Brewers' business is ale and hearty

CHEERS: Owners of Regent 58 Alehouse Brent Goble (left) and Gary Fisher prepare to celebrate the pub's first anniversary this weekend.PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Those helping to celebrate the birthday of Carterton's Regent 58 Alehouse can expect "good beer, good company and good music", say owners Brent Goble and Gary Fisher.

The pair are celebrating the first anniversary of their craft-beer alehouse on Stubbs Lane by holding a birthday bash with live music and a free barbecue this Saturday.

Describing themselves as "brewers who happen to have a bar", Mr Goble said the Alehouse had been a success, with between one third to half the brewery's beer sold through the bar.

"It was always in the back of our minds to do something like this and it's done much better than we anticipated."

As well as providing a venue for the pair to sell their range of beers, which include pale ale, red ale, session ale, porter, stout and an India pale ale (IPA), the Alehouse had become a hub for those in the community with an appreciation of good beer, Mr Goble said.

"It's a community centre as much as anything - we are fulfilling a need in the community, really."

And with the closure of The Lounge Bar several years ago, there was a limited number of bars available in Carterton, he said.

"People enjoy the company here. It's not like they come here to get trolleyed ... it's not like the bad old days of the six o'clock closing."

The small size of the family-friendly bar, which holds about 25 people, also worked to its advantage, he said.

"Because we are so small people come in not knowing anyone, but leave knowing the whole bar."

The Alehouse had found a particularly strong following among British expats who "appreciate a good ale", and who were petitioning for extended opening hours and Sunday boardgame sessions.

While the brewery's most popular beer, the IPA, comes in at 6.3 per cent, it was closely followed in popularity by the lower-alcohol session ale, which is 4 per cent, Mr Goble said.

The brewery, which has been operating for about five years, bottles several hundred litres of beer every week and even makes its own crates.

Using Motueka hops and Canterbury barley, Mr Fisher described their approach to brewing as one of "trial and error".

"It's nice to have a chance to do something a bit creative ... there's rules that you've got to follow, but we don't try to get too clever with it."

Mr Goble said brewing was a "bit like cooking".

"We know what we like - and having a basic knowledge of the grains and the hops that you can use, we take it from there."

While fond of the current premises, the pair would like to eventually own their own venue, Mr Goble said.

The Regent 58 Alehouse first birthday party runs from 2pm to 10pm this Saturday.

Bands playing include Wellington's Vas Deferens and Die Krabben.