The World of Wearable Art, born in Nelson, but delivered in Wellington. A creative arts show where artists imaginations go wild and push the boundaries of what they can wear. However, WoW is not the only wow in Welly… Garage Project, craft beer producers extraordinaire, have been creating weird but wonderful beers in our capial city since 2011. GP are the most innovative craft beer brewers we know. They have the ability to consistently make beers with weird ingredients like lemongrass and ants (yes, ants!) taste fantastic. In six short years of brewing these prolific brewers have pumped out over 140 different brews, each with their own uniqueness. Bold in flavour and with delightfully weird graphics on the can!

Underpinning GP’s inventive success is their core range of go-to beers!

Hapi Daze 4.6% Pale Ale – Has the aroma of NZ: earthy, woody forest. This is an all-occasion, down to earth brew with a solid amount of hops that doesn’t overpower the toffee malts. An emphatically flavoured sessionableale.

Garagista 5.8% IPA – With a the first psst of the can you know you’re in for a hopmungus treat. Huge hop aroma and straight out hop flavours of tropical fruits, passionfruit and pine flavours. No malts here folks, just pure hopulence.

Pils n Thrills 5.5% Pilsner – Grainy malts up front, a soft tropical middle then a citrus bite which leaves a lingering crisp, clean bitterness at the end. A fitting theme for the Wellington Spills n Thrills Roller Derby Bonanza hosted by Garage Project and Richter City Roller Derby last weekend.

And now for something completely different…

Cereal Milk Stout – A new spin on and old favourite only this time with a Nitro Pour. Shake the can then immediately dump it upside down in a glass and wait for the nitro to work its magic… Then, WOW, the smoothest, creamiest breakfast you’ll ever have! Hopefully this new brew will arrive on the Fresh Choice shelves real soon!

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Thanks to our Guest Blogger and beer aficionado… Denis “the man” Cooper!

Garage Project have blossomed from nano to micro and now macro brewing, such is the demand of their beersies created with a uniqueness that overlap the boundaries of beer styles. The exponential success of GP is due to the amount they export to places like Australia, America and Germany. It’s like GP’s business success is to invent a beer, test it on the NZ beer boffin for a taste check, then woof, it’s outta here, off overseas for the big sales. Us poor guinea pigs are then left with a fickle limited supply with a get what you’re given selection for the local supermarkets.

Such a shame about the supply cause all GP’s beers are rated. Try these 4 cans while you can. ‘Artful Dodger’ new wave English Pale 4.3%. Toasty malts similar to the English pales billow over the front of the mouth then fresh cut grassy hops with a touch of weed, probe the back with pronounced bitterness. Huge flavour from such low alcohol, and quite possibly the perfect sessionable beer for the early morning RWC?

‘Dirty Boots’ American Pale Ale 6.6%. Dirty boots has kicked the hop flavour outta the park with huge pineapple passionfruit hop flavours. Very rambunctious, saliva producing bitterness with creamy mouth feel. You’ll keep constantly sipping to keep experiencing the sensations. Inspired by the grunge music that GP listen to when they’ve hopped the mosh pit.

‘Los Lobos’ IPA 8%, means ‘The Wolves’ in Spanish and rightly so as this brew rocks (also a Grammy award-winning American rock band). It’s got those big American hops that generate the essence of mangoes and tropical fruits. Smooth bitterness, luscious body all make for a deceptively easy drinking beer.

‘Nerissimo’ 5.6% Porter. A black porter infused with porcini and truffle. These fun guys add a rich hit of umami, the most enigmatic of flavours, giving this brew dark and complex earthy notes. Not sweet, definitely not sour, some bitterness and finishes with a satisfying savoury saltiness that keeps you wanting more.

Pick em from Fresh Choice, before they go.

Thanks to our Guest Blogger – Denis beer bum Cooper