Sawmill Brewing in Matakana, north of Auckland, are renowned for their sustainability programme. As New Zealand's only B Corp certified craft brewery they are leading the way for breweries that aim to not only make good beer, but do good things for the environment, and the people who work for them. Co-host Martin Bridges visits owners Kirsty McKay and Mike Sutherland to find out what makes them so successful when it comes to maximising their beer sales while minimising their environmental footprint. Michael and Martin also discuss their award-winning beers and branding as well as looking back at their humble origins.

George Duncan of Duncan's Brewing in Paraparaumu and Joe Emans of Three Sisters in New Plymouth are two of the best when it comes to the innovative dessert-style beers. Whether it's smoothie sours, ice cream sours, pastry stouts or milkshake IPAs, these two are industry leaders. They join Michael & Martin at Beervana to talk about beers that didn't even exist a few years ago.

Epic and Hallertau are two of the most influential breweries in New Zealand when it comes to hop-driven, American-style IPAs. Both breweries turn 20 this year and their respective founders, Luke Nicholas from Epic and Steve Plowman from Hallertau, talk about the early years of the hop revolution when they created two special beers: Armageddon and Maximus; as well as starting the Malthouse West Coast IPA Challenge and changed the way we thought about IPA.

Live from Beervana we bring you a session on the wide and wonderful world of lager. Martin & Michael are joined by special guests — Emma Elmslie of Shining Peak, Dani Wild from Brew Moon and Vlad Petrovic from St Leonards. We sample an eclectic range of different lagers — from a Japanese Rice Lager, to a Baltic Porter and a classic NZ-style Pilsner. Plus Martin and Michael ponder why lager become so disliked and why it's making a comeback. And on this show we're drinking a Sprig + Fern Doppelbock and Czech-style Dark Lager from Heyday.

Michael & Martin bring you the first of the live Beervana Sessions, a live Q&A recording at the Beervana Festival in Wellington on August 22-23. In this episode Pete Gillespie and Dave Bell from Garage Project talk about their Chance Luck & Magic series, including the 2021 vintage which was crowned Champion Beer at the NZ Beer Awards. Plus Matt Smith from 2025 champion brewery, Brave Brewing, talks about their flagship Tigermilk IPA. Martin and & Michael also talk about the recent closures of Fortune Favours and Hop Federation and what that means for the industry.

Michael and Martin are joined by Ben Heaven who was catapulted into national prominence when his Judas Sheep Dark Lager won a place in the New World Beer & Cider Awards Top 25. Ben runs a tiny farm-based brewery — Heaven's Brewery — in the Marua Valley, north of Whangarei. His sudden fame is backed by years of brewing both in England and New Zealand. It's a fascinating story and a must-listen for beers fans.

Martin and Michael are joined this week by Hamish Ward and Caroline Muller-Ward, the husband-and-wife team behind Isthmus Brewing. They're here to talk about the roller-coaster ride they've been on over the past couple of years since Hamish lost his brewing job at Deep Creek. After some ''dark times'' they're on a high at the moment after their 3D IPA was crowned champion beer at the New World Beer & Cider Awards. We talk a lot about that beer and how it pays homage to the classic West Coast IPAs of yesteryear.

Michael and Martin give you a run-down of Beervana, including their picks of the annual festival, held in Wellington last weekend ... which may, or may not, include an ice cream made from beer! Plus they take a look at the just announced New World Beer & Cider Awards, running through the list of the Top 25 beers and giving their recommendations on what to try first.

Michael and Martin give you a run-down of Beervana, including their picks of the annual festival, held in Wellington last weekend ... which may, or may not, include an ice cream made from beer! Plus they take a look at the just announced New World Beer & Cider Awards, running through the list of the Top 25 beers and giving their recommendations on what to try first.

Ten years brewers Jason Bathgate and Andrew Childs were severely burned in a workplace accident when boiling wort exploded from a brew kettle as they were adding hops. They suffered burns to 30% and 40% of their bodies respectively. Martin chats with Jason, formerly of McLeod's and now running his own brewery, Aliment, and Andrew of Behemoth Brewing about that day and how it changed their lives.