New Zealand beers

Fortunate Adventures in Beer

The founders of this bold brewery discovered fortune favours the brave when they threw themselves headfirst into the craft beer scene

Shannon Thorpe and Dale Cooper, co-founders of Wellington brewpub and craft beer label Fortune Favours, love nothing more than to sit down with their customers. It's the perfect way to get instant feedback on their range of crafty brews, and to share in some good yarns.

"Fortune Favours celebrates those who take a risk and back themselves," says Shannon. "It's how we started out ourselves and we love hearing these stories over a cold beer."

Their own tale fits the bill; the pair quit their day jobs in 2016 to follow their passion, which is making excellent beer. Fortune favoured their bravery, but hard work and talent paid off too; their Leeds St Brewpub recently received a Felix hospitality award for Outstanding Beer Experience. With a delicious selection of beer, a stellar pub grub menu and - if you're lucky - a brewery pup named Whiskey on site, it's not hard to see why. 

While some people may consider craft beer to be the exclusive domain of beer connoisseurs, Shannon is quick to point out that Fortune Favours is for everyone. "In our minds, beer is the great leveller. It should come without snobbery or pretence and should be accessible and approachable for everyone. Beer brings people together from all walks of life and we love being a part of those moments."

A good example of their desire to connect with the locals happened recently, when the Fortune Favours team approached the Wellington Phoenix and Wellington Hurricanes and sponsored them, with their delicious beers available to enjoy at Sky Stadium for the home games. But if you're not in Wellington, don't despair. More than 100 different beer styles have been tried and tested since they opened, with the most popular beers scaled up and made available in pack format. The Wellingtonian IPA and Adventurer Pilsner are delicious, or perhaps you're more of a Trailblazer... whatever your flavour profile, and wherever you are in New Zealand this summer, you can crack a Fortune Favours and start to dream big...