Chatterton was the mastermind behind the recipe and they were soon selling the crackers at Wanganui's River Traders Market alongside their beer and through Ambrosia on Ridgeway St.
They proved popular right off the bat so Cheyne and Chatterton headed for Wellington on Easter Saturday this year. There was no promotion or fancy display. They just handed out samples and the punters opened their wallets.
"It was just this big dish with crackers on it, that's it. We sold out by 2pm," Cheyne said.
"There's so many consumers out there." Chatterton added.
The men realised the Mash Tun business could fly and since then brewing has taking a back seat as they spend four days a week baking and signing up suppliers around the country.
"Now it's like we've gone from brewers to bakers. We couldn't keep up with our brewing to keep up with our crackers," Cheyne said.
Cheyne and Chatterton started approaching craft beer brewers and struck gold with Paraparaumu based outfit Tuatara. A couple of meetings with the big wigs and Mash Tun and Tuatara had a deal.
Tuatara were interested in zero-waste beer production and offered its used grain in exchange for a logo on the Mash Tun packets.
"That's their vision and we have a similar ethos, together we're sort of stepping in the right direction."
Mash Tun have been turning grain from Tuatara's pilsner, pale ale and porter brews into crackers. "We're basically baking Tuatara beers," Cheyne said.
"The wine and cheese people love it, it's not really a beer drinkers' product." Chatterton said. The pair have plans for more beer and bar-friendly snacks soon and there are also plans to employ.
"At the moment we've been making phone calls, we haven't been baking, we've been trying to get the ducks in a line," Cheyne said.
They bake the crackers themselves, after hours at a bakery in town and Wanganui Enterprises is employed to help with packaging.
"We're starting to get this nice little system happening around town."
