Duncan's Kaibosh Beer Launch
Duncan's Brewing Co, based on the Kāpiti Coast, will release a new limited-edition beer for Beervana 2023.
Duncan's Brewing Co, based on the Kāpiti Coast, will release a new limited-edition beer for Beervana 2023. The brewery is owned and operated by George Duncan and Wai Familton and is known for its product innovation and unique flavours.
Duncan's have partnered with two innovators working towards social and environmental change - a kaupapa they share as businesses. Offcut takes textile remnants destined for landfill, upcycling them into limited-run hats. Kaibosh Food Rescue rescues and redistributes quality surplus food to those in need and supplies second-sort produce to be turned into delicious creations.
George from Duncan's shares how this collab came about; and the process of taking inspiration from Offcut's philosophies, and applying them to sourcing ingredients and using second-sort food supplied by the team at Kaibosh Kāpiti-Horowhenua.
"Our initial collab was with Offcut and was about 12 months in the making. The hats they create are statement pieces - both visually and environmentally, and we wanted to collaborate with Offcut as they aligned with our own business philosophies. A casual first chat on socials about a brand and merchandise collaboration left us thinking about how Duncan's can add impact and make the partnership more meaningful. How can we be inspired by Offcut's model and apply that to making beer."
From there, Upcycle Imperial Pastry Stout, started to take shape.
"The whole journey working with Kaibosh Food Rescue was seamless and their team assisted with resources, sorting the over-ripe surplus bananas and then providing them peel free and in the form we needed for processing in the brewery. The banana peels went to a local community garden, so we feel everything has gone full circle. We would highly recommend other local businesses explore partnering with Kaibosh."
"Sustainability for us is about business health; and by incorporating sustainable practices into Duncan's, we see environmental, social and financial benefits. Often it is about partnerships and doing things a little differently" says Duncan.
5% of beer sales will be donated to Kaibosh to support their mission of zero food poverty and zero food waste. Kaibosh links the food industry with community groups that support people in need, ensuring that quality surplus food reaches those who are struggling rather than being needlessly discarded, servicing both the community and the environment.
Susie Robertson, Kaiarahi/CE at Kaibosh, says the partnership is really exciting and will boost the food rescue charity's fundraising.
"Every $20 raised through sales of the new beer from Duncan's helps Kaibosh provide 40 meals worth of good rescued food to people who need it most."
"Our team in Paraparaumu are enjoying playing a part in this collaboration. Seeing the second-sort produce upcycled into something tasty is fantastic. Together, we're saving more food from waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
Sustainability is a natural part of what Duncan's is all about and the brewery has other initiatives they implement in this space.
"We use solar power to offset over 50% of our energy use. Additionally, spent grain is collected by local farmers and used as feed, most of our packaging is recyclable and we only sell reusable glass flagons from the cellar door taps. The majority of our suppliers are New Zealand owned and operated and we enjoy working directly with kiwi hop farmers and malt growers. This gives us a level of transparency through our business practice and supply chain. We have a couple of relationships with local community groups who use our recyclable materials in their own projects."
Consumers will get a first taste of the beer and cap collaboration at Beervana, Wellington and both will be available to purchase online from Duncan’s and Offcut on 18 August.
"We get to push the boundaries of what is commonly accepted as beer and take our fans on flavour journeys. We set ourselves apart in our industry with the styles of beer we produce, along with our branding and artwork. We dominate a niche market in the craft beer sector, specifically, with our dessert style beers. This limited-edition beer is another example of that." says Duncan.
In the future, Duncan's Brewing Co is excited to explore other limited edition beer creations utilising second-sort rescued produce and upcycled textile remnants by continuing to partner with Kaibosh for ingredient sourcing and Offcut for merchandise and artwork inspiration.
To find out more about this kaupapa visit Duncan's Brewing , Kaibosh or Offcut