NOT EXTINCT: Josh Scott is at the forefront of a craft beer revolution with his rapidly expanding Moa Beer Company. Photo Dan Hutchinson
By Dan Hutchinson
Something strange is brewing right under the educated noses of Marlborough’s finest winemakers.
At first glance, there is nothing overly suspicious about the building, aside from a giant metal Moa standing guard outside.
In the same neighbourhood as Cloudy Bay Wines and Allan Scott, it could be just another winery, except it isn’t.
Sure there are stainless steel tanks everywhere but the bottles rattling along the conveyor are suspiciously small, the smell is not fermenting grapes but hops and there are other, more exotic smells of berries and spices.
Winemaker and owner of Moa Beer, Josh Scott is clearly in his element as he discusses the finer points of his rapidly growing craft brewery.
By day, Josh is the group winemaker for the family business Allan Scott Wines but by night he is chief taster for his pride and joy.
Like many craft brewers in New Zealand, Josh is on a mission to convert the mass-produced lager swilling heathens into beer snobs.
“Right from a very early age, I have been interested in alcohol.”
He remembers clearly, his first wine epiphany – a Muller Thurgau from Montana.
“I remember smelling apples in it and I was hooked.”
The 27-year-old alcohol aristocrat worked in the family vineyards and winery in his youth. Straight after high school he did the Diploma in Viticulture and Wine Production at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.
He then spent a couple of years in Loire, France – the home of sauvignon blanc before moving to the wine regions of California for a further two years.
His palate had become accustomed to the craft beers overseas and when he returned he found there was a very limited selection to choose from.
“There was nothing here so I decided to make it myself. The whole concept is a wine maker’s idea of beer.
“We are trying to educate people that there are different flavours and there can be some snobbery in it.”
With five people employed full-time, including an experienced brewer, Josh’s involvement is now one of oversight and, in his own words “chief taster”.
The brewery has produced close to 100,000 litres of beer this year and production could be expected to double next year.
Josh said he wants to make Moa the largest craft brewery in New Zealand and is investing in technology to that end. It is perhaps the only craft brewery in the country with a fully automated bottling line.
The brewery now makes seven different beers entirely from New Zealand ingredients.
The domestic market is still the major base for sales with increasing volumes being exported to the United States, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and China.
As group winemaker for the family business – Allan Scott Wines, just across the road, Josh has a busy schedule
in the shadows the vines and chateaus of Marlborough’s most famous wine making Nestled within Marlborough’s most famous wineries
practical winemaker, Josh has been around wine all his life, so it was natural for him to pursue a career in the wine industry. He has a Diploma in Viticulture and Wine Production from NMIT, and has worked vintages in France as well as in California’s Napa Valley before returning home to Allan Scott Wines.
Apart from his duties here he is also involved in the winemaking processes at the other group wineries and in 2003 he established the Moa Beer Company making a bottled conditioned (Méthode Traditionnelle) pilsner style lager. Outside work, Josh plays representative rugby and enjoys outdoor pursuits of hunting, diving and skiing. He is also a keen competitor in multi-sport events.
By Dan Hutchinson
Something strange is brewing right under the educated noses of Marlborough’s finest winemakers.
At first glance, there is nothing overly suspicious about the building, aside from a giant metal Moa standing guard outside.
In the same neighbourhood as Cloudy Bay Wines and Allan Scott, it could be just another winery, except it isn’t.
Sure there are stainless steel tanks everywhere but the bottles rattling along the conveyor are suspiciously small, the smell is not fermenting grapes but hops and there are other, more exotic smells of berries and spices.
Winemaker and owner of Moa Beer, Josh Scott is clearly in his element as he discusses the finer points of his rapidly growing craft brewery.
By day, Josh is the group winemaker for the family business Allan Scott Wines but by night he is chief taster for his pride and joy.
Like many craft brewers in New Zealand, Josh is on a mission to convert the mass-produced lager swilling heathens into beer snobs.
“Right from a very early age, I have been interested in alcohol.”
He remembers clearly, his first wine epiphany – a Muller Thurgau from Montana.
“I remember smelling apples in it and I was hooked.”
The 27-year-old alcohol aristocrat worked in the family vineyards and winery in his youth. Straight after high school he did the Diploma in Viticulture and Wine Production at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology.
He then spent a couple of years in Loire, France – the home of sauvignon blanc before moving to the wine regions of California for a further two years.
His palate had become accustomed to the craft beers overseas and when he returned he found there was a very limited selection to choose from.
“There was nothing here so I decided to make it myself. The whole concept is a wine maker’s idea of beer.
“We are trying to educate people that there are different flavours and there can be some snobbery in it.”
With five people employed full-time, including an experienced brewer, Josh’s involvement is now one of oversight and, in his own words “chief taster”.
The brewery has produced close to 100,000 litres of beer this year and production could be expected to double next year.
Josh said he wants to make Moa the largest craft brewery in New Zealand and is investing in technology to that end. It is perhaps the only craft brewery in the country with a fully automated bottling line.
The brewery now makes seven different beers entirely from New Zealand ingredients.
The domestic market is still the major base for sales with increasing volumes being exported to the United States, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam and China.
As group winemaker for the family business – Allan Scott Wines, just across the road, Josh has a busy schedule
in the shadows the vines and chateaus of Marlborough’s most famous wine making Nestled within Marlborough’s most famous wineries
practical winemaker, Josh has been around wine all his life, so it was natural for him to pursue a career in the wine industry. He has a Diploma in Viticulture and Wine Production from NMIT, and has worked vintages in France as well as in California’s Napa Valley before returning home to Allan Scott Wines.
Apart from his duties here he is also involved in the winemaking processes at the other group wineries and in 2003 he established the Moa Beer Company making a bottled conditioned (Méthode Traditionnelle) pilsner style lager. Outside work, Josh plays representative rugby and enjoys outdoor pursuits of hunting, diving and skiing. He is also a keen competitor in multi-sport events.
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