Our favourite beers, bites and surprises from Wellington’s big brew festival

Beervana has a reputation as Aotearoa New Zealand’s great beer pilgrimage, and stepping into Wellington’s Sky Stadium this year it was clear why. The plastic pours, curated corners, the constant music: it feels less like a beer festival and more like simple gathering of passionate brewers and drinkers.

For Australians, the obvious comparison is GABS in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. But while GABS is a carnival — built around spectacle, outlandish beers, and stackable tasting paddles — Beervana is more of a congregation. Despite taking over the entire concourse of the Sky Stadium, it somehow feels more intimate in tone and far more grounded in the personality of the brewing scene.

The colourful archway entrance to Beervana 2025

Festival snapshot

By the numbers

Dates: 22 - 23 August 2025
Location: Sky Stadium, Wellington
Breweries: Over 50 different brewers.
Beer: More than 380 available.
Booziest: 13% ABV - Fire & Ice (Peckham’s Cidery & Orchard)

Standout brewery stalls and fun

From glowing spaceships to inflatable sheep, Beervana’s brewery stalls turned beer tasting into a full-on spectacle.

For an event that sprawls across a stadium, Beervana somehow manages to feel surprisingly cosy.

Yes, there were the big flashy ones. Double Vision Brewing’s glowing green spaceship, ringed with alien face-huggers, was hard to miss — as was the neon triangular construct at Mean Doses. Brew Moon Brewery and Cafe brought rustic charm (and a few inflatable sheep that kept wandering off), while Three Sisters kept their criminally good beer locked up behind bars.

Pro-Tip

Get the early entry ticket. It costs a little extra, but allows you to get the lay of the land before the crowds arrive — plus you can get a few beers in from the heavy-hitters before the lines get crazy. Friday sessions are a great choice too.

But the layout meant it never felt overwhelming. With the stalls hugging the curved perimeter of the stadium, we could take it in piece by piece, discovering something new at every turn. Each corner offered a fresh surprise — and another excuse to top up our glasses.

Without the rush to repeatedly line up or try and find a seat, we were able to take the time to have a chat with the brewers. Like the folks at Two Fold, occupying one of the smaller booths for new brewers, who served up a delicious Hoogah Czech Dark Lager.

Beervana’s colourful app-like website also made navigating the festival a breeze. From live leaderboards and voting to searching by style or brewery, it was handy for both planning and spontaneous discovery. For instance, we didn’t realise how many farmhouse ales Seoul Brewery had, which instantly made it a priority stop for us.

Our top beers

Looking for the best beers at Beervana 2025? Here are the standout brews that made a lasting impression on us.

Beervana has a ‘Spreadsheet for Geeks’ online and even runs a live leaderboard — but this year, we ditched the meticulous planning and just winged it.

After an obligatory stop at Garage Project, NZ’s biggest craft brewer, we found ourselves drawn into chats with indie brewers. Auckland-based Saint Leonards don’t do keg sales or takeaways, so when you see them at Beervana, you grab the chance. Their lineup leaned Belgian in style, including a fabulous Bière de Garde poured only in small bottled batches — once they were gone, that was it.

The booziest drop on offer was Peckham’s Cidery & Orchard’s Fire and Ice at 13% ABV, but the heaviest we went was Urbanaut Brewing Co.’s Triple Marshmallow x Triple Hazy IPA at 10.1%. The sweetness wasn’t for us — but that’s the joy of a festival: trying things you wouldn’t normally order.

So, what really stood out to us? Here are our festival favourites:

Modular Farmhouse Ale (Seoul Brewing) — We didn’t make it to Seoul Brewing on our epic crawl across the Korean capital, but this floral, dry Saison makes us want to go back right now.
Hoogah Czech Dark Lager (Two Fold Brewing) — Barely 10 months old at the time of writing, this brewery already has our attention with rich, smooth dark lagers like this.
Mos DeF (Three Sisters) — While their flavour-packed sours and boozy stouts topped Beervana’s leaderboard, sometimes it’s nice to get back to essentials. This crisp West Coast IPA hit the spot.
Bière de Garde (Saint Leonards) — As mentioned, only a couple of bottles were poured each session. This traditional Belgian style demanded slow sipping as we wandered through the Beervana space.
Tigermilk IPA (Brave Brewing) — Proof that a showcase of new and old can coexist. A long-time NZ staple, Tigermilk still wins fans thanks to its balance and punchy mix of hops.

Our best food matches

Pairing great beer with the right bite is half the fun of Beervana. Here are the food matches that stood out.

With around 20 food vendors on site, it’s unlikely you’ll go hungry — though it pays to grab something in the first 60–90 minutes of a session before the queues get out of hand.

What stood out this year was how often the food and beer were paired together, with eateries linked to specific breweries and vice versa. It made the whole thing feel more integrated than the usual ‘grab a snack between beers’ method.

Ghee Spot, the very vegetarian-friendly Indian stall, was a highlight. Their Mumbai street-style vada pav (think: an upscale chip butty) came recommended with the option of a mango lassi-inspired ale.

Seoul Brewery set up next to a Korean fried chicken stand, while Pho Mo dished out tofu bites that matched with just about anything we had in hand. And the waft of pastry from ’Ansum Pasty Co. made it almost impossible to walk past without caving in.

Tips for Beervana 2026 and beyond

Planning your Beervana trip? These quick tips will help you make the most of Wellington’s biggest craft beer festival.

Get the early bird pass — The cost of the extra 30 minutes is worth it, especially if you’re exploring for the first time.
Try something new — You can find the big names in bottle shops. Festivals are the time to take a punt on smaller or newer brewers — you might just stumble onto the next Garage Project.
Eat early — Grab food in the first hour before the queues pile up.
Stay hydrated — Water stations are everywhere. Use them.
Drink responsibly — It’s a celebration, not a competition. Pace yourself.

Beervana runs annually in August in Wellington, New Zealand.

Craving more beer adventures? Check out our guide to a year of beery pilgrimages, from Amsterdam to the Zenne Valley.

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