One Napier bar had five of the "off" kegs. Photo / Elevate - Unsplash
One Napier bar had five of the "off" kegs. Photo / Elevate - Unsplash
The brewery company producing one of New Zealand's most iconic beers is confident no one will be ailing over a "taste issue" with a batch of Tui beer.
A spokesperson for Dominion Breweries, based in Auckland, told Hawke's Bay Today that over the past week the company had identified a problem with some of its Tui kegs and is replacing them.
Tui has become an iconic Kiwi brand on the back of it's "yeah right' marketing campaign.
This time though, it's a case of "no, really".
The company stressed: "This is not a food safety issue and consumption of the product will not harm consumers.
Tui's 90-year-old brewhouse in 2016 during a $2.5 million restrengthening and renovation, although the historic Mangatainoka site is no longer used for commercial production. Photo / File
"However, because quality is of the utmost importance we are replacing impacted stock."
One Napier bar has advised of five kegs that are "off", after customers complained of a sulphur-like odour and taste.
A Wairarapa customer complained in jest that the "off" brew was the ultimate consequence of shifting production from the historic Mangatainoka brewery, which had a reputation for beer made with the pristine water from the Mangatainoka River.
The spokesperson confirmed the kegs had come from the brewery's Waitemata plant in Auckland. The brewery, which bought Tui Breweries several years ago, also has a plant in Timaru, and the company is now owned by Europe-based global brewing giant Heineken.
The original brewery at Mangatainoka, with its State Highway 2 landmark heritage-protected brewhouse between Pahiatua and Woodville, dates back to 1889.
And although bought by DB in 1969, it still produces beer for on-site tours and other promotions based on the nostalgia of the site, with its Tui HQ merchandising outlet.
The image has underpinned development of the beer with a cult following as it emerged from being Wairarapa's own to the brewery's lead New Zealand label on the back of promotion linked to Super Rugby since the late 1990s.
About $2.5 million has been spent in recent years restrengthening and renovating the brewhouse and site despite no it longer being used for usual market production.
The Hurricanes have played pre-season matches with crowds of up to 10,000 on the farm paddock that was the home of the now long-gone Mangatainoka rugby club, and where a historic century-old grandstand was renovated as part of the package.
The grandstand was destroyed by a Sunday-afternoon fire on August 23 last year, and an 18-year-old youth was charged with arson.
The youth appeared initially in Palmerston North District Court from where it was transferred to the Youth Court in Masterton.
