Lads Brewing Company is an independent craft brewery, bar and bottle shop on Durie Hill in Whanganui, New Zealand. What began in 2017 in the corner of Taco's garage — four friends, Hami, Taco, Andrew and Adam, brewing for fun and for their footy club — has grown into a finely-tuned source for some of the tastiest beers around.
The road from garage to Taylor Street ran through a contract-brewing partnership with Massey University in 2018, where their first release, the Hula Girl Coconut Ale, kicked things off. Armed with backgrounds in avionics, mechanical engineering, commercial insurance and shearing, the founders built their own brewery from the ground up, earned the Best Emerging Māori Business award at Whanganui's Te Manu Atatū awards, and moved into their current site in December 2019, brewing there from February 2020.
In 2022 Lads became a full-time craft brewery bar, with live music and a diverse beer selection anchoring a Thursday-to-Saturday schedule. The Fired Up Pizza food truck is onsite Fridays and Saturdays, and the mates at Good Bones Distilling also operate out of the building. Beyond the bar, the Lads range of ten core beers is sold in the bottle shop, online (free shipping over $90), and stocked across Whanganui, Auckland, Wellington, Ohakune, Palmerston North and Bulls — while Buck, the beer truck, takes the brewery on the road to events across three regions.
Cross the Whanganui River to Durie Hill and you'll find one of the town's proudest homegrown success stories pouring behind the bar. Lads Brewing Company is an independent craft brewery, bar and bottle shop at 1 Taylor Street — part working brewery, part lively local, part bottle store — built from scratch by four mates who turned a garage hobby into one of Whanganui's favourite places for a cold one.
The story starts in 2017, in the corner of Taco's garage, where Hami and Taco began experimenting with brewing their own beer. Andrew and Adam soon climbed aboard, and the four friends — united by a love of sport and good beer — found themselves brewing as much for their teammates at the Whanganui Marist Football Club as for themselves. Post-game chats turned into plans, and the plans got serious: in 2018 the crew partnered with Massey University in Palmerston North for contract brewing and launched their first beer, the Hula Girl Coconut Ale, at a local bar.
Between them, the founders brought backgrounds in avionics, mechanical engineering, commercial insurance and shearing — a distinctly practical skill set they used to build and develop the brewery from the ground up. The effort didn't go unnoticed: Lads took out the Best Emerging Māori Business award at Whanganui's Te Manu Atatū awards. In December 2019 they found the perfect home at 1 Taylor Street, moved the equipment in and were brewing on-site by February 2020. When lockdown arrived that March, they adapted — becoming a Foodstuffs approved supplier and expanding the core range first dreamed up in the garage days.
In 2022 the venture became a full-time craft brewery bar, and today it runs a vibrant schedule from Thursday through Saturday, with live music and a diverse lineup of Lads beers. Regular events keep things lively, and the team's Facebook and Instagram feeds are a running reel of gig nights and sunny crowds. The Fired Up Pizza food truck pulls up onsite every Friday and Saturday, so a beer can easily turn into dinner. The crew at Good Bones Distilling also operate out of the same Taylor Street building — one industrial address, two local crafts.
The core range runs ten beers deep: NZ IPA, Stout, AP8, London Road, Porter, Pale Ale, Scottish Ale, Pilsner, Hazy IPA and the original Hula Girl Coconut Ale. Whether you're after something crisp and clean like the Pilsner, hop-forward like the NZ IPA or Hazy IPA, or dark in the Stout and Porter, there's a style for most moods. Can't stay? The bottle shop and online store have you covered, with free shipping on online orders over $90, and Lads beer stocked in Whanganui, Auckland, Wellington, Ohakune, Palmerston North and Bulls. Logo tees for men and women round out the merch if you want to wear the brand home.
Out of the 2020 lockdowns came two trademarks. Lads Brew Days is a bi-monthly event pairing live music with brewing demonstrations under the Whanganui sun. And then there's Buck — the beer truck that has become a staple at festivals across the Manawatu, Whanganui and Taranaki regions, and is available for event hire if you want the brewery brought to your own gathering.
Plan around the hours — Thursday from 3:30pm, Friday from 3pm, and midday opens on Saturday and Sunday — and follow Lads on Facebook for the freshest event updates. As a licensed New Zealand premises, it's strictly R18. Four mates, one garage, and a beer truck called Buck: few Whanganui stories are as grounded, and few local taps pour with quite as much pride.