Wellington father of two, Dean Moses, is a man of many passions, from music and film to cooking, basketball and audiobooks. There are even rumours of him being a bit of a Dungeons and Dragons fan.
His early years saw him graduating from university, majoring in Criminology, to then spending well over a decade working in social services. But it was his passion for brewing that inspired him to open Mean Doses, a Wellington-based brewery, with his wife, Kerry Consedine, who has been a keen supporter of his journey and now plays a vital role within the company.
Moses had first discovered Belgian beers in his early twenties and was introduced to ‘hoppy beers’ by a colleague before he then decided to purchase a starter kit and learn how to create his own brews at home with a couple of friends back in 2013. Incidentally, one of these friends now writes all the copy for Mean Doses whilst the other does the tap badges and can labels.
“Our first batch was… not great. I remember we drank the entire fifteen litres in one sitting to get rid of it. Our second batch was better, and by the third, I was hooked,” Moses explained.
He continued to make a variety of beers by experimenting with different ingredients and processes. Some of which were good, others not so good. One notably not-so-good brew was a pumpkin ale that had accidentally (or thankfully) exploded in his friend's cupboard.
It was in 2016 that Moses decided to finally pursue a career in brewing, which landed him the role of an assistant brewer at Baylands Brewery.
“My first beer there was a fresh hop Indian Pale Ale brewed on my birthday, which was the best present ever. I apprenticed there for a little under a year and then returned to a government job to save up to start my own brewery,” he said.
In June 2018, Mean Doses was launched right next to the store where he brought his first-ever brewing kit.
Mean Doses is about sharing a passion for creating good beer with anyone and everyone. Moses and Consedine have spent their time focusing on organic growth and distribution, primarily in the Wellington area.
“Keeping things local is something I think works incredibly well for the kind of beer we produce. It is handcrafted, unpasteurised and fresh,” Moses expressed.
However, they are slowly beginning to branch out to other areas around New Zealand to follow demand and are now being stocked in Foodstuffs. Because of this, they are working on creating a core and seasonal range of 440ml cans for stocking.
Within the next two months will see the grand opening of the ‘Mean Doses Taproom’ just down the road from their current brewery. Having a taproom has been a dream of theirs since they first opened, which will also allow them to have direct experience with their customers.
Moses believes that the brewing industry within New Zealand has a strong drive towards sustainable practices, and it is something they take very seriously at Mean Doses. Every day they make a conscious effort to minimise water loss, distribute in reusable kegs and discourage single-use plastics while also using their leftover grains for animal feed and offering their grain sacks to builders.
They are also currently engaging with Again Again, a container management company, on a shareable, loan beer-flagon system alongside many other breweries around the country.
“Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of brewing is seeing someone really enjoy the beer I have made. That's why I do it.” Moses said.
Consedine also wanted to add that the beer is really good!
