Wānaka bar and brewery Rhyme x Reason has returned from the 2023 Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards with eight medals and two industry awards under its belt. 

The local bar and brewery opened its doors in 2017, inconspicuously located among industrial buildings on Gordon Road and known for its ever-rotating menu of experimentative brews.

Despite its hard-to-find location, word has spread about Rhyme x Reason: The Brewers Guild judges selected it for the 2023 Beer Tourism Award, for brewing businesses which offer an outstanding experience.

Rhyme x Reason sales and marketing lead Kate McDonald said the award was a “huge honour”.

Because the brewery is “a wee bit off the beaten path…we know that every person who steps through our door has made a conscious decision to head our way,” she said.

“....for that reason alone, we couldn’t be more grateful they came to see us. It is our goal to make that sentiment known to everyone who comes our way.”

Judges also pointed to a whole range of beers that make seeking out Rhyme x Reason worth the trip.

It earned three gold awards, for its popular Happy Pils (pilsner), Sun Dance (a basil, guava and szechuan sour), and YeeHaw (habanero saison). 

Its Brain Fade (cold IPA), Black Lips (porter), and Bush Doof (botanical brut ITA) earned it three silvers and The Vibe (hazy IPA) and Joy Rider (pale ale) earned bronzes.

Rhyme x Reason co-owner Simon Ross was also singled out for the Morton Coutts Award for Innovation.

Simon also owns MicroBrewTech, which manufactures beer bottling machines for the craft beer market.

Judges said he “not only developed an engineering masterpiece that solved a problem for the industry, he then went on to develop a second version of this to really meet the needs of the market”.

The Brewers Guild of New Zealand received 825 entries this year, and winners celebrated at a gala dinner in Christchurch earlier this month.

PHOTO: Supplied