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A small Auckland craft brewer is flummoxed by the reaction to its latest brews.
The Birkenhead Brewing Company says it named two of its beers Hinemoa and Mokoia after two of the major streets feeding in to the Birkenhead Village after consulting extensively with local iwi and several experts on Maori culture.
But the beers did not go well in Rotorua where they were seen as an insult to important Te Arawa tupuna.
Spokesperson Steve Simms says the intention was to honour and celebrate Maori culture, not to be disrespectful.
The company is now talking to Paraone Pirika, the chair of Owhata marae in Rotorua where the ancestral houses of Tutanekai and Hinemoa sit.
Mr Simms apologies for any offence that has been caused and says the brewery is looking at how it can change the labels to remove any potential for harm or dispute.
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