Founded by David Gillies, Wanaka Beerworks has come a long way since opening Central Otago’s first ever micro brewery in Lake Wanaka way back in 1998.
The legend goes that he got sick of drinking normal, run of the mill style beer on the lake front of Wanaka with his mate, who then owned the well known cafe Kai Whaka Pai.
They then conspired to create something a bit different, a bit more like he had been used to finding back in his native California, where micro breweries were much more common.
From there the original ‘Brewski’ was born and Dave and his mates were finally happy…and refreshed.
Today Wanaka Beerworks produces hundreds of thousands of litres of ‘liquid gold’ each year and is still fed by the pristine alpine spring water that we have exclusive access to brew with, and yeah, we think that’s pretty special.
You will still find people enjoying Brewski on the lake front at Kai Whaka Pai and you will also find it and many of our other tasty brews being enjoyed all over Wanaka and Central Otago in many other fine establishments.
Our products are constantly expanding and evolving thanks to our passionate brewers and innovative team who we are unashamedly super proud of.
Dave has since moved on and passed the torch so to speak but our brewery still remains 100% locally owned and operated here in beautiful Wanaka and whilst we are committed to innovation and keeping up with all the latest trends in this growing industry we never forget our roots and recognise the importance of maintaining the values, principles and supporters that helped the brewery get to where it is today.
Life is good.
Find us out by the Toy and Transport Museum next to Wanaka Airport on SH6.
Our Taproom is open 7 days (10am-5pm) offering all our brews as well as tours of the brewery.
Jump onto our website or find us on facebook/Instagram for the latest updates.
