They say in Silicon Valley you should launch your startup three times.

Three because the biggest problem you have when starting out is that nobody knows you exist.

And three because it often takes that many times before your existence sticks with anybody who cares.

With no money and a stubborn determination to only court the curious, we've relied on word of mouth to get this far.

Now, with the work to complete our upper floor on our 5th anniversary, we have reason to try, try again.

Once we can use the floor we'll be re-launching our taproom to make us more widely known in Dunedin, seeking those who care.

Because having started with the idea of being a neighbourhood brewer, we've always sought true fans of what we do.

That's why we're incredibly grateful to every one of you who comes back to our taproom.

Thanks!

Paul & Karen

This month marks a special milestone for us. We opened 5 years ago and after spending all that time — half a decade! — without an upper floor, we're now counting the weeks from using it.

It'll be a game changer because after 5 years of looking at this empty space:

we'll have a — fire! safe! — floor for social gatherings, including private functions.

We can't wait.

Paul & Karen

If beer was first brewed as a ceremonial drink* it has been a common drink since.

And for that reason, we've always wanted to sell our beer at a reasonable price.

But like everyone we've had to suck up spiralling costs these past 3 years.

After holding fort for most of that time, we bumped our tap pricing 50¢ at the start of this year.

Now we're facing fallout from the fuel crisis and with it, further pressure on our costs.

We'll continue to keep our beer as affordable as we can.

Fortunately we make our beer with ingredients from our backyard, or not too far.

And fortunately we make small beer, paying less excise.

Beer is the most democratic of drinks and with your support, we'll keep it that way.

Thanks!

Paul & Karen

* Archaeology in modern-day Israel and Turkey dates malting barley grain ~13,000 years back, likely used to make sweet cakes and beer for feasts.

From the very beginning, in the very simplest way, we wanted to make beer from our part of the world, that we wanted to drink ourselves.

And from the start, each beer had to pass a simple test: "Do we want another glass?"

For us, that means pairing ingredients that work well together in the right proportions, in the right strengths.

We keep our alcohol pretty low, less than 5%, in most of our beer.

We do this so we can relax with a drink at end of day but also, so we can start the next day with a clear head.

And importantly, we do this so you can enjoy a glass or two in our taproom and safely drive home.

Because drinking beer brings people together and is good for both mind and body when shared in moderation.

When we see you enjoying our 'small' beer, made with enough subtlety and depth to satisfy, it's a pleasure to serve you another glass.

Cheers!

Paul & Karen

When we signed up for a derelict building in a dingy laneway we knew it'd take a sustained push to turn the wheel.

Nearly 4 years on, we feel like we're starting to gain momentum.

That's partly due to our own small efforts but mostly due to a growing appreciation for our laneway and neighbourhood.

These past few months we've hosted Dunedin Record Fair, Dunedin Arts Festival, and Wild Dunedin events in No Name Alley. It may still be dingy but with the energy and enthusiasm of these pop-ups, enticing too.

And now that No. 8 Distillery is open at the other end, it's really exciting to see The Bond Quarter becoming a "bite sized" travel destination.

With great places to stay, shop, eat and drink, Dunedin's old quarter is now returning to what it once was: the ❤️ of Dunedin.

If you keep pushing a flywheel hard enough, you eventually reach a tipping point where the momentum works in your favor.

We're still a long way from that point, but it's encouraging to feel our shared efforts are adding up over time.

Enjoy!

Paul & Karen

When we looked forward to 2024 we'd figured our brewing process and that gave us cause for optimism.

But after a road bump with faulty equipment we've run into our economic recession, now worse than the GFC.

We've not just seen but felt that squeeze on consumer spend. Weekly regulars who only come every 3 or 4 weeks, or just have 1 instead of 2-3 drinks. True fans who explain their absence on household expense (food and fuel), debt (mortgage), or overheads ("two teenage boys").

This combined with rising costs of our own means we often question what we're doing, and why we continue. Worse, we forget that it makes a difference.

Because good food and drink, whether round the corner from home or halfway across the world, is best enjoyed with others.

Whether striking up conversation over a beer or sharing a slice of pizza with Tank, these connections are what makes it memorable.

So we take heart from Neil, who's run his car dealership for 30 years, when he tells us his motto is "Keep turning up."

To be a part of something, you must show up.

Paul & Karen

When asked "Are you the brewer?" the easy answer is "We both are."

Easy because it's true — we create and make beer together — and easy because it shuts down the casual sexism.

But we stumble to answer because we don't consider ourselves brewers. We make beer and we see ourselves as beer makers.

For like wine makers, we aim to bring out the best of our ingredients, from selecting the malt, hops, and yeast to carbonating and conditioning the fermented beer.

And yes, doing it well requires brewing knowhow but for us the process is merely a means to our end: good beer.

We think this is best found when locally grown and made, and is surely what makes beer so special.

Enjoy!

Paul & Karen

They say ripples are made by those reckless enough to jump into the ocean, and having never brewed before we came to Dunedin, we can relate to that.

But more and more, we've come to think ripples are made by those reckless enough to swim outside the flags.

We see it when people venture up the laneway and we hear it when they strike up conversation for the first time.

It's what we hoped for, a place you can chat without shouting and meet new people at just the friendly wag of a dog tail.

WB Yeats may've romanticised these moments of connection when he said "There are no strangers here, only friends you haven't met" but watching these ripples really is magic.

And it's really, really encouraging when our only advertising is word of mouth.

Enjoy!

Paul & Karen

When we looked forward to 2023 we didn't anticipate the spiralling cost of living, let alone brewing.

But if we ended 2022 much happier with our beer we enter 2024 happy — no, HAPPY! — with our brewing process.

It means we can now focus on our recipes and the fine tuning that, with your feedback, goes into making good beer.

And with the latest batch of our year-round recipes, Honey Pils and Blond IPA, we feel we've nailed it.

We can still, with money, make improvements to our equipment but after 2 hard years — covid rollercoaster + cost-of-living yo-yo — its cheering we're getting good.

Enjoy!

Paul & Karen

It's hard to believe we're coming up to 2 years of 'bigger and better.'

Hard because it's somehow gone incredibly quickly and incredibly slowly. And hard because after 2 years we're still scraping by.

But it's been personally rewarding, too.

When every step is a scramble, it drives you to draw on all of your capacity. And when you have no money, it forces you to be creative.

Karen's $0 planter, made from spare & salvaged parts

With just the 2 of us it's easier to figure a path and make decisions on the run, but also, to lean on each other when things don't go to plan.

We simply wouldn't have got this far without each other.

We've still got lots of ideas for improvement but for now, we're hoping you'll join us celebrating our milestone over Matariki Weekend.

Thanks!

Paul & Karen