We had the absolute pleasure of hosting Tim Newman from Pursuit of Hoppiness out at the brewery recently, and his write-up hit us right in the feels. Winding his way up our narrow hillside road in Tai Tapu, Tim captured what makes this place—and this project—so close to our hearts: the stillness, the history, the stubborn self-sufficiency, and of course, the beer.

From humble 50L batches to churning out 3,000L a week, scaling up meant it was time for Thief Brewing to leave the cramped garage days behind. We teamed up with the legends at Alpine Buildings to create a purpose-built brewery on our patch in Tai Tapu - designed for efficiency, built to last, and easy on the eye. Check out how it all came together in this case study from Alpine.

Back in 2015, we teamed up with Lincoln University to give student brewers a proper crack at craft. The top beer from a course-wide taste test got scaled up by Thief and poured fresh on tap at The Institution. It was all part of our mission to support future brewers, spark curiosity, and brew bloody good beer while we’re at it.

Way back when we were brewing 50-litre batches and roping in the bar regulars as unofficial taste-testers, Stuff took notice of our little operation. This early write-up from 2015 is a snapshot of Thief Brewing in its infancy - full of big dreams, bold hops, and plenty of late nights. Spoiler alert: we’ve come a long way since.