Tuatara brewing in Brewtown
Old Monteith's kit back in action as part of the move. Celebrating 20 years of Sawmill. Boneface set realistic goals. NZ Ale Trail relaunched.
If it’s Friday, it’s time for a beer. And a bit of beer news to boot.
We start this week with news that DB-owned Tuatara are up and running at Brewtown after relocating from Paraparaumu.
And what’s more they’re brewing on the old Monteith’s kit that has been shipped up from Greymouth after DB stopped production at that site a few years back.
Ironically it’s half the size of the old brewhouse Tuatara left behind in Kāpiti but has way more flexibility.
“It’s a steam-fired, 35-hectalitre, four-vessel DME kit, and we have modified it to add a fifth vessel so that we can keep the capacity,” says Paul Roigard, Tuatara head brewer.
“It’s half the size of the Kāpiti brewhouse but with better efficiency so we should be able to do the same number of brews in the same number of hours and it just gives us a little bit more flexibility with it.
“At Kāpiti, because it was only a two-vessel kit, we would only mash in at 5am and then the next brew would mash in at 11am. With this gear we'll probably mash in every three hours.”
When Monteith's was shut as a production facility the brewery remained as part of a tour experience “so it was obviously under-utilised compared to what it could be doing,” Roigard said.
He said the Kāpiti brewery “was right for the time when it was built and for the market, and for where Tuatara was back then … but as craft has evolved in New Zealand, it’s so much more competitive and so much more varied now."
“This will allow us to do much more exciting innovation. There were a myriad of reasons why we needed to move but from my point of view, that innovation side is something that we’ll really embrace again.”
Roigard is also enjoying being in Brewtown itself.
“You feel closer to Wellington, you feel close to the craft beer community.
“We always got along really well with George [Duncan] at Duncan’s and we’d help each other out all the time. It’ll be sad not to be able to do that but I hope we can be part of this community.”
The brewery will eventually have a taproom attached, adding to the beer offering in Brewtown, which currently hosts Panhead, Boneface and Te Aro.
The new Tuatara set-up also feature a bottling line that has come up from the DB-owned Redwood Cider Co — they make Old Mout, Rekoderlig and Orchard Thieves ciders.
All DB ciders will continue to be made in Nelson but will be bulk-shipped to Upper Hutt for packaging and distribution.
“With the population in the North Island and most of the product being sold in the North Island, it just makes sense — it’s probably better for the carbon footprint, I imagine.”
A shoutout to one of the best
Sam Williamson is one of the good guys of New Zealand brewing. He’s honed his craft at Steam, Galbraith’s, Sawmill and Pacific Coast, where sadly his job disappeared when Pacific Coast went into liquidation earlier this year.
Sam’s launched himself into a consulting role and for any breweries reading this … once your summer rush is over and you think you’d like to focus on improving things, get in touch with Sam.
“Brewers don't often make time to look around at their processes, their beer, see if things can be done better, see that the owner wants to invest in their team. I love seeing that spark of re-inspiration in their mahi and brand,” Sam says.
Sam’s helped a few brewers — Lakeman is one he’s worked with to help them with their continuous improvement (and it’s hard to argue with the quality of their beer lately!).
He’s designed recipes for contract brewers such as Punk Heads Brewing and a couple of the early beers for Badass Beverages (RIP).
Right now he’s organising a few collaboration brews as a way of trying some new techniques and knowledge-sharing.
The first will be a draught-only release with a nano-brewery called Cave — a mash-hopped kawakawa hazy soon to be released at Brewer's Cooperative and the Small Gods Taproom.
Here’s some details for Sam:
!Commercial Brewers and Certified Forklift Alumni!
Now’s not the time to make good beer, make great beer! I can help.
Quality Coaching — Collaborative Knowledge Sharing — Troubleshooting — Recipe Design
No job too small. Proven results and references available.
Instagram: @samwsamw
Facebook: @SamWlmsn
LinkedIn: sam-williamson
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Sawmill celebrate 20 years
Before I knew I was on a craft beer journey, I was already on the path … and one of those steppingstones was the original Sawmill Brewery in the Leigh Sawmill Cafe north of Auckland.
I hadn’t been in Auckland long, maybe a couple of years, when we ventured up to Leigh and called in for lunch at the Sawmill Cafe. There I sampled exotic beers like 12 Gauge and The Doctor.
Back then, around 2006-2007, Sawmill — with the old swing-top bottles and what looked like handmade labels — was more a curiosity; and anyway, the term “craft” was yet to come into vogue. But the memory of that place and those beers stays with me.
It’s quite remarkable that Sawmill have made it to 20 years; the past 15 under the ownership of Mike Sutherland and Kirsty McKay, who have transformed Sawmill in more ways than you can imagine.
From humble beginnings, Sawmill is now a big player and I mean big!
As Mike told me recently, the original brewery churned out just 20,000 litres a year.
“We do that in two days now,” he said.
In the past 15 years they have:
moved the brewery from Leigh to Matakana — in the process having to continually tell the story of how they were a separate business from the Leigh Sawmill Cafe;
survived a fire that closed the brewery for nine months;
gained B Corp status, the only brewery in New Zealand to do so;
grown so big they were able to buy Deep Creek’s almost-new brewery when Deep Creek went into liquidation.
I spoke to Mike about the journey and how golf is a source of new customers!
Beer of the Week No 1
It has to be from Sawmill right? I can’t say enough good things about their relaunched, rebranded X Pale Ale. This used to be Extra Pale Ale, a beer that picked up plenty of awards but was briefly discontinued — Extra Pale Ale being a difficult sell these days.
Rebranded as X — which I think is quite clever, right Elon? — it now comes in a pretty lemon yellow can that tells the story of the punchy lemony hop character inside. It’s got lots of oomph for the 4.9% ABV.
This is easy-drinking but deeply-flavoursome beer at its very best, clean, hoppy, nicely bitter and ideal for summer.
You can find Sawmill beers and all the latest craft releases at your home of craft beer, New World.
Tim’s Beer of the Week
I’m going to make a shocking revelation: I think New Zealand whisky is (at this moment in time) a vastly more exciting frontier than craft beer, I just haven’t found a way of getting paid to enthuse about it, yet!
Brothers Beer however, have bridged the gap for me with this special release from their Dark series. Pōkeno Whisky Barrel Aged Belgian Dark Ale (8.6%) is finished in ex-sherry barrels that were themselves used to mature locally crafted Pōkeno whisky; in reality it’s less of a bridge and more of a circle, as these barrels (now seasoned with the beer) will return to Pōkeno to age a new generation of dark ale accented drams.
As much as one might expect the sumptuous notes of dark chocolate and rum-soaked raisin to dominate, a thread of drying oak tannin weaves between these colossally rich flavours and sets the finish on a drier path. A remarkable juiciness and quenching quality lends surprising pace to the palate, and a consequently dangerous drinkability at 8.6%.
One of the very best releases I’ve tasted from Brothers, and soundly in the running for one of the flat-out best dark beers in recent years nationwide. Now I just have to wait for the whisky… — Tim Newman
(Editor’s note: I’ve now got this on my Christmas celebration list!)
Boneface aiming for massive, but controlled growth
The New Zealand Herald did a nice job last weekend with a business feature on Mike and Anna Neilson buying Boneface.
The story is behind a paywall, but there’s not a lot in there that you haven’t read here already.
There was one great quote, about Mike’s disillusionment with Lion in terms of the structure they were putting in at — and around — Panhead:
“I couldn’t say I looked after the company anymore. I was basically made redundant by the corporate structure they put in,” he says.
And I was interested in Mike talking about growing Boneface from a current production of just 50,000 litres a year to 800,000 litres — with the aim to get to 400,000 litres by this time next year.
It’s not quite the scale of growth he achieved at Panhead (they aimed for 2 million litres a year) and it appears there are definite lessons learned from the huge cost of that massive growth, which led to the eventual sale to Lion.
“At Panhead, we were borrowing money left, right and centre,” Mike said.
“Every time it took off debt skyrocketed and, to get the best beer, we needed the best gear.”
When Lion came calling, he said they needed between $12m-$25m to upgrade equipment and had been talking to a private equity firm about a partial acquisition to finance new plant.
“We were just a humble little family business, we didn’t have $12m to $25m to invest. Lion took a problem off our hands.”
Knowing that magic won’t happen twice, he’s more modest about what they can do with Boneface, and I reckon 800,000 litres will be the sweet spot for the current brewery, basically having it maxed out without chewing up too much of their existing capital from the sale to Lion and definitely without borrowing.
Dusty’s Beer of the Week
Recent tin drop from Gizzy locals Sunshine Brewery, West Coast Lager rolls at 5% with a crackin’ hop combo of Citra, Mosaic & Riwaka, brewed low & slow and laid to rest for a slumberous month, this brew delivers across the board from its upfront crisp delivery to the prickly Riwaka bitterness to the soft citrus overlaying an effervescent carb. Built for summer! — Dusty
NZ Ale Trail relaunched
The Brewers Guild of New Zealand has revamped its NZ Ale Trail website — and I have to say it’s way better than it was previously.
And, in a good move, it’s open to non-Guild members — a change from the first iteration which was restricted to Guild members and therefore a little thin on destinations.
Mel Kees, executive director of Guild confirmed “we want to showcase as many amazing experiences as possible, whether that be a bar, a tour, a brew your own experience [but] they still need to apply so we can ensure that the experience/venue meets the criteria.
“For non-members of the Guild there is a cost and we are running a special deal now for people that want to join us before summer. The NZ Ale Trail is not just about providing a platform to showcase beer experiences and brewing, it's about supporting the industry too!
So, if you’re not a Guild member, you can email jo@brewersguild.org.nz for more info.
The Guild said research conducted by Tourism New Zealand showed 85% of visitors to New Zealand have food and drink tasting at the top of their to-do lists, so they felt it was time to relaunch with a new look.
“We want to be proactive in supporting both our brewers and hospitality businesses by creating a platform that makes it easier for visitors to explore what the industry has to offer,” Kees said.
The goal is to promote beer tourism as an option for those looking for an alternative to the usual food and beverage experiences.
The interactive map is divided into regional sections and you can explore brewery and taproom locations, plan a trail, and discover food and drink experiences across the country.
“This is just the beginning, to get it underway for summer and to provide a place for breweries, beer fans, visitors, and locals to check out some new venues they can visit. Brewing is fun and vibrant, urban and rural, the industry is year-round, and we’ve got some fantastic sustainability stories to tell as well, so we tick a lot of the boxes of what visitors and locals are looking for.”
The trail was originally launched in 2020, but with a lull in tourism and pressures on businesses, it was parked until the market was ready for a new proposition.
Kees said she looks forward to Tourism NZ and regional tourism agencies getting behind this initiative. “You can have hospitality without tourism, but you can’t have tourism without hospitality, and the NZ Ale Trail will offer both of those in a way that showcases the talent, innovation, and experiences that the local brewing industry has to offer.”
Beer of the Week No 2
Absolute banger of a beer this one from Hop Federation. It’s been a while between new releases from the Motueka crew but damn this one was worth waiting for — and with a name that sums the past three years!
But it’s also about inflationary flavour, to coin a new phrase.
Massive flavour, texture and bitterness all roll together in a tumbling, tightly knotted bundle. It’s a hazy with some heft, delivering big tropical pineapple and dense apricot plus some citrus notes thanks to a combo of Nectaron, Rakau (one of those great back seat hops that help drive interesting flavours) and Idaho 7.
Recommend this highly.
OK, that’s it from me this week. No third beer sorry, as your correspondent has been a bit under weather this week :(
Michael
I had a Sawmill 12 Gauge for the first time recently - I had no idea it had been around so long. But that's not surprising as it was a great beer. As high-alcohol pilsners and lagers are mainly to be found in the cheap import sections of bottle stores - and range from drinkable to awful - it was good to experience a craft offering in that style from a local brewer that was sumptuous, with just the right level of sweetness to counter the 6.5 per cent ABV.