The Brewers Guild awards 2018 is nearly here and I’m thrilled to tell you about what changes we’ve made this year. For those of you I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, my name is Sabrina Kunz and I’m the relatively new Executive Director for the Brewers Guild of New Zealand. Our awards week is the pinnacle of beer awards in New Zealand and as my first year being involved with the planning, I can absolutely see why.
Aside from the heart and soul my new team has put into organising this hugely talked about week of events, I’m proud to confirm that Cryer Malt has come on board as Principal Sponsor for the next three years. Working with Dave Cryer’s support and all our other sponsors means there’s even more chance for our members to earn recognition for their beers and breweries with our new additions of New Zealand Champion level awards.
Yes, we’ve upped the ante a little and our members can now win from an added pool of awards; Champion NZ Exhibitor sponsored by Gladfield Malt, Champion Small New Zealand Brewery sponsored by Kegstar, Champion Medium New Zealand Brewery sponsored by Enpac, Chamption Large New Zealand Brewery sponsored by NZ Hops, and Champion New Zealand Beer sponsored by Cryer Malt.
Some things of course are staying the same. Our Beer Writer of the Year award for those writers out there who love our members’ beers and support them through the year with reviews and our Morton Coutts Trophy which will be awarded to the individual or group that has demonstrated innovation or achievement in our industry of New Zealand.
Speaking of innovation, we have been working on building a new awards focused website for our members to easily engage with and find the information they need. It’s now live and we’d love to know what you think of it, go check it out – brewersguild.org.nz
One thing you’ll find on our new website is the ability to register online for all our events during awards week. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, starting with Mashing In on Thursday 13th September, followed by our trade show conference on Friday 15th, brewery tours on Saturday 16th all topped off by our awards gala drinks and dinner where we’ll celebrate our award winners and our industry as a whole with MC’s Mike Lane and Matt Heath of Radio Hauraki fame – it’s set to be a fantastic night and one you don’t want to miss.
Our awards week events promote the best networking opportunities, updates on the latest trends and of course socialising with your industry mates, in the country. Space is limited for these events, so hop to it and reserve your spot for the week.
I can’t wait to meet you all over a beer or two.
