Meridian Energy and Garage Project team up in homage to windy Wellington through the Turbine Pale Ale
In the video above, Garage Project co-founders Pete Gillespie and Jos Ruffell explains how Garage Project approached Meridian with an idea to pay homage to Wellington, in particular, its infamous wind and Meridian’s Brooklyn wind turbine.
“So when we were looking to name this beer as a bit of a love letter and a homage to Wellington, having the Meridian Brooklyn Turbine right above the brewery, it was a no-brainer, it just felt perfect. It’s a great reminder we can generate electricity from renewable sources…,” Ruffell explains.
The collaboration between Garage Project brewery and Meridian – who only generate electricity from 100 percent renewable resources – is the first time that the certified renewable energy mark has been made available in New Zealand.
The renewable energy certificate is provided by the New Zealand Energy Certification System and exists to allow consumers of electricity to purchase certification for the particular type and volume of electricity generation that they value.
So whilst Garage Project’s brewery isn’t directly plugged into the turbine, the electricity they use from the grid is matched on an annual basis with 100 percent renewable energy generated from Meridian’s Brooklyn Turbine.
BC&F Dentsu associate creative director, Brad Stratton, says it’s a “fitting way to launch the renewable energy certification and a nice homage to Wellington, a city that is such an important part of the Garage Project story.”
“It tastes good too which is the most important thing.”
Murray Streets, managing director at BC&F Dentsu, says “we’re so excited to be involved in demonstrating Meridian’s new positioning in such a distinctive and great-tasting way.”
Ben Fielding, strategy and brand lead at Meridian added that this is “fresh, bold work that we hope will inspire other kiwi businesses to partner with Meridian and celebrate sustainable energy generation in New Zealand”.
This initiative builds on the new positioning launched in June that highlighted the renewable ingredients that go into Meridian’s power generation: wind, water and sun.
