EMPORIUM BREWING

Paul and Laura Finney are proof that locals know how to adapt. Their new brewery had been open for one month when the 2016 earthquake struck. So what's one to do with sloshed-up beer? The tropical sour (replaced with subsequent batches) was commemorated with the name Drop, Cover, Hold. Paul developed a taste for brewing after receiving a homebrew kit for Christmas one year. “It's a hobby that spiraled out of control,” says Paul, who subsequently founded a homebrew club and retail shop in Christchurch. The couple moved to Kaikōura to set up in a warehouse just off the main corridor where they brew just about everything from red IPA to Belgian brown ale.

The couple's craft-beer label is celebrated among locals — Emporium is found in cafés, bars and even used as a wash by a creative cheesemaker (see Kaikōura Cheese, opposite). While the brewery is only open for takeaway beer, the Finneys have made the pitstop well worth it. When not brewing, they also run an escape room (an adventure game) and 18-hole mini-golf course just outside the brewery. Pick up a few 330ml bottles from the brewery and keep an eye out for Emporium on tap around Kaikōura. 57A Beach Road, Kaikōura. (03) 319 5897, emporiumbrewing.co.nz