Dicky Fyfe is brewing Capitan of buzzing hospitality hotspot and the only micro-brewery in the inner-city, Kaiser Brew Garden. He fills us in on what beers are coming out of the brewery in 2020 and what it's like to work in a small, tight-knit crew, who are always chasing the perfect brew.
What’s coming in 2020 at Kaiser Brew Garden? Late last year we celebrated the opening of the new spiritual home for the Kaiser Brothers Brewery, the Kaiser Brew Garden. It’s a great spot upstairs in Riverside Market, and we’re loving being right in the heart of the city. We’ve got a couple of exciting styles coming up in 2020. We’re introducing a Saison especially for the Kaiser Brew Garden – this style really reflects this time of year and is about celebrating the Canterbury harvest. It’s a classic style with our New World Kaiser spin. Something different we’re bringing out is our Hoppy Weinstein – a collaboration of beer and wine. This is a pale ale matured with Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Nelson Sauvin hops in French Oak barrels. You get the aromatic profile of the hops, the flavour profile of the beer, the fresh fruity characteristics of the sauvignon, and the influence of the oak – it’s really quite special. And we’re really excited to be bringing back our popular Tangerine Dream. We use late-harvest Gisborne tangerines to make a fresh citrus-infused lager with hints of ginger and spice – it’s delicious. This was last brewed a couple of summers ago and it was really popular, so we know there’ll be a few people keen to get their hands on it again.
What’s your beer and food match for this summer? My personal pick is influenced by the Eastern Seaboard and North Carolina, which is also the home of IPA. I love the Kaiser IPA with a chargrilled fish taco topped with mango, pineapple and mint salsa.
What are some interesting trends in beer? The New Zealand craft beer industry is heavily influenced by North American styles, so we’re always watching what they’re up to. I’ve been interested to see people pushing the boundaries of beer by introducing cocktail ingredients; we’re obviously playing in that same space with our collaboration between beer and wine. We’re influenced by our ties with Giesen Wines, which lets us innovate by introducing winemaking techniques and ingredients, like using different types of barrels and yeasts.
What’s the most unusual trend coming through? Something we haven’t seen much of in the New Zealand market yet that I find really interesting is beers influenced by salt brine. Saline characteristics in beers that serve hot, dry climates, done with the right fruit like peaches, can be really quite something.
How willing are consumers to try these new beer styles, or is it IPA all the way? The pale ale revolution is still upon us so the likes of IPA is still a major player. But two decades into the craft beer boom, the marketplace is far more accepting of artisan flavour combinations and ingredients, so there’s always people out there craving something interesting.
What is a typical week for you? Early starts, late finishes! We can brew up to three different styles in a week so I’m achieving a wide variety of tasks within the brewery on a daily basis. We’re a small operation so we work collaboratively and we’re able to focus on delivering brewery-fresh beer in both the Kaiser Brew Garden and our direct-to-consumer beers. Lately we have been gearing up for summer, which always means full steam ahead.
What do you enjoy most about the work? After 30 years, it’s still coming to work with fellow team members who contribute to a really enjoyable brew day. We have a lot of fun in and around the hard work.
Are there any perks to the job? Obviously the opportunity to have brewery-fresh beer at home in my fridge to share with friends and family! Now that the Brew Garden is open, we’re also really excited to have a spiritual home where can we share the experience and our craft with the wider public.
What is the work environment like? Our brewery is relatively small so we’re a tight-knit crew. The team have been together since day one, so to be working with such loyal and dedicated team members is really special. Our skills are all different, but we pull together to achieve the same goal – we’re forever chasing the Holy Grail of the ultimate beer experience.
What excites you about Christchurch in the summer? The Brew Garden makes a great spot for people-watching and the key thing for me is that people are so relaxed and enjoying time with their families at this time of year. My home base is Lyttelton so you can usually find me there playing tennis or paddle-boarding – they’re both great ways to work up a thirst!
kaiserbrewgarden.co.nz