On the other end of the scale is New New Brewery,
which at just three years old, has the adventurous spirit
and devil-may-care attitude that matches its young age
perfectly. Set up in a small warehouse that’s recently
welcomed a new beer garden, its design mimics its
unorthodox approach. Head brewer Brendan Bransgrove
has a knack for taking the most random of ingredients and
nding a way to make them not only palatable but tasty.
During my visit, I’m presented with the option of
trying its smoked eel stout – that’s not just its name, but
also its key ingredient. With the same warm amber glow
of most brews, it looks ne, but what does it taste like? I
gulp down a mouthful, waiting for a shy taste to plunder
my mouth... but there is none. It has the smokiness, and
a saltiness to it, that makes it unusual but surprisingly
drinkable.
Manager Dallas Synnott says smoked eel is by no means
the most unusual ingredient that’s been used. at honour
goes to... the male part of the deer. “It was very drinkable,”
Synnott says as she laughs. “We obviously had to warn
vegans but it was a nice drink.
“We’re called New New because we like invention and
continuously creating something new. Our head brewer
always has at least one experimental brew going on; he’s
like a chef, he just loves to invent new things,” she says. “He
uses a lot of fruit and seasonal produce in his beers – like
our chilli pilsner – and makes lovely sours, like peaches
nectarines and cherries. Anything is possible.”
CRAZY FOR CHOCOLATE
Another cra scene that’s taken o
Dunedin is chocolate. Ocho C
has taken the principle of s g g
and put it into chocolate bar
beans are sourced from Papua w
Guinea, the Solomon Islands an j
the South Paci c, and are then br g
Dunedin to be cra ed into its choc.
Ocho’s marketing manager, Anna McDonald, explains
that the di erent types of cacao beans provide distinctively
di erent avours. “We roast the beans at a lower
temperature to maintain the avour of their origin, and all
our bars are made from single origin beans, so you get the
avour pro le from where it came from, much like wine,”
she says.
Tasting their dark chocolate bars, there’s a big di erence
in their taste, depending on where their beans were grown.
I take a bite of the 66 per cent Cacao PNG, which has a real
punch of fruitiness to it and is extremely enjoyable to eat.
e 100 per cent Cacao Solomon is perhaps for the more
adventurous chocolate-lover; its only ingredient is cacao and
it’s therefore extremely rich and dense.
McDonald says the trend in cra chocolate is getting
stronger as more people, including travellers, want to know
where their food comes from and what went into making
it. “We feel really passionate about using local products
and pushing the boundaries, experimenting with di erent
avours,” she says.
Unwrapping one of their Beekeeper bars – milk
chocolate mixed with bee pollen, New Zealand Manuka
ney and pu ed amaranth – what started o as a small
quickly advances to my almost frenzied eating of the
bar. e smooth, silkiness of the milk chocolate
sweet-but-not-too-sweet punch of the honey
the sort of chocolate worth ying to Dunedin for.
avours of Dunedin are wild but re ned and re ect
Dunedin’s natural creativity. And they’ll stay with you long
a er you leave.our chilli pilsner – and makes lovely sours, like peaches,
Another cra scene that’s taken o in
Dunedin is chocolate. Ocho Chocolate
has taken the principle of single origin
and put it into chocolate bars. Its cacao
beans are sourced from Papua New
Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji in
the South Paci c, and are then brought to
Dunedin to be cra ed into its chocolate bars.
chocolate mixed with bee pollen, New Zealand Manuka
honey and pu ed amaranth – what started o as a small
bite quickly advances to my almost frenzied eating of the
whole bar. e smooth, silkiness of the milk chocolate
and the sweet-but-not-too-sweet punch of the honey
makes it the sort of chocolate worth ying to Dunedin for.
e avours of Dunedin are wild but re ned and re ect
Dunedin’s natural creativity. And they’ll stay with you long TASTE