Story: Alcohol

During the 1860s there was a marked increase in local breweries in New Zealand. The Phoenix Brewery was established in Thames by two German Jewish brothers, Louis and Bernard Ehrenfried, in 1868. They began brewing German-style beers with considerable success. In 1878 the Ehrenfrieds took over the Albert Brewery in Auckland and in 1897 the firm merged with Brown, Campbell and Company.  The company was managed by Louis Ehrenfried's nephew Arthur Myers. Eventually Campbell and Ehrenfried merged with other breweries to form New Zealand Breweries in 1923.