Mac's Hop Rocker Review

The "go-to" beer.

Mac's is a kiwi institution, famously pipping the two big guns (Lion and DB) and starting a trend by being the first microbrewery in the country. Unlike the main brewers who use sugar to speed up fermentation, Mac's started by using just the traditional beer ingredients, malt, hops, yeast and water. It reminded us what beer was supposed to taste like.

Hop Rocker is good... damn good. It's full flavoured, loads of NZ Hops - the label says Motueka - adding aroma and bitterness. It sparked a trend of highly hopped beers in NZ. This is my go-to beer, it's awesome summer and winter, refreshing and full bodied.

Now as I said, I love this stuff, but Pilsner? It's like they've never supped the crisp clean flavour of a Budvar or Urquell. It might be made like a Pilsner, but this is one hell of a lot of hops flavour for a Pilsner. It's had the effect of convincing the beer drinking public that Pilsners should be hoppy. Perhaps that why they mispelt Pilsner? Other notable brewers have even replicated the style.

So, a reliable favourite, consistent with the quality of Mac's even if it's not true to style.

EDIT: I rechecked the label last night (what can I say? I'm a thorough researcher) and it's not Motueka hops as stated, but Nelson Sauvin and Cascade hops. Traditionally Pilsner is hopped with Saaz.