Tuatara goes California Cool at Monterey

At Tuatara, we take beer quality seriously and we like to think our stockists and venues do too. That certainly does not mean everything has to be boring though. One of our favourite venues is Monterey in Newtown, Wellington. As well as being a top bar and café, we love their funky, cheeky attitude. Here is how they describe themselves on their website:

“We have; burgers made with homemade sauces, quality produce and herbs and leaves from our garden, cocktails from last two centuries made with homemade syrups, fresh fruit and proper liquor, soft drinks that you can’t buy at the dairy next door for half the price, weekend brunch that isn’t just poached eggs six ways, tables you can sketch or write on, staff who aren’t just waiting to finish their bachelor of marketing and move to Auckland, music that isn’t downloaded but on vinyl, books that smell like your grandma and games that remind you of being a kid.”

Monterey serves a number of Tuatara beers on tap, pouring them into a 350ml glass, 500ml glass or 1000ml jug. We caught up with Joseph from Monterey to get a bit more information. He explained that the bar’s name was a reference to an area in California which hosted a lot of writers and authors in the 1960s because “we are kind of mid-century California themed here.”

In terms of picking Tuatara to headline their beer list, Joseph said “the main reason we went with Tuatara was because we wanted to work with an independent company making really good beer. Tuatara was a pretty perfect fit with our style and they were close by as well. Our customers are all very keen about Tuatara and it is selling very well. The APA is flying out of the door. It is a great match with our California/Americana theme.”

Monterey is also a finalist in two categories of the Fifth Annual Wellingtonista Awards – Best Suburban Destination and Best Service. Here is how the Wellingtonista crowd justified the Best Suburban Destination nomination:

“Who knew that drinking in Newtown didn’t have to involve sports? The good people of Kreuzberg Cafe opened up this joint in a small former Vietnamese restaurant, and it’s worth leaving the city for. The mac’n cheese is amaaaazing (although off the menu for summer, grrr), Tuatara beer is on tap, and they make fabulous cocktails and three kinds of pie every day.”

If you listen very carefully, you can almost hear the Tuatara brewery crew going “mmmmm… three kinds of pie…”

Voting closes on 1 December 2010 so be sure to make your vote count.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara X returns as Trade Me ad goes viral

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Tuatara, we finally let Head Brewer Carl Vasta make the huge, crazy, strong Belgian beer he had wanted to make for years. The result was Tuatara X which we launched at Beervana 2010 and it promptly sold out. Now, X is back. We have bottled some X and it is currently available in bottles only at Malthouse, Hashigo Zake and Long Beach Café in Waikanae.

However, the brewery team ran out of the special big bottles before they ran out of the special beer. That means there are currently six kegs of Tuatara X up for sale to deserving hospitality venues (or even ambitious private residences). To order a rare keg of X, contact Will Cass (Tuatara Business Brewer/Sales Manager) as soon as possible. This is a blog-exclusive announcement – it is not appearing anywhere else.

Speaking of bottles, one of our beloved bottling crew left recently so the Tuatara creative team whipped up a short job ad to put up on Trade Me. It was a little irreverent and (we thought) quite funny. Here is a sample of the text:

“What’s better than doing nothing much? Doing nothing much in a brewery and being paid for it. We’re looking for a man who takes the beer and puts it in a box. Beer. Box. Beer. Box…

We don’t mind what you wear to work – the same shirt you wore to town last night or a batman cap and utility belt – just so long as the job gets done.”

It turns out we were not the only ones to be amused by the “Beer and boxes seek strong man for threesome” advert. In the first five days it got 41,000 views. Even though the vacancy has since been filled, people are still clicking on to view it with the hit counter currently sitting at over 45,000.

As well as providing some laughs, the ad actually worked. Tuatara received over 500 job applications – some very serious, some so funny they made the office staff snort beer out of their noses. We are currently checking the privacy implications involved in sharing some of the very best applications on this blog.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara Up Five in Fast 50

Last week we received the great news that not only had Tuatara Brewing Company retained our place in the annual Deloitte Fast 50 Index, we had actually improved our ranking five places from 39th to 34th. The Deloitte Fast 50 has measured the fastest growing Kiwi businesses for ten years. Tuatara was one of just fifteen companies to be listed both years and was the only brewery on either list.

At the risk of getting a little pointy-headed, Deloitte ranks businesses based on their annual revenue growth. In 2009, our revenue growth rate was 188.48% while for 2010 that figure leapt to 248.40%. To qualify, companies had to be New Zealand registered businesses operating for at least three years with operating revenue of at least $300,000 in 2007/2008.

In one of our rare press releases, Director Sean Murrie said he was delighted by the result:

“This is our tenth year in operation and it has been a big one for the company. We have worked hard to expand our brewery in Waikanae, bought on a logistics partner to improve our distribution, boosted our sales team and even started exporting. At the same time, the focus has been on keeping beer quality up as evidenced by our medal hauls at the 2010 BrewNZ Beer Awards and Australian International Beer Awards.”

Sean said it was great effort to improve on last year’s outstanding result. He gave credit to the entire Tuatara team – in the brewery, at the office and on the road – because the ranking was based on their hard work and dedication.

Our friends at the Brewer’s Guild of New Zealand chimed in writing:

“Tuatara Brewery has made it on to the Deloitte’s Fast 50 Index for the second year in a row. This is further evidence of the burgeoning craft beer sector in New Zealand.”

We’d like to thank the Guild and their indefatigable chairman David Cryer for all the work they do to build the craft beer industry every day. At the risk of beginning to sound like an Oscars speech, special thanks also go all the stockists and customers who got in touch by phone, Facebook, text or Twitter to send their congratulations. We literally couldn’t have done it without you guys.

Sales Manager Will Cass has recently launched the first ever Great New Zealand Tuatara Hunt (with prizes). Basically, he wants to know where people are finding Tuatara out there, especially in Auckland. He knows about most of the big supermarkets (now including Woolworths and Countdown) and liquor stores (now including Liquor King and Liquorland) but is interested in the smaller places.

Here is how the Tuatara Hunt works – post your hot tip to our Facebook Wall or email your inside knowledge to us. Will has promised that the most helpful finders will get some “yummo” Tuatara for their help.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara on Twitter

In March 2010, Tuatara Brewing Company made the decision to embrace the digital era. Granted, the timing of that decision didn’t exactly put us on the cutting edge of technology but over the last seven months we have steadily built and improved our internet and social media presence.

The website has been updated, expanded and improved. There is now this blog which has a new post (usually) every week. We particularly welcome the growing number of readers and the comments they make on the various posts.

Perhaps the best way to keep directly in touch is through Twitter. Craft breweries around the world are finding it is increasingly the most effective way to reach their consumers and share information. Our Twitter handle is @TuataraNZ (http://twitter.com/tuataranz) for fairly obvious reasons. Since signing up and figuring out how to use it, we have made 313 tweets and have 572 followers.

Sales Manager Will Cass is the main guy behind the Tuatara Twitter though other members of the crew have the ability to log in and make a tweet – assuming they remember the password properly.

Twitter is a marvellously versatile communications channel. In broad terms, each of the 313 (and counting) Tuatara tweets can be placed into one of seven categories. Here are the categories with some examples (everyone mentioned in the examples is worth following on Twitter too):

1. Find out where we are and what we are doing:

• Whats up Hamiltron? In town for arvo at famous te rapa new world followed by beers @houseonhood
• ChCh tweeps meet the brewer and try all our beers @pomeroyspub tonight from 7

2. Get the chance to win exclusive Twitter-only prizes:

• First Tweep to introduce themselves @regionalwines expo today gets a mixed 6...
• RT @BabylonianGirl: Beach Babylon is 2 years old today! Come say happy birthday and we'll shout you a beer! Tuatara Helles on tap...

3. Get the Tuatara news even before it even appears on the blog:

• I have heard a rumour that Havana bar has Tuatara on TAP!!
• Wow the Tuatara Ardennes on the hopinator with pears @malthouse is amazing

4. See what famous people are saying about us:

• RT @GreerMcDonald: Just tried to use work swipey to get into apt. Fail. Head full of acronyms. Fail. Home to a @TuataraNZ beer! Win
• RT @RuthPretty: @TuataraNZ Thank you Tuatara from the Ruth Pretty Cafe as part of the Conference Expo. We love your beer <-we love your food!

5. See what famous drinkers are saying about us:

• RT @chuwyboy: @TuataraNZ Enjoyed your beers at the Great Japan Beer Festival yesterday. Also the tasting in the Baird Taproom afterwards....
• RT @buzzandhum: Spent Saturday perfecting my APA tasting with a two-litre FYO from regional. I think I need more practice, however....

6. Provide feedback on the important issues of the day:

• ChCh tweeps where shall we go for a decent brekkie?
• Auckland Tweeps; Tell us where you would like to see Tuatara. Interested in great cafes and restaurants with owners who love good beer.

7. Assorted pieces of wisdom and insight:

• It worries me that Ben Hana always looks at me like he knows me
• Tuatara have teeth that are fused to their jaw bone. Kind of like how a pint glass of APA get fused to our hand @malthouse
• RT @ruaika: Until I saw the Liquor Free Zone sign, it had never occured to me to party in the middle of Manchester St, Melrose

So, if you are reading this and you are on Twitter, please follow us.


Cheers from the team at i-Tuatara

Tuatara is on Tap in Havana and in Heaven

Nothing beats a freshly poured pint of great beer. At Tuatara, we are delighted to see more and more venues making the effort to put craft beers, including ours, on tap. In this post, we highlight long-standing Tuatara customer Havana Bar putting our Pilsner on two taps and brand-new client Heaven’s Pizza offering both draft Hefe and draft Pilsner.

These two establishments are not only both located in the Cuba precinct of Wellington City but they are each funky venues with great food, drinks and service. If you haven’t been, you should. If you have been, you should absolutely go again. Havana is located at 32a Wigan Street, Heaven’s Pizza at 247 Cuba Street.

The usually reliable Wotzon website describes Havana Bar as a unique, exotic, comfortable, exciting and friendly bar “that boasts an exciting assortment of live music, great food and drink available from the bar and top notch staff and service.” The Tuatara team makes regular quality control checks at Havana and can endorse that assessment.

While bottled Tuatara beers have long been popular at Havana, the crew there have taken the opportunities provided by their extensions to increase the number of taps. There is one beautiful copper cobra tap now pouring Pilsner in the main bar and there will be a second in the new extension area too. This is opening soon and will provide more room for diners and drinkers.

We are also delighted to see that Havana has added a Cooper’s tap and a guest tap. It will be great to see a selection of craft beers rotating through. An early contender for that guest tap will be Tuatara APA. Havana already has their hand up for some kegs but, as we have had to tell everyone else, there is absolutely none left at the moment. Rest assured, more is on its way. We thought people would love the APA – even we didn’t think they would love it this much.

Heaven’s Pizza only opened in early September but it is already forging a reputation for incredible wood-fired pizza. They also do salads and desserts for those who like that sort of thing. They have put the Hefe on tap (which by all accounts goes brilliantly with their seafood pizza) and the Pilsner (which goes well with most things and is a bit of a conceptual match with the Bohemian crowd down that end of town).

There are a few other matches too. The real Tuatara is a living fossil and looks like it could be a relative of the magnificent dragon being slain by Saint George in the statue built on top of the pizza oven. Words don’t really do it justice so head over to the awesome shot on the Wellington Daily Photo Blog.

That blog also describes the interior of Heaven’s Pizza as “very much like the style of Upper Cuba Street - eclectic, recycled and interesting.” That is also true for the beer taps. We knew Heaven’s Pizza was going for a heavily recycled retro theme so when Tuatara Head Brewer Carl Vasta found a couple of vintage beer taps from the Porirua RSA in the brewery shed, he knew exactly what to do with them. He reconditioned and cleaned them before they were installed in the pizzeria – they are a perfect fit.

It seems to be working. They are apparently roaring through Tuatara, selling three times as much beer as they expected. We are just happy to help. It’s just such a far cry from the early days when Tuatara was only available in Lower Willis Street (Malthouse) and Upper Willis Street (Bar Bodega).

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara is the People’s Choice in Wellington (Again)

The Tuatara crew celebrated the results of the annual Capital Times Best of Wellington survey when the good people of the Capital once again voted Tuatara Brewing Company their favourite beer brand. We were ranked first ahead of Monteith’s and Emerson’s, the same placings as 2009.

Naturally, we were delighted and proud at the result which was announced last week. In a press release, director Sean Murrie said:

“We are very proud to be a local brewery which can outperform the big boys. It is a great achievement to be able to repeat last year’s accolade from the public. Wellington has the most discerning drinkers in the nation and we thank them for their continued support of quality beer, both ours and products from other craft brewers. I doubt a craft beer brand would have won a similar popular vote in any other major centre.”

It was also heartening to see the staggering number of venues which stock Tuatara and the talented people who serve Tuatara do so well in the 2010 Best of Wellington Awards. These included (rank and category):

Mighty Mighty (1 Bar)
Matterhorn (2 Bar, 3 Fine Dining, 3 Outdoor Bar)
Hashigo Zake (3 Bar)
Gareth Perks @ Pit Bar (1 Barman)
Scott @ Malthouse (2 Barman)
David Wood @ Hashigo Zake (3= Barman)
Sally @ Mighty Mighty (1 Barmaid)
Bryony Skillington @ Pit Bar (2 Barmaid)
Ian McKinnon (1 City Councillor - he launched our APA – it totally counts)
Southern Cross (1 Outdoor Bar)
Shae @ Ambeli (1 Maitre D)
Rusty @ Boulcott St Bistro (2= Maitre D)
Ben @ Sweet Mother’s Kitchen (2= Maitre D)
Logan Brown (1 Fine Dining)
Capitol (2 Fine Dining, 2 Fish)
Crazy Horse (1 Steak)
Martin Bosley’s (1 Fish)
Scopa (1 Pizza)
Chaffers New World (1 Supermarket)
Moore Wilsons (2 Supermarket)
Thorndon New World (3 Supermarket)
Regional Wines (1 Bottle Store)
Glengarry (2 Bottle Store)
Olive (1= Cafe)
Deluxe (1= Cafe, 3 Vegetarian)
Bats (1 Live Theatre)
Downstage (2 Live Theatre)
Dowse (2 Best Gallery)

Tuatara is proud to be associated with at least 32 other winners in the Best of Wellington winner this year. Good on Wellington for supporting great beer and great service. That’s why our city remains the beer capital of New Zealand.

Speaking of great beer, Tuatara will be at the Regional Wines Roadshow this Wednesday. We will be alongside Emerson’s, Founder’s, Harrington’s, Mike’s, Renaissance and about 40 wineries. Here are the booking details:

Wednesday 13 October, 5.30 pm to 8.00 pm, Cost $35.00 pp, Limit 150 places
Venue: First Floor Gallery, St James Theatre, 77-87 Courtenay Place
Bookings: With Ian, Tel: 04 385-6952 or email: ian@regionalwines.co.nz

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara Travels to the Land of the Rising Sun

After a decade in the beer business, Tuatara is putting a real focus this year on getting our beers out to new markets and new drinkers. We are interested in getting into the huge Japanese beer market and so David Bernard went over to Japan to see if he could start opening up some leads for Tuatara.

The main purpose of the visit was to showcase Tuatara at the Yokohama Great Japanese Beer Festival, as well as making contact with possible outlets and distributers.

Eric Miller from the Japanese beer blog Beer+Food@Tokyo actually bumped into David at the landmark Popeye bar where they bonded over several pints and deep fried hops. Here is Eric’s description of the meeting:

“So there I am after my weekly group running/drinking club which happened to be in Ryogoku this week. Naturally, I skipped the after party in favour of a sojourn to Popeye’s, basically the destination for Japanese craft beer. I settled down for a pint and half way through the glass the dashing fellow in the middle of the photo comes in. We get to talking, have a few more pints and I learn a number of interesting things.

First, as it turns out he is David, is in town from New Zealand, and is the export manager for Tuatara Brewing. Second, the Tuatara, after which the brewery is named, is the last living dinosaur in the world, another reason why New Zealand is awesome. Finally, Aoki-sans home-grown hop tempura is delicious. I had a lot of fun and was even more excited to get to the festival and try out his and all the other beers.”

It was a fortunate meeting as David had got quite horrendously lost (several times) on the way to Popeye’s and speaks precisely no Japanese. Part of the problem was that the writing on the piece of paper he showed to eleven taxi drivers was not actually directions to the bar as he thought, but a phone number and therefore not overly useful. Somehow, he got there. Here is how he described events:

“I presented [Popeye owner] Aoki with a Tuatara t-shirt (not the one I was wearing silly) and a bottle of our fine APA. Aoki is a wonderful man and I can see why he is considered the patron of fine beer in Tokyo. Due ceremony and aplomb followed - and he can’t wait to try the Tuatara. If you are ever at Popeye’s, look out for the Tuatara t-shirt on the wall. It’s there. What a bar. What great people. Proud to be representing Tuatara!”

At the Beer Festival, David was fortunate to be working alongside Dominic Kelly from cult Wellington beer bar Hashigo Zake. Dom modestly described himself “the guy who once lived there and knows some people” but he actually has tonnes of Japanese beer experience and probably the best Japanese beer contacts of anyone in New Zealand. He wrote that his role was “helping Tuatara Brewery to spring their products on unsuspecting Japanese festival attendees. And a very successful venture it may prove to be for the local brewery.”

In his weekly newsletter, Dom later said the Tuatara APA “wowed all the industry types around us, while the civilian festival tended to be satisfied with Tuatara's IPA and Ardennes.” In his expert view, “Tuatara has taken a big step towards trading in one of the most vibrant beer markets in the Asia Pacific region.” Thanks for all your help Dom.

There are no guarantees in the export business but we are hopeful Tuatara will become a regular feature in the Tokyo beer scene. The humble Tuatara looks forward to playing with the mighty Dragons!

Kampai from the team at Tuatara

Beer and Food Matching Taking Off

Beervana was bigger and better this year and so was the fledgling Beer and Chefs competition. This contest, also run by the Brewer’s Guild of New Zealand, challenges chefs from around Wellington to offer their very best beer and food matches using any beer they choose. There were fifteen entries this year, up from ten in the first year, and the overall winner was our friends over at Logan Brown.

Here at Tuatara, we were delighted to see our beer popping up on three of the entries. We have always been hugely supportive of beer and food matching as it is a great way of highlighting the flavours in our products and introducing the range to a more foodie audience.

Lagerfield on Blair Street offered up “Tuatara Pilsner braised duck with apple and fig jam and a cider foam, served with a Tuatara Pilsner Beer.” They described the dish on the menu as “The duck is marinated and braised in Tuatara Pilsner and the whole creation of the dish was based around matching the duck with the beer. Our chef wanted to focus on local products and locally brewed beer. The dish brings together two great New Zealand flavours and the fusion of flavours proved to be mouth watering!”

The dish is still on the Lagerfield menu and several of the Tuatara team have proclaimed it to be ‘meaty, hearty but still sophisticated.’

Over at D4 on Featherston Street, they served “lamb rump stuffed with blue cheese, walnuts and spinach with parsnip cake and fruit stuffing, paired with Tuatara Porter.” Here was their rationale:“With Tuatara Porter’s yeast flavour, we went with the blue cheese which takes some of the yeast taste out and brings other flavours through. The walnuts give it that nutty flavour to complement. Parsnip and stuffing also work really well to enhance the beer’s flavours.”

D4 is also currently selling Tuatara APA – a lot of Tuatara APA.

At Le Carnard on Murphy Street, the dish was “Tournedos of pork stuffed with prunes, wholegrain mustard sauce and Gratin Dauphinois, with Tuatara Ardennes.” Their explanation of this intriguing match read “The Tuatara Ardennes is a Belgian strong ale with smooth malt characteristics which go very well with the texture of the pork. The slight bitterness of the beer blends perfectly with the wholegrain mustard sauce. Finally, the prune adds a bit of sweetness to end in the mouth.”

If you know of places doing great food matches with Tuatara, leave a comment or drop us a line. We would love to highlight them in future posts.

Tuatara also popped up at the Chaffers Dock Building on Monday at a function to promote the 2011 Melbourne Wine and Food Festival. A gratifying number of Wellington hospitality people and various media personalities selected Tuatara Pilsner from the large range of beverages on offer. Tuatara brewer Carl Vasta was there in a suit, celebrating perhaps the fact that it was also his birthday. This basically means that everyone already owes him a beer.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara Popping up in Sydney

Hardly anyone saw them coming as a culinary trend but ‘pop-up restaurants’ are simply huge right now. Empty spaces – anywhere from theatres, shops, closed eateries, warehouses, car parks, tunnels and parks – can be quickly but temporarily converted into a restaurant. The same can be done with a private home but it is not really legal. Well, not legal at all.

A proper ‘pop-up’ always has a finite life span. It will start – usually relying on word-of-mouth for publicity – serve great food then close on a specified date, never to re-open. Equally, no matter how good the head chef is, dining at a ‘pop-up’ should be relatively cheap. This almost-guerrilla style of dining has gained popularity, in part because of the current tough financial climate.

Journalist Matt Campbell from Scene Adviser explained the phenomenon best when he wrote:

“Pop-ups are the embodiment of our high-octane, short-attention-span culture. One minute they're here - restaurants and bars opening in unexpected locations, causing a storm - and then they're gone. The temporary dining spot manages to break all the rules of what a traditional restaurant should be. Which is precisely why the trend for temporary locations dips into our whimsical 21st-century consumer mindset.”

He even went so far as to call them “raves for the restaurant world.” London restaurateur Pablo Flack had perhaps the most famous (or infamous) description saying that ‘pop-ups’ were “the crack cocaine of restaurant-running. We want to do it quick, sharp, full-throttle, and then shut up shop.”

On 14 September, a Wellington ‘pop-up’ will open in Sydney for two weeks and the only beers on offer will be from Tuatara. The restaurant is called WLG and it will be run by four of the Capital’s top chefs who will take it in turns to serve local food and drinks to over 2,500 patrons who have already virtually booked the place out.

In a press release, Tuatara Director Sean Murrie recently said Tuatara jumped at the chance to be involved:

“This will be a brief but intense opportunity to give the people of Sydney a taste of Tuatara and hopefully they will get a bit of a thirst for it. We are already putting in place a distribution network over there so Sydneysiders can find Tuatara on the shelves after they have tried it at WLG.”

“For many of the guests, this will be the first time they have tried a real craft beer. It will certainly be the first Tuatara for the vast majority of them. We are taking across Tuatara Helles, Tuatara Hefe and Tuatara Pilsner to introduce them to quality craft beers. There is huge interest from the dining public in Sydney already and we are expecting a lot of cameras and media interest as well.”

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara APA Launched in Bottles on Friday

There are a lot of websites out there which let drinkers, both expert and amateur, put up ratings and comments about the beers they have tasted. The one which has really taken off – and which has a vocal Kiwi contingent – is Ratebeer. In a post-Beervana moment, we thought it would be useful to see what the Ratebeer crew had to say about our new Tuatara American Pale Ale (APA):

Reviewer Sdriessen (with a respectable 310 ratings) said “Solid malt, fruity hops. I could drink a lot of this. Very nice from Tuatara.” The aptly named TheGrandMaster (a staggering 2048 ratings) wrote “Plenty of bitterness with this, and that hop flavour really comes through. This will please the hop lovers.” Praise from Caesar indeed!

Mr Winewanker (with just 59 ratings) is of course well known to Tuatara and he described our APA thusly: “Lovely rich malty layers with fresh, zesty grapefruit and grassy hop notes. Probably a bit rich to be a true APA - more like an American IPA.” We at Tuatara can probably handle being called ‘too rich’ in this context. It certainly doesn’t happen very often.

Despite the unusual nom-de-plume, Donfardz64 (519 ratings) has a more than decent palate and noted “Pours amber, white head. Aroma is slightly lemony, grassy. Those American hops don’t really come through here. Bam! In the flavour you’re hit with an assertive grapefruity bitterness, backed up by a rich malt. Probably my favourite Tuatara beer so far. Quaffable and hoppy.” The second batch, pouring now, certainly has a lot more hops on the nose so we might get a second “Bam!” if there is a re-review.

The latest review was from KapitiCritique (119 rating) who seems to hail from our part of the world. They ended their review saying the APA was “evidently not out in bottles yet” but they “would love to see this on local shelves.”

And now they can. In fact, everyone can. From Friday 10 September Tuatara APA will be available in 500ml bottles at a limited range of outlets including Regional Wines and selected New World supermarkets. There are only 360 dozen bottles in total for this batch.

To celebrate, we are throwing a party at Regional Wines and Spirits (by the Basin Reserve in Wellington) from 4:30pm to 7pm this Friday 10 September. The brewers will be pouring samples of the beer, we will cook up some spicy food matches and there will be some classic Americana music courtesy of DJ Shady from Radio Active. It is free of charge and everyone is invited. Tell your friends.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Making more Tuatara and Making it Easier to Find

Ten years ago, you could get Tuatara on tap at The Malthouse on lower Willis Street, Bar Bodega on upper Willis Street and at the Tuatara brewery up in the hills. That was it. Since then, production and distribution have expanded dramatically, aided by the introduction of our stylish bottles.

Over the last twelve months or so, Carl and the team have been working hard to complete a major plant upgrade at the Brewery. It has basically doubled our brewing capacity and, with a couple more conditioning tanks, we should be able to produce three times as much as beer as we did at the same time last year. The challenge for the brewers, as always, is to ensure that beer quality remains high as we grow.

One area that has undergone a radical transformation is the bottling plant. This was from the old Harvest Cider plant in Gisborne and she certainly has a bit of age on her. However, Carl’s been chatting to her quietly and doing a bit of an overhaul. Today, the bottling plant is working better than ever.

The most tangible result is that the rate of ‘short fill’ has plummeted to virtually zero. That is good news for business but it has caused a bit of dismay for the young guys on the bottling line who used to get the short fills as staff drinks…

Now that Tuatara is making more beer – a lot more beer – we have decided to call in the professionals to help get this massive volume of craft beer into the bars and stores efficiently. We are proud to have partnered up with Toll Logistics. This partnership reflects the maturation of Tuatara as a business and allows our brewers to focus on brewing and bottling.

Their website says “Toll Logistics is Toll New Zealand's specialist in the provision of supply chain management and third party logistics, including: Container Devanning, Pallet Consolidation, Storage, Trucking Consolidation, Pallet and Box Picks, Despatch and Delivery”. What is means for us is that the biggest truck we can possibly get up the driveway swings by twice a week and takes all the beer that is not nailed down. That beer then ends up in the right place in the right time. We have to say, the system is working very well.

So, Tuatara is making more beer and it is being distributed professionally so it should be easier to find.

Finally, the best way to keep up to date with what is happening at Tuatara in the long week between blog posts is through social media. In the last year, we have really embraced technology and now have a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn still kind of confuses us.

So, please ‘like’ us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can learn the most interesting things.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Beer Awards and Beervana

The results from the 2010 BrewNZ Beer Awards were announced during a big dinner at the Duxton Hotel this week. Our Tuatara team was well represented in the crowd and we were delighted to see our beers similarly well represented in the medals.

A big team of local and international judges blind tasted a record number of entries (over 450 this year) in a range of categories. Only a third of entries received a gold, silver or bronze medal from the judges.

We entered all of our beers into the awards and were delighted that three of them received silver medals. Specifically, we picked up:

Class E: European Ale Styles	Tuatara Ardennes	Silver Medal
Class F: New Zealand, US and International Ale Styles	Tuatara APA	Silver Medal
Class H: Wheat and Other Grain Styles	Tuatara Hefe	Silver Medal

What makes these awards particularly pleasing is that Class E and Class F were the amongst the most hotly contested categories, both in terms of number of entries and number of medals awarded. Both categories were eventually taken out by Auckland’s Steam Brewing, with Cock and Bull Fuggles winning Class E and Cock and Bull Monk’s Habit victorious in Class F. Congratulations to the team at Steam.

Beervana has arrived and that means the Tuatara stand will be open for business in Wellington Town Hall. Sessions are 12-4pm and 5-9pm on Friday 27 August and Saturday 28 August. Full details, including how to buy tickets, are on the Beervana website. There will be door sales - but only if the session is not already sold out.

We will be pouring the entire Tuatara range and debuting our much-anticipated anniversary beer. In honour of ten years of being in business, Carl and brew team have created a 10% beer in the style of a Belgian Tripel. It is strong, spicy, yeasty and tasty.

It is called X as a reference to the X-Ale we once made and the fact that X, is of course, the Roman numeral for ten. We think it is quite clever really.

There will be strictly limited quantities of X on tap at Beervana and we will be releasing it in bottles relatively soon. Come and see us at Beervana on stall 19 (to the right as you enter the main hall) for one of the first tastes of this special beer.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara Goes Upmarket With a Vengeance

Around 98% of New Zealand has mobile phone coverage but the Tuatara Brewery is clearly in that other 2%. We have zero reception there which is probably why we get so much work done. The lack of coverage is because the entire range of Tuatara beers are created on a working farm in rural Waikanae, an hour’s drive away from Wellington and even thirty minutes from scenic Porirua. Like most farms, the dress code is pretty casual and the food tends towards the hearty.

It could not be more different at one of the latest venues to offer Tuatara – Clooney Restaurant in Auckland. Clooney is located a little off the beaten track (by Auckland standards) on Sale Street in Freemans Bay and is acknowledged as one of the very best eateries in the country.

Tuatara has being paying a lot of attention to the Auckland market recently and this is one of our biggest successes to date. Now, Tuatara IPA and Ardennes have swanked their way into this exceptionally ‘Gucci-Cool’ establishment to accompany some seriously sophisticated food.

Here is how Clooney describes Clooney on their website:

"In October 2006, owner Tony Stewart, in collaboration with Fearon Hay Architects, transformed a derelict warehouse space into a spectacular dining room, creating a completely unique dining experience.

Situated in a forgotten corner of central Auckland, Clooney has fast established a reputation for exceptional cuisine served within a dramatic setting. With its elegant ambience reflecting its industrial beginnings, Clooney offers intimacy within a sumptuous interior. Executive Chef Des Harris's dishes are seen as sophisticated, expertly crafted, expressing assertive flavours and simplicity. Inspired by traditionalism and finished with a modern slant, Chef Harris takes a modern approach to classic flavour combinations."

Clearly they are doing something right; with Clooney yet again a finalist for the Cuisine Restaurant of the Year. Last year, they were runner up in the Best Smart Dining (Metropolitan) section. Interestingly, another multi-award winning restaurant, Martin Bosley’s Yacht Club, also stocks Tuatara with Chef Bosley saying they are amongst his best selling beers.

In brewery news, the second batch of the Tuatara APA is rolling out the doors and off to an extended range of venues. We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to this beer which proves that New Zealand drinkers simply love big, assertive, hoppy beers at the moment. It is hard to imagine a beer like this having much success ten years ago when we started.

Finally, Beervana is fast approaching and we are just finishing off our very special release for that event. Tuatara has never done this particular beer style before and we actually had to kick start the yeast again last week just to make sure it will be in top condition for the week (or more) of BrewNZ-related festivities. There will be more details on what Tuatara will be up to at BrewNZ later in the month.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

La De Da - Tuatara Gets its Groove on

By nature, Tuatara drinkers tend to be a socialable lot. At the brewery, we often hear justifiable complaints from them about the quality of beer available at major sporting events and big concerts. We are frequently asked "why can't I get a Tuatara at the stadium or the events centre?" and it's a very valid question. The bottom line is that generally only the big breweries can afford to get involved in these really large events.

That has all changed however. Tuatara is delighted to announce that it will be supplying the beer for the country's best New Year's Eve party – La De Da. New Zealand's newest music festival will be held at the scenic Alana Estate in Martinborough on December 31 2010. We are telling you now because the tickets are already almost gone…

The artists performing are described as a "Kiwi lineup second to none, with the huge live presence of roots/dub/rock act Kora, the chilled out reggae vibe of Katchafire, the rich and soulful tones of songstress Hollie Smith, NZ’s most loved roots/dub act Salmonella Dub, hot new roots/dub/drum and bass act SIX60, the country’s premiere electronic act Minuit, the big sounds of drum and bass act The Upbeats (live), drum and bass/dubstep production powerhouse Mt Eden Dubstep, Northland reggae act 1814, blues, rock, country and roots champions The Thomas Oliver Band, and renowned DJs Nick D and Clarke Gayford."

We reckon that if Tuatara’s had iPods, those mellow nocturnal lizards would probably love a little drum and bass. While the team at Tuatara tend to be more classic rock kind of guys – the head brewer’s love of 1980s power ballads is legendary – we do like to get our dub on and relax to some soulful beats. This year, we will be able to do so with a selection of Tuatara beers.

All of this happened because the concert organisers were willing to look past the dollars when selecting an appropriate beer partner. In fact, they actually let the fans pick the beer. La De Da’s Facebook page, which has a staggering 8,101 fans, posted this message:

"What sort of beer do you want us to serve at La De Da? Remember, we are a boutique festival being held in a winery so we want to serve a boutique beer that is cool, tasty, refreshing… and hopefully a local brand to support the region. Let us know what you think beer drinkers!"

They certainly did. At last count there were over 200 comments on this post and several more suggestions on the wall, including a surprising amount of love for Double Brown. In the end, the people wanted Tuatara and thanks to the wisdom of the organisers they will get it. Most of our team will be up there on New Year's Eve to make sure the beer still tastes good while we dance away 2010. We hope you will join us at La De Da.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

The Little Dragon That Could

As reported recently in the Dominion Post article "Little local dragon sent to quench China's thirst", Tuatara is sending a pallet of beer to China as samples. We are confident they will lead to big orders as we continue to develop the export side of our business. The beer will be distributed by Tradepoint in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China. Appropriately, Xiamen has been a sister city for Wellington since 1987. Tuatara beer already goes to Australia and America in relatively small quantities but the virtually unlimited potential of the Chinese market makes this a very exciting development.

With little fanfare in 2002, China overtook the United States as the largest producer and consumer of beer. This achievement is based mainly on China’s massive population (estimated at over 1.3 billion) as their per capita beer consumption is still very low at around 30 litres per person. That is considerably less than half New Zealand’s consumption figure. The end result is that there is tremendous potential for growth in the Chinese beer market, particularly as sustained economic growth over the last decade has created a growing middle class with higher disposable incomes.

That said, there should be no doubt that China can be a tough place to sell beer. The market is extremely fragmented and the country is basically a collection of distinct regional economies which often require quite different approaches. It is difficult for even the biggest breweries to operate at a national level there. Several large breweries (including Lion) have struggled in China though currently many of the world’s biggest drinks companies (such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and SAB Miller) are highly active in China.

Of course, Tuatara has no intention of trying to dominate even a regional market. Xiamen city alone has a population of 2.5 million. The surrounding Fujian province is home to 36 million people. Instead, we are setting up the relationship with Tradepoint, going about exporting systematically and selecting our targets carefully.

The favoured beer style in China, like many other countries, is golden lager. Tuatara Helles and Tuatara Pilsner would be more flavoursome than most mainstream Chinese beers or global imports but there is a growing thirst for premium products. Tuatara Porter and Tuatara Ardennes would be something quite different to the average Chinese beer palate but again there is potential. Both those beers could match well with Fujian cuisine which is light but flavoursome.

In the Dominion Post article, reporter Hamish Rutherford called Tuatara the "little local dragon" and we think that is a pretty nice description. The mighty Chinese dragon is a benevolent creature symbolic of power, culture and good luck. It sounds like it could well be a mythical relative of the humble Tuatara – there is a certain family resemblance after all.

Ganbei from the team at Tuatara

Ten Years of Tuatara

For most of us, the year 2000 was the start of a new century and we marked it with a huge party just in case the Y2K Bug really did destroy everything on the stroke of midnight. Of course, if you want to be completely accurate, the 21st Century didn’t actually start until 2001 but we didn’t allow that to dampen the mood.

Helen Clark was Prime Minister of New Zealand. George W Bush would (eventually) become President of the United States. Mission Impossible II was number one at the global box office while Britney Spears arrived with “Oops, I did it again.”

The Summer Olympics were successfully held in Sydney while the All Blacks won all ten tests they played that year. The International Space Station became continuously manned but the Russian submarine Kursk tragically sank.

Proving that some things do stay the same, anti-globalisation protests turned violent, peace efforts in the Middle East were unsuccessful and Microsoft was ruled to have violated antitrust laws by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.

In 2000, Tuatara beer was brand new and only really available from The Malthouse (then on Willis Street) and Bar Bodega (then also on Willis Street but much further up). Supermarkets had just been given the right to start selling beer and it would take them a while to start stocking the good stuff. As it happened, it took a few years for Tuatara to start bottling and a few more years for Tuatara beers to start appearing on store shelves regularly.

This is all a slightly roundabout way of saying that Tuatara is almost ten years old. In some ways, the years have simply flown by. In other ways, it seems like our journey started a long time ago. A decade is a long time in this industry. What we do know is that we still have a long way to go but we intend to celebrate this milestone just a little bit. Craft brewing can be a tough business but we are going to keep doing our thing, our way.

The plan at the moment is to brew a special commemorative beer to mark Tuatara’s tenth anniversary. Because of the recent expansions to the brewery and the arrival of new equipment and tanks (even if the forklift got a puncture carrying one of them up the drive in the pouring rain – poor Carl), production capacity has basically doubled. With a few more conditioning tanks, it may even triple.

That has given us the ability to now produce a few more special brews and seasonal releases. Tuatara APA was really just the beginning in this area. If there is any particular style or type of beer you would like to see us make, leave a comment below or contact us on Facebook or Twitter. We will keep you updated here.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara Loves APA

While all the media talk recently has been about credit cards and vuvuzelas, an important news item about Tuatara has largely been over-looked. A pair of University of Otago science masters students won two awards at the New Zealand Reel Earth Environmental Film Awards. Their film, In Cold Blood, is easily the best Tuatara romance movie you will see this year – guaranteed. It even has its own blog.

Speaking of Tuatara love, the team here is loving the new Tuatara APA. Judging by the speed of sales, we are not the only ones. There have been some pleas on our Facebook and Twitter profiles for a list of venues where APA may be available (depending on stocks of course):

• Malthouse – The home of Tuatara is naturally the home of Tuatara APA
• Hashigo Zake – Underground cult beer bar
• Bar Edward – Good beer in Newtown
• One Red Dog – Pizza and beer on the Wellington waterfront
• D4 – Upstairs Irish hospitality with a fine selection of beers
• House on Hood – the ‘home of great beer’ in Hamiltron.

The beer critics have had a few nice words to say too. Here is an excerpt from Kieran Haslett-Moore’s piece in the Capital Times:

“Last week saw the first new release from Tuatara since last year’s malt accented Helles Lager. Last Wednesday Tuatara APA, a hoppy aromatic American style pale ale, was released at the Malthouse. While Helles had been aimed at bridging the gap between craft beer and the mainstream, APA is very firmly aimed at the growing numbers of ‘hopheads’ who have helped to catapult brands like Epic onto supermarket shelves around the country.

Tuatara APA was developed after Head Brewer Carl Vasta returned from attending the World Beer Cup in Chicago this year. A blend of three American grown hop varieties, Cascade, Amarillo and Simcoe were used over a solid English malt backbone of Marris Otter Pale and low colour Crystal malts. Pouring a rich shade of light amber, APA throws up aromas of grapefruit, tropical fruit, pine resin and biscuity malt, in the mouth the beer has a complex range of zesty, fruity hop flavours, and a solid lightly caramel flavoured malt backbone.

Tuatara APA really stands out from the pack of American Pale Ales currently available in New Zealand by striking a fantastic balance between malt character and hop flavour making it incredibly drinkable.”

Absolutely – what he said.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Tuatara Makes a Key Appointment

Tuatara is pleased to announce that Will Cass has taken up a newly created role at a very exciting time for the company. Here is what he had to say about his experience, expectations and beer preferences.

Will, what is your job title?

I’m the National Sales Manager for Tuatara Brewery.

When did you start?

Monday 1 June 2010.

What did you do before that?

I’ve been in IT. In 2008, I sold my IT company Aangel Messaging to a London-based firm. I spent the next couple of years working for them while looking for something new and fresh. I had the opportunity to participate in the TradeMe 'On the Job' competition and discovered the Tuatara position. I knew pretty much straightaway it was what I wanted to do. It ticked all the boxes – small company, growing quickly, iconic brand and fun.

What will you be doing at Tuatara?

I will be managing the sales side of the company. We will be looking to consolidate our operations, fulfilment and logistics processes. The idea is to further improve our supply and create a champion brand – both business-to-business and business-to-consumer. I think Tuatara as a brand is already nearing iconic status, particularly in Wellington. Overall, we want to drive on ahead and become a significant brewery in a burgeoning craft beer scene.

Where do you see Tuatara in two years?

We would have continued our linear growth as a company but also be recognised as the brand which really helped lead the mass adoption of quality craft beer.

Which is your favourite Tuatara beer?

It has got to be the IPA. I’m becoming a little bit of a hophead and at my stage of life it’s all about quality, not quantity.

If you weren’t drinking Tuatara, what would you have?

Well, it depends on the environment really. I’m a fan of wheat beers and a fan of big stouts. I enjoy beers like Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, Guinness, Leffe Brune and Erdinger.

What are the challenges for the craft beer industry?

The big challenge for the industry as a whole is to make craft beer more accessible. We have to lower the barriers to the mass market. We need to help people make taste discoveries which put them on a new beer path. That does not mean we rush it or push them – people just get annoyed that way. We need to be confident in our products. For Tuatara, we also have the challenge of dealing with explosive growth. That will require dynamic and responsive management.

How will you know if you succeed?

I want Tuatara to continue to be a business and financial success. It will take a large-scale business approach but that success will always be based on the amazing skill of our brewer. We need to strike the right balance between bringing in new drinkers and keeping our loyal customers happy. That will require producing consistently good beer as well as the big fun of more seasonal releases which put our spin on the classics.

Welcome aboard Will. We will be hearing a lot more from him over the coming months.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Silver Lining in Awards Week

It’s been a big week for Tuatara. Tuatara APA was launched at Malthouse and is now available there while stocks last. Head brewer Carl Vasta introduced the beer to a big crowd who certainly seemed to enjoy it. Carl said he had been looking to make an American Pale Ale for several years and was very pleased with the way it turned out.

Last week, a number of the Tuatara team spent several enjoyable days in Melbourne attending the Australian International Beer Awards and the Beer and Brewer Expo. Although Melbournians proclaimed the temperature to be “freezing” and visitors from the Northern Territory would not step outside, the weather was actually very pleasant – certainly far, far nicer than it was in Wellington. The team took the opportunity to try some new beers from across the ditch and around the world.

The big event was the Australian International Beer Awards which received 1170 entries from 243 breweries across 34 countries. There were beers from Norway to New Zealand, Myammar to Mexico. Norway did very well - Mexico less so. Tuatara was delighted to be part of a strong New Zealand contingent in the medals at the Awards.

All six regular Tuatara beers were entered and four of them won Silver medals. Our medals were:

Class 1C Pilsner	Tuatara Pilsner	Silver
Class 3D IPA	Tuatara IPA	Silver
Class 5 Porter	Tuatara Porter	Silver
Class 11D German- Style Hefeweizen	Tuatara Hefe	Silver

It was particularly pleasing to see our Pilsner ranked just behind Trumer Pils. Trumer is one of the most famous names in Pilsners and is pretty much the international benchmark for this style.

The rest of the team were back home representing Tuatara at the 2010 Wellington Gold Awards where we were one of the five finalists in the Emerging Business category. It was a flash event and packed with the best in Wellington business. We were delighted just to be short-listed and want to extend our congratulations to Yellow Brick Road which won the category this year for their funky sustainable seafood business.

There is no shame finishing behind such a cool little company. Of course, we would always be happy to receive a consolation seafood hamper from them – perhaps some nice snapper or cod…. Overall, the supreme Wellington Gold Award this year went to skincare company Trilogy. Congratulations to them and all the other finalists.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

Follow us on Twitter @tuataranz

Tuatara APA Unleashed on Unsuspecting World

There is an old saying about buses – none for ages and then three turn up at once. That’s not quite the case either for Wellington (none for ages then three go on strike) or Tuatara (no new beers for three years, then two in twelve months).

Tuatara is proud to confirm the launch of Tuatara APA (American Pale Ale) both in kegs from 26 May 2010 and, later, in very limited edition 750ml bottles. The official launch party will take place at Malthouse the 26th from 5pm. It will be a chance to try the new brew and mingle with the best and brightest from the Wellington beer scene. We might even get mentioned in the newspaper again! Friends of Tuatara do not need to RSVP – just pop in after 5pm till late.

Now that everyone wants to come to the party, it is probably an appropriate time to explain a little more about the beer. It was inspired by Head Brewer Carl Vasta’s recent visit to Chicago. He had gone to meet Tuatara’s American distributor and later tried some very good APAs over there. He was particularly taken with the phenomenal products from Dogfish Head (“off-centred stuff for off-centred people”) and thought “it must be about time I made one of these.”

So, in his usual matter-of-fact manner, he did. Tuatara APA is the first Tuatara beer to draw its inspiration from America, rather than Europe. It also uses American hops, an exception to the usual brewery policy of using the best local ingredients. American hops really bring a lot to this particular style of beer.

For the beer geeks, it uses US Cascade, US Simcoe and US Amarillo hops. The speciality malts are Maris Otter and Low Colour Crystal which is needed, Carl explains, “to balance out the big hop.” Those big hops produce around 60 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) and there is plenty of weight at 5.7% alcohol. It is the biggest, hoppiest beer Tuatara has ever made and we think it will sell well.

APA is a style New Zealand drinkers are a bit infatuated with at the moment, to be honest. Kiwi tastebuds have come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Tuatara Director Sean Murrie recalls having to “tell off” Carl at the old Polar Brewery for making the lager too hoppy. Back then, people wouldn’t drink it. Today, they can’t seem to get enough.

Tuatara APA is an assertive hoppy ale built on a solid malt foundation. The nose is big and floral while the body is silken yet slightly resinous. There are notes of fruit (passionfruit, grapefruit and even peach) before a cleansing, lingering finish. While the alcohol content is relatively high, it does not dominate the beer. Tuatara’s APA is not as over-the-top as some other offerings. Carl reckoned he needed a bottle of water handy to rehydrate after sampling some of the truly massive APAs in the US. He wanted to create an APA which would allow people to comfortably have a couple of pints.

There is only one way to be sure – try Tuatara APA for yourself.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.

Tuatara Invades Melbourne

While Tuatara (the Species) and Tuatara (the Brewery) are proud natives of New Zealand, there are numerous connections between Tuatara and the Victorian Capital of Melbourne. Certainly, Mr Chris Tuatara played rugby league for the Melbourne Storm though perhaps unfortunately for his bank balance he appears to have left just before the salary cap scandals.

A scientist from the University of Melbourne helped produce a report which predicted that climate change could spell the end for Tuatara. According to their research, Tuatara would gradually die out as they would increasingly only give birth to male offspring. Their press release gave this rather depressing prediction the slightly jarring title of "Male Tuatara are desperate, and may soon be dateless." Let’s just say they are not on the Tuatara Christmas Card List anymore.

In terms of beer, Tuatara Brewery has been exporting to Melbourne for some time now. We have some big customers there but it is a truly huge market and we are looking to expand even further. This week, most of the team has headed off to Melbourne to work on a week of beer events centred in and around the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA).

First up, we will be participating in the brewing equivalent of 'speed dating' with a number of potential large customers. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has set up an event to try and match up craft New Zealand breweries with big Australian beer buyers.

Each brewery has a table to display their beers, promotional material and a bit of food. In the allocated ten minutes, the idea is to talk the buyers through our products and hopefully make a connection. When the bell rings, all the buyers move on one table. It’s going to be fun, intense and hopefully productive. Big thanks have to go to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise for getting behind the craft brewing industry.

On the 19th we will find out the results of the Wellington Gold Awards. Those members of Team Tuatara still in the country will put on their party best and head out to the posh Awards dinner. Fingers crossed all round.

The next day, the Melbourne-based contingent will be at the Australian International Beer Awards in the swanky Crown Palladium in Melbourne. They probably will not be quite as well dressed but will all be hoping for a bit of success at this prestigious contest. The entire Tuatara range has been entered into the awards which have been running since 1993.

Tuatara will also be represented at the Beer and Brewer Expo at Young and Jackson’s. Melbourne readers should buy a ticket and head on in.

It’s a big week for Tuatara – no wonder we feel like a beer!

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.

More Tuatara sightings in the Dominion Post

On Monday 10 May 2010, the Dominion Post reported that "for only the second time in more than 200 years, a baby tuatara has been spotted on the mainland, leading experts to believe there could be more breeding in Wellington. The rare reptiles are usually elusive, but staff at Wellington's wildlife sanctuary Zealandia say the newcomer has been causing a stir through its lack of shyness."

Although Tuatara Brewery is a decade older than this little reptile, we have been pretty shy and elusive at times, preferring instead to concentrate on brewing award-winning local beers and getting them out for sale. However, earlier this year we put aside our usual modesty and entered the Wellington Gold Awards. As noted in the last blog, we were delighted to be selected as a finalist in the emerging business category.

On Tuesday 11 May 2010, the Dominion Post did a piece on us headlined "Vat’s Gold – Tuatara a finalist in emerging section."

Here are some of the article highlights:

"It’s a nomination that has been brewing for 10 years. Tuatara Brewing Company is one of the five Emerging Gold Finalists for the Gold Awards, a category for firms that employ fewer than 10 people for most of the previous year, and who are ‘shining beyond their size…’ Tuatara Brewing still employs only six people, but has gone from a craft brewery supplying two Wellington pubs, to being an award-winning brewery that sends its products around New Zealand.

The company partnership started when Sean Murrie, who then owned the Malthouse pub and Bar Bodega, wanted a quality, consistent craft beer. He teamed up with Carl Vasta who had run Polar Brewery in Petone, and they started Tuatara at Reikorangi on the Kapiti Coast.

Mr Vasta, who apart from being the brewer was also the builder, plumber and electrician, made the brewery out of former dairy tanks, and that helped with the set-up costs. But it was also the pure Tarapua water that drew them to the coast, and that is the foundation of their six key beers.

A number of craft breweries have come and gone since Tuatara started. Mr Murrie says its survival has been due to always having a ready market through the two pubs, which as meant it has been able to build its fan base as the popularity of craft beers has grown.

“It’s taken a long time for the market to develop, and I think a lot of those small brewers who went away, if they had opened now they would probably be fine. There has been a lot of carnage bringing craft beer to New Zealand. Having said that, there are a lot of new ones that seem to keep opening, like the Yeastie Boys in Wellington, and Invercargill Brewery. They’re really good.”

The brewery has won awards for most of its six beers, including its India Pale Ale, Hefe and Pilsner labels, and once it gets things right it sticks with what works. “A lot of breweries muck around with their recipes. They get something that works and they get a bit bored and throw a few more hops in. I think it’s one of those classic mistakes that small businesses can make. People like how it was, and you think you’re improving it, and they’re going ‘well, no, you’re not.’”

Mr Murrie says his own favourite beer is the IPA but that could change, because the brewery is bringing out an American Pale Ale. They may be similar TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) but there is a world of difference between the beers. It is real Old World-New World Stuff, he says. The IPA is very hoppy, having been brewed in England to be sent out to India, with some extra hops thrown in to preserve it during the trip.

The APA was developed on the West Coast of the United States ("they’re at the forefront of cutting-edge brewing") and the APA has a huge amount of hops, but with plenty of fruit as well. "It mellows it out to make it an incredibly big flavour. It’s pretty much as big a beer as you can possibly get."

Tragically, the article is not up on the Stuff website – at least as far as this particular living dinosaur can tell – but fortunately a copy of the article has been ‘snapped’ by a person who is both a fan of technology and good beer. You can see the whole piece over at his site.

As for the title of the Dominion Post article, it appears that "Vat’s Gold" is a play on the "That’s Gold" catchphrase used occasionally on the NRL Footy Show. While we are not entirely sure how many readers will get that particular cultural reference, we certainly do appreciate the coverage.

Coming soon – more about the APA: what it tastes like, how it was made and when it will be launched.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.

A Hint of Gold for Tuatara

Way back in January, Tuatara Brewing Company decided to put aside our traditional Kiwi modesty and enter the Wellington Gold Awards.

These awards, now in their twelfth year, “seek those businesses, both large and small, that keep Wellington sparkling.” The snazzy website is not exaggerating – the list of previous winners does indeed resemble a “who’s who” of Wellington business, which made it all the more humbling to be recently named as a finalist.

We are one of five finalists in the Emerging Gold category – "Illuminating smaller enterprises which are shining beyond their size." Now, we are a pretty shiny little company but we are up against some very tough competition. The finalists are:

Dazzle Tickets	A fresh new event ticketing system
Pet Angels	Wellington’s largestpet care company
The Baby’s Room	A retail store and Australasian baby goods supplier
Tuatara Brewing Company	Producing craft beer from time honoured, traditional recipes
Yellow Brick Road	Moving those cooking seafood closer to those catching it

To put our challenge in context, the lovely Rachel from Yellow Brick Road not only sources some amazing fish, but she was a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year 2010. In fact, some of us think she should have won.

The actual winners of the various Gold Awards will be announced at a black tie dinner on May 19. The biggest hurdle for the Tuatara crew may just turn out to be the formal dress code. Still, it is a great chance to continue to lift our profile and introduce our beers to more movers and shakers in Wellington business.

That’s certainly what happened when the Deloitte Fast 50 ranked us as the 39th fastest growing company in the country. Reporting on the launch event, Patrick Smellie from InBusiness Magazine started his article with the observation: "but what stayed with me, apart from a new love of Tuatara Ardennes Ale, was the clips of the winners saying when they get their best ideas. Here’s a secret: none of them said at work."

Wise words indeed – we will post details about some of our best ideas over the coming weeks.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Pint

Tuatara is delighted to welcome Mike Neilson on board at our busy brewery. He has made a great start and we thought it would be a good idea for people to get to know him a little better. Here is what the man who is “in pursuit of the perfect pint” had to say:

Michael, what was your brewing experience before Tuatara?

I have been home brewing for a few years and got to the stage where I needed to do something different.

[Note: Michael is being quite modest: He won two gold medals, a silver and two bronzes at the 2009 SOBA National Homebrew Championships – the first homebrew competition he ever entered.]

What was your day job before you started brewing?

I was a sales rep for the Plaster Warehouse. Before that I was self-employed.

What do you think you will learn from your time at Tuatara?

To brew big! Basically, it is exactly the same as home brew but on a much larger scale. All the proper practices still apply no matter how big the brewery.

In terms of brewing, what do you bring to Tuatara?

I hope to get a chance to help in the development of new beers. I want to please people’s palates but also to test them.

Which is your favourite Tuatara beer to drink?

Tuatara Pale Ale, definitely.

Not including your own beers or the Tuatara range, what beers do you like to drink?

India Pale Ales – that’s my favourite style. Overall, it would be [Russian River] Pliny the Elder and Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. For Kiwi IPAs, it would have to be 8 Wired Hopwired.

Which Tuatara beer are you looking forward to making the most?

The next one!

So, what’s it like working for Carl Vasta?

Awesome - it’s just good to learn from him. What that man doesn’t know about brewing isn’t worth knowing.

Finally, thanks to all the predominately female Tuatara fans for their many phone calls, emails, text messages and tweets about obtaining a “Men of New Zealand Brewing” calendar featuring Tuatara’s own Carl Vasta. The calendar was promoted on the Malthouse blog and was, of course, an April Fool’s joke by our friends and part-owners there. Seriously, there is no calendar. Please stop calling!

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.

Tuatara on Show – Brewery Tours and the Online Store

At Tuatara, we are very proud of the award-winning beers we brew. We are also happy to show people where they are all made.

Groups are welcome for brewery tours and tastings but be sure to call or email well in advance to organise them. There may also be a small charge to cover costs.

Notice is required because we have to ensure our busy brewers are available to show you around and talk through the processes and the products. Also, we need to put the sign out at the front gate or chances are you will drive right by us. The Tuatara Brewery, like its reptilian namesake, is well-camouflaged to the untrained eye.

On Saturday 20 March we were delighted to host a big, enthusiastic group from the Society of Beer Advocates SOBA. SOBA supports "beer for all right reasons" and many SOBA members are long-time friends of the brewery. Tell you what, those guys know their beer and asked some pretty tough technical questions.

We also had a television camera crew and celebrity chef in the other day but details of that particular project will have to wait for now. Suffice to say that Tuatara will hopefully be starring on the small screen both here and in Australia later in the year. All the details will be posted here just as soon as they are confirmed.

Even if you can’t make it to the brewery in picturesque Waikanae, you can still show the world that you have excellent taste in beer. The Tuatara on-line store is now open and selling stylish t-shirts, classy glasses and fully-functional bottle openers. Tuatara is the new black.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.

Dion our Brewer is Stepping Down

As announced in last week’s post, Dion Page has finished up at Tuatara Breweries in order to spend some more time with his young family. Before we let him go, we asked a few questions about his time at Tuatara and his plans for the future.

Dion, how long did you work at Tuatara?

Just over two years. I never really had a job title, brewer I think!

What was your brewing experience before Tuatara?

I trained at a 1,150 litre brewpub called The Franciscan Well in Cork, Ireland. It was quite similar in size to the old Tuatara brewery. The pub only served the five beers we made, two wines (nasty red and nasty wine in single serve bottles), a few bottles of imported beer and maybe six optics behind the bar. People only really ordered pints. It was hardcore - no singing, no dancing, no straws, no shots, no cocktails.

What was your job before you started brewing?

I was the editor in a legal publishing company. It was five years ago but it seems like a lifetime. I feel so disassociated with it now.

What was the best thing you learned during your time at Tuatara?

Basically, I learned how to be really hands on and use what is available. It is all about working with what you have got. The Franciscan Well was bought as a package so everything was standard sizes and fitted properly. Tuatara has a bit of a mish-mash of tanks and pipes of varying sizes. It pushed me to make good beer under limited circumstances. To make good beer you need a good brewer, good ingredients and good plant. I remember there was one piece of equipment that it took me fifty brews before I finally realised the best way to use it. Carl’s very hands on – if it doesn’t work, he will fix it or find a replacement from the ‘side shed’.

In your opinion, what is the worst job in the brewery?

Well, everyone hates kegs cleaning because it is really monotonous. I always took the approach that you had to do it properly. I don’t want to do all the work brewing in the preceding six weeks only to throw it all away by scrimping it on keg cleaning time. The worst part for me was driving to the brewery – it took me two hours and twenty minutes a day.

Which was you favourite Tuatara beer to make?

Tuatara Hefe because I didn’t have to filter it! The irony is that I don’t drink wheat beers at all. I’m not a fan of cloves, I would never eat them and that’s all I get off a hefe. Most people don’t realise there is a lot to filtration. It’s quite an involved process. I’m confident that I haven’t let a cloudy one out - apart from the Hefe of course!

Which is your favourite Tuatara beer to drink?

Tuatara IPA – definitely.

What are you up to now?

Well, the plan was to sit on my arse and watch Days of Our Lives! That plan has been scuppered. I’m looking after the family, dropping people off, cooking the dinner, training for a marathon and doing the odd bit of work. I’m a very busy unemployed guy!

Will you back in brewing?

Oh yeah - I’m just taking a break!

We wish Dion all the best.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara

A New Beginning for the ‘It’s All About the Beer’ Blog

It is a new era at the Official Tuatara Blog. Between August 2009 and February 2010, we managed just two blog posts. Granted, they were both excellent pieces introducing Tuatara Helles, the first new beer to join our range in three years, and a behind-the-scenes look at the founding of Tuatara way back in 2000/2001.

The intention now is to provide shorter updates every week about a Tuatara-related topic. It could be new faces in the team, shiny equipment at the brewery, some fresh ingredients, new beers (because there are some on the way), events, tours, special offers, tastings, new outlets, what others are saying about us or just general Tuatara gossip.

Wellington has enjoyed a hectic and surprisingly sunny start to the year with The Sevens, Fringe Festival, Round the Bays, Phoenix, AC/DC, International Arts Festival and the occasional tsunami alert.

That fun certainly continued last weekend at the New Zealand Beer Festival held in Westpac Stadium on Saturday. The Auckland festival was a great event earlier in the year but Wellingtonians turned out in force on a beautiful sunny day.

There were some long queues at our stall but we would expect nothing less from our home town crowd. The festival looks set to become an annual tradition and it was a huge night back at the Malthouse afterwards too.

This past week there was some big news at the brewery. We had to bid a fond farewell to brewer Dion Page after several years of sterling service at Tuatara. He is taking a well-earned break to spend more time with his young family. We wish him the very best and will be getting his thoughts about his time at Tuatara for a future post.

To replace Dion, Tuatara is pleased to announce that multi award-winning home brewer Michael Neilson will be joining the team. We are tremendously excited about having Michael on board and he will also be profiled on the blog shortly.

We would love to hear what you think about the ‘new’ blog so leave a comment below or drop us an email at the office.

Cheers from the team at Tuatara.