Invercargill Brewery

Confusion prompts name change

What’s in a name? Confusion it turns out for Invercargill Brewery’s award-winning New Zealand pilsner.

After enduring years of mispronunciation, the beer formerly known as Biman has been, not so much rebranded as clarified, to emerge as B.Man.

Brewer Steve Nally said it was a subtle change.

“At every venue it seemed the beer had a different name – it could be Buy-Man, Bimin or Bee-man – customers didn’t know what to ask for; bar staff didn’t know what customers were asking for – and no-one likes the embarrassment of getting a name wrong.”

The brew was built following a request from the brewery’s first customer, Bombay Palace, who wanted a beer designed to drink with spicy food. It was named after the restaurant manager’s father – Biman (a traditional Indian name which is repeated in Sanskrit on the label) – and it was that trans-lingual naming that led to the ongoing confusion.

“We didn’t want to change the name; what we wanted was to help people understand it better,” Mr Nally said.

“I used to joke Biman was for people who were completely confident in their sexuality. It was even the official beer of gay ski week at one time – however I think most of our customers favour the beer for its flavour rather than any gimmicky associations on its name.”

Using a blend of distinctive New Zealand hops, B.Man has been credited with the emergence of a new beer style on the global brewing stage – strong New Zealand style pilsner. Among a growing list of classic kiwi beers that fell outside traditional pilsner classes, the New Zealand Brewers Guild successfully petitioned the World Beer Cup in 2008 for the new style.

“That style was based on three beers, one of which was B.Man, so it’s really exciting to be part of that,” Mr Nally said.

In 2008, B.Man won gold and best in class at the Brew NZ Awards – cementing its reputation as a true forefather of the unique variety.

“It relates to the use of New Zealand hops which infuse a fruity, grassy or even gooseberry flavour – it’s a New Zealand characteristic.”

B.Man is available nationwide wherever good boutique beers are sold.

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