As with many mavericks, McCashin came up against all manner of obstacles while getting his microbrewery up and running in a country dominated by two major players. Initially, none of the malting companies would supply him with grain, so he went ahead and built his own basic malting equipment; similarly, he couldn’t obtain beer bottles, so he ended up buying a former cider works which came with its own supply of bottles.

Rugby skills evidently came in pretty handy for McCashin in such business dealings, as he simply put his head down and crashed his way through the opposition in his way. He turned the old cider factory into Australasia’s first modern small brewery and those original bottles, which had rip-top caps and a funny crinkly effect around the neck, are still in use today – though, no doubt, now being made by a more willing glass manufacturer.

Mac’s early beers were fairly safe, flavour-wise, with Mac’s Real Ale and Black Mac both filtered and pasteurized; the all-malt lager Mac’s Gold soon became the brewery’s best-selling brand. In recent years, Mac’s Brewery has been acquired by Lion Nathan with McCashin retained as a brand ambassador of sorts, while a second brewery has been established on Wellington’s waterfront.

The latter specializes in some fairly extreme seasonal brews but a trio of Mac’s more mainstream brands is now being distributed on these shores: the flagship Mac’s Gold, Spring Tide – an organic, low-carb beer, and a pleasantly hoppy pilsener named Hop Rocker.

The latter features New Zealand-grown Cascade and Nelson Sauvin hops and highlights the fact that Kiwi hop breeders have excelled in developing local aromatic varieties in recent decades. Their Australian counterparts are starting to wake up to the aromatic possibilities but big, juicy hop flavours are a common thread through many of the fine Kiwi craft brews you encounter over there.

Nelson Sauvin has a prominent tropical fruit note and it appears again in Steinlager Pure - another Lion Nathan brand now being distributed locally, along with the Pacific Jade variety. The company’s flagship premium lager, Steinlager Pure has morphed into a sweetish, tropical fruit-tinged lager which balances those delicate hop notes with a sound drinkability.

The Local Taphouse (122 Flinders Street, Darlinghurst) has rounded up single kegs from eight leading Kiwi craft brewers which will be matched against 10-12 local brews in a one-off Anzac Day “specTAPular” on April 25. The New Zealand line-up comprises: Pitch Black Stout (Invercargill), Organic Pilsner (Emersons), Golden Ale (Three Boys), Dakota Dark Schwartzbier (Wigram), IPA (Tuatara), Wobbly Boot Porter (Harringtons), Golden Tusk ESB (Pink Elephant) and Stonecutter Scotch Ale (Renaissance); the current Aussie contingent is: Stone & Wood Draught (NSW), Wig & Pen Venom Double IPA (ACT), Feral Hop Hog IPA (WA), Sunshine Coast Dunkelweizen (Queensland), Matilda Bay Barking Flamingo Framboise (Victoria), Flying Horse Dirty Angel Porter (Victoria) and Vale Ale (South Australia). Details: www.thelocal.com.au