Latest reviews from Hamilton
| 90 /100 The Hamilton Beer & Wine Co (Beer Store) 856C VICTORIA ST “Dude it’s freaking epic. Great selection with singles. Thirteen taps where you can get tasters then fill c/growlers. Good people. One of the top stores in kiwi land.“ |
| 80 /100 The Hamilton Beer & Wine Co (Beer Store) 856C VICTORIA ST “Best bottle store (for beer) in Hamilton - no question. Probably the best one in the whole country too. Pretty damn good for wines and spirits as well. A must visit venue when in town.“ |
| 80 /100 34 MAHANA ROAD “Visited on a Sunday evening around an hour or two before closing, very quiet i.e. had the whole place to ourselves. Bar is very much in the brewery itself, with the whole operation around you. Service was extremely friendly, knowledgeable about the beers / NZ beer in general. Good selection with a fair few different styles a focus on maltier beers that is rare to see in a NZ brewery. Very happy to let me have tasters of all the beers buying a few pints of the best ones as I went. They sometimes have food trucks outside for food, otherwise just crisps offered. I think they allow you to bring your own food though. Takeaway sales & growlers available though nothing in bottles that wasn't on tap so I didn't on this visit. Very much worth a visit if you're staying in / passing through Hamilton.“ |
| 84 /100 The Hamilton Beer & Wine Co (Beer Store) 856C VICTORIA ST “Excellent selection of local and imported beers.
Beer chiller and shelves are located at the back of the store.
The usual NZ craft beer suspects including a few rarities plus a huge selection of imports from UK, Belgium (including Lambic), Denmark and best of all, a heap from Sweden.
Also some beers available on tap.
One of the best craft beer shops I have been to in NZ in terms of the beer varieties and the friendly staff.“ |
| 80 /100 Craft Hamilton (Bar) 15 HOOD STREET “Excellent beer bar that sits right next door to Little George so there’s plenty of beer on offer when hitting Hood Street. Lively bar that has no shortage of interesting beers on tap and bottles. They host regular beer launches, brewery takeovers and tastings so keep an eye out when timing a visit. Affable staff that know their shit. Well made wood fired pizzas on the go. The decor is inviting and made comfortable enough to chill for some time here. A very good find in Hamilton.“ |
| 72 /100 The Local Taphouse (Bar) 346 VICTORIA STREET “2016-05-12. Atmosphere is a bit meh, with a brewpub meets cafe meets cafeteria decor. Decent tap selection, Goood George plus four lesser known (to me at least) guest taps. Friendly bartender, there a quiz night wrapping up as we arrived which actually looks pretty fun. Burgers seem to be the main food option but we did not eat. Enjoyable for a drink or two - especially if you didn’t make it out to Good George - but I think Craft & Little George combination is the clear craft beer destination leader in this part of town. Right beside the casino if you want to go in - we got rejected at the entrance because we had bottles in our bag!“ |
| 78 /100 Craft Hamilton (Bar) 15 HOOD STREET “2016-05-12. Cool space, friendly hipsters behind the bar. Chairs and stools could use some backs. Good tap list is heavy on 8 Wired offerings tonight they are the brewery of the month. Food menu looked decent but we did not eat here. Decor is a bit more modern and crisp than say Little George next door. Sampler tray of four beers available. Small patio out front. Hard to beat the combination of Craft and Little George right beside each other if you only have a short time in town.
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| 78 /100 The Hamilton Beer & Wine Co (Beer Store) 856C VICTORIA ST “2016-05-12. Great selection and service. Staff let us sample a few of the beers they had on tap for growler fills. We could only buy a handful of bottles at this point in our trip unfortunately. Good selection of NZ craft beers as well as some well chosen European and American beers. Well worth a visit, as good or better than some of the bottle shops we saw in the larger cities.
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| 76 /100 32A SOMERSET STREET “2016-05-12. Cool space, nice outdoor patio and tanks. Friendly server seemed knowledgeable when we asked a few questions. Racks of 200ml samplers available. My pulled lamb burger is tasty but the meat filling barely fills the bun in stark contrast to Mabel’s monster sized Good George burger. Beers ranged from decent to good, with few reaching excellence or terribleness, with a decent range of house brewed styles available. Many but not all of the GG beers were available at The Local Taphouse, and Little George which may be more centrally located depending where you are staying or if you do not have a car. We quite enjoyed our stop here overall.
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| 76 /100 Craft Hamilton (Bar) 15 HOOD STREET “Have been here a few times when visiting friends and family and have been impressed every time. Not many bars outside the craft beer capital of New Zealand make the grade but this is one of them. Great job Steve - and long may you prosper.
Subsequent visits have been even better! Probably THE best craft beer bar in NZ outside of Wellington (to my mind at least).“ |
| 66 /100 Super Liquor Hillcrest (Beer Store) 132 CAMBRIDGE ROAD “It looks unassuming from the outside but walk in and there is a very solid selection of beer here. I’ve been to pick up beers numerous times and there’s always new beers on the shelves, with good turn around. A good mix of new Kiwi releases as well as Belgian and US brews too. Another positive is all beer is kept in a good sized walk in cooler. If only more places stored beers like this in NZ.“ |
| 88 /100 Gothenburg Restaurant and Bar (Restaurant) 21 GRANTHAM STREET “Excellent food, excellent beers and excellent service. Can’t recommend highly enough. Dropped by as the menu at the House on Hood was uninspiring. Greeted by a waiter who knew his stuff, and a menu that surprised. Beers were excellent - first experience of Shunters Yard Brewery Station Master - brewed by 666 Brewing. The beer menu has a very diverse and excellent selection - someone at Gothenburg knows their stuff.“ |
| 76 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Have ordered on and off for a few years. Really nice selection of NZ stuff not available in Australia and an insane selection of US stuff. Generally avoid the Euro stuff as can most in OZ.
Pluses: Huge selection and NZ stuff very fresh. Best shipping around. Couple days turn time to Sydney.
Negatives: Must buy 12 beers, almost all US stock is very grey imported. Pricing is a bit odd as no reason to make multiple purchases of the same beer. Freshness of stock varies in a big way.
Great glass wear selection. Best in this hemisphere.
Good for getting some ticks once a year but not for everyday drinking“ |
| 72 /100 32A SOMERSET STREET “Member of group that enjoyed an impromptu meal. Interesting ambience (brewery front and center), great service, and delicious food and drink. Was maybe a little loud though - people had problems talking over the music.“ |
| 72 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Ordered off the website for the first time yesterday. Beers arrived well packaged today. Prompt customer service skills from staff. Satisfied. Customer.“ |
| 70 /100 Gothenburg Restaurant and Bar (Restaurant) 21 GRANTHAM STREET “A popular restaurant along busy Hood Street dishing up tapas style food from local produce. These guys stock a small but solid selection of Belgian ales, and also have a couple of tap beers, usually one Belgian and the other from local breweries 666 or Brewaucracy. Really friendly staff who enjoy good beers. Pleasant stop to sit outside with a brew.“ |
| 70 /100 Ruakura Campus Club (Bar) RUAKURA RESEARCH CAMPUS, RUAKURA LANE “Visited the RCC with Travlr. I hadn’t been out here before, and driving the dark streets of the Hamilton outskirts made it tricky to find, but eventually we saw the light to the campus. A local, some could say, studious hangout of lecturers, beer enthusiasts, families - great mix of folk. Solid beer selection that changes weekly, and the hand pump is a lovely touch, which was pouring a Twisted Hop beer on our visit. One thing to note, however, is that the club is open to members only, but unsure how strict they are to enforce this policy.“ |
| 52 /100 The Londoner (Bar) 596 VICTORIA STREET “Fairly generic British style pub on the downtown strip. Parking is challenging. Handful of beers and a cider from Hawkes Bay. Nothing else worth mentioning.“ |
| 80 /100 Ruakura Campus Club (Bar) RUAKURA RESEARCH CAMPUS, RUAKURA LANE “What a great place! After driving around for a while trying to find it, that is. They had an interesting handful of beers on tap, including one on handpump. But the best part was meeting the members and hearing all about the beer scene, and life in general. The club had an American beer festival a couple of weeks ago, which apparently went over quite well. Bar staff could not place my accent, so that was a hoot. My guess is that they don’t see Americans in the club very often, although rumor had it that a Canadian had just popped in, although I didn’t see him in person. No trip to Hamilton would be complete without stopping in at the Campus Club.“ |
| 82 /100 The Hamilton Beer & Wine Co (Beer Store) 856C VICTORIA ST “Fantastic selection of local and regional brews, plus a handful of local stuff on tap. Staff know their stuff. A must-visit while in the area.“ |
| 76 /100 Wonder Horse (Bar) 232 VICTORIA STREET “Small place, more like a little cave, or a small club. Three local nanobrews on tap are the highlight here. Most other perople are drinking cocktails or Heineken, but stick to the three craft taps and you’ll do fine.“ |
| 80 /100 Gothenburg Restaurant and Bar (Restaurant) 21 GRANTHAM STREET “Nice restaurant, very tasty food. Metered street parking in the area. Decor inside is clean and modern with nature photos and a Buddha. Small number of taps, but all from local nanobreweries. Friendly staff. Well worth a visit.“ |
| 84 /100 32A SOMERSET STREET “My 1,000th place rating. Interesting building, high wooden ceilings. Brewing equipment is an integral part of the facility, and the brewers are busy scurrying about - always a comforting site. Large outdoor beer tent plus additional outdoor tables. Six beers and two ciders were on when I visited, and you can do six beer or cider sampler trays. Food is very tasty, staff is top notch. They’re an integral part of the NZ craft beer scene as well, so it’s a good entry point into that scene. Worth going out of your way to visit.“ |
| 80 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Good range of American beers some good ones from countries not seen before at other venues.Excellent New Zealand range always updating their supplies.Ambiance hard to give as a web store.Orders are quick to be sent and fast delivery always by friendly people from TNT just seem to have gone stale with their choice of beers lately nothing really new from overseas“ |
| 78 /100 32A SOMERSET STREET “A brand new brewpub converted from a church! Brewery is visible through a partition wall and HLT is behind the bar. Solid range of own-brewed beers plus cider on draught. Small but well formed menu, woodfired pizzas a specialty. Friendly, patient and helpful staff. Had a buzz about it despite being new and off the beaten track. Easily walkable from town centre or 10mins by taxi.“ |
| 50 /100 The Londoner (Bar) 596 VICTORIA STREET “Reminds me of many a JDW pub back in the UK. The usual selection of British ales for this sort of place (Tetley’s, Old Speckled Hen etc.), nothing really of note. There is 3 Hawke’s Bay brewery taps for the ticks though. Plentiful portions of food available.“ |
| 66 /100 Wonder Horse (Bar) 232 VICTORIA STREET “Newish bar that’s been open since mid year I believe. Tucked away off Victoria Street, down a drive way is a great addition to Hamilton’s drinking establishments. The draw here for beer enthusiasts is three taps in which you’ll find beers from local breweries 666 and Brewaucracy and Rotorua based Two Fingers. The bottle list is growing and currently features Belgian ales. There’s a fully kitted kitchen but I’m yet to try the food. Cozy bar and well worth a visit on a crawl around the Tron.“ |
| 76 /100 The Hamilton Beer & Wine Co (Beer Store) 856C VICTORIA ST “Great stop for beer replenishment. Always something noteworthy to try on tap (rigger fills) and constantly rotating. Bottle selection is thorough including many Kiwi micros as well as cool bottles from the States and Belgium. Loses points for not stocking any lambic:-\ Seriously though the Wine Co rocks and staff are enthusiastic and good people to have a chat with.“ |
| 80 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Great service, fast turnaround and quick replies to my queries. I don’t have a bad word to say against this retailer. Highly recommended.“ |
| 76 /100 Ruakura Campus Club (Bar) RUAKURA RESEARCH CAMPUS, RUAKURA LANE “Members-only club, three NZ craft beers on tap + often one on hand pump. Beers change regularly giving the unique chance to try many different beers on tap. Great atmosphere, many interesting regulars to have a yarn with.“ |
| 90 /100 Gothenburg Restaurant and Bar (Restaurant) 21 GRANTHAM STREET “Great place to eat excellent food and Drink excellent beer.
Good couches in the sun if you can get them (or the sun is shining).
Great range of mostly Belgian beers but with a few German, North American and Kiwi beers available. Most of the glasses as well.
Best place in Hamilton and best place I have been to in NZ so far.“ |
| 70 /100 Ruakura Campus Club (Bar) RUAKURA RESEARCH CAMPUS, RUAKURA LANE “A great affiliated club. Three NZ micros are on tap at all times, regularly changing, and sourced from nearly every craft brewery in NZ. I’ve not rated the food, as it’s only available on Friday nights, but when on, it’s simple, affordable, and filling.“ |
| 76 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “They have US craftbeer what more can I say!!“ |
| 82 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “I don’t know how you can rate ambience for a web store, so just gave a 1. Don’t let that count against the place! Daniel, you rock.“ |
| 82 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Huge selection of beer from round the world. Quick turn around with orders and bringing in some great american micro’s. Love them“ |
| 86 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Awesome selection, quick delivery, good prices, not much more to ask for.“ |
| 90 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “Shit hot. A beer store for beer lovers by beer lovers. They listen to customers, and they even send you a message if the courier company lets them know the delivery was not succesful. Professional (note the capital "P").“ |
| 92 /100 The Beer Cellar (Internet-based) PO BOX 12382 “The best online beer store in NZ. An ever changing range of both NZ and foreign beers, and quick efficient delivery. A most welcome new arrival.“ |
