Stoke Brewery – Nelson

They like to do things a little differently at the Stoke Brewery in Nelson.

The guide for my morning tour of their facility was resident in-house artist Daniel Campion. Three years ago Dan was using a corner of their mothballed site as a studio and he has stayed on as tour guide in the revitalised Stoke Brewery.

Daniel Campion - Resident artist, brewery guide and genial chap.

Nelson has a brewing tradition stretching back to the 1840s when early German and British settlers brought their hops, barley and brewing know-how to the area. The Nelson region used to boast a plethora of small breweries but in the mid 20th century a prolonged period of rationalisation and takeover by the industry duopoly of Lion Nathan and DB saw the local brewing industry all but disappear.

Thirty years ago, Terry McCashin, applied for the first new brewing license in a life time and thus Mac’s beer was born. As Dan says ‘in a battle reminiscent of Astrix and the Gauls vs the Roman Empire’, Mac’s took on the multi nationals and won a place in the hearts of the discerning New Zealand beer drinking public.

After twenty years of challenging the status quo and kicking off a craft beer brewing revolution, Mac’s was bought out by Lion Nathan in 1999. Whilst the Mac’s Beer brand continues to be popular something has definitely been lost by the subsequent move from the original brewery and the demands of huge production volumes.

Today the Nelson area boasts sixteen boutique breweries; that’s about one for every 6,000 of the local population. A new generation of the McCashin family under Dean and Emma McCashin are revitalising the family tradition with the Stoke Beer brand.

The Stoke range are all produced at the old Rochdale Cider Factory, original home of Mac’s beer where they utilise the on-site Palaeo Water (reputedly amongst the purest water in the world). Local and imported malts are used to produce their rapidly expanding range of beers and batch brewing techniques combined with a three week maturation period, ensure an authentic boutique product packed with flavour.

Stoke Beer Brewery - Nelson

If you’re in the area pop in to see Dan for a tour and sample their delicious range of beers and ciders also check out Dan’s mixed media art pieces dotted around the factory and Sublime cafe.

Visit mccashins.co.nz for more info.