Founders Brewery: Journal Entry

From the NZ Craft Beer TV journal entry, 31/1/11:

It wasn’t quite over for the breweries of Nelson and the following morning we packed up and headed to Founders Brewery. Situated in Founders Heritage Park, a small village showing what the Nelson of yesteryear would have looked like, it is a picturesque little building and brewery tap offering great coffee, food and pizza from a wood-fired oven. We are met by owner and head brewer, John Duncan who eagerly tells us of the history of his family, the brewery and his beers.

Founders Brewery is the first in Australasia to be certified organic and is also vegan and kosher, making it unique in its offering. John, a fifth generation brewer and his sons, Matt and Callum, head up the brewing and manage to tease a plethora of flavours and aromas from the slightly more limited variety of organic ingredients available to New Zealand Brewers. With the sixth generation working hard and constantly bouncing ideas off each other, it’s easy to see why the Duncans have such a loyal following. Their year-round brews and seasonal specials are all perfectly executed by a talented team.

It was 1854 when John Dodson first arrived in NZ and began brewing. For the next 115 years, the family owned and operated not only the brewery but also maltings and hop farms. It’s great to see such a dedicated family provide so much to NZ brewing history.

We were joined by son Matt and went through the beers. John recommended we try the Long Black first. Usually we had gone from light beers through to dark when tasting, but John didn’t want the hop characters from his lighter brews to mask the malty notes from the others. Long Black was a German style Schwarzbier filled with subtle roasted characters with some mild coffee in the back of the mouth. It hinted at milk chocolate in the nose and was clean and faultless.

We tried the Generation Ale next. This was the first brew that John and the boys had done together and was a nice, malty brown ale with subtle hints of hop. The Red Head, named after how the beer looks, was a great example of a Vienna lager. Amber in colour this had a lovely light biscuit malt character which filled out the mouth with subtle sweetness and was followed by a wonderful hoppy bitterness. Tall Blonde was a malt-rich golden lager with wonderful NZ hop notes and great drinkability. My favourite brew was the Fair Maiden which Matt described as a New Zealand Pale Ale. This was his take on an American Pale Ale and the hop nose showed wafts of pine resin and tangerine, reminiscent of the Cascade hop variety. A big malt sweetness fills the mouth as well as a bunch of hop fruit notes and then the frisky bitterness follows through and balances the beer out. Wonderfully crafted, this is drinkability and flavour at its best.

Founders is definitely worth a visit. The history of the brewery and the surrounding buildings is great, from pieces of old brewing equipment outside, through to having their own Cooper (wooden-barrel maker) on site, this is both a step back in time and a step into the future of NZ brewing.

Founders Brewery - Background

From the Founders Brewery website:

Welcome to New Zealand's and Australasia's first Certified Organic Brewery. Brewed on location at Founders Heritage Park in Nelson, New Zealand, we make a full range of organic beers for the discerning drinker. We source the highest quality, certified organic ingredients: hops grown in Tapawera near Nelson, pale malt grown and malted in Canterbury and specialty malts imported from Germany. John Duncan and his sons Matt and Callum (fifth and sixth generation brewers) combine the brewing traditions of yesteryear with the newest technology of today to produce our full range of organic beers.

Brewing is essentially a natural process, requiring only 4 ingredients: hops, malt, yeast and water. We brew according to the Bavarian purity law (Reinheitsgebot) which is one of the oldest food regulations in history. Our beer are free from genetic engineering and are vegan (no animal products or by products). We are also certified Kosher. Currently we make three lagers and two ales as well as seasonal and special brews.

Founders Brewery owned and operated by the Duncan Family comes from a long association of brewing in Nelson. John is a fifth generation brewer, carrying on a family tradition established back in 1854, when J.R. Dodson owned and operated a brewery in Nelson. So you could say brewing is in his blood.

In 1854 when John Dodson arrived in New Zealand from Australia he went into the brewing business. For 115 years the family owned and operated a brewery in Nelson until 1969 when it became a subsidiary of the Dominion Breweries Ltd. Family members operated as Master Brewers, Malters, Hop Growers, Wine and Spirit Merchants, Cordial Makers and General Importers.

Renowned as leaders in the field, they introduced the latest technology, equipment and methods to New Zealand from their training and experience gained overseas. This well respected company won numerous international rewards and recognition. 145 Years later John Duncan carries on this family profession as a fifth generation brewer with the same dedication as his forbears. With a science background he started in the wine industry and ended up in the brewing industry when he moved to Nelson, and worked at MacCashins Brewery for 12 years.

In 1999 John & Carol Duncan opened New Zealand's first ORGANIC brewery at a historic location, Nelson's Heritage Founders Park.

John combines the brewing traditions of yesteryear with the newest technology of today to produce their four styles of organic beer. Brewing is essentially a natural process, requiring only 4 ingredients: hops, malt, yeast and water. John brews according to the Bavarian purity law (Reinheitsgebot) which is one of the oldest food regulations in history. Two of John and Carol’s sons have taken up the family tradition, Matt and Callum both learnt to brew on site with John, both are employed as fulltime brewers and have gone on to create their own new beers for the Founders range.

Founders Brewery Range of Beer: 

Fair Maiden Ale – NZPA. This NZ interpretation of an American Pale Ale greets the drinker with a big hop aroma with hints of Orange rind, and pineapple, followed by a strong, slightly biscuity malt Character. There is a big hop focus, which balanced nicely by the sweetness of the malt, finishes the beer with a pleasant lingering bitterness. Hints of clean alcohol on the palate point to the stronger nature of this Pale Ale. Sitting at 5.4% ABV this is a big beer all round. Founders brewery pride themselves on brewing full flavoured organic beers, which maintains a high level of drinkability. True to Form, Fair Maiden Ale achieves this, and will have you hooked after the first glass.
Awards: Gold BrewNZ 07, Bronze BrewNZ 08 

Generation Ale – Hearty, nut brown ale. Savour the nutty malt flavour, which gives the beer a delicious smooth, satisfying biscuity taste. Enjoy the fruity ale character and medium hop bitterness. A beer for all generations.
Awards: Silver AIBA 2007, NZIBA 2006 & 2005. Bronze AIBA 2006

Long Black – German style Schwarzbier. Sit back and enjoy the long smooth character of this black lager. Savour the roasted malt flavours with a hint of coffee and chocolate.
Winner at the Australian International Beer Awards 2002.

Red Head – Vienna style amber lager. A beautiful copper coloured beer, it is medium in body with a slight sweetness in malt and clean hop bitterness.

Tall Blonde – Golden Lager. Four malt varieties and two types of hops are crafted together to make this full bodied "hoppy" beer.