So me and a colleague decided that it was time to visit the Dux Live bar that has sprung up in Addington, Christchurch as we had both been to the Dux De Lux bar before when it was situated near the Arts Centre. I had fond memories of drinking the locally brewed beer sat outside with the heaters on before the bar had to relocate after the Earthquake. The new Dux isn’t really set up that well for drinking and is more of a live music venue. Me and a few colleagues rocked up at around 5pm Friday night and managed to score ourselves some outdoor seats. My first choice of drink was the Dux Nor’Wester Strong  Pale Ale. A strong ale at 6.5% a.b.v with a smooth English malt complexity and Pacific hops. Now, I don’t know if my taste buds have changed or New Zealand beer brewing has got better but quite frankly I was disappointed. Yes there was a strong malty flavour with a slight hint of hops but I found the beer to sweet and sickly and by half way through was itching to try something else. My second drink was a Dux Blue Duck Amber Ale, 4% a.b.v. Described as a malt amber draught this was only slightly better than the Nor’Wester. Not as strong, sweet and sickly but also had no real character and also left me wanting something else. I looked around at what my colleagues were drinking and it was bottled beer from other brewers – maybe this said it all. To summarise, with the number of good brewing competitors in NZ now the Dux beer just did not cut it. I’ll be back if there’s good music and go straight for a bottle of Three Boys or Epic.

Nor’Wester Strong Pale Ale ranking: 4/10
Blue Duck Amber Ale ranking: 4.25/10