McCashin’s owners Emma and Dean McCashin
An ancient ingredient credited with providing a marked point of differentiation for products manufactured at McCashin’s Brewery is the latest extension to the family range of drinks.
Palaeo Water, which emanates from an on-site bore on the brewery’s property located at Stoke in Nelson is now being bottled, with the water source scientifically carbon-dated as being between 14,000 and 30,000 years old.
“We started to use our own Palaeo Water as an ingredient for all our products and there was a noticeable improvement in the overall finished product,’’ owner Emma McCashin says.
“Water is the largest ingredient in beer, and many famous breweries have become renowned because of their water. We believe Palaeo Water has given us an edge, as it’s about as pure and untouched by humans as is possible, having been trapped underground since the last Ice Age.”
McCashin’s was planning to begin bottling the Palaeo Water when it first re-opened the brewery, but focused on the alcoholic beverages instead when the Global Financial Crisis put the squeeze on the international market for bottled water.
“With increased knowledge and an awareness about how much sugar is contained in fizzy drinks and how bad sugar is, the water category in supermarkets is now growing,” McCashin says.
“Now seems like the right time for us to revisit our original plans.”
McCashin’s trademarked the brand Palaeo back in 2009 as a reference to the Palaeotithic era, but it has become an increasingly common term largely due to the Palaeo diet based on the types of food eaten by early humans. The Bachelor winner Art Green is a well-known advocate of the Palaeo diet, as is Australian My Kitchen Rules judge and chef Pete Evans.
The new product comes in an arctic blue glass bottle with a simple see-through label featuring a map of New Zealand and the words Palaeo glacial water.
“This product has both domestic and international markets and we are excited to be releasing these products to the market,” McCashin says. Palaeo Water is already being stocked by some Nelson supermarkets, sold online and comes in both bottles and cans.
McCashin’s produces its successful hand-crafted Stoke Beer and Rochdale Cider brands at the brewery, which is also home to a recently redeveloped café/bar and operates regular brewery tours. 
