Garage Project is an independent New Zealand brewery based in Aro Valley, Wellington.[1] The brewery was founded in 2011 by brothers Ian and Pete Gillespie and Jos Ruffell, who turned a dilapidated car garage to brewing 50 litres at a time and more recently to producing 24 new beers in 24 weeks. The 24/24 project produced many beers that are still in production- Aro Noir, Pernicious Weed, Venusian Pale Ale, Cockswain's Courage, Hāpi Daze, Biére de Garage, Red Rocks, Golden Brown, Day of Dead, Hellbender, Summer Sommer, and Rum & Raisin. [2]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Brewery |
| Founded | 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand |
| Founders | Ian Gillespie, Pete Gillespie, Jos Ruffell |
| Website | garageproject |
The brewery has created over 300 different beers.[3]
The brewery has grown considerably since 2011, winning the Deloitte Fast 50 in 2015 with over 660% annual growth,[4] and distribution in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Sweden and California.
Garage Project established a Cellar Door and Taproom in their Aro Valley, Wellington site,[5] a mixed fermentation and barrel location in central Wellington dubbed the "Wild Workshop",[6] and most recently a Cellar Door in Kingsland, Auckland.[7] In 2017 Garage Project announced a partnership with brew house bStudio in the Hawkes Bay.[8]
Garage Project has won numerous awards- In the 2018 GABS Hottest 100 Kiwi Craft Beers poll, Garage Project claimed 19 spots, including #2 for Death from Above, #3 for Pernicious Weed, and #5 for Party & Bullshit.[9] They were named NZ Brewery of the Year in 2017 by the New Zealand Brewers Guild Awards, edging out 111 other breweries and claiming 26 medals.[10]
In 2017 Garage Project announced they would also begin production of natural wines called GP Crushed, made at their central Wellington location. The initial launch features four wines: a Riesling bottled mid-fermentation and spiked with Lactobacillus, a 100% Brettanomyces fermented New Zealand Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir that has undergone carbonic maceration before being spiked with Brett, and a Sauvignon/Semillon blend that has been bottled pét-nat. More wild wines are due to be released in 2018.[11]
Garage Project's Hāpi Daze pale ale is served aboard Singapore Airlines flights to and from New Zealand.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Garage Project named NZ's best brewery". Newshub. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- ^ "24/24 in Retrospective". Garage Project. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ Team, The Untappd. "Garage Project". Untappd. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Garage Project takes top ranking on 2015 Deloitte Fast 50 index | Deloitte New Zealand | Press release". Deloitte New Zealand. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Our locations". Garage Project. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Wellington brewery Garage Project to set wild yeasts free in new warehouse". Stuff. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ Noted. "Experimental beer purveyors Garage Project open a cellar door in Kingsland". Noted. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Garage Project to open new brew site in Hawke's Bay". Stuff. February 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Wellington.scoop.co.nz » Panhead and Garage Project voted most popular craft beers". wellington.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
- ^ "Garage Project wins Champion NZ Brewery | Brewers Guild of New Zealand". www.brewersguild.org.nz. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ "Totally Natural – New Zealand's Garage Project Launches Range of Natural Wines". Good Beer Hunting. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
- ^ Bradley, Grant (2017-05-31). "Singapore Airlines teams up with New Zealand craft brewer Garage Project". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2018-03-22.