In a match made in hop heaven two of the most innovative craft brewers in the Asia-Pacific have partnered to bring the taste of Vietnam to New Zealand.
From late 2020 Behemoth Brewing will be brewing a range of Heart of Darkness beers under supervision at its newly established brewery site in Mount Eden, Auckland. The partnership also extends to distribution, with Behemoth and their regional distribution partners selling Heart of Darkness beers throughout New Zealand.
Both brewers are renowned for their quick fire limited release beer programs (as well as bold, hop forward styles) which has seen them produce over 400 new beers in the last couple of years.
John Pemberton, Founder of Heart of Darkness, said, “Giving people a taste of Vietnamese craft beer in New Zealand is going to be a fun journey for us and Behemoth to work together on. I know that Andrew and his team are going to have a great time brewing our beers and we hope the New Zealand craft beer drinker is going to get a lot of enjoyment from having fresh Heart of Darkness brews available to them.”
Andrew Childs, Founder of Behemoth said of the partnership, “I first met John when myself and my wife, Hannah, were on our honeymoon in Vietnam. We came across the Heart of Darkness bar in Saigon after a long hot day of sightseeing and loved their beers. After visiting for the 4th time in a week we introduced ourselves to John. Since then we have been firm friends with John, Duane and the team.”
“About a year ago whilst at the SEABREW conference in Thailand we started talking about whether there was an opportunity to do something together in New Zealand. Then COVID lockdowns hit both our businesses, and although it delayed a few things, we realised over lots and lots of Zoom calls that brewing something exotic from overseas might go some way to help the homebound situation we currently have in New Zealand.”
Childs continued, “We are honoured to be trusted with brewing their beers and distributing them in New Zealand. As a beer geek myself, I am excited about drinking them, they have massive flavours and are skillfully made. I strongly believe they will be a positive addition to the New Zealand craft beer scene.”
Heart of Darkness and Behemouth are no strangers to collaboration, having first worked together on Churtz’s Insane Hazy Double IPA & This Goes To Eleven Hazy IPA, both big, hop forward brews.
The first beers Behemoth will brew for Heart of Darkness at their new facility will be core range beers Kurtz’s Insane IPA and Some Sorcerer Hazy IPA, followed by limited seasonal releases every month or so.
Provisional release date is the middle of November, with the beers packaged into 440ml cans and 50L kegs.
