77 Southern Drift New Zealand Lager - First Line Brewing w/ Britesmith Brewing

This week, Brian heads back down to Orchard Park to spotlight a powerhouse local collaboration. When First Line Brewing links up with the lager specialists at Britesmith Brewing, you know you're getting something clean, technical, and hop-forward. Enter Southern Drift, a dry-hopped New Zealand lager that brings big Southern Hemisphere flavor to a crushable 4.8% ABV profile.

• Brewery: First Line Brewing (Orchard Park, NY) & Britesmith Brewing (Williamsville/Buffalo, NY)
• Beer: Southern Drift
• Style: New Zealand Lager (Dry-Hopped)
• ABV: 4.8%
• Brian’s Verdict: A bright, crisp, and beautifully expressive lager. Driven by a standout dry-hop charge of Nelson Sauvin and Nectaron, it delivers bold, punchy aromatics of white wine grape, passion fruit, and stone fruit without sacrificing any lager drinkability. Sitting at a lean 4.8%, it finishes clean, snappy, and endlessly refreshing.

New Zealand-hopped lagers continue to be one of the most exciting intersections in modern craft brewing—marrying the crisp, clean discipline of traditional lager fermentation with the vibrant, tropical complexity of Southern Hemisphere hops.

First Line and Britesmith dialed in this recipe to let the hops shine while keeping the malt backbone lean and unobtrusive. With Nelson Sauvin providing its signature gooseberry and vinous notes and Nectaron layering in luscious peach and citrus, Southern Drift is an essential summer pour for both hop heads and lager purists alike.

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