Behind the Beer // Kotuku
Nelson Sauvin hops are popular these days for good reason, they smell incredible. For a while we’ve wanted to make a straight forward Pale Ale focussing on the white wine like fruitiness of Nelson Sauvin. Eric, our Head Brewer, finally put Kotuku in the schedule to brew this past December!
Dry hopped with more Nelson, we also threw in some Citra, Hallertau Blanc and Huell Melon into the fermenter. This gives Kotuku added notes of gooseberry, wine grapes, and tropical fruit. Brewed with Pilsner malt, oat flakes and wheat for body, Kotuku pours hazy and finishes dry with a refreshing bitterness.
We’ve put a goal in place this year to have a couple hoppy beers kicking around at all times and this is the first hop forward release for us this year.
Behind the Design // Kotuku
I’d also like to do a better job this year of letting you into the process of why we name beers what we do and why the label ends up looking the way it does!
Kotuku is the Maori name given to the extremely rare White Heron that breads on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As a symbol of things both beautiful and rare, the kotuku has an important place in Māori folklore. To compare someone to a kotuku in Māori culture is a very big compliment.
Sami, our designer, sent a few options based on the name, all reflecting a light and airy feeling relating to the bird in an abstract way. See below.
I knew that Kith And Kin (our Brassneck Collab) was coming out around the same time and its base colour was white, so Option 2 was crossed off the list. Option 3 was a bit to “kid friendly” for me which felt weird when producing a beer. I decided to go with Option 1. I liked how the lines reflected the length of the White Heron’s legs in an abstract way. Sami always knocks it out of the park so choosing labels is actually a harder process than you think.
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Kotuku is available in our Tasting Room for a limited time and will ship out early this month to private liquor stores. I hope you dig it as much as we do!
Cheers,
Jorden
