Little Creatures Opening Party

Overview

Late 2017 it was revealed that Australian craft brewery Little Creatures is opening a beer hall in Auckland. The opening is part of the multimillion-dollar Catalina Bay development taking over the former RNZ Air Force airfield at Hobsonville Point. The official arrival date of the Fremantle brewery has now been announced, with the fruity beer makers set to inhabit the vintage Sunderland seaplane hangar from early February.

Little Creatures' first New Zealand brewery is set to become the country's biggest microbrewery, standing at 1478m2. Lion Breweries' head brewer Udo Van Deventer will oversee operations as well as the range of beer on offer. Little Creatures favourites like pale ale and pilsner will be on tap alongside new additions to the New Zealand market including the Dog Days and Rogers varietals and seasonal drops. A special Hobsonville Point beer will be released at the launch, while darker options will take over the taps during the colder months.

Three dining options will inhabit the space. At Little Creatures the food menu will comprise sharing plates like wood-fired pizzas, buttermilk fried chicken sliders and ​lamb shank pie​. The further two dining options located inside the brewery include the seafood-focussed Salty's, which has been constructed from the hangar's original timber purlins, and Kittyhawk, a café bistro modelled after an officers' mess, which will offer an all-day dining menu, coffee and a range of wine and cocktails.

Ignite Architects spearheaded the $20 million overhaul of the hangar for Lion Breweries. The hangar's concrete floor has been retained, while the original seaplane doors will be found behind the main bar.

The official launch will take place on Waitangi Day (Wednesday, 6 February), from 11am. Free to the public, the celebration will feature a lineup of live music, contortionists, fortune tellers and face painters.

Image: Hannah Webb.