About us

Beer for everyone

As the saying goes, Fortune Favours the bold, Fortune Favours the brave. 

Shannon Thorpe, our founder, took this expression and ran (straight to the bank) with it when he founded Fortune Favours in 2016. Shannon threw caution to the wind, quitting his day job, and relocating to the Capital with his young family, amidst a few raised brows. But, as he reminded himself, Fortune Favours the bold, Fortune Favours the brave. Then, he cajoled Dale Cooper, award-winning brewer, whose palate trumps his beard (hard to believe, we know), to join him and they set out to brew really great beer for everyone

And that’s exactly what we’ve done. 

In 2017 we opened our brewpub on Wellington’s Leed Street. Then we started to win a few awards on our home soil and across the ditch. In 2019 we opened our bar in Wellington’s Airport — making Jetstar delays way more enjoyable. We started to pop up around the country — in your local liquor stores, restaurants and bars — making it that much easier to grab your Fortune Favours. All the while, Dale and our brewers were creating and finessing award-winning beers, with the count now topping 300 beers. 

We’ll always call Wellington home, but now, Fortune Favours is pretty much always within reach, no matter where you are in the country. 

Anything that requires braveness, boldness and perhaps a splash of luck, be it prepping for your first marathon or meeting the in-laws-to-be, is that much easier when you know a cold beer is within reach on the other side. 

We think everyone deserves to drink great beer. And we think Fortune Favours is damn great beer. 

But, we would think that, wouldn’t we?