A garage hobby has become a niche business, making its name in the rural event space.

Eventbrew, founded by husband and wife team Nick and Bronwen Rutland, is a bespoke craft beer company that creates custom beer for events.

“I love brewing quality craft beer that people can enjoy on any occasion,” Nick says

“Growing the brewery from producing 50 litres of beer to 150 litres has been rewarding.”

Nick began his craft brewing journey nine years ago after attending a brewer course while the couple lived in Wellington.

“I got a bit of a taste for it, literally.

“And then my friend had some brewing kit that he had purchased but never really used and literally threw it at me and said you can have it.”

Nick spent the next few years perfecting his brewing process, moving from bottles to brewing beer in kegs.

The couple moved to Christchurch, and Nick continued brewing.

It wasn’t long before the word got out, and friends asked Nick to provide the beer for their wedding.

The beer went down a treat and gave the couple the idea to make the brewery an event business.

“In the process of doing the beer for the wedding, we realised that people wanted to buy our beer,” Bronwen said.

“But in the process, we also watched our friends do the whole do-it-yourself setup of the bar and beverage service.

“For most people, a wedding is the first time they’ve organised an event.”

Bronwen, who has experience as an event manager, saw the opportunity to not only create beer for events but also provide an end-to-end beverage service to take the hassle out of serving alcohol for couples on their big day, as well as other events.

“We realised there was a market out there for two things.

“Craft beer that we can label for an event to make it special to them and to take the hassle out of the beverage catering side.

The Rutland’s kitted out their garage to make a dedicated, licenced brewery and registered the business.

They brew beer for events and can label and name the beer to make it memorable for event organisers, a service that has already proved popular for weddings.

Ingredients for the craft beer are sourced locally.

Malt and yeast are sourced from Gladfield Malt, and hops are purchased from Nelson Hops.

Eventbrews’ first official gig was the 2023 FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final in Timaru.

“I knew the team organising the event, and they also had a bit of a passion for craft beer themselves.

“They just sort of threw it our way and said we need to work out the bar situation; why don’t you handle that and brew some craft beer for us at the same time?”

With around 800 attendees expected at the Grand Final, the Rutland's spent six months preparing for the event.

“We set up the bar, all the glassware, and staff and ran it all night.

“We also looked after all the alcohol management and alcohol licencing.

“It was good fun.”

With a lot of events held in random places, licensing can often be a headache for inexperienced event organisers.

The logistics come naturally for Bronwen, who has handled events management for organisations like Ravensdown and South Island Agricultural Field Days.

“I love problem-solving and making things happen.”

The Rutlands hope that Eventbrew will tap into a unique market looking for custom-brewed and labelled beer and an end-to-end event beverage service.

“We are trying to serve a market where people want to brand beer for people holding a special event or for businesses marking an occasion.

“If you go to a caterer, they provide everything related to food.

“As a beverage supplier, we handle anything liquid, is how I like to think of it.”

by Claire Inkson