SP’s Export brand, takes out global award again

(L) Lae Brewery Staff Leon Wardmi, SP GM Stan Joyce, and Paul Mingi pose with the awards.

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, September 25, 2016 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

SOUTH Pacific brewery continues its global stamp of approval in quality, when it took out gold for its Export Lager brand at the Monde International Quality Institute’s Quality Awards Presentation in Brussels, Belgium.

Staff from the beer manufacturer’s, Lae brewery, received the award on behalf of its workforce in Morobe province- which now sees the Export Brand taking out gold awards 9 times since 2006, including a three year consecutive run from 2014 to 2016.

Due to the brewer’s consistency it was also awarded the International High Quality trophy to recognize consistency in quality award.

Brewery Manager, Kuri Yuwai, said that the winning brand was pitted against 429 entrants ranging from beer, soft drinks, and water products- and underwent blind tests to determine its gold medal placing.

“An independent penal of expert judges were doing a sensory evaluation and assessment of the beer in what is known as blind tasting, a process where none of the judges know the brand thus eliminating any external bias,” Mr Yuwai said.

“The judging penal also take into account the ingredients used, the brewing processes and the techniques, and awards gold medals only to those that meet the highest standard.”

“In 2016 not only did South Pacific Export Lager win a gold medal award, but it also received the international High Quality trophy, an award which recognizes our ongoing success at winning the gold selection quality award in three consecutive years.”

He said recent upgrading had renewed production facilities at both breweries bringing about the continued quality in all the parts of brewing and production processes.

“We have a team that is dedicated to ensuring that we produce consistently great quality beer all the time for every Papua New Guinean consumer.”

“South Pacific Export lager is brewed using the finest ingredients with the skill and the care to ensure we consistently achieve growing success.”

The SP product range has been recipient to various brewing award since 1964, with the Export Lager brand winning its first Gold Medal in 1985 at the same Monde Selection event.

With manufacturing being alternated between Port Moresby and Lae, Yuwai said Lae currently was the main producer of the winning brand due its latest installation.

“Annually in both breweries we produce up to about 60,000,000 of our total products, with the Export brand has a market of 11% (6.6 million liters) of the total volume.”

“The brand goes back in the early 80s, between 1982 where it won its first gold medal. Early 80s late 79s it was brewed and sent mainly sent to Hawaii that is why it has the tag Export.”

“Right now we supply to Northern Australia in small volumes, some to Fiji,” Yuwai said.