Sampling a local brew

This weekend we took a short trip out of Wellington with The Bach to Paraparaumu Beach on the Kapiti Coast. It's only an hour away, but we had a little excursion booked, for which we didn't have to rely on a driver.

In NZ, there is a real "craft beer" movement. There are a number of "boutique" breweries that focus on quality rather than quantity. On our past travels, we've sampled Monteith's in Greymouth and Stoke in Nelson. Our local major player in this field is Tuatara.

In October they moved to new premises in "Pram" after outgrowing their garden shed! And with that, they launched brewery tours. Of course no tour is complete without the obligatory tasting, so taste we did.

But you'll be please to know that we had some food and water before bicycling back to the campsite for some more beers and some cards.

Green beer

On day 2 of our tropical holiday, we visited the biggest (and only!) brewery in the Cook Islands. As you can see, there's not a lot to it!

However, it's not about size, it's about quality. These guys are related to a brewing family just outside Wellington. When they upsized, the Matutu brewery got first dibs on their old gear, and off they went. And a fine brew they produce.

The brewery do their bit for the environment and encourage recycling. So much do that if you go to buy some beer direct from the brewery, it turns up disguised as water ;-)