OUR STORY
Colosseum Brewing started as an idea many years back while watching a television series about Spartacus with a friend of mine back in the United States. Names for the beers would be based on our favorite gladiators and weapons from ancient Rome and the brewery itself would be a small version of a Roman Amphitheatre where people would come together to enjoy a beer and compete against one another in various games.
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While the replica of the Colosseum hasn't yet become a reality, the beers themselves have started to come to fruition. The names of the beers were written in a notebook over the years with our favorite style being the IPA. Seeing as Spartacus was the most famous gladiator, we named our favorite style after him. Until recently the names and ideas were nothing more than a few pieces of paper in an old notebook and a dream to someday make beer for a living.
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Fast forward 7 years and I found myself in a new country with degrees in Sports Science and Sports management but little to no knowledge of the popular sports in the country. After a year and a half of searching for a job in the sports industry with no luck, I decided it was time to try something new. I had been working at a local brewery part time and learning some tips and tricks from them to apply to my home brewing and it reminded me that the thing I know the most about other than sports, is beer. So I recalled all the ideas that I had come up with my buddy Ian years ago and decided it was finally time to make Colosseum Brewing a reality.
From Michigan, USA to Amberley, NZ
Michigan is quite well known for its craft beer, especially the west side of the state in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Some of the highest rated breweries in the country, like Bell's and Founders come from this region. Spending most of my adult life in Kalamazoo I was lucky enough to have more than enough quality beer to keep me satisfied.
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From Michigan, I ended up in a city called Asheville in North Carolina. Like Michigan, it has some very high quality breweries. In fact the city of Asheville now has 20+ breweries within the city limits, giving it more breweries per capita than any other city in the country.
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From North Carolina I landed a job as the Director of Stadium Operations in Little Rock, Arkansas. While Little Rock wasn't well known for beer there were still a few quality breweries in the area and a tap room that was named by Forbes as the best taproom in the state with over 60 different beers on tap from all over the country.
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So before coming to New Zealand I had a good idea what a quality beer should taste like and each beer brewed at Colosseum must meet those standards before I make it available to all of you. Hopefully the high standard of beer I have become accustom to over the years will translate into nothing but enjoyable beers for everyone that drinks a beer brewed at Colosseum.