The Story of Parrotdog Brewery A JOURNEY FROM HOME BREWING TO CRAFT BEER SUCCESS. Bird-brained to beer brilliance In 2009, Victoria University student Matt Kristofski created his first home brew. To save money, he joined forces with his flatmate, fellow Victoria University student Matt Warner, and the pair began serving their beer at parties. Inspired by the booming craft beer industry, with brands like Emerson’s, Tuatara, and Epic leading the charge, their humble home brewing journey began. What started with small kits soon evolved into wider experimentation with raw product and flavours as they realised they had a product people actually enjoyed. Soon enough, in 2011, Matt number three – Matt Kristofski’s friend from school in Nelson – got involved. Matt Stevens was already working as a chartered accountant, while the others were in the final year of their degrees. The beer-making business was a hobby, but Kristofski admits evolving the idea into a business stemmed from that well-known student goal – not really wanting to get a proper job! Today, Parrotdog is a powerhouse of Wellington’s craft beer scene, delivering bold, innovative and flavourful brews. Warner is the Brewing Director, Kristofski is the Brand Director and Stevens is a Non-Executive Director, and what started as an economically-driven passion project has evolved into one of New Zealand’s most respected craft breweries. A rocky start With – by their own admission – ‘no master plan’ to take their craft beer to the next level, the Matts worked on a business plan, securing financing to contract brew their first batches through Mike’s Brewing in Taranaki. This approach allowed them to upscale production without the massive investment required for a full-scale brewery. However, transitioning from 20-litre homebrew batches to their first 1,200-litre commercial production was more challenging than expected. Their first commercial beer, BitterBitch IPA, was born out of what seemed like a mistake. It was nearly thrown away because they’d made a mistake with their hop quantities, making the beer much more bitter than intended. But these guys had worked too hard to lose it all now, so they countered the bitterness by using more dry hops to bring out more of the fruit flavours, adding the perception of sweetness. They released the beer at Beervana Wellington in 2011 – where it sold out in record time, and won the People’s Choice award. “That kicked everything off,” says Kristofski. PAGE 22 | BIDFOOD – ON THE MENU
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