The NZ Pale Ale is a style that does not currently feature in the BJCP Style guide, but if it did, we think this recipe would hit all the right notes. The Brewers Association (USA) have recently added the NZ Pale to their style guide, and in essence it is kiwi version of an American Pale Ale, celebrating kiwi rather than American hops.

Developed by Jamie McQuillan from Cell Division, this recipe is loosely based on award winning home brew APA recipe. It utilises a 100% NZ malt bill from the Canterbury Plains, providing a pale amber colour and just enough malt backbone to carry the punchy hops and firm bitterness. It finishes relatively dry and yet has enough body and a light perception of sweetness to keep you reaching for more. Expect classic kiwi hop notes rather than the tropical notes of some of our more recent hop varieties. Citrus, stone fruit and diesel undertones are rounded out with a generous dose of gooseberry flavour and aroma that only Nelson Sauvin hops can bring.

Get ahead of the pack with this delicious version of a newly recognised style and pay homage to our hop growing history at the same time. Cheers!

This recipe was designed to broadly fit within the 2021 BJCP Style guide 25B: Saison.

Wild One was created for The League of Brewers by Jamie McQuillan of Cell Division Brewery to showcase a cool new wild yeast called Wilding. Isolated by Froth Technologies and hailing from the Rangit?kei District, Wilding throws fruity notes of banana, pear and apple esters, with spicy phenolic notes and a crisp, bone dry finish.

Saisons/farmhouse ales are hugely variable as a style and this one is designed specifically with the brewing properties of the Wilding yeast in mind. It is built on a base of pilsner malt with some Vienna added for a touch of biscuity character, along with some spicy rye malt for an improved mouth feel/length of finish. Motueka and East Kent Goldings hops bring fruity citrus and earthy and spicy, herbal and floral notes, with just a touch of honey.

Wild One could be considered the big sister to Jamie’s previous saison recipe, Haymaker Saison. It is equally pale, bright and refreshing but with a little more malt character and an extra flavour punch at ~6.5 % abv helped along by some lovely fermentation character from the Wilding yeast. To find out more about brewing saisons, you might like to read Jamie’s article, For the Love of Saisons, which you can find on The League’s blog. Cheers.

This recipe was not specifically designed to be consistent with the BJCP style guides, but we believe it is similar to 18B - American Pale Ale.

We are hop heads, we can't deny it. This pale ale bursts with tropical aromas & flavours.  The recipe has been updated recently to highlight an exciting new American hop Meridian, supported with Citra and NZ hops Nectaron and Pacifica.

This recipe has been designed to be consistent with the 2021 BJCP Style guide 25B - Saison, but with a twist. It’s dark.

Dark Star is a recipe created for The League of Brewers by Jamie McQuillan of Cell Division Brewery, at the special in-house request of Dan Hagenaar! You can expect all of the classic attributes of a saison – it’s dry, effervescent, firmly bittered and refreshing with fruity, spicy and peppery esters.

In order to create a dark saison with the classic drinkability that the style is typically known for, this recipe is carefully built on a base malt bill of Pilsner, Vienna and Wheat Malt, with just enough Caraffa Special II, Redback and Crystal Malt, to provide added colour and depth, without being either sweet or roasty. East Kent Goldings and Saaz hops add earthy, spicy, herbal and floral notes accentuated by the warmer fermentation with the saison yeast.

The nights are dark and starry, time for a Dark Star we think. Santé.

This recipe was not specifically designed to be consistent with the BJCP style guides, but we believe it is similar to 04A - Munich Helles.

A not quite traditional German Helles lager brewed using Best Malz. This malt is newly available in New Zealand after centuries of production in Germany. Light and highly sessionable, perfect for a hot day.

We used some Hallertau Blanc to give it a subtle fruity twist - don't tell the Germans!

ABV: 5.0%

Our kits are fresh! We assemble the ingredients after you place your order. The grain bill will be milled, unless you tell us in your order comments that you prefer it not to be.

This recipe has been designed to use acid malt to reach the target mash pH. If you wish to use the recommended mineral additions to achieve the intended flavour profile, these are to be added to the boil only. This kit does not include the minerals, but these can be purchased separately.

Recipe pdf

BeerXML File (import into any brewing software i.e. Grainfather App, Beersmith or Brewfather)

This recipe is designed to be consistent with the BJCP style guide 5A – German Leichtbier.

Leichtbier is a recipe created for The League of Brewers by Jamie McQuillan of Cell Division Brewery.

German Leichtbier is a modern style, literally meaning ‘light beer’. It was originally marketed to the diet conscious as having lower carbohydrates, alcohol and calories. This might sound unappealing but think again because this German take on a light American lager brings more flavour and drinkability than you would expect. With on obvious and refreshing level of bitterness, despite the relatively low IBUs, and carrying noticeable malt and hop flavours, this bright, clean, pale straw-coloured lager will be perfect for a long afternoon’s drinking over the summer holiday season. Even better, enjoy it with a pretzel or some bratwurst fresh off the BBQ. Prost.

This recipe was not specifically designed to be consistent with the BJCP style guides, but we believe it is similar to 05D - German Pils.

Now here's a style not many have heard of before. No, this is not Peroni clone, this beer actually has flavour! This beer is inspired by Tipopils - a beer made by one Italian craftbrewery - and like other obscure beer styles has become a darling of some major US craft breweries.

So what makes it different? Simply put, it's similar to a German pilsner - but with a big difference: it's dry hopped with noble hops. This makes this beer very unique, instead of the tropical fruit bombs you get mostly these days, this is crisp like a pilsner should be - but also floral and a little background spicy. The perfect summer beer!

Target ABV: 5%

Our kits are fresh! We assemble the ingredients after you place your order. The grain bill will be milled, unless you tell us in your order comments that you prefer it not to be.

This recipe has been designed to use acid malt to reach the target mash pH. If you wish to use the recommended mineral additions to achieve the intended flavour profile, these are to be added to the boil only. This kit does not include the minerals, but these can be purchased separately.

Click here to download the recipe.

Click here to download the BeerXML file (to directly import into your favorite brewing software)

Brew your on version of Fork Brewcorp's "Golden Handshake" Pilsner. This beer is a play on a German pilsner, but dry hopped with German noble hops. Also known as an Italian Pilsner.

A bit of malt sweetness to balance the hop bitterness with a refreshing dryness. BRONZE MEDAL at the 2019 Brewers Guild Awards.

ABV: 5.2%

This recipe is an American spin on the New Zealand Pilsner 2021 BJCP Style guide X5, created specifically to showcase the newly arrived American hop Alora.

Green Card is a recipe created for The League of Brewers by Jamie McQuillan of Cell Division Brewery.

Alora hops boast an abundant and unique oil profile. They deliver flavour and aroma of peach, apricot, sweet melon and yuzu, and are just begging to be unleashed on a hoppy NZ style Pilsner.

It is built upon a pale slightly bready malt base of Gladfield pilsner and wheat malt, with moderate bittering and herbal and citrus notes from the use of US cascade hops in the boil, followed by generous late additions and dry hopping with Alora hops. It’s likely that you will want to drink this beer as soon as you can, so to put an additional new spin on things a cool hybrid lager strain, NovaLager, is used. The finished beer will pour a pale golden colour with a frothy white head. It will drink dry, with a malty perception of sweetness, and an abundant and unique hop profile. You might just end up brewing and drinking this one all summer long.