At Beervana 2019, a group of young Kāpiti entrepreneurs unveiled their new brand of craft beer, Change Maker. Now it’s become a commercial reality.
The Independence Collective has commissioned four independent brewers to make 40,000 litres of the new Change Maker range – pale ale, pilsner, IPA and XPA – and it's scheduled to hit supermarket shelves throughout the country this month.
Each brewery will make 5000 litres (or 10,000 bottles) of beer. Duncan’s Brewing Company in Kāpiti will produce the pale ale and Moa Brewing Company in Blenheim will make the pilsner, while Auckland’s Behemoth Brewing Company will produce the IPA and Sawmill Brewery the XPA.
Nathan Martin, Janie Tutton, Cameron Stichbury and Neville Pugh are members of The Independence Collective, which is managed by IHC's Gordon Cumming. Gordon is finalising a distribution agreement with Foodstuffs to get the bottles on the shelves of New World and Liquorland outlets.
The collective members say its name says it all. “We are the change we want to see in the world for both ourselves and for other people with intellectual disabilities.”
“We have got an amazing story to tell,” Gordon says. He says the beer is being made by award-winning brewers and he is confident it will go down a treat.
Change Maker began life as Neville, a craft pale ale, brewed in partnership with brewer George Duncan. The group has been selling their beer since October 2018 to Kāpiti bars and cafés, as well as online and at selected events.
Photo caption: (From left) The Independence Collective's Nathan Martin, Cameron Stichbury, Neville Pugh and Janie Tutton are ready to market their new range.
This story was published in Community Moves. The magazine is posted free to all IHC members.
