Something is brewing in Cromwell.
The area may be known to produce a quality drop of wine, but it is a tipple of a different kind that has set tongues wagging.
Otago Polytechnic’s Otago Brew School has had success at the recent Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards, bringing home a swag of medals.
The school entered six categories in the awards and won a silver medal with its ‘‘Klassenbester’’ dunkelweizen and three bronze medals with its ‘‘Dark Matter’’ oatmeal stout, ‘‘Brau› schule’’ Kolsch and ‘‘Hidden Number’’ pale ale.
New Zealand certificate in brewing programme lead Geoff Collie said the win added credibility to the course.
‘‘It’s been great for us — we see it as recognition by our peers in the industry — and adds a bit of credibility to the course and the brews that we’re producing.
‘‘It’s great also for my team here, my two tutors. They oversee the day-to-day brewing of these beers and mentor our students in the processes across the year, so good recognition for everyone involved,’’ he said.
It was the first time the school, established in 2018 in response to the growth of craft beer in New Zealand, had entered the awards.
Mr Collie said the school and tutors had a philosophy of brewing beers that were true to style.
‘‘The recipes and ingredients are what would usually be expected for each style.
‘‘We then apply good brewing practice and processes to make the best beer we can.’’
The students heard news of their win when they returned from holiday last week.
‘‘I announced that we picked up four awards and told them that clearly everything we’re telling them isn’t rubbish — nah, they’re pretty happy,’’ he said.
