Lifetime supply of beer for a laptop

KRISTIN MACFARLANE | 18th October 2007

Keep your eyes open for a stolen laptop computer - it may just get you a lifetime supply of beer.

A laptop containing designs, creative work, contact details and financial information, was stolen from Rotorua's Croucher Brewing Company this week.

Owners Paul Croucher and Nigel Gregory are desperate to get it back, so much so they are offering free beer to whoever dobs in the person responsible for the burglary.

It happened some time between 8pm on Monday, when Mr Croucher left the Depot St building, and 9am on Tuesday when he arrived back.

He said he had forgotten to set the alarm before he left and got there the next day to find someone had cut a padlock to get into the building and got away with the company's laptop computer.

Mr Croucher believed the theft was a "dash and grab" because the thief left behind other valuable items and even a small amount of petty cash near the laptop.

He said the computer had important information in it and the theft meant a lot of work had been lost.

The company had back-up copies of its work but it wasn't as up-to-date as the data in the stolen laptop.

"We're grumpy. We're going to have to re-do some of our work," Mr Croucher said.

In a bid to avoid that, Mr Croucher said he was offering a lifetime supply of beer to anyone who could name the thief.

The "lifetime supply" would equal about a carton of 12 of their boutique beers each month.

He said the reason behind the offer was to catch the thief and reward the person who could name them.

"We'd love for these guys to get caught."

Mr Croucher did not think the company was specifically targeted but had since put in place more security measures. He was also vowing to make sure the alarm was turned on every night.

The theft followed a rollercoaster couple of weeks for the company.

On the first of this month, a fermenting machine blew up. The next day something good happened - the birth of Mr Gregory's son Isaac Finn Gregory. The same week the company won the Economic Development Emerging Business Award at the Rotorua Business Excellence Awards.