Tracy Banner and her team at Sprig & Fern Brewery continue to ride the craft beer wave, picking up another swag of medals in September at the 2018 Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards, including the coveted Morton Coutts Trophy for innovation and service to the industry. She shares with Cityscape the beers trending this summer, and why Kiwi customers keep brewers on their toes.
What’s your beer and food match for this summer? At the moment it’s our limited-edition Dry Hopped Pilsner, which has beautiful floral and fragrant aromatics. It’s lovely with some fish and chips.
What are some interesting trends in beer? The IPAs and APAs were a hit a couple of years ago and we are still seeing growth in that market. Also session IPAs and XPAs are still very trendy. Sour and flavoured styles are also growing. They are a step for women from wine to ciders and sour beers.
Do you feel the industry welcomes women brewers? Most definitely women are coming through the industry. There’s quite a lot of female brewers coming through at small, medium and large breweries. They tend to have a good palate. As a woman you still have to be able to cope with the physical side of the industry. But times have changed massively.
Where does New Zealand sit in the international craft beer scene? We feature really well – we have a huge variety of styles. I’m from the UK and I went back there last year and the customers in the pubs are still asking for ‘the lager, the ale or the bitter’. Here, customers are more adventurous and that drives the brewers, because you have to respond.