“I guess for me, it’s [the brewery] just always been part of my life,” Briar told the Bay of Plenty Times.
She said for her first party, her parents had one rule.
“If I was drinking, it had to be beer, and it had to be from Mount Brewing Co. So I rocked up with a 1.25-litre flagon of Mermaids Mirth like I knew exactly what I was doing.”
Briar said she got through “maybe a quarter” of it because she was still developing her taste for alcohol, “let alone craft beer”.
“Safe to say, it was a pretty sober first party.”
When Briar returned home from university one summer, she met Niall, who was working behind the bar at The Rising Tide.
They spent time living and travelling abroad, then moved back to the Bay of Plenty with the intention of jumping into the brewery full-time.
Mount Brewing Co directors Briar Harley and Niall Harley.
“No one was really looking after it at the time. We saw the potential in it, and that’s when Niall and I moved home and wanted to fully take it over,” Briar said.
The transition from the founding generation to its second generation occurred gradually over many years, and the pair took full charge in 2023.
Briar said her parents were still part of the business “from afar” and helped when needed.
She said recent years had been a “tough time” for hospitality and the brewing industry.
People were choosing to drink less, but when they did have a drink, they were prioritising quality, she said.
“I think if you’ve got a story to tell and something that resonates with people, they are willing to still buy beer, drink it,” Briar said.
“It’s just more pushing like the craft side, the quality ingredients, the quality craftsmanship, and the story behind the beer.”
According to the Brewers Guild of New Zealand, the brewing industry contributed $3.58 billion to New Zealand’s annual GDP last year.
It represents 0.9% of national GDP, with excise tax and GST making up 52% of this. Beer-related tax revenue amounted to $1.7b last year.
The guild said low- and no-alcohol beer consumption had increased 750% since 2019, while consumption of high-alcohol beers (above 5% ABV) increased 15%.
Upgrades such as a new canning machine and a 10,000-litre fermenter have boosted Mount Brewing Co’s efficiency and production capacity.
Mount Brewing Co has earned multiple national and international awards in its 30 years.
The brewery has won numerous medals at the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) and various New Zealand beer competitions.
“I still think people are keen for that crafty beer,” Briar said.
Its biggest seller is the Mermaid’s Mirth APA, which won a gold medal at AIBA.
“The beer’s kind of talking for itself,” Niall said.
He said the brewery was his and Briar’s “little child” when the pair first came into the business as directors.
“We work really hard, with every beer that we produce, every time we produce it, we’re using the best ingredients we can.”
Mount Brewing Co appointed Pawel Lewandowski as head brewer in 2019, and Niall said the brewery’s beer was tasting the “best it ever has”.
The branding evolution of Mermaids Mirth, the brewery’s biggest seller.
“I may be a bit biased, but I think it’s a testament to the brewers. They’ve worked really hard to get the beer to where it is today.”
To mark 30 years, the brewery will release a limited-edition mixed pack with six specially brewed beers that pay homage to its journey.
“We’re strong moving into the next 30 years and excited for what the next 30 will bring,” Briar said.
“We’ve built a community around the brewery, which we’ve put our own stamp on,” Niall said.
Brewers Guild of New Zealand executive director Melanie Kees said reaching 30 years was a “major achievement” for any independently owned brewery in New Zealand.
“Milestones like this show that, despite the economic pressures businesses are facing, there are some great success stories out there.”
Kees said it was rare for a brewery to remain family‑run for multiple generations, and many breweries didn’t make it that far.
“Mount Brewing are one of the early pioneers, who no doubt helped shape the industry as we know it today.”
Kaitlyn Morrell is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.