They started off no different to everyone else. Four blokes used to British and European choices find options in New Zealand limited. In 2008 good beer is being brewed but few places are yet to sell it. They hold a few beer festivals, find the interest is there, and make an offer on the struggling local pub.
Where the story differs is that they go full-craft in an old-school booze barn, located in a town of 400 people, in rural Nelson. After a couple of years, the number of owners reduces to two — myself and David Watson — and the locals gradually get used to craft beer.
We weren’t far into our tenure, when after hours of homework we found the Moutere Inn was in fact the oldest in New Zealand still in its original building. It’s largely untouched with layers of lino and shingles under the occasional updates and wooden floors.
It was built by a German guy called Cordt Bensemann and many of his descendants are still regulars. He was largely responsible for keeping Upper Moutere alive in the 1860s, when there was a plan to change the main road to an easier route away from the town. Cordt put a barrel of beer (probably from Harley’s Brewery) next to the road and gave notice that a free drink would be given to every man who voted in favour of the old route.
The Inn was then largely forgotten, servicing a horticultural area, while Nelson grew. There was no pressure to rebuild bigger and better. Power arrived in the 1950s and DB Breweries expanded the bar in the 1960s, at the tail-end of the Six O’Clock Swill era.
Enter the four blokes with a slap of paint and some garden bar improvements. Seventeen years later, and the Inn has made it to its 175th year!
Turning the Inn into a destination has probably saved it from closure. There’s history on the walls but not the full-on ‘stagecoach wheels’ stuff. It’s a nice open, sunny bar, without a telly and without any advertising at all. Dave and myself have created a place we wanted to be, and would choose to go ourselves, if heading out for an evening.
We’re approaching 600 different beers through the taps. The ratio of craft beer drinkers in our small, rural New Zealand town is quite high and that’s something a lot of local hop growers appreciate.
We also embraced the local wineries, only stocking wines if they’re grown on Moutere clay. That’s a 10km limit — call it the Moutere Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée.
There are no big events planned for the 175th which will be celebrated on Labour Weekend — the same day as the local ‘Moutere Artisans Open Day’. Maybe a couple of bands and a few old-style German dishes to acknowledge the Inn’s history.
And if you don’t already know, the Moutere Inn is for sale, building and business. Seventeen years is quite a while to run a single hospitality business. We’ve made it to the 175th anniversary but will leave the 200th to someone else.