I’m personally of the opinion that beer tastes much better and cleaner when served from hand pull (or “beer engine”), than when it’s served through the mainstream “keg and tap” system. This is both because of the sharp taste added by the CO2 used to force the beer out of the keg through the tap, as well as the generally too low temperature keg beer is served at. I know I’m not the only person who thinks this way, as Camra, the beer consumer organisation of the UK with over 160,000 members only considers beer to be “real ale” if it’s served this way (or directly from a bottle, can or other container where it has gone through secondary fermentation). Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be many places in New Zealand that serve hand-pulled beer, so it can be hard to find, especially if you’re new to the country or to a specific location.
To help you find these tasty venues (and help me keep track of them), I’ll try to maintain a list of all the venues that serve beer from hand pull in New Zealand here. Of course I don’t know all of them yet, so I’ll add to the list as I discover more, and I’d also be very grateful for comments if you know of any places that are missing.
| Venue | City | Address | Hand Pulls |
| Craft Embassy | Christchurch | Level One, The Terrace, 126 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch 8011 | 6 |
| The Free House | Nelson | 95 Collingwood Street, Nelson 7010 | 3 |
| The Fork And Tap | Arrowtown | 51 Buckingham Street, Arrowtown 9302 | 3 |
| The Workshop | Nelson | 32c New Street, Nelson 7010 | 2 (capacity for 4) |
| Little Beer Quater | Wellington | 6 Edward Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011 | 2 |
| The Beer Engine | Porirua | 31 Whitehouse Road, Tītahi Bay, Porirua 5022 | 2 |
| The Malthouse | Wellington | 76 Willis Street, CBD, Wellington 6011 | 2 |
| 1(2) | |||
| Moon | Wellington | 167 Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington 6021 | 1 |
| Heyday | Wellington | 264a Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011 | 1 |
| The Rogue & Vagabond | Wellington | 18 Garrett Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011 | 1 |
| Salt and Wood Collective | Waikanae | 11 Ngaio Road, Waikanae 5036 | 1 |
| Mean Doses | Wellington | 66 Tory Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011 | 1 |
| Urbanaut Brewery and Tap Room | Auckland | 597 New North Road, Kingsland, Auckland 1021 | 1 |
| Bebemos | Wellington | 88 Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington 6021 | 1 |
| The Welsh Dragon Bar | Wellington | 10a Cambridge Terrace, Mount Victoria, Wellington 6011 | 1 |