The beauty of the craft industry, whether it be beer, wine or food, is that those involved are passionate about bringing the best product to their customers. “And if that means joining forces with other like-minded individuals we’re happy to oblige,” says Tuatara manager Blair Harley.

“To be honest, we were pretty pleased when the I Love Pies crew asked us to be involved. If you’re going to be part of a pie creation, you’d love to do it with them. And for us, well a beer and a pie? You can’t get too much more quintessentially Kiwi than that.”

For I Love Pies, it’s all about creating classic and delicious flavour combinations. “We turned to Tuatara as we believe their approach to hand-crafting beautiful products is one that aligns with our pie-making ethos. We both believe in using the best-quality ingredients available and making products with love and care”, says I Love Pies co-founder Maree Gladding.

Working with other artisan groups is not new for Tuatara. Only a couple of months ago, they launched their Tiramisu Oatmeal Stout with the line, "3 guilt trips in one – Chocolate, Coffee and Beer". This combination brought Tuatara together with other Wellington businesses, Wellington Chocolate Factory and Mojo Coffee. Tiramisu also has a Pacific representation with vanilla pods grown in Tonga, sourced through another New Zealand business, Heilala Vanilla. “Tiramisu has proved really popular, most obviously at the recent Beervana craft beer festival in Wellington. It was gratifying that a beer, bringing together some of the best of what Wellington has to offer, was so popular at one of the biggest events on the craft beer calendar and in our home town”, says Harley.

But back to the subject of pies. This superb Angus Steak and Ale creation can be found in select New World, Pak n Save and Countdown supermarkets as well as Farro Fresh stores.