20 years of beers

This year Sawmill Brewery celebrates 20 years of beers. Looking back on the origins of the brewery, it was set up in 2004 by Peter and Decima Freckleton. The original site was a shed adjacent to the Leigh Sawmill Café, a repurposed timber mill (hence the name Sawmill Brewery). Peter and Decima rented the space off the owners of the Café and set up the Brewery using old dairy farm tanks and a lot of DIY engineering.

In 2009 Mike and Kirsty moved up to Matakana for a job Mike had in a new company. It never really got off the ground and he was made redundant. They wondered how they could stay here - there wasn’t a lot of industry, most people worked for themselves.

They had always wanted to make something - Mike asked to spend a day with Peter seeing how he made beer on a commercial scale, as a chance of fate he went up there and came home that evening saying Peter and Decima were keen to sell. 4 weeks later they owned it.

“In those early days there wasn’t much attention paid to marketing or to what anyone else was doing. Just hours in the brewery understanding everything. The relative isolation we had from the craft beer community (14 years ago most breweries were in Nelson or Wellington) has played a big role in shaping Sawmill. Rather than looking at what other breweries were doing, we made own decisions, and the more you do that the more confident you become.” (Kirsty McKay)

Sawmill has evolved into a leader in innovative manufacturing in New Zealand. This year the Brewery won the Brewers Guild Sustainability Award for the 5th year running (the longest trophy winning streak in the Award’s history). Mike and Kirsty are balancing the rich tradition of brewing with forward-thinking, innovative practices. As they’ve gained more insight into their environmental impact, the team at Sawmill have found that being creative, and occasionally courageous was the key to addressing sustainability challenges. With time, the approach has become much more analytical. Armed with better information, the brewery is constantly seeking ways to run better and reduce its environmental footprint.

After only three years on their new site Sawmill nearly lost the whole brewery to a massive fire in October 2019. “More than anything this showed us the power of community and the courage of the volunteer fire crews in New Zealand. It also prepared us to be really adaptable ahead of the pandemic.” (Mike Sutherland)
Its innovation that is at the forefront of every decision at Sawmill. Some key highlights below.

B-Corp certified: Sawmill became the first Brewery in New Zealand to be B-Corp certified in 2019 (and remains the only certified Brewery). More about this certification here.

Waste Reduction: Sawmill's waste to landfill averages 11kg per week - less than the average New Zealand household. Using comparative data from the American Brewers Association, this puts them in the top 1% of breweries surveyed for solid waste produced.

Water Management: Sawmill catches approx. 2 million litres of rainwater annually from their roof. Rainwater accounts for 15% of the brewery’s water usage, reducing reliance on an onsite spring. Use of rainwater will increase to estimated 30% of requirements in 2025.

Water Efficiency: Ratios of water used to beer produced run as high as 20L water / 1L beer globally. We are aiming to reduce the ratio of water used per litre of beer from current average of 4.6L to 4L. Initiatives like a CIP (Clean in Place) recovery system reduces water usage by 5,000L per day.

Wastewater Treatment: Construction is now underway for a wastewater system to treat brewery wastewater, capturing biogas for process heat, with projected savings of 90,000L of LPG annually. The project also involves reinstating a natural wetland with 6,000 native plants. Estimated completion date is February 2025. This has been supported BY EECA under the Technology Transformation Fund.

Carbon Recapture: Installation of a carbon recapture system in March 2023 recovers CO2 from fermentation - recovery currently sits around 25% with a goal of 80%.

Solar Energy: Utilizing solar panels since 2006, the brewery increased to 98 panels in 2023. Solar energy now accounts for 17% of their annual power needs. With a building extension completed they have the infrastructure in place for a further 170 panels to be installed in 2025.

Land Management:

• Planting of 4000 native trees in 2023 to protect waterways adjacent to the Brewery and a further 200 plants in June 2024 specifically for threatened fish species habitat in partnership with the Mountain to Sea organisation.
• Two large onsite garden beds supply fresh greens and vegetables specifically to our team.
• Extensive trapping programme across brewery land with Forest Bridge Trust. We are adjacent to Mt. Tamahunga and an extensive trapping programme saw the release of Kiwi on the mountain in 2023.

Heat Recovery System: This recycles water, saving 1.5 million litres of water and 6 tonnes of LPG annually. 

Packaging:

• Changing cardboard in July 2024 to a lighter locally produced board reduces the weight of packaging by 42% - a total reduction of packaging weight of over 8.2 tonnes annually.
• In April 2022 Sawmill sought out a label supplier who was able to recycle the backing of the labels. Since then, they have diverted 4.3 tonnes of backing plastic from landfill.
• Sawmill operate a borrow-a-flagon system from the brewery further reducing obstacles to reusable packaging.

Hop Residue: 25-30 tonne of residue is filtered from wastewater annually reducing the BOD load in the wastewater. This is a rich source of fertiliser taken by local farmers.

Grain Silo Partnership: With Gladfield Malt, Sawmill installed grain silos in 2020. Using silos instead of grain sacks has saved on the use of 33,000 grain sacks to date.

Composting: Compostable waste is either diverted to local farms or composted on-site, supporting the onsite garden.

Local Sourcing: Using 99% New Zealand grain and 70% New Zealand hops in the making of their beer.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Equipping the sales team with hybrid electric vehicles. 50% of fleet will switch to full electric in 2025.

Brewhouse Upgrade: Sawmill upgraded their brewhouse in 2024 to a more efficient model. The new brewhouse will help to reduce energy input by up to 20% due to increased boiling efficiency and heat recovery from the kettle vapour, reduce electrical energy by up to 8% with the use of VFD pumps as opposed to direct drive pumps and reduced water usage by over 90,000L per year.

For Sawmill, modern brewing equipment enables them to be more resource-efficient without compromising the quality of their product. Energy, water, input and cleaning processes have all become more efficient, reflecting the brewery’s commitment to innovation while also making business sense.

Social Responsibility: 

• Raised $38k for Blake Foundation - supporting their work in environmental leadership in NZ.
• Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi o Aotearoa partner.
• Give a Kid a Blanket partner.

Looking Ahead
One of the most pressing issues facing Sawmill is the rising cost of energy – their electricity costs has doubled in the last year. The brewery is exploring new technologies, but they emphasise that widespread decarbonisation across industries is essential.

"In terms of specific projects, we are working on New Zealand’s first wastewater treatment facility where the biogas will be captured and used for process heat," explains Mike. "There is some risk in it, but it stands to make a huge reduction in our carbon emissions and potentially be a great model for other manufacturers.” (Mike Sutherland)

Sawmill Brewery is determined to continue leading the way in innovative business practices, proving that small, independent New Zealand companies can drive meaningful environmental change. “Real momentum comes when we can show others in our industry that these changes not only benefit the environment but make good business sense as well.” (Kirsty McKay)

Cheers to 20 years of good beers.