Best Beer Bar ever

[john henderson]

Malthouse must be the best bar in New Zealand.

Ive been to a few now, but what they do at the Malthouse is awesome. Is there anything as good as this in New Zealand??

[David Wood]

Try Hashigo Zake round the corner ;-)

[Stu McKinlay]

It is awesome.
Is it the best?
Depends what you are after... Malthouse, Hashigo Zake and Bar Ed (all Wgtn) are awesome but all quite different.
Also in Wellington (and much different again) is D4 - another great spot.

I'll leave Chch and Dunedin to the people from there. And Greig to wax lyrical about the Ruakura!

[Greig McGill]

Haha, nope. The old RCC is a great place to drink, but it's hard to wax lyrical about somewhere so... functional! It's the people and the beer which make it great though, and for that, I love it to bits. Plan K on soon... Golden Ticket just got inhaled.

[Tony]

I agree with you both. Pomeroy's in Christchurch is also up there.

[James P]

I'd say Pom's as they have a good range of resident craft beers on tap (Harrington's, Emerson's, Three Boys etc) and guest beers every month. The Twisted Hop is also excellent providing a range of their own beers and a few guest taps. Neither have the range that the Malthouse provides but they are ours (takes eye patch off for rest of day).

[Greig McGill]

I'll second that. Visited Pom's for the first time a few weeks back and was blown away by just what a nice environment it was to drink beer in. We even ran into that old soak Neil Miller! ;) As my wife, Craig Bowen, or the dynamic Golden Ticket duo will tell you, I just kept beaming and saying "I want this pub to be in Hamilton". And I swear, it wasn't the beer!

[Ally Mcg]

I'll third the recommendation for Poms. Great range of beer on tap, changing beer of the month & Emersons Brewers Reserves when they're about.

As Greig has said, its a great atmosphere for drinking. Pete Brown in "A Man Walks into a Pub' notes that the best pubs feel like an extension of your lounge - Poms does just that.

Best bar in Chch, without a shadow of a doubt

[Stu McKinlay]

Anyone noticed what the common element at all of the best places is?

From a Wellington point of view:
It's not the rarest beers from the weirdest places - no one beats Hashigo for that.
It's not the widest range - Malthouse wins hands down.
It's not the best tasting tap beer at the best temperature - Bar Edward has the edge there.

It's the great staff. Of course I can walk into these places and talk to the staff, because I know a lot of them, but ANYONE can walk into these places and have a decent chat with ANY of the bar staff. They can give good advice but most importantly they can hold a conversation (and do their job!).

You can't beat Wellington any day...

[Sam Possenniskie (TGM)]

except when you're wanting real ale on handpull... ;)

[Stu McKinlay]

there's handpulls at all our good bars... often serving Twisted Hop

[Sam Possenniskie (TGM)]

'often' is not as good as 'always' ;)

[James P]

Getting it pulled by hand is best..... whether it be 'often' or 'always'....