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Ric Oram
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Food & WineNovember 8

'Beef steaks and porter are good belly mortar'

Beer columnist Ric Oram discovers how beer and food matching is developing at a recent evening in Queenstown.
'Beef steaks and porter are good belly mortar'
'Beef steaks and porter are good belly mortar'
NewsApril 26

Awards provide opportunity to try the exotic

The New World beer awards provide a rare opportunity to sample some of the more exotic, often high-strength and therefore relatively expensive hard-to-find beers because the supermarket is stocking about 40 of them until mid-May.
NewsApril 12

Kiwi hops in big demand in Europe

This year's hop harvest has ended. It runs from February until early April, with 17 growers producing about 750 tonnes from about 20 varieties on about 400ha in the Nelson region.
Kiwi hops in big demand in Europe
Kiwi hops in big demand in Europe
NewsMarch 29

Otago’s newest brewery now bottling

The first bottles are about to leave Otago's newest brewery, on the outskirts of Alexandra.
NewsNovember 17

Moa releases sour beer

Marlborough brewer Moa has released a couple of sour beers. No, they are not spoiled. And, before you turn your nose up, ''sour'' is not necessarily unpleasant. Think ''tart'' instead of ''bitter''.
Moa releases sour beer
Moa releases sour beer
NewsApril 7

Recent arrival means brewer can hop to it

Staff at Christchurch brewer Harrington's recently celebrated the arrival of a container of American hops: it was their first supply in nine months, and their Yankdak beer, with American Amarillo and Centennial hops in it, was running out thanks to a long-running waterfront dispute over there.
Food & WineJuly 30

Resurrected ale headed for stores

DB Breweries has been surprised, and delighted, by the reaction to its festive brew (refer previous column), a resurrected Waitemata Sparkling Ale produced just for corporate clients for Christmas.
Resurrected ale headed for stores
Resurrected ale headed for stores
Food & WineJuly 30

We're drinking less – 5.1% less

Our beer consumption last year was down nearly 50 million stubbies (or 16 million litres).
We're drinking less – 5.1% less
We're drinking less – 5.1% less
Food & WineJuly 29

BEER REVIEW: Plug pulled on NZ Lager

Devotees of Monteith's New Zealand Lager had better stock up, because the last of this brew is on retail shelves: DB Breweries has just stopped making this lager just two years after launching it.
Food & WineJuly 29

BEER REVIEW: Hoppy IPAs proving popular

The "southern man" is lapping up Dunedin brewer Emerson's big hoppy beers. Emerson's is producing a series of hop-dominated IPAs (Indian pale ales) for its Brewer's Reserve brews, which are supposed to last up to six weeks. But the first, Hoppiest Indian, lasted barely a month, so a second has gone on tap early.