a nation of 4.3 million, shares the heritage of New Zealanders of European descent who arrived after Captain Cook in the 18th century and the indigenous minority Maori, whose Polynesian ancestors arrived around 1,000 years ago.

The first beer that we know to be brewed in New Zealand was in 1773. Captain Cook landed in Dusky Sound in the south island during his second voyage to the Pacific region. Probably because of his belief that beer was useful in fighting scurvy, he used some local botanicals, including manuka (a tree with tea-like leaves), together with molasses to make the first New Zealand brew for his thirsty crew.

There are two large brewers in the market today, Lion Nathan (owned by Kirin) and DB (owned by Asia Pacific Breweries). The main brands for Lion Nathan are Steinlager, Lion, Speight’s, Canterbury, and Mac’s. DB (formerly Dominion Breweries) has Heineken, Tui, DB, and Monteith’s. These two historic brewers supply approximately 90% of the New Zealand market with a range of mainstream lagers, international premium beers, and local “craft-style” beers. New Zealand is notable in brewing history for the development of a continuous fermentation (CF) process pioneered by Morton Coutts of Dominion Breweries. Although both breweries used CF for a time, only DB still uses it to produce some local brands.

New Zealand has a vibrant craft beer industry with approx 50 breweries covering almost all geographies. The annual beer competition Brew NZ is growing in significance, as is the associated public event Beervana. New Zealand also has a small but active hop industry that focuses efforts on aroma varieties that find favor with craft and premium beer brewers around the world. The Nelson Sauvin hop is a recently developed New Zealand-specific variety with a vibrant fruity aroma.

See also nelson sauvin (hop).