Wakachangi owner Leigh Hart gives us a brief history of “New Zealand’s oldest and most trusted beer”
Legend has it that the druids who built Stonehenge were the first to brew an ancient form of Wakachangi Lager, which may explain why the monument was never really completed.
Most respected historians however believe that Wakachangi was first brewed in the mountain regions of Holland around 1648 by my great Uncle to the multiple of 6 on my father’s side, uncle Kenny Hart senior. Kenny senior was a part-time monk, brewer and inventor of the cat-flap and the fridge magnet. (200 years before the fridge was invented!)
He wanted to make a beer for the people that had a good indoor/outdoor flow, and could also counter the unfortunate, odorous effects of asparagus on urine. Some scholars also believe that in order to make his brew more effervescent he put it through a prototype sodastream device, designed by Leonardo DaVinci when he was between more well known jobs.
Monastery documents reveal that by 1651 Kenny invented the six-pack, and then later by cleverly combining two together, the dozen. The brand was becoming so successful that the Catholic church sought to acquire the recipe for themselves and to shut down Kenny’s brewery operation, which by now included a sports bar franchise.
Recently unearthed documents revealed that Kenny’s Sports Bar and Grill boasted a covers duo on the weekends, and a quiz night on Tuesdays.
Desperate to protect their ‘quite nice beer’, from the church, Kenny senior and the Wakachangi brothers tore the recipe into four pieces and scattered them far and wide. One of the pieces eventually fetched up in New Zealand courtesy of beer enthusiast Captain Cook. Another piece was later found in a suitcase at the Titanic’s lost luggage kiosk in Southampton, 45 minutes after the ill-fated ship had departed. The third piece was discovered in 1936, deep in the Peruvian jungle, by philandering adventurer, Great Uncle Kenny Jr. He was unable to locate the final piece so he just made the rest up. (Looking at the rest of the recipe he assumed the missing ingredient was water)
With the full recipe now intact, Great Uncle Kenny Jr, a direct descendent of the original master brewer, was finally in a position to recreate Wakachangi and re-introduce it to the world. Cutting a long story short, he never really got around to it as he was prone to long bouts of procrastination. So as his great nephew, I have done it instead.
I have teamed up with Scott and Dean McCashin from the legendary McCashins brewery in Nelson, and together we hope to continue Great uncle Kenny’s dream of making ‘Quite Nice Beer’ for the people, for generations to come.