In 2017 the brewery was bought by DB Breweries, which was happy for the brewery to stay where it is, and continue to do what it does best which is make great beer.
“We’ve got a good core range of beer which supports the business,” brewery manager Tupu Gregory said.
“And that gives head brewer Paul Roigard the opportunity to experiment with a few more limited-release brews.
“We’ve got a little brew kit where we can produce 600 litres which mostly gets sold in the brewery, locally and in the Wellington area.”
And the operation produces a lot of beer.
“Last year we produced about two million litres packaged out of here.”
Inside one of the Tuatara warehouses. Photo / David Haxton
The brewery, which celebrated its 21st anniversary in August last year, is well-known for its lizard skin-rippled bottles, and has got into canned beer this year too.
“That’s an exciting development,” Tupu said.
“I love seeing all the step changes and constant improvements.”
The brewing team, which also includes long-serving Brayden Drake who was involved in the brewery all those years ago in Reikorangi, are constantly brewing and quality checking.
Roigard brewed in Greenwich, London, beforehand but prior to that was involved in IT for a marketing company in Australia for about 12 years.
“I really love the science of brewing,” he said.
“My passion is trying to make our core beers as consistent as they can be.”
The brewery has about 17 staff on site who are employed in a wide range of supply chain roles from brewers, packaging, logistics, engineering and so on.
It has a tap room which is headed by the bubbly Bev Brown.
Bev Brown next to a chalkboard of brews. Photo / David Haxton
There are always lots of beers on tap to try, plenty of dining space including an outside covered area with wall heaters, food options including pizza and more, and Sessionable Sundays live music.
“We feature a lot of local bands and sometimes have ticketed events,” Bev said.
It’s a chilled-out environment and has even been used for special events such as birthday parties, wedding receptions, and a full wedding from start to finish.
“It was nice to see Tuatara Brewery on their marriage certificate,” she said.
Tours of the brewery usually happen on Saturday afternoons and it’s best to book in advance.
A tour of the brewery is very interesting and you’ll learn a lot about the brewing process and be amazed at the size of the operation.
“People love the history of how the brewery started off small and grew into what it is today,” Bev said.
