By James Atkinson
NZ craft brewer Moa has launched a new beer in partnership with Shane Warne called 99 Not Out, and has also confirmed new distribution arrangements for the Australian market.
Moa’s 99 Not Out SKW (Shane Keith Warne) Pale Ale was launched at Club 23 in Melbourne's Crown Casino last night, with the cricketing legend in attendance.
Moa CEO Geoff Ross told TheShout that he and Warne conceived 99 Not Out after meeting through a mutual friend.
“We struck up a friendship and talked about potential business opportunities,” he said.
“Shane’s actually a bit of a wine buff, so we started talking about craft beer and he got a real interest in that.”
As compared with Moa’s existing pale ale, Ross said 99 Not Out is “more of a sessionable pale ale”.
It will be sold in packaged form through Woolworths liquor outlets and will be on draught at “iconic ALH pubs near cricket grounds”. [continues below]
Moa founder Josh Scott with Shane Warne
Also this week, Moa reported that its new Australian distribution model is up and running, with its own sales people now on the ground.
“Moa has secured distribution through two of the country’s largest distributors – Australian Liquor Marketers (ALM) and Independent Liquor Group (ILG),” the company said.
Moa announced it has also sent its first shipments to the Woolworths group, with up to five Moa SKUs now stocked across 181 Dan Murphy's stores.