Skip to main content

Story: Alcohol

Craft beers

Image
Craft beers

These are a few of the range of boutique beers available in New Zealand in 2013. By then there were over 60 different brands of craft beer. The development of boutique beers did not begin until the 1980s, but then took off as some New Zealanders began to reject the standardised 'Euro-style' sweet beer offered by Lion and Dominion Breweries. Despite the growth of such drinks, their share of the beer market was still under 5%.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Jock Phillips

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Alcohol – The drink revolution, 1960 onwards, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/40689/craft-beers (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 11 January 2013, updated 1 April 2016.