ABOUT US
Outlier Cartel started a few years ago at flat warming party in Auckland in 2010. Carlos and his flatmates had invited everyone in the building to come and join their friends. However, only a couple of the neighbours showed up, Mark and Barbara from down the hall. Although they didn’t know it at the time, the seeds of good beer company were planted. Mark and Carlos, both ‘Outliers’ in spirit, thought there was much missing from the established New Zealand beer industry.
After a few years of experimenting and planning, Carlos and Mark took the plunge and created Outlier Cartel. The idea was to create interesting beers that would challenge the idea of what good beers could be. More importantly, it simply had to taste good.
Though there were some trials along the way, on the 4th of December, 2015 Outlier Cartel officially launched, welcoming all on the fringe to enjoy great beverages!
In early 2016, we welcomed the addition of the 3rd Cartelian in Alvin Soh. Alvin is a foodie, devoted husband and proud father of two three. Alvin is our Director and Chief Financial Officer – or as we like to call him, our ‘Supreme Chancellor of Numeric Confidence‘. He has been vital for our business planning and growth.
So what’s in the name?
We’ve gotten quite a few comments about our name. The name came about from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, a book that we strongly identified with. The book demonstrates success as not based on what people are like, but where people are from such as the cultures that influenced them, upbringing, and family. Both of us were fortunate enough to migrate to New Zealand quite a few years ago, fusing our own experiences with a kiwi can-do attitude.
Cartel was decided because of the desire to go beyond just ‘beer’ – we love food and drink, so we wanted to think beyond just ‘beer’ or ‘brewery’. Cartel also represents a collaboration with like minded people, we don’t perceive other brewers as a threat; rather we see them as partners in our industry to bring the best products possible to consumers.
So we welcome everyone to be part of the Outlier Cartel!
Our Thousand Year Vision
Our vision is that Outlier Cartel to be a thousand year business. To us, this means growing sustainably, being true to ourselves and bringing a bit of good to the world. We believe that John Wesley best stated our core beliefs:
“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”
Did you know that 14% percent of all the companies over a thousand years old have been breweries? If we extend that list to beverage makers (Sake, Wine, Tea and Distilleries), then that list extends to 35% of all thousand year companies. So even though we are small potatoes at the moment, we are in the right industry to be a Thousand Year business.
So here is a hearty toast to you, your children and your ultra great grand children – may you all live a good life and drink well!
Mark & Carlos – your friends at Outlier Cartel
Our Approach To Beer
At Outlier Cartel we are agnostic toward beer styles. We believe that every style, whether its popular or obscure has its own merits. We often blur the boundaries with our creations, sometimes making them very difficult to judge by ‘style’.
For example, our Cargo Cult is a hybrid beer. Its a kölsch, but instead of using traditional ingredients for the style, we used rice, because we happen to like Japanese rice lagers. A kölsch itself is cross between an ale and lager!
Yes, this may frustrate some drinkers who are keen to classify what they are drinking. We understand, after all its human nature to make sense of it all. For us, we are driven to create excellence in flavours rather to be true to style. We believe that beer is for everyone: from the seasoned sommelier to that person who just wants to unwind at the end of the day.
This is why we say we are made for uncommon tastes; we know the range of palates varies significantly from person to person. So instead of being true to style, we ask ourselves an even more basic question: Does this taste good?
If you are still not sure what to try, here is an imperfect list of our offering to get you started:
Dark Beers: Poke the Bear, Apricity
Light Beers: Cargo Cult, From Such Great Heights
Spiced Beers: Apricity, Wunderkammer
Fruited Beers: Kerikeri ‘Round the Corner, From Such Great Heights
Lagers: Cargo Cult, Apricity
Ales: Cloudburst, Kekulé’s Dream, Kerikeri ‘Round the Corner, From Such Great Heights, Wunderkammer, Honey Chestnut
Sessionable Beers: Cargo Cult, From Such Great Heights
‘Big’ Beers: Apricity, Wunderkammer
If you would like to contact us about anything, email us at mark (at) outliercartel (dot) com
Thank you!