(updated on the 6 June  2010))

Brew Master and Big chief bottle washer – Reuben Lee

Management, maintenance and general dog’s body – Andrew Dixon (with whippings from Jane!)

Quality control panel – Neil, Two stroke Dave, Brian, Pete, Humfrey, David, Nicky, Paul, John & Jenny (in heaven), Jamie, Chris, Lance, Lisa, Geoff, Steve, Wendy, Rod, Bruce, Glen, Greg, Jamie, Vinny, Punj, Joe, Simon and anyone else with positive feed back to offer.

   want to order some by mail? click here  or check out THE BEER STORE  Want to rate our beers? click here

.... and now for the beers.....

 Click on the labels to view a larger version. If you would like a set of labels for your collection, send me $15 and I'll send you a set. (see collectables) otherwise, just print your own from here.

Beers on tap  

  PRODUCTS IN RED HIGHLIGHTER AVAILABLE NOW

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 Captain Cooker Manuka Beer  -  The Mussel Inn flagship  - A red brown beer flavoured with the freshly picked tips of the Manuka tree. 

Read the story 

Availability:    Retail outlets      Fresh from the brewery         Beerstore        Trade enquiries   

Also brewed in Invercargill , Belgium , in Salt Lake City, Utah, by the  Squatters brewery   and the  Hawkshead Brewery  , UK


The other two regulars on tap....

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Golden Goose Lager - A hoppy golden lager. No shell, no feathers, just pure gold. 4%

Also available in 1.3 litre PETs  and 330ml bottles in selected supermarkets or by mail order (brewery) (Beerstore)

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 Dark Horse Black Beer - Very dark and roasty – not too dry. A solid and dependable performer - pulls away strong at the finish. 4%4%

Also available in 1.3 litre PETs  and 330ml bottles in selected supermarkets or by mail order (brewery) (Beerstore)


New Beers

  

Whit Pig - Manuka wheat beer 6% - on tap now 

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 Missing Lynx - Marchfest special limited edition 5.2%. 330ml bottle


The Specials....

Beers in bottles 

(For consumption at the Mussel Inn - no takeaways - we reuse all our bottles)

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Bitter Ass- Extra bitter brown ale - 8.5% -  So here she is - the baddest ass your like to encounter this summer.  From an extremely high hopping Stallion and a kick ass  funky Donkey - approach with caution! 500ml bottle conditioned nightmares to satisfy you double IPA geeks.

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Strong Ox Strong Dark Ale   - A bottle conditioned ale, fulsome with a slightly sweetish finish. For strength and endurance.6%

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Pale Whale Ale - A bottle conditioned pale ale. Big body – long tail! 6%

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Monkey Puzzle – extra strong ale - Belgium style ale full of … everything! Proceed with caution.10% 

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Lean Lamb Gueuze - our loose interpretation of a trad Belgium gueuze - slightly tart 'n somewhat frisky! New version out now - LAMBAGREENY - Feijoa gueuze - another one off wonder from the barrel of joy! Very limited supply

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Heat Rash Chilli Beer - Golden Goose with a chilli added to the bottle. The older the hotter. Small runs  available depending on supply of chilies. Usually available after the Easter chili harvest. Served with the chilli for those who can hack it. 4%

Seasonal  beers on tap or in the bottle

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WHITE TIGER - 5.7% SAISON. Big and fluffy but watch those teeth. Now sadly extinct.

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White Heron Wheat Beer  - Unfiltered hefe weizen style. Sharp at the top - long legs underneath. Wickedly quaffable. 4%. 

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Red Deer Draught  - Rich red lager with a trophy head. 4% . Just like Tui - yeah right!

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Red Herring Smokey Beer - A smooth brown beer with the addition of smoked malt. Better than a slap with a wet fish! 4%

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Whiskey Kiss Bourbon Barrel Fermented Beer - A brown beer fermented and matured in a bourbon barrel. 6%

Black Swan  - Dark wheat beer. Substantial body - long neck. 4%

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Bison Weizen Dark Wheat Beer  - Big and round and roly poly - nothing better to settle the dust after a good stampede. 4%

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Black Sheep Unusual Dark Beer  - A label reserved for that occasional dark beer that refuses to be easily  categorised. 3-7%

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Weka - Tasty Dark Ale - a barrel aged strong darkish Belgian styled sour ale. One of a kind and extremely rare! 6% 

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Polar Beer - Pale - not seen since the big blizzard of '98

Other products

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Apple Roughy Cider - dry organic apple cider. A great mix of Sturmers, Grannies and other random  apples from around the hood. Rough 'n country as it should be! 4% (pressing 09)

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Freckled Frog Feijoa Fizz - A fun and frivolous 100% feijoa cider (contains no apple). A worryingly easy quaffer. 4%

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Savvy Blonde – Sauvignon blanc made from fruit grown in Riwaka (over the hill) – medium dry. Unfiltered to retain maximum flavour and body. This is the wine of the house. When at the Mussel Inn, this is the white wine you drink! This years vintage now available and looking good. See Henry and Reuben in action.

Weasel's    2% - Any of our 4% beers cut 50/50 with soda water. A shandy without the sugar. Great for drivers and wowsers.

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Side Winder - Bourbon barrel matured cider. Cider with a bite!

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Old Slugger - 100% natural slug bait. Let those slippery little buggers die in the most pleasant way imaginable - to drown in beer!

Alcohol free:

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Ginger Beer – real ginger and raw sugar with a touch of mint. Grandma's envy.

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Lemming Aid – lemon juice, crushed lemons and sugar. Of course its good for ya!

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Pink Panther - Cut the legs off a lemming and smack it with a raspberry! Watch those kids go!!!

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Lemonashi  – Organic nashi pear and lemon juice from fruit grown in Onekaka. No added sugar. Very seasonal - comes out around late Jan to mid Feb. if the fruit behaves itself. THIS YEAR - MOST YUMMY!

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Karanji Crystal - Pure water as used in all of our liquid products - straight from the source, filtered through the forest of Kahurangi National Park. This water is un-pasteurized and has had nothing removed from it, bringing you all the life giving goodness that the modern world does it's best to deprive us of. Bottled in recycled bottles. Available on tap NOW.

Products in the pipeline.....

Kaka-Cola - we're workin' on it!

 About the Brewery

  The brewery is located adjacent to the Mussel Inn in a small purpose built building built in the winter of 1995. The brew length is 12 hecto litres (1200L) - a fairly standard size for most micro breweries.

The main ingredient for our beers – the water – comes from a small stream in the hills behind the Mussel Inn – bush filtered and low in dissolved minerals. The hops we use are locally grown organic varieties with a couple of special brews being made from our own hops which grow around the front of the Mussel Inn. For bittering we mainly use Pacific Gem followed by either NZ Hallatau or Riwaka (Saaz D) for aroma. Our organic pale malt which makes up the bulk of the grist is grown and malted in Canterbury by Gladfield Malts. Until such time as someone in NZ starts producing them, the small quantities of ‘coloured’ malts we use are imported from Australia.

All of our beers are produced in the traditional way, using a gravitational system in the brewing process. We use a straight infusion mash and a gas fired kettle. Except for our bottle conditioned ales which use various top fermenting ale yeasts, a bottom fermenting lager yeast is used in both our lagers and dark beers, fermented at 13°. All beers are unfiltered and are naturally carbonated in the conditioning tanks (no added Co²)

WHY NO TAKE AWAYS?  (click to find out)

It is our belief that beers are best consumed as near to the point of origin as possible and for this reason our beers are not available in bottles to take away from the Mussel Inn. However - due to popular demand, the Goose, Pig and Horse are now available in 1.3 litre PET bottles in our local Fresh Choice Super market and spreading. The Captain Cooker is now available in 330ml glass bottles and will be joined shortly by the Goose and Horse. (availability)

 Want to order some by mail? click here or check out THE BEER STORE

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