Nothing refreshes the palate like a cold, crisp beer.  It’s why we always have beer at our events – we consider it an essential part of wine tasting.

One of our favourites is New Zealand’s own Brew Moon Brewing Co., a family-run business based in Amberley. We thought you might like to get to know them so here you go.

About the brewery…

The Brew Moon Brewing Co. has been around since 2002 (way before brewing good beer was cool or profitable). Our family lived in California in the late 1990s and the craft movement was starting to pick up then so we thought it was just a matter of time before it caught on in New Zealand. It turned out to be a slow burner! We are based in the rural little town of Amberley so our vibe is especially laid back. It just wouldn’t fly with our locals if we tried to be pretentious little beer snobs.

The Beers…

We have sixteen different beers on at any one time in our taproom, and have made close to 50 in the last few years, so they’re a pretty varied bunch. Anything from the approachable Pale Ale/ Pilsner mould to the more challenging spicy Mexican Ale “Olé Molé” or Riesling Ale “Hop-over-Vine”. The popular vote over the last few years has been for uber-hopped IPA’s so we have a couple of those but we generally like to keep our beers balanced and flavoursome. 

The business…

We are family-owned and operated with a few very capable locals helping us out in the taproom. The family are a fairly eclectic bunch; our Dad Kieran is a farmer and racehorse trainer, Belinda was a wine-maker for most of her life, Toby came back from an explosives job in an Egyptian gold mine and I have just returned from a two and a half year sojourn around the U.S and Europe (honing my beer drinking palate).

We all love good beer and all have a different set of skills to offer the business, many of which are completely irrelevant.  It has its challenges but we still love each other at this stage…

When we aren’t drinking beer…

The few decades that Belinda spent as a winemaker in Europe, the US and Australasia have allowed her to amass a pretty solid collection of good wine, so we raid that pretty regularly. Other alcoholic drinks consumed include gin and whisky, and very oddly Ouzo. And the local Amberley cafes will attest to the fact that we don’t mind a flat white or seven.

Favourite NZ Pinot…

Valli Waitake Pinot Noir (Mum said it’s good).

Looking forward to Pinot Palooza….

Getting out of little old Amberley and causing some mischief in the big smoke!

No really it’s getting our beer into the hands of the unlucky northerners that haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Plus being surrounded by the best Pinot Noir in New Zealand is no great hardship. 

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