Hands-on, hand-made and handsome: getting crafty in the niche beer market.
By Allan Swann
Waiheke Island Brewery has a new owner, a new business model and some new brews, and are eyeing up the rapidly expanding premium craft beer market. Allan had a chat with Rob Webb about the challenges of a small-scale brewery start up.
Waiheke Island, floating off the coast of Auckland, was once was a hippie mecca sharing more in common with the Coromandel than the urban centre sitting just kilometres away. Waiheke Island Brewery (WIB) is undertaking an ambitious task – to combine the two sensibilities into one winning product.
Rob Webb and wife Karen have been in the hospitality industry for some 25 years, working all around the world. They’ve seen the island evolve into one of the regions tourist hotspots lead by the proliferation of high quality wineries and restaurants. Spotting a hole in the market for a multi-activity venue, they developed the ‘Wild on Waiheke’ concept, encapsulating a corporate team building market as well as casual tourists. Providing activities such as archery and clay bird shooting with winery and brewery tastings, it launched in November to great success.
First established in 1997, the WIB was little more than a boutique outfit not really reaching beyond the island, offering a range of beers under the Baroona branding. Retaining the Baroona name for one of their five beverages (see boxout), the rest are each named after a different ‘gateway’ to the island. Their beer tasting has been a great success thus far.
“We don’t actually have a bar yet, as we’re still going through our liquor licensing. At the moment we’re selling it cellar door, so customers come in and do more of a wine tasting,” says Webb.
“It’s working because there’s a different customer coming in to try craft beers these days - connoisseurs. They’re sniffing, swirling and tasting it rather than just swigging it back, and they’re picking up the flavours that are in our tasting notes, which is great to see.”
Rob is only too happy to pass the credit for the revitalisation of the brand on to head brewer Alan Knight, who has worked with the brewery on and off for the last four years. Rob has been quick to tie him down more permanently under the Webb regime.
“He’s absolutely dynamic, a brilliant brewer. He’s pretty much worked in every craft brewery in New Zealand, setting them up, assisting and then consulting. He’s really tied our brews down.”
At this point distribution plans are limited beyond the island, although WIB is looking at a few boutique stores and bars in Auckland, and distribution deals down south.
“We’re talking to several people. We’re trying to get into maybe half a dozen outlets in Auckland, and we’re trying to tackle a couple of bars down in the viaduct. We’re ready to move into the next phase, which is to get out there nationally and market it. We’re looking at a South Island distributor, and there’s a guy down at Wines and Spirits in Wellington who’s been selling the beers for us.”
With the craft beer market expanding Rob doesn’t shy away from criticising the big breweries, acting through brands such as Mac’s and Monteiths, or their business practises.
“They come in, buy up and change these little breweries, killing their character – take Monteith’s for example,” says Webb, “Obviously their main stream beers are our competition, because they lock up bars. It’s now so hard to get through these doors, but I think we’ve got a product that is completely different. It can work, just look at the success of brands like Moa.”
The presentation of the range is as much about marketing and presentation as it is flavour, a necessarily realist outlook the company hasn’t been naïve about. By combining the summery Waiheke feel with a dose of 21st century urban cool, WIB had their labels designed by Geoff Suvalko of trans-tasman design company Designworks, and their distinctive bottles are 330ml amber Champagne bottles imported from the UK. From there, the beer is hand bottled by staff, giving the range a true boutique feel, says Webb.
“We use a small spout which is hand operated to fill the bottles, then we crown seal it by hand. The girls in the shop then sit around and put the labels on. It’s definitely a labour of love by some beautiful ladies!”