Top brewer takes over taps
When Kelly Ryan finished university he didn’t like beer and was eyeing a job at Fonterra as a microbiologist or food scientist.
Instead, the Taranaki-born man liked the chemistry behind brewing and took on an apprenticeship at Tui Brewery.
Now, nearly 20 years on he’s created 150 beers, worked in breweries all around the world and won around 200 awards for his beverages – including the Champion Small New Zealand Brewery at the 2018 Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards.
On Friday Ryan, who lives in Wellington and works as the head brewer at Fork & Brewer, took over the taps at New Plymouth’s Ms White with his latest beers.
"This is my return to the homeland finally, after 18 years,’’ he said.
The brewery is part of the Fork & Brewer restaurant on Bond St in the Wellington CBD, which Ryan said only had six beers on tap when he started in 2014.
"I took it as a personal challenge to fill it.’’
Now there are 41 beers and one cider on tap created by Ryan, and he believes it’s the largest range of different beers on tap created by one person anywhere in the world.
‘‘I haven’t found one with more yet.’’
Ryan said winning awards was nice, but he was at the point where the greatest reward was people enjoying his beer.
‘‘If I can brew a beer and someone else wants to drink it then that’s a bonus.’’
Ryan grew up in Oakura, left for university, travelled the world and came back to Taranaki after his father, wellknown boxer Pat Ryan, died in 2013 – he wanted a break from brewing. But it didn’t last long – he, his brother Shannon and friend Liam Tranter set up Brew Mountain, which is still going strong today.
The family man, who had lined up his ‘tap takeover’ with his grandma’s 90th birthday, travelled up with his partner JoAnn Carr.
‘If I can brew a beer and someone else wants to drink it then that’s a bonus.’’ Brewer Kelly Ryan