Newbie offers no-frills quality

We check out the latest addition to the Auckland microbrewing scene

If you’re in Auckland and looking for no-frills, goodquality beer, read on.

Fresh Beer Brew Company has recently opened its doors in Te Atatu Peninsula.

At first, it seems like just another liquor store (it sells wine, a small selection of craft beer and even some massproduced stuff, to please every palate). But when you look closely and notice the taps on the walls, you realise this isn’t your average bottle store.

Fresh Beer Brew brews its beers (try saying that three times really fast) on site at the small Te Atatu location.

You can’t drink it there but you can buy 750ml bottles to take home. They’ll fill it for you on the spot and that’s as fresh as it gets.

I grabbed a bottle of IPA #1 and used this review as an excuse to go home and have a drink. The handwritten bestbefore date on the bottle was only two days after purchase and I didn’t want to run any risks so the 3.6 or so standard drinks were swiftly dealt with (this is a responsible beer review so, don’t worry, I shared).

It tasted lighter than 6 per cent ABV, with subtle flavours but still malty and decidedly fresh.

Everything about this microbrewery is unassuming.

The location is pretty simple, the website doesn’t give much information, the bottle label has very little detail too, and there’s nothing fancy about the beer names (I mean, IPA #1 didn’t take very long to come up with).

This is all, much like the beer itself, oddly refreshing.

After all, beer is one thing that doesn’t need to be complicated.