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Nelson Beer: a drinker created brew

For the past few months, our Newcastle office has been getting stuck into the goodness that was the aptly named beer, Trial Brew. I say has been, because the beer has recently shed its Beta name and stepped out rather strikingly under its own new moniker, Nelson beer. Nelson Beer! Hmmm, kinda has a nice ring to it. But like all good brews, Nelson comes with a twist. No, no, not the top. But rather, the concept: the Melbourne based brew is almost exclusively the product of user feedback. Yup, drinkers have helped shape and refine the taste on an ongoing process.

The project went as follows: ‘We gathered feedback from around a thousand creative types regarding the look, taste, and possible names for the beer. This information was then collated in a neatly labelled ring binder and sent to our brewers. After analysing this information, the educated types made a few minor changes to Trial Brew, resulting in the Nelson we see today. Finally the emperor received some new clothes. A brief was thrown out to a few Australian based illustrators and graphic artists to bundle together some ideas for the bottle. Sydney-based design duo Sonny Day and Biddy Maroney eventually won the day with their piece entitled:,Sneaky Rafter’. The fruits of all this labour is Nelson beer, named after the area in New Zealand where the hops are brewed, a true collaborative effort,and a mighty fine drop as well. Phew! I think I need one now.

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