Since 1998, Beerworks has been critically acclaimed for its flavoursome premium craft-brewed beers. Base on centuries-old recipes of classic European beer styles, Beerworks has recreated the taste and flavours of master brewers of a bygone era.

Brewski, Tall Black and Cardrona Gold are handcrafted using traditional brewing methods. Beerworks respects the Reinheitsegebot German Beer Purity Law of 1516. This law states that beer contains only 4 ingredients - malted barley, hops, yeast and water - and is free of additives and preservatives. This ensures the drinker of a completely natural, handcrafted beer with a delicious depth of flavour.

Brewski - Bohemian Style Pilsener

Crisp, floral hop aroma with a rich malty sweetness that is beautifully balanced by its spicy hop bitterness. Brewski is very popular with the truly discerning beer drinker, it's saaz hops give it a very distinct flavour. Brewski was judged New Zealand's best beer when it won the supreme award at the NZ International Beer Awards.

Food Match: Perfect with fish, spicy Indian, Mexican or Thai.

Awards:
Supreme Award - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Best in Class - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Gold Medal - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Bronze Medal - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Best in Class - Australian International Beer Awards
Gold Medal - Australian International Beer Awards
Silver Medal - Australian International Beer Awards

Tall Black - German Style Black Beer

A rich malty black beer with hints of caramel and chocolate. Slightly hoppy with a dry roasted finish. Tall Black's deep chocolate colour and caramel sweetness are derived from the heavily kilned and roasted malts. Tall Black is best served at a slightly warmer temperature of 10-12 degrees centigrade.

Food Match: Hearty soups, stews or sausages.

Awards:
Best in Class - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Silver Medal - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Bronze Medal - New Zealand International Beer Awards
Silver Medal - Australian International Beer Awards
Bronze Medal - Australian International Beer Awards

Cardrona Gold - Vienna Style Golden Lager

A classic golden all malt lager with a smooth malty biscuit-like sweetness and a mild hop bitter finish. Cardrona Gold is named after the Cardrona Town (just outside of Wanaka) with it's colourful gold mining history. A deliciously quaffable lager that celebrates the pioneering spirit of the folk from the days of Cardrona's Gold.

Food Match: Pizza, chicken, and pasta dishes.

Awards:
Best in Class - Australian International Beer Awards
Gold Medal - Australian International Beer Awards

Seasonal Beers

Specialty beers are brewed year-round at Wanaka Beerworks. These beers are based on classic beer styles brewed by our award winning brewer, Dave Gillies.

Vienna has been brewed for the past two Octobers. This style of lager originates from Austria. It's a robust malty lager. The Germans adopted this beer and brew it for their annual beer festival in Munich. Vienna was such a hit that the recipe for Cardrona Gold has been changed to Vienna so it is now brewed all year round.

In February 2001, Dave brewed Spitfire Pale Ale to celebrate the Warbirds over Wanaka air show. Spitfire won a medal at the 2002 Australian Beer Awards.

Our most recent (Summer 2003) seasonal beer success was our Hefeweizen which is a German style unfiltered wheat beer. Our Hefeweizen had the classic banana/clove flavours which fans of this unique beer style adore.

For more information on beer and Wanaka:
New Zealand Brewers Network
Wanaka Promotions Association