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Adelaide Hills beer named best in the world

The expansion strategy of Adelaide Hills boutique brewer Prancing Pony has received a big boost after its India Red Ale was named the best beer in the world.

Sep 08, 2016, updated Sep 08, 2016
Husband and wife team Frank Samson and Corinna Steeb at Prancing Pony Brewery. Photo: John Krüger

Husband and wife team Frank Samson and Corinna Steeb at Prancing Pony Brewery. Photo: John Krüger

Prancing Pony Brewery’s 7.9 per cent abv (alcohol-by-volume) India Red Ale was this week awarded the Supreme Champion prize at the International Beer Challenge in London after claiming the Trophy for Best Ale Above 5 per cent abv.

The timing is ideal for the brewery, located at Totness, comikng just months after it installed a 30-hectolitre BrauKon brewhouse, which has enabled it to boost production to up to 3 million litres a year – 20 times its previous capacity.

“Yesterday [Tuesday], the India Red was free for all the customers who came in – we were a bit over the moon,” Prancing Pony CEO Corinna Steeb said.

“We were brewing India Red yesterday incidentally so it was very befitting and we just made a double batch straight away so we could cope with some of the increase in demand that the beer will probably have over the next couple of months.”

The India Red Ale is based on “American Imperial Double Red Ale”, according to the British Ale Style Guide. With a dark red brownish colour, a firm creamy head and lots of fruity aromas on the nose, it has a big, malty body with late bitterness.

It was the first time Prancing Pony had entered the International Beer Challenge, where its stablemate Black Ale collected a silver medal.

“We entered because we wanted to see how our beers travelled but to win a champion trophy against an international field – there were beers entered from 30 countries – was something you dream of, so we are a bit gobsmacked still,” Steeb said.

While the India Red Ale is not Prancing Pony’s biggest-seller, Steeb said it had long been the hero of the stable and had quite a cult following.

“It’s got a pretty amazing following and it’s one of the beers people take with them when they travel,” she said.

“People send us pictures of the beer in India, in China, Vietnam and London, which we find quite amusing.”

Prancing Pony beer

Photo: John Krüger

Prancing Pony beers are available in more than 600 outlets in Australia and are exported to the UK, Hong Kong, Germany and Singapore.

Steeb said the brewery had fielded a lot of international inquiries in recent months but was careful to choose only distribution partners committed to ensuring the quality of the beer was maintained.

“Exports were previously opportunistic but now it’s highly likely we will pursue it a bit more aggressively and develop a strategy,” she said.

“I just want to make sure that whoever takes our beer keeps them refrigerated and stored appropriately and they don’t end up in a warehouse where sunlight will hit it and the quality will be spoilt.

“We ship our product refrigerated, which is an extra cost to us, but it just ensures you end up with a really good product at the other end.

“We take export quite seriously and we investigate the countries and the distributors thoroughly before we go ahead.”

Established in 2012, Prancing Pony Brewery moved to its current location at Totness, in 2015 and has gone from strength to strength.

“We’ve always planned to become a sizeable brewery and be a major contributor to the craft beer industry in Australia,” Steeb said.

“Part of us getting the larger brewhouse was the demand on our product – we just couldn’t keep up with the brewing and we had many interstate and international inquiries.

“We just jumped off the deep end and decided we would get the brewing equipment set up in preparation so we could fulfil the demand.”

This article was first published on The Lead.

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