Brewers

The Good George story so far…  If we told you that Good George was the best thing to come out of Hamilton, you’d probably think for a minute then make a joke about how they don’t have much competition. That’s okay, they can handle it, they don’t take life too seriously. But they are serious about brewing though. Good George came to life after a bunch of friends got together and decided, after years in hospitality and brewing, it was time to create their own craft beer brand. Their main motivation was to show people what great beer can be,...

The Story of Eddyline: Finding Calm in the Current of Life Mic and Molley Heynekamp built a successful craft brewery in Colorado, and then they expanded into New Zealand, opening the Eddyline Brewery & Pizzeria in Richmond, Nelson. The airy bar has a huge pizza oven and a small but efficient brewery. The Eddyline story started in 1999. It now brews 1.2 million L/year in Buena Vista, 200km southwest of Denver, Colorado.  Mic and Molley first came to New Zealand in 2010 and saw potential to replicate the Eddyline experience here. “One of the original plans was to start small and get to...

The story behind Hop Federation is one that’s easy to relate to: moving from the stress of the city to the idyllic countryside; turning a passion into a liveli- hood and spending more time as a family. In 2013, Simon and Nicki Nicholas left their high-pressure Auckland life behind and, with daughter Lily, moved to rural Riwaka, in the heart of the Tasman District’s hop-growing region. In September that year, Hop Federation opened its doors, a small independent brewery with an initial offering of four New Zealand style ales. With steady growth in national sales and exports, and multiple awards,...

Local brewers, Golden Bear Brewing Company is the creation of Jim and Anne Matranga. Jim was born in Los Angeles, where he worked as a cabinetmaker and ran his own millwork company for over 25 years.  Anne manage small and large architectural firms, as well as Jim’s company. In 1994 the couple traveled to New Zealand for the first time.  Jim says, "We fell in love with the land but found the available beer to be uninspiring.  I half jokingly suggested I would learn to brew beer when we got back home and after mastering the art we could move...

Sometimes you just have to take the leap. Shannon Thorpe took the leap in 2016. Tired of working for other brewers, Shannon decided it was time to test his nous and open his own brewery. He teamed up with Wellington hospitality veterans Andrew Williams and Jamie Williams, convinced award-winning brewer Dale Cooper to quit his day job, and together they formed Fortune Favours. Fortune Favours saved an old industrial building and restored it as a new brewpub, brewing on site and serving fresh beer and food. The old furniture restoration business was becoming surrounded by bold new bars and food...