New Zealand: Lion to open micro-brewery in Christchurch in late March

Brewing giant Lion wants to revive its presence in Christchurch, New Zealand after the earthquake destroyed its iconic red building, but this time with the goal of creating the world's most sustainable brewery, Stuff.co.nz reported on January 28.

Lion's latest project, The Fermentist, will be a micro-brewery located on Colombo Street, near the old Canterbury Breweries.

Canterbury Breweries, which is owned by Lion Nathan, was on the corner of Antigua and St Asaph streets, but shut its doors in 2012 because of extensive earthquake damage.

Lion's sustainability manager Kat McDonald said the intent behind The Fermentist was to create transparency in how Lion produced its beer, and also to use it as a platform that educated consumers about what was behind their purchasing decisions.

All hops used to produce the beer will be sourced from Nelson.

The micro-brewery is planned to be solar-powered, have rain water storage, an electric vehicles fleet and has also partnered with a local grocer, Cultivate, that grows vegetables in Christchurch and delivers them by electric bike.

McDonald said the name The Fermentist was a play on the brewing process of the beer but also about the fermented foods that will be sold through its cafe.

"The name conjures up experimentation and trying new things while at the same time a lot of fermenters are recognising the well-being aspect of it," she said.

"Once the beer is set up they'll also be making some non-alcoholic drinks and probiotic drinks."

The cafe will also have a focus on providing a larger variety of vegetarian options as well as fermented foods including sauerkraut and yoghurts.

Only two per cent of Lion's waste went to the landfill as most of their unused grain was returned to farmers as stock feed.

Colmar Brunton's annual survey gauging the awareness of New Zealanders about sustainability said there had been a 7 per cent increase in people maintaining a vegetarian lifestyle in 2017 than four years prior.

The Sustainable Business Council's executive director Abbie Reynolds said the proportion of New Zealanders committing to a sustainable lifestyle was increasing each year.

"When 30 per cent of a population say they are highly committed to living a sustainable lifestyle, they have clearly become a target market in their own right," Reynolds said.

"As conscious consumerism grows overtime, it's increasingly going to be the company or brand's job to help them understand how they can make more sustainable choices."

McDonald said the success of The Fermentist would determine whether Lion's larger breweries would incorporate green-conscious alternatives to generating power and recycling hops during the beer-making process.

The Fermentist is expected to open in late March.

27 January, 2018