CASSELS & SONS

Cassels of Christchurch is yet another example of that proudly typical New Zealand ethos of doing it yourself. From humble passions, Alasdair Cassels stoked his burning beginnings by building his own wood-fired brewery. Taking inspiration from a model he had seen from Germany, Alasdair and his brother Ian designed and built their first large scale brick and steel wood-fired kettle, for heating the liquor with which to brew the beer.

Since 2009, Cassels has been brewing beer out of the original Christchurch tannery in Woolston, and since 2010 has been winning awards for them, starting with a bronze medal for their dunkel at the BrewNZ awards, and most recently in the 2022 World Beer Awards with two beers - Gold and Best in the World for their Milk Stout, and Gold for their Nectaron IPA. It should be noted that from 2019, the Milk Stout won the Best Stout in the World award at the World Beer Awards for four years running, only ending their streak in 2023.

Like Glengarry, Cassels operates as a family owned and operated enterprise, with Alasdair’s son Zak taking over the leadership as managing director in 2022, continuing the Cassels legacy of excellence and innovation.

Here at Cassels we have an amazing team of brewers who are passionate about the beer that they brew. Our brewery is headed up by our Executive Brewer, Simon Bretherton, ex Little Creatures Brewery, Perth, Australia and Boddington’s UK. Our brewers focus remains on quality and craftsmanship, using local ingredients. Both our breweries are situated at The Tannery in Woolston, Christchurch. The wood-fired kettle is situated at The Brewery Restaurant & Bar, and our 25HL DME brewhouse at Maunsell Street. Through our investment in people and equipment and an uncompromising approach to quality we can ensure freshness and quality for the longest possible time.