Beer #373 - W/C 11 April 2022 BREWERY // In a scene reminiscent of a Sunday afternoon movie, Kiwi pals Tommy, Leighton, John & Mark were touring northern England with their brass band for an international brass band competition when inspiration struck. As they enjoyed a pint in Yorkshire's Dobcross Band & Social Club they noticed the community atmosphere of people enjoying good beer, games, music and company. At that moment they decided to create a similar club in Wellington. And, what's a club without good beer? Waitoa Social Club in Hataitai has a small brewery ..read more

Beer #370 - W/C 21 March 2022 BREWERY // In a scene reminiscent of a Sunday afternoon movie, Kiwi pals Tommy, Leighton, John & Mark were touring northern England with their brass band for an international brass band competition when inspiration struck. As they enjoyed a pint in Yorkshire's Dobcross Band & Social Club they noticed the community atmosphere of people enjoying good beer, games, music and company. At that moment they decided to create a similar club in Wellington. And, what's a club without good beer? Waitoa Social Club in Hataitai has a small brewery ..read more

Beer #368 - W/C 7 March 2022 BREWERY // Following a 22,000 km road trip circumnavigating the USA and drinking countless beers, George Duncan & Wai Familton were inspired to start brewing. After several years of brewing fantastic beers in his kitchen and a few more years contract brewing, George opened a brewery in Paraparaumu on the beautiful Kapiti Coast with a cellar door which is staffed by George and his sister. It's a true family business and George and Wai are looking forward to their 3 year old boy being big enough to start helping out around the ..read more

Beer #396 - W/C 12 September 2022 BREWERIES // HEYDAY began with an American roadtrip. Hannah & Hamish spent 3 months travelling around the USA where they fell in love with the creativity and community that existed around beer and brewpubs. Their combined skills in building, project management and design made them an ideal pair of founders. Their friend Andy joined them as a business partner who also has some handy skills as an electrical engineer. They found a home in a former car battery garage at the top of Cuba Street which was ripe for reimagi ..read more

Beer #395 - Alibi / Black Cat BREWERY // Alibi is the sister of Waiheke Island's Tantalus vineyard and is a strong contender for most photogenically located brewery in NZ. Head brewer Bernard had a background in wine before he started work at Auckland's now defunct Governor Brewery. He fell in love with the creative possibilities of brewing and leapt at the chance to launch Alibi's small but perfectly formed brewery in 2017. As a small brewery on faraway Waiheke Island, it's always a special treat to spot Alibi beers out in the wild. Their canning line recently came on line so that means we'l ..read more

Beer #394 - W/C 31 August 2022 BREWERY // There wasn't a huge range of craft beer around in 1996 when Glenn & Virginia Meikle sold their house to start a brewery. Initially it was just Glenn with a little help from his mum on the books but the family business has steadily grown into a Bay of Plenty institution with a team of 40. The brewery was recently passed down to the next generation as Glenn & Virginia's daughter Briar (who was 6 weeks old when Mount was founded) and her partner Niall have taken the reins. Their head brewer Pawel and team are steadily cranking out the ..read more

Beer #343 - W/C 24 August 2022 BREWERY // Small Gods is different kind of brewery. Luke White & Matt Eats spend a lot of time reading and discussing concepts, history, stories and flavour experiences. Inspiration comes from everywhere - be it a graphic novel, a museum exhibit, a scientific phenomenon or a walk in the countryside. They share everything they know and are passionate about collaboration, working with (and learning from) not just brewers but creative people in any field. They give their label art a lot of consideration and picked up the trophy for best packaging at ..read more

Beer #342 - W/C 16 August 2022 BREWERY // Small Gods is different kind of brewery. Matt Eats & Luke White spend a lot of time reading and discussing concepts, history, stories and flavour experiences. Inspiration comes from everywhere - be it a history book, a dessert, a scented candle, a myth or a drag performance. They share everything they know and are passionate about collaboration, working with (and learning from) not just brewers but creative people in any field. Producing very small batches that sell out fast, they're starting to become rather prolific with their releases. B ..read more

Beer #341 - W/C 8 August 2022 BREWERY // Back in 2011 we were in the aftermath of the last Global Financial Crisis which meant Chris Mills and his wife, Natasha Dahlberg, weren't getting much work for their movie visual effects business. Fortunately for us, Chris was able to crank up his home-brewing hobby and start supplying a local Lower Hutt market with beer he brewed in a tiny 50L kit in their rumpus room. He figured that, while the demand for pixel polishers may fluctuate, the thirst for beer would ride out any recession. Demand for Kererū beer quickly grew and they cust ..read more

Beer #340 - W/C 1 August 2022 BREWERY // There wasn't a huge range of craft beer around in 1996 when Glenn & Virginia Meikle sold their house  to start a brewery. Initially it was just Glenn with a little help from his mum on the books but the family business has steadily grown into a Bay of Plenty institution with a team of 40. The brewery was recently passed down to the next generation as Glenn & Virginia's daughter Briar (who was 6 weeks old when Mount was founded) and her partner Niall have taken the reins. Their head brewer Pawel and team are steadily cranking out ..read more