\n

The event will bring together all five award-winning Tauranga breweries, along with additional local breweries and cider producers, food vendors and live entertainment.<\/p>\n

Festival-goers will have the opportunity to meet brewers, sample nationally recognised beers and learn more about the city\u2019s growing craft beer scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing couldn\u2019t be better,\u201d Downie and Jarreau said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese national awards have put a spotlight on what many locals already knew \u2013 that Tauranga is producing some of the best beer in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Beer Festival is our chance as a community to congratulate these outstanding breweries, support the venues that champion local beer and celebrate everyone who has contributed to building such a vibrant brewing culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Malcolm Brier, left, Ed Bolstad, Michael Julian (Brewer at the Island), Reid Lindington, Pawe\u0142 Lewandowski, Scott Taylor, Niall Harley, (bottom) Kat Hay.<\/p>\n

2026 New Zealand Beer Awards \u2013 Tauranga results<\/p>\n

Mount Brewing Co.<\/p>\n

Champion New Zealand Medium Brewery<\/p>\n

11 medals<\/p>\n

Two category trophies<\/p>\n

Neck of the Woods Beer Co.<\/p>\n

Champion New Zealand Micro Brewery<\/p>\n

Six medals<\/p>\n

Alchemy Street Brewing<\/p>\n

Nine medals<\/p>\n

Specialty & Experimental Trophy<\/p>\n

The Island<\/p>\n

Five medals<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick\u2019s Brewing Co.<\/p>\n

Two medals<\/p>\n

Collective Tauranga result<\/p>\n

33 medals<\/p>\n

Three trophies<\/p>\n

Two Champion Brewery titles<\/p>\n

Tauranga Taps Beer Festival<\/p>\n

Saturday, August 8<\/p>\n

Noon to 3pm<\/p>\n

The Cargo Shed, Tauranga Waterfront<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tauranga\u2019s craft beer industry is enjoying national recognition after five local breweries combined to win 33 medals, three…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-548753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}