The Australian master brewer, Peter Fraser was in India recently as a part of Crafters Movement which invites renowned international brewers to brew their signature styles with an active Indian ingredient or a popular ingredient from their home country.
Organised by Crafters Tap House, Peter Fraser is one of the first brewers to travel to India to collaborate with brewers at the Crafters’ microbrewery in Powai, Mumbai. He visited the country after a gap of 20 years, the first time being when he was employed as a Site Project Manager at Fosters India Pvt. Ltd.
Fraser started his career in the beer industry in 1986. He joined Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) in Melbourne where he worked for 31 years in technical and managerial roles. His work profile brought him to India, where he was assigned the Fosters project. After 2 decades, in late January of this year, Fraser visited the country again to add a special Australian ingredient to Crafters’ popular Pilsner. The aim was to use his great experience to create a new beer style that would be a perfect blend of two brewing cultures.
Fraser decided to use the popular Australian herb ‘lemon myrtle’ to brew his beer. According to him, the fresh-citrus aromatic beer would complement the weather and cuisine of the country. The brew featured an intense citrus character and a lime flavour profile while the complex notes resulted in a subtle aftertaste. The beer turned out to be a perfect accompaniment to Indian light salads and seafood.
Fraser makes sure that the herb he is using to add flavour to his brews suits the beer’s bitterness and the region’s local food. He believes that the style of crafting beer is as important as the flavouring ingredient; a good combination making a great beer.
His Lemon Myrtle lager has been brewed with keeping India’s climate in mind, especially the summers. Fraser wants to experiment with Indian ingredients next, brewing more styles of beer that cater to the expansive Indian taste.
