Bach Brewing

Craig Cooper grew up in Hawke’s Bay and spent many years spent at his grandparents’ bach on the Mahia Peninsula, a life story that informs Bach Brewing’s iconic Kiwi beach scene artwork.

He took a share in one of the country’s original craft breweries, Limburg, which closed after 10 years in 2008. Cooper kept the Limburg brands and recipes and after five years overseas in the alcohol industry, he moved back to New Zealand and started Bach Brewing, using two old Limburg recipes — for Hopsmacker and Czechmate — as a starting point.

Bach is proudly a “gypsy” brewery and the beers are brewed under contract at Auckland’s Steam Brewing. The brand has evolved and grown but remains focused on hop-forward beers. Their greatest claim to fame, however, was that they were the independent craft brand to market with a zero alcohol beer in 2021 and that beer, All Day IPA (and now All Day Hazy IPA), became the standard-bearer for naturally brewed non-alcoholic beers in New Zealand.