Parrotdog was awarded Champion New Zealand Large Brewery, proudly sponsored by HPA. The Lyall Bay brewery was conceived in 2011 out of a love for good beer by three guys called Matt. They’re continuing to do what they started back then: making approachable, award-winning beer. We got in touch with Brewing Director Matt Warner to congratulate the team, and ask a few questions about their beers, the importance of friendship, and a change of perspective.

Q: Congrats on your recent success at the 2024 New Zealand Beer Awards. As proud sponsors of your trophy for Champion New Zealand Large Brewery, can you tell us where the name Parrotdog came from?  

A: Cheers, the whole team is incredibly proud to be crowned Champion New Zealand Large Brewery – its great recognition for all the hard work everyone is putting into making high quality beer every day.

The name Parrotdog has very simple origins – my Co-Founder Matt Kristofski and I call each other ‘Dog’, and Matt had a pet parrot named ‘Smee’ when we started home-brewing in our student flat.

Q: You also won the trophy for Best NZ Pilsner for Sundog and Best International Lager for L.B. Cold IPA. What was the inspiration behind this Lager/IPA hybrid? 

A: Both trophy winning beers are actually Lager/Ale hybrids – our Sundog NZ Pilsner is fermented with an Ale yeast and the L.B. Cold IPA is fermented with a Lager yeast. The Cold IPA was our third attempt at trying to nail down what we interpreted this modern US style to be, without ever really getting to taste a classic example from over there. It’s a fun style to brew, combining the classic smoothness of a lager ferment with the big, dry and hoppy characters typical of the well-known West Coast IPA style. 

Q: Bitterbitch, your troublesome original release named for the problematic first brew day which hugely emphasised its hop bitterness, has evolved nicely over the years. It was awarded another gold medal in the NZ IPA, Pale and Draught category, and has been the heart of your core range…until recently. Has the success of Birdseye been a refreshing change of perspective?  

A: I see what you did there – nice. Bitterbitch has always been the true heart and soul of this brewery. It’s still our second biggest seller by a decent margin. The slightly darker/maltier IPA style seems to be anti-seasonal – it is such a consistent seller for us throughout the year. Birdseye took our best seller spot by storm during the Covid lockdowns in 2020, and remains a clear leader for us now. It certainly drove a lot of extra sales and production for us – a real game-changer. The Hazy IPA style just appeals to so many modern beer drinkers.

Q: Parrotdog has been in existence in some form since the end of 2009. How did you go from avid home brewers to fully fledged commercial brewers?

A: In 2011, after home brewing for two years, we decided to make the leap and try contract brewing our first 1,000L batch commercial release. Things didn’t quite go to plan when scaling up our homebrew recipe, but after some emergency tweaking (throwing more hops at it) it ended up being a crowd favourite at the local Beervana festival and the rest is history.

Q: You had some guerilla methods of getting your early brews into bars. How crucial have your friendships with fellow beer enthusiasts been to your success?

A: The craft beer scene in Wellington in the early 2010s was a huge reason that we ended up having the inspiration and confidence to begin Parrotdog. The scene was so vibrant back then and there were many supportive industry folks who gave us crucial tips for the business of brewing, or even a leg-up to help sell our beer through their bars and stores. Friends, family and fellow beer enthusiasts have also been very instrumental in helping us get to where we are today. 

Q: Finally, how many Matt’s are there in your growing team?  

A: Still just the three. We’ve somehow managed not to hire another Matt in 13 years.