Tui Brewery, Mangatainoka

We stayed a few nights at the Mangatainoka Reserve, right across the road from the Tui Brewery.

We were parked right alongside the river and went to sleep each night listening to the sound of the river.

Dave picked up a fishing licence and tried a few casts, but no fish were biting.

There were a couple of Pied Stilts feeding in the river.

Of course, being so close to the Tui Brewery, we had to pay them a visit.

We went on a half hour tour to see how the beer was made. Tours are at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

The Tui girls . . . remember them from the TV adverts? Well, apparently they visit on the last Sunday of each month. All we saw of them on this trip was pics.

There's even a place where you can have your photo taken with them.

More memories of those hilarious adverts they used to have.

Not to mention the billboards that used to pop up all over the country.

We went on the morning tour. I was surprised at how small the area is where they actually do the brewing. Many of the old buildings are no longer in use, and the newer white part at the base of the iconic Tui Tower is where they earthquake proofed it.

Their operations have been scaled down significantly over the past few years, and the brewery is now owned by DB Breweries (Heineken).

Tui's history can be read here on their website. Never boring, everything Tui radiates humour and fun, especially those TV adverts. I found a couple on YouTube: Getting Past the Girls and the Guys in the Trailer. Note how large the trailer appears in the video clip? Well, here's the real thing—not so big after all! Interesting what you can do with a camera.

Here's where they make the beer . . .

. . .  and the process.

Following the tour, there was an opportunity to taste some of their beers. They have quite a range, but most of them are only available here at the Brewery.

These were some of the different hops they use. They actually smelt really nice—and all different. Notice that a couple of them are from the USA!

As it was lunch time, beer-battered fries and a beer seemed an excellent way to finish up our experience. With Tui sauces of course!

If you cannot see "Post a Comment" below, click here (and scroll down to the bottom of the post) to talk to me!