Dave's first brews were launched in September, 1998. However, as most of this country's small brewers were finding out, it wasn't an easy time to try to sell premium-priced, flavoursome craft beers to Kiwis whose beer experience was mostly of the cheap, bland, mainstream variety. For an immigrant with a broad American accent, running a one-man business in a conservative small Otago town was doubly difficult. The beers did sell, but slowly.
While the locals needed convincing, New Zealand's beer judges didn't. In 2000 Beerworks' aromatically hopped pilsener lager, Brewski, took the supreme award at the New Zealand International Beer Awards. However, despite that success, sales of the three beers – Brewski, Cardrona Gold (an amber, Vienna-style lager) and Tall Black (a roasty, dark lager) – remained slow.
Since then, as more and more Kiwis have developed a taste for craft beer, the situation has gradually changed and for the last few years Dave has faced the opposite problem; keeping up with demand. Today, he concentrates on supplying local outlets and the beers are rarely seen further afield.
Although they are of contrasting styles the three beers have much in common. All feature the same Kiwi hop – the lemony-tasting Motueka variety – and are fermented with the same lager yeast, an American strain noted for its cleanness. They also share a rich, sweet malt emphasis that sets them apart from the majority of lagers. A fan of full-bodied, malty beers, Dave argues, "the malt is expensive, so why not taste it?"
Now, after almost 13 years of brewing, bottling, kegging and cleaning – mostly working on his own – Dave has sold the brewery and plans to take a well-earned break. Having flown down to Wanaka to spend Christmas with family, last week I took the opportunity to catch up with him and to meet Beerworks' new owners, Dave and Susan De Vylder.
Over a beer in the brewery's tiny tasting room I discovered that Dave De Vylder is from East Flanders in Belgium and Susan, who is of Swiss parentage, comes from Moeraki in Otago. The couple met in Belgium but are working in Switzerland where Dave is brewing at a small craft brewery.
Having spent holidays with Susan's parents in New Zealand and enjoyed trips to Arrowtown, Queenstown and Wanaka, they decided they wanted to live here. The couple couldn't believe their luck when they heard Beerworks was for sale.
Trained in Belgium and with an in-depth knowledge of brewing, Dave's credentials soon became obvious, but I was even more delighted to discover that his passion for beer is matched by that of his wife and we soon found ourselves discussing their plans for the brewery.
Local drinkers will be relieved to learn that Beerworks' three current beers will be retained – albeit with a few minor tweaks, but of more interest to those of us who live outside of Otago are the couple's plans for a series of monthly bottled specialty beers which will be distributed throughout the country. Many of these, perhaps unsurprisingly, are likely to have a distinctly Belgian accent: "We want to bring a little bit of Belgian beer culture here." My ears then pricked up at talk of a Kriek (cherry beer) based on the Flanders sour red ale style, and another modelled on a hybrid of Orval and Duvel. The couple also plan to introduce special stemmed glassware to suit the different styles. It all sounds very Belgian and very promising.
Although the De Vylders took ownership of the brewery last week they have now returned to Switzerland to complete existing work contracts, with Dave Gillies agreeing to continue brewing as usual until their return next June.
Full Story GEOFF GRIGGS - Manawatu Standard
Friday, January 21, 2011 at 3:30PM 
