The People

Andy Deuchars - Head Brewer

Andy is a co-founder of Renaissance Brewing and is responsible for the beers style and design. Having worked and trained as a brewer in California, Andy relocated to Marlborough to be a winemaker.  An over-riding passion to try and get the New Zealand beer drinking public out of the dark ages and enlightened towards craft ales ultimately proved too much and in 2005 he swapped the grape for the grain and set about creating a range of beers that would enlighten palates.

Brian Thiel - Production Brewer and CEO

Brian is a co-founder of Renaissance Brewing and is responsible for the beers production. Brian makes Andy's vision reality by ensuring the brewery is able to produce beers of the utmost quality.  Brian's experience as a qualified Mercedes mechanic is invaluable as he understands how good engineering and production systems can prove the difference between good and great.  His dedication is unsurpassed and he can regularly be found late into the evening taking things apart and putting them back together.

Soren Eriksen - Assistant Brewer

Soren became part of the Renaissance team in mid 2008.  A native of Denmark, Soren has made New Zealand his home and was recently married in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds. He has a masters in biochemistry which adds considerable value to the brewing team. He recently launched his own beer brand which is brewed under contract at the Renaissance brewery. Soren is also the New Zealand national poker champion, a true Renaissance man.