Restrictions see NZ craft beer festival closed

A long-running craft beer festival in Auckland, New Zealand, has been shut down because of what organisers have called “arduous” licensing rules.

The New Zealand Beer Festival, which has been running since 2007, was scheduled to take place in Auckland on March 19, but it has now been cancelled for the second year in a row.

Organiser Andrew Somervell told news site Stuff.co.nz that new regulations have made it impossible for the event to go ahead.

The event, which was expected to attract 12,000 people, has committed to refunding all ticket holders and exhibitors.

The day before the 2014 event, Auckland Council imposed strict rules restricting the size and strength of beers being served at the festival because of police concerns over possible drunkenness and disorder.

While special exemptions to these rules were introduced in 2015, last year’s event still had to be cancelled due to lack of demand.

This lack of demand, caused by the strict serving restrictions brought in in 2014, has been repeated again this year, Somerville said.