McCashin's Brewery, also known as Mac's Brewery in the past, is a small

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

based in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, New Zealand. It was founded in 1980/81 by one of the pioneers of craft brewing,

Terry McCashin Terence Michael McCashin (18 January 1944 – 31 October 2017) was a New Zealand businessman who, together with his wife, founded the country's first craft brewery, McCashin's Brewery, in 1981 in Nelson. He also represented the country in rugby ...

, who produced the well-known

Mac's beer Lion is an alcoholic beverage company that operates in Australia and New Zealand, and a subsidiary of Japanese beverage conglomerate Kirin. It produces and markets a range of beer and cider in Australia, and wine in New Zealand and the Unite ...

. Today it produces Rochdale Cider and a range of Stoke beers.

History

The property on Main Road Stoke in the Nelson suburb of Stoke started life as the Rochdale Cider factory in the late 1930s. The production facility was located in the rear section of the current building. In the 1930s and 1940s there were around five cider producers in the area, including one just across the road, Robinson’s, but by the 1970s, Rochdale was the only large commercial producer in New Zealand. The current building was erected in the 1950s. It was purchased in 1980 by former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

rugby player and farmer Terry McCashin and his wife Beverley. They continued to make Rochdale Cider, but also began brewing

craft beer Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

for the first time in New Zealand, with the help of brewer Jim Pollitt. Mac's beer was launched on 26 September 1981, with then

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in t ...

, in attendance. The small brewery (sometimes referred to as Mac's brewery) had to compete with the two giants in the market,

Lion Nathan Lion is an alcoholic beverage company that operates in Australia and New Zealand, and a subsidiary of Japanese beverage conglomerate Kirin Company, Kirin. It produces and markets a range of beer and cider in Australia, and wine in New Zealand ...

and Dominion Breweries, and McCashin is today regarded as a pioneer of craft beer. In 1999

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

bought the Mac's brand, and in 2000 began leasing the Mac's premises. As the popularity of the brand grew, Lion started producing Mac’s beers in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

, then

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

and, after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes, in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. Lion established a number of "Mac's Brewbars" around New Zealand. In 2009, McCashin's son Dean McCashin and his wife Emma moved to Nelson, relaunching the brewery under its original name, McCashin's Brewery, producing beer under the newly-created Stoke brand and resuming the production of Rochdale-branded cider.

Description

A range of different styles of beer is produced using traditional methods, organic

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to wh ...

and specially cultured yeast, including

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioner ...

dark ale Ale is a type of beer brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. Historically, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balan ...

and

pilsner Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewe ...

. The non-alcoholic range consists of Stoke Lemon Lime and Bitters and Ginger Beer, and still and

sparkling water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

, branded "Palaeo", sourced from a source underneath the brewery, is also bottled and sold. There is also a restaurant called the Brewery Kitchen, which also provides off-site catering.

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.mccashins.co.nz/ 1981 establishments in New Zealand Breweries of New Zealand Kirin Group

History

Description

See also

References

Further reading

External links