Emerson’s

Richard Emerson’s story across more than three decades of brewing is unique and iconic. He is the godfather of New Zealand brewing, setting the agenda for quality craft beer from 1992. Born deaf after his mother Ingrid contracted Rubella when she was pregnant, Richard grew up in Dunedin in the 1970s and 80s, falling in love with music despite his lack of hearing. A keen photographer he also inherited his father’s obsession with trains.

He fell in love with beer when the family spent a year in Edinburgh when he was 18, his father George taking a sabbatical from his Otago University work in biochemistry. When he returned home, Richard started home brewing and after many years perfecting his recipes, he convinced his parents to invest in a brewery. They brought in family and friends and the small coterie of locals set Emerson’s on a journey that would eventually span four brewing sites in Dunedin as the brewery grew and grew.

Emerson’s launched with London Porter in 1992 and that was followed by other legendary beers such as Bookbinder, Pilsner, Old 95 and Taieri George, a tribute to George Emerson who died in 2002.

Emerson’s made national headlines in 2012 when the brewery was sold to multinational Lion for $8 million. Richard stayed on as the face of the brand and Lion built him a “beer palace” on Anzac Avenue, right next to a railway line.