www.foodtechnology.co.nz 51 brewing. We are just scaling it up really. The processes are all identical – and in our case our equipment is fairly basic – so even the equipment is fairly similar.” Starting off with two types of beer, Black Sand’s portfolio now stands at five with another to be launched soon. “We do five at the moment. We started with the India Pale Ale and the Pilsener – those two really because I like drinking India Pale Ale. Pilsener was the more easy-going drink. It’s not that far conceptually from a commercial lager but it has a lot more flavour. Then we came out with a Pacific Red, an amber ale, and subsequently we’ve launched a New Zealand Pale Ale and we’ve launched a Black Ale – a Black RPA – a hoppy dark ale. “We’re looking to launch an American Pale Ale, we’ve got a very nice recipe we’ve developed, and we’ve got our big boxes of American hops that have just arrived. “Our New Zealand Pale Ale is doing very well. We won a Gold Medal at the Brewers Guild last year. That’s our biggest seller – having the Gold Medal “Our New Zealand Pale Ale is doing very well. We won a Gold Medal at the Brewers Guild last year. That’s our biggest seller – having the Gold Medal on the label – that helps a lot,” on the label – that helps a lot,” Hebblethwaite says. As a craft beer consumer I’ve been interested in how the craft beer renaissance has altered Kiwis’ attitudes toward drinking – how we drink, what we drink. As a child of the ‘70s, my first exposure to beer was the half G and the crate. I grew up in the ‘80s where drinking was about quantity, not quality and as everyone will know those prevailing attitudes toward drinking have led to massive social problems. But attitudes
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