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Hopsession owner and master brewer Nathan McKenzie has been brewing in Invercargill for 10 years and says the city has gone from having no craft beer options to plenty.
Beer maker Nathan McKenzie started brewing because he couldn’t find the beer he wanted in Invercargill.
But 10 years later, “we don’t have that problem any more”, he said.
In fact, the craft brewing scene has grown so much, what started as the Hop ‘n’ Vine festival six years ago has morphed into the Southland Beer, Wine & Wild Food Festival including a home brew competition.
There were now at least four establishments in Invercargill where McKenzie could find a selection of craft beers on tap, he said.
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“People are more aware that you don’t just have to drink beer without flavour,” he said. “There are people pushing it forward.”
McKenzie had been taking his brews to parties but about 18 months ago he was convinced to turn his operation commercial under the name Hopsession Brewing.
It was the business’ first time at a festivai and it and was a chance for McKenzie to get feedback from customers on his Southland-inspired brews like the Burt Pale Ale and the Daffodil Bay Hazy.
Gadoochi Brewing owner Chris Ellenden said Southlanders were more open to trying new things, which had contributed to the growth of the craft brewing industry in the region.
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Friends Kiri Hogan, left, Megan Johgnston, Jena Young and Jodie Young made sure they could easily find each other at the Southland Beer, Wine and Wild Food Festival by wearing matching outfits.
The business’ Smoke M Up – a smoked chilli IPA – was particularly popular on Saturday.
Gadoochi had been operating from the Tuatara Lodge for five years, but the festival “brings out a whole different crowd of people”, Ellenden said.
Winners of the 2022 Te Anau Beer Fest “Brewer Of The Festival” 4 Mates Brewery had almost sold out just five hours into Saturday’s festival.
Owner and chief brewer Scott Whitaker said he thought stalls may have underestimated how much Southlanders had been missing events like the Southland Beer, Wine & Wild Food Festival in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Damon Milne, from Gadoochi Brewery in Invercargill, serves Chris Fennell at the Southland Beer, Wine and Wild Food Festival. Fennel called the festival a “good social event for Invercargill” and a chance to support local breweries.
“It’s gone a bit nuts.”
He also cited the pandemic as a possible reason why many more craft brewers were entering the Invercargill market.
People were looking to do something they enjoyed with their downtime, while others were looking for something different to drink, Whitaker said.
Southland Beer, Wine & Wild Food Festival organiser Kevin Downie said many of the stalls sold out, which was good, because it prompted people to try something else as well.
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Andre Grobler from Southland Biltong grills boerewors – a traditional South African sausage at the Southland Beer, Wine and Wild Food Festival.
Attendees were spoiled for choice, with some 200 different beers to choose from.
Downie started the festival to prove that there was an appetite for craft beer in Southland, he said, and six years in, he was still seeing lots of new faces giving alternative brews a go.
People were moving away from “crate days” he said, and instead drinking less but better quality beer.
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