Brewer Pru moving on
Invercargill Brewery’s straight-talking female brewer is moving on to new challenges.
Pru Bishop has been something of a celebrity since joining the traditionally male dominated industry as a brewer’s assistant in November 2006.
After more than three years in the physically demanding job she said it was time for a change.
“As the brewery has become busier I had the choice of learning more about the science of brewing or looking for something more customer-focused. It was time to either get in, or get out,” she said
Suspecting there was more to life than sacks of malt and cleaning tanks, Pru decided to look at the industry from another side for a while, and investigate further training in the business world.
“Don’t strike me off the brewing industry altogether, it’s just not for me right now,” she said.
Invercargill Brewery owner Steve Nally said she would be a hard act to follow.
“Pru was our first full-time employee and has been with us through a period of meteoric-growth, she set a bottling record that no-one has ever come close to touching and has tackled nearly every job we’ve had.”
With Pru’s departure, the brewer’s assistant role had been disestablished, and replaced with the more specialized role of production brewer.
“We’ve yet to advertise, it’s more about finding the right person than finding a person,” Nally said.
Whether Pru makes a return to brewing or not she won’t be forgotten in the industry. Not when Smokin’ Bishop, the brewery’s award winning smoked bock style beer, remains one of the handful of New Zealand beers named as one of the 1001 Beers to Drink Before You Die.
Pru’s last day at the brewery is April 30.