Tuatara turns 15 - With a cellar-bratory XV Russian Imperial Stout!

No one really wants to crow on about their birthday, do they? "Happy birthday to us." Not really in the reticent Kiwi mold, is it?

But, on the other hand, with age comes privilege. Like our little namesake, who was there at the beginning of time, we were right there in the early resurgence of craft beer in New Zealand.

We like to think that 15 years is a good enough reason to make a wee bit of a song and dance - or at the very least a really monumental beer for the cellar-bratory ages! And what better way to mark this milestone with something that just gets better with age?

So to mark our quindecennial year as a brewery, we've created a celebratory limited edition XV Russian Imperial Stout, and placed it in a hand-crafted, artisan magnum bottle that proved to be a real labour of love from everyone here at Tuatara.

Only 300 bottles of this 11% bottle-conditioned XV Imperial Stout will be available to the public through Tuatara Brewery and The Third Eye. Just like our namesake, this special edition is a rare creature.

XV's beer style is a deferential "we're not worthy" hail to big man and Tuatara founder, Carl Vasta and his Russian heritage.

This is a special occasion stout - one for the cellar-bratory ages - that can be cellared (upright, of course - we do things a wee bit differently from our vinetarian cousins). And just like this brewery, will only get better with time!

XV has also already won a silver medal in the Porter & Stout category at The Brewers Guild of NZ Awards in September, and a gold medal in in the Packaging category!

Such a sweetly-turned, aging drop needed an artful, commemorating vessel worthy of safe-keeping. (Some may say the bottle's imposing 1500ml size, extends our deferential nod to the big man's towering carriage...)

When designing the artisan, hand-crafted bottle, we asked ourselves, "How does a Tuatara leave its mark after 15 years?" Well, with its claws, of course.

The simple XV hallmark on the magnum represents our fifteen years with four swift strokes - as though branded deep into its side by the claws of the reptile that gave our brewery its name.

Steve and his team from Thumbprint in Naenae burnt the midnight oil to individually and painstakingly print and sandblast a total of 500 magnums (making each bottle completely unique). He wagers it took him almost two weeks of solid nose to the grindstone to have the bottles ready for when the yeast dropped out of the beer.

Then it was over to us to work out how in the blue blazes we wrangled 500 imposing magnums to manually fill, label, cap, wax and pack each one.

It took us over a week to do it, with many hands in the brewery team chipping in to help - but everyone was more than happy to do something special for our most passionate beer drinkers!

The extremely limited and cellerable nature of this beer makes it a perfect gift for Christmases, birthdays, anniversaries, Rugby World Cup wins....

You can purchase your magnum of XV from the Tuatara Brewery Tasting Room or The Third Eye. If you are purchasing outside of Wellington, please email Corey Taylor on corey@tuatarabrewing.co.nz. 

Magnums are $99.00 each, and due to demand there is a limit of two magnums per person (full payment is required to secure your magnum). If you wish to have yours delivered by courier this will be an extra $15.00 plus GST (this is the cost of handling and delivery within NZ; we will not be delivering overseas). 

A huge thanks to all those who helped us in creating this labour of love - Steve and his team at Thumbprint, Hallelujah Creative and Nick Ward for conceptualising and designing the bottle, and Lindsay Keats Photography for capturing her in all her elegant beauty!