At the top of the stairs is For & Brewer, home of Fork Brewing. This bar, brewery, and restaurant is dedicated to celebrating the incredible contrasts and enhancements created by pairing great craft beer with original food.
When planning for Fork & Brewer began, there were no breweries in Wellington!
The brewery in the corner was designed in New Zealand and built in China in 2011. It was custom-built for Fork & Brewer and allows brewer Fork Brayden to brew about 1000 liters of fresh, beautiful beer at a time.
Fork and Brewer opened for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but we didn’t start brewing until a year later. The location, considered ideal because of its proximity to the old malt house, proved to be a challenge after the Christchurch earthquakes. No one wanted to sign off on the specifications for a brewery built upstairs.
The design and installation was overseen by experienced brewer Dion Page (formerly of Tuatara Brewery), who is now involved in maintenance to keep the tanks and pipes in good condition. There are many stories about the big and strong teammates of our team who help to drag the beer set across the balcony and skateboard it across the bar! One of the consequences of the construction issues is that Fork and Brewer is one of the safest (and best) places to be during an earthquake. Let that be a memo to everyone in Wellington during our next big series of earthquakes!!!
From their first brew in 2012 to now, our goal has been to offer a wide range of beers to cater to a diverse clientele and varied tastes. The very first Fork & Brewer beers were Gold Medal Famous Golden Ale and Base Isolator APA.
Fork & Brewer allows everyone to test the saying that “beer is best drunk in the shadow of a brewery”. After all, you can see the brewery from most places in the house. Forget about food miles, our beer only travels meters to get to you – it doesn’t get any fresher than that.
For those who drink, 41 taps of regular Fork & Brewer beers await, as well as specialty beers created with the help of guest brewers, seasonal beers, and special occasion offerings.