Steamer Basin Brewery & Taproom

Steamer Basin is hidden, yes. Secret? No. The journey may begin to feel like a wild goose chase, but persevere and you’ll be rewarded with micro-brewing gold. 

Tucked away down No Name Alley, Steamer Basin is the neighbourhood taproom everyone wants in their proverbial backyard. Fortunately for Dunedinites, they have claiming rights to this hyper-local brewing company doing marvellous things. 

After honing their craft at the local farmers’ market, Karen and Paul decided to take the almighty leap from tiny 50L brewing to fully fledged premises producing 600L batches. Inspired by taprooms seen on their travels through the west coast of the US, Steamer Basin is a helluva stylish space. Casement doors pour out into the lane with ample communal bench seating giving it a European city feel (helped by its heritage architecture). But best of all, there’s a sweep of delicious seasonal brews to try and pizza by the slice. Yes, it’s time to settle in.  

Steamer Basin aims to create beer that celebrates the region. As Paul puts it, “the beer economy is a virtuous circle” and so herein lies their philosophy; sourcing local ingredients. The malt comes from Canterbury, hops from Nelson and of course, the finest filtered Dunedin water is used. By supporting local producers, everyone wins. They’re playful too, experimenting with different flavours such as elderflower, which is found in abundance locally.  And if you want to take some beer home, you can – just bring your own rigger. 

It’s fair to say that Steamer Basin is the best beer treasure hunt around.