matutu brewery

Very passionate people. Very informative tour of the brewery. Small but interesting. Beers well crafted.

So the other half discovered Matutu on our first night. We decided to take a look during one of their twice a day tours. Being so small, the tour was more of a discussion in brewing and the selection of their ingredients to make the beer - so quite interesting! Especially with the challenges of trying to maintain optimal conditions in tropical weather. They also have a collection of beer bottles from all over the world (in case you happen to have an empty on you at the time). Well worth a visit if you love your beer.

We had a bunch of their beers at the local restaurants and found in various newspaper ads and tour books that they gave tours. Not so much a walking tour as it was a discussion tour (everything is enclosed in a single building), but it was one of the better ones I've done. We got to try 4 of their beers (their two flagships, Mai and Kiva), and two others that were fresh from their tanks. The tour was fascinating, and the owners were very friendly and hospitable. They have a collection of beer bottles from around the world, so if you're planning to stop by, bring a bottle of your favorite local brew to share!

I'm Canadian. I like beer. So going to a beer tour seemed like a no brainer activity to do no matter where I was and that was even before I tasted the beer. It is really good beer... and that's before I knew the story behind the beer... which really makes the tour and visit worth your time.. even while on a paradise vacation island... really.... Eric was our tour host and explained how he too always liked beer and when given the chance to buy the "hand me down" equipment of a New Zealand brewery that was expanding larger.. he and a friend decided to go for it.. and teach themselves about the business and art of beer making and ... the rest is cook island history. You will only want to be drinking Matutu while on the island once you hear the whole story and taste the resulting product that is made with no chemicals or preservatives or "crap" as its delicately put on the tshirts (also available on site). So put your tourism dollar squarely back into cook islands and ask for the only beer made on the islands - Matutu - and get not only a great tasting beer that you know has been freshly made and delivered and hand labelled, in recycled bottles and is "good" for you (one of their claims being that people have less hangover symptoms when drinking with Matutu due to their lack of additive chemicals compared to all the mass produced products!) . So bring the whole family.. and even the non drinkers will appreciate learning of the challenges to make beer on a tropical island. The brewery is on the south part of the island but its listed on all the tourist maps so you can walk there off the bus or get there by scooter or car. You can visit during normal work hours and get small free beer sampling and buy product direct or you can go at noon or 1pm for the $10 tour and get 4 full sized beer samples (one each of the pale ale and lager which are bottled and the 2 seasonals which are sold by the 1.5 liter bottles). Warning though for the girls.. there is no bathroom on site so be sure you went before the tour !

I was thoroughly impressed by our tour of this brewery. It was highly engaging, even for a non-beer drinker. One of the owners was our tour guide and was open, genuine and so friendly. I highly recommend this tour and supporting this locally brewed beer when visiting the island. If you are able to recycle their glass bottles back to them, by dropping them back to the brewery, this will also greatly help their business.

Finding good, local craft brew in the South Pacific is pretty hard to come by. The people at Matutu Brewery not only have a good product, but they're super friendly. While I did not take a tour of the brewery, my wife and I stopped at Matutu a couple times in our stay in Rarotonga. The Lager and Pale Ale they have are good, but we especially enjoyed their seasonal Hefe. If you're in Rarotonga, definitely stop by Matutu Brewery to get some fine craft brew. Also, while we didn't take advantage of this, Matutu will deliver fresh beer to where you are staying on the island, which may be very convenient for some.

This is a true example of craft brewing. Watching the "bottling line" was a treat in itself. I commend James and his business partner for setting up this enterprise under pretty difficult circumstances, and producing two pretty decent brews. These guys are really up against the big breweries based in New Zealand who pour cheap imported product into the Cook Islands. Of course Matutu can't compete on price alone, because they have to import all their raw materials, and pay about four times as much for power as we do in New Zealand. But they are obviously putting their heart and soul into this enterprise, and they deserve all the support they can get.The tour is great value, and really enjoyable. Good luck to them!!

I learned a lot from the Brewery tour, and could feel a great sense of passion and pride come through from the interpretation of the guide. The beer tasted great and we were completely converted to drinking only Matutu beer on the island.

Definitely a must do is a visit to the Matutu Brewery at Muri Beach. A family owned brewery using the local ingredients and turning out a superb product. You won't be disappointed.

Organic, flavoursome beer, friendly honest service. James and Eric are genuine and knowledgable ambassadors. Beer taste great. Love the T shirts too

This is my first and last stop and everything inbetween when visiting Rarotonga. The beer tastes amazing and the service is nothing short of spectacular. Highly recommended

We turned up for an impromptu tour and were made very welcome. The bottling room was a joy on a stifling summer's day. Great beer naturally brewed with passion. The only negative was having to drive afterwards!

We loved their beer so much and would ride our scooter there every day to buy their 1.5L bottles. So great that they recycle bottles and they are so welcoming when you arrive at the brewery! Wish we could buy Matutu in Canada, it's excellent! Definitely recommend that you go and visit the brewery!

A very small brewing operation but pumping out 2 really good beers. Organic so meant to mean less of a hangover! We missed the tour time but the lady was happy to take some time out and talk us through their philosophy and give a free tasting. We purchased some take away beer, a tee shirt and a hat. Worth a look!

We turned up at 1:00pm for the brewery tour. Small brewery, the brewer was really knowledgeable and we tasted all 3 beers which are all excellent. We were told the history of the brewery and saw how this small company can improvise really well to produce excellent beers. IPA is highly recommended, they do not produce this one commercially yet but I think that they definitely should (we bought some from the brewery).