Good George Brewing was founded in 2012 and started in the old St George’s Church in the industrial heart of Hamilton, Frankton. It came about when two of its founders, who have a history in hospitality decided they were sick of being told what to do by big breweries so thought they’d start their own.
They found out that an international beer judge and expert brewer lived just up the road in Hamilton so brought him in as the third founder and the rest is history.
The brewery site has grown over the years but is all still based around the church (and dining hall which people can visit). The philosophy of the brewery is to help people have better beer and cider moments, to educate people about how good beer can be in a way that is fun and enjoyable.
Good George’s beer range is all about quality, full flavoured brews in styles people like, made with care. Their cider range is about exciting, tasty flavours made well that people love to drink.
“We own a few of our own bar/restaurants which gives us the opportunity to provide a more comprehensive GG (Good George) experience when people visit. Our teams can help people find their favourite GG brew and match it with quality food and atmosphere,” explained Darrel Hadley, Good George Brewing Co-founder.
During lockdown, Good George switched a still it had making gin in the brewery to start producing hand sanitiser.
“We couldn’t find any in the shops so decided to make it ourselves. Within a week we’d made and given away over 1200 litres of the stuff to our team, essential services and people in our community in need. Since then we have given away another 2000 litres to local schools starting back up with the move out of lockdown.”
Two Good George brews were placed in the NWBCA Top 30. Its APA, which has long been a beer the Good George team all love to drink and The Passionfruit Cider has been incredibly popular since its launch.
“It’s great to get external recognition, and hopefully being part of the top 30 means lots of others discover how great it is.”
The brewery’s Toasted Marshmallow Stout was launched during lockdown (it got a place in the Top 100 for NWBCA), as well as an Apple Pie & Ice Cream Cider and a Hazy Pale Ale in squealers. The team are working on some more new releases in squealers and a new can 6 pack. They are also about to roll out an updated label design across its beer squealer range.
“We’ve been releasing lots of small batch limited edition brews through our online store and will continue to do so, as well as some gin and premixed cocktails.”
Hadley acknowledged how the team at Good George really came together to get through lockdown.
“There’s been incredible resilience from lots of our team all across the business which has been awesome to see during challenging times, and why it’s so great to get external recognition from awards like NWBCA. We hope customers get a chance to find their new favourite within our range as a result of trying them through the awards promotion. The NWBCA team does a great job pulling it together and helping customers explore the exciting world of beer and cider.”
