Big thirst for bottled brews

Geoff Gwynne of McLeod's Brewery and Pizza Barn in Waipu, which has started bottling its own brewed beer and is now selling it at Liquorland Kensington, owned by Phil Brown (left). Photo / Michael Cunningham

With about 40,000 litres of beer being brewed at McLeod's Brewery each week, it was only a matter of time before demand for Northland beer spilled further throughout the region - leaving punters thirsty for the bottled Waipu brews.

Three of the brewery's six beers have now been bottled after the company invested about $40,000 in a bottling machine to continue the success on-site.

Geoff Gwynne, co-owner of the brewery with Clayton Gwynne, said McLeod's had been brewing for more than seven months and sold on tap at the Pizza Barn and some outlets in Auckland.

He said they wanted to bottle the beer on-site to keep the standard in their sights.

The Great Migration Indian Pale Ale, Paradise Pale Ale and Longboarder Lager are now being bottled.

In time, their White Sands Wheat Ale, Pioneer Porter and Wee Yin Red Ale would also be bottled.

The brewery was working on a new chocolate beer and was also looking forward to launching its Scotch Ale with Horopito in coming weeks.

"Most people contract the bottling out but we bought the machine from a young guy in Oamaru who was making them.

"It's been a significant investment."

He said talks were under way to have the beers make their way on to the beer lists of some prestigious restaurants.

"It's usually through the chefs, thanks to their tastebuds."

He said a local craft beer told a story.

"These are the beers of Northland. Each beer has a sense of place. They are being well received in Auckland - they're buying a taste of the coast."

The first Northland store to stock the beer was Liquorland Kensington, run by Phil Brown.

"People would rather one good, craft beer over three of your standard beers," he said.

The three main alcohol trends he saw at his store were craft beers, single malt whiskies and fine wines.

"People want to match all three with their meals - food plays a big part in the way people buy alcohol these days," he added.