Garage Gold
A New Chapter in the Garage Project Story
Since starting out back in 2011, brewing 24 beers in 24 weeks on a tiny 50L pilot kit, we’ve been chasing one thing above all else: excitement. The kind of beers that push boundaries, surprise your palate, and make you want to try something new.
Garage Gold is a release programme that celebrates new ways of collaborating with the people and places that make the Aotearoa craft scene what it is today.
Every Garage Gold brew is a release with strictly limited availability. For each beer, we team up with a standout venue that’s created something with or for that beer. Could be a food match, could be a cocktail twist, could be something wild. Each one will be different and worth hunting down.
Garage Gold is our way of giving the people who serve our beers the space and attention they deserve.
Latest Release
Best of Fresh 2025
Hazy IPA
7.0%
Art by Sian Hislop
Brewed with Citra, Strata, Citra Cryo, Citra, NZ Cascade hops, Gladfield Pilsner, Gladfield Wheat, Gladfield Chit Wheat malt
First brewed in December 2025
Garage Gold Release number #4
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Every month, Pete cooks up a brand new recipe for our FRESH monthly hazy IPA, drawing on a plethora of hop-tions alongside a full larder of malts, selected to craft just the right kind of pillowy malt base for the occasion, and bringing to life new combinations of punchy aromas, memorable first-sips, lingering hop finishes and moreish bitterness.
At the end of the year, we put the vote to our FRESH Club members to decide which of these monthly numbers was the tippy tip top of the year - and for 2025, the title has been comfortably bestowed on the brew formerly known as FRESH July 2025
With a shiny new lick of paint courtesy of artist @siandesigns, Best of FRESH 2025 has been rebrewed for a special release amongst our Garage Gold customers.
Here's what Pete had to say back in July:
“
I thought June was my favourite this year, but now, we’ve got a contender.
Hearty Pilsner malt beckons the darker days of winter, then wheat and chitted wheat for a luscious orange-gold haze and pillowy head. T90 pellets of Citra join with Citra Cryo, Oregon Strata & NZ Cascade (a standout this harvest) dry-hopped and late in the boil.
You’ll smell those hops before you even pour the beer. Pear drops, pineapple candy, sherbert, bubblegum & tangerine. Then have a sip. Moreish bitterness balanced with chewy French bakery malt sweetness, then a citrus soaked wave of tangerine, mandarin & clementine, finished with a touch of passionfruit & pineapple.
A standout drop in its own right. It’s peak FRESH.
”
Find yours online, in-store at Garage Project venues, and at select partners across the country.
Featured Venue
Bedford Soda & Liquor
Bedford Soda & Liquor, 1 Richmond Road, Ponsonby Auckland
In what was originally the brainchild of Matt Nicholls, Jeremy Wells, and Sam Ansley, Bedford Soda & Liquor have brought a touch of all of the great parts of New York together and manifested them all in one place. Inspired by the experiences of delis, restaurants, dive bars, nightclubs and more, Bedford rolls all these up into one great (meat)ball of enjoyment.
What makes Bedford so great is that it can be so many things to so many people. Grab a midweek lunch? Sure. The meatballs are out of this world. Romantic date night? Absolutely - the ambience of this place in the evening is something special, and you are perfectly nestled in the heart of Ponsonby. Or perhaps late night cocktails, beers, and partying? Bedford does it all. You'll even occasionally catch one of our Garage Project team DJ'ing there sometimes!
On top of all of this, Bedford Soda has an exciting rotating guest beer offering, and we couldn't be more stoked to be showcasing this for our latest Garage Gold release, Best of FRESH 2025. We sat down to try a spread of their food with this beer - and we promise you absolutely cannot go past grabbing a pint of this alongside their Pork meatballs with mushroom sauce. The best pairing for the Best FRESH there is!
Now in their 12th year of operation, the team led by Jeremy and Trystan on the front line are constantly outdoing themselves time and time again, and we can't wait to see what they continue to bring.
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