Hobbiton has its own beer
Hobbit fans flocking to Matamata for a taste of movie location Hobbiton will also be able to imbibe a Middle Earth brew made here in the Waikato.
Hamilton brewery Good George has won the right to be the official brewer of the Hobbiton movie set, supplying the beer to Hobbiton’s one and only pub, the Green Dragon.
The iconic pub, which featured in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and was burned to the ground for the last instalment The Return of the King, was rebuilt for Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit movie trilogy.
The reconstruction turned what was a set front into a legitimate licensed pub and as a new feature on the tour after The Hobbit’s release, fans will able to enjoy a swig at the hobbit local after they have a look around the hobbit holes.
The pub is only only to those on the Hobbiton tour.
Brewery co- owner Jason Macklow said.Good George won the contract to be suppliers over major Kiwi breweries vying for the job.
‘‘We’re local, nearby and they really liked our pitch,’’ he said. ‘‘I had to pinch myself.’’ A Hobbiton beer committee selected two beers, a cider and a ginger beer ( for teetotallers) brewed on site at Good George as the drinks available on tap at the pub.
The drinks are exclusive to The Hobbit watering hole – you will not be able to get a draught anywhere else but at the Green Dragon.
The recipe is secret but Macklow said the beers are traditional tipples reminiscent of a good old English ale.
The first order to Hobbiton will see the brewery providing a couple of hundred kegs to the set.
Matamata and Hobbiton are expecting visitor numbers to at least double after the world wide premiere of The Hobbit on November 28, and 130 international media will catch an early drink at the Green Dragon on November 29.
Good George opened only eight weeks ago and Macklow said the brewery was stretched to capacity, taking on a brewer in Hawke’s Bay to help meet the growing demand.
Hamilton’s only on-site craft brewery, the $2 million development in Frankton is the brainchild of Macklow, and Waikato businessmen Darrel Hadley, Nathan Sweetman and Brian Watson.
Macklow said the brewers were making 21⁄ times the volume of what they were expecting at this stage.
‘‘ It’s all going well,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve never seen a brand embraced so quickly.’’
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