History
History
The Waituna Brewing Company was formed over a cup of KawaKawa tea at the
Poupatate Marae, deep in the Rangitikei valley.
The idea was formed after the Companies founders, Bruce Smith and Simon Burney realised that there were no beverages available with either a distinctive New Zealand
flavour or story.
The two Rangitikei farmers commissioned tradesmen to fabricate a scale model of a commercial brewery capable of brewing 30m litre batches, until a recipe was developed that produced what is now known as
TaaKawa indigenous ale of Aotearoa.
Following some early success, Waituna brewing company approached the NZ Institute for crop and food research, to develop a commercial brew and provide assistance with meeting the standards of
the regulatory authorities.
Technology NZ and the Poutama Trust supported this research along with some market development.
The Poupatate Marae and Raukawa Iwi (Tribe) have supported and blessed this project.
