“There’s no bad ideas and no one ever gets laughed at for suggesting an idea.” Bruce Turner on Urbanaut’s approach to New Product Development.
Today, we’re joined by Bruce Turner, the co-founder and head brewer of Auckland’s Urbanaut Brewing, which is currently celebrating its eighth anniversary in the vibrant neighborhood of Kingsland. Known for pushing the boundaries of craft beer, Bruce takes us behind the scenes of Urbanaut’s famously wild creations, from the iconic Toasted Marshmallow Hazy to their Raspberry Lamington and Jam Donut beers. He reveals how a diverse, open-minded New Product Development (NPD) team turns these seemingly crazy dessert concepts—which initially started as an experiment to see if they could “freak people out”—into massive, core-range successes.
In this episode, we explore the cutting edge of Urbanaut’s brewing innovation. Bruce discusses their fascinating foray into terpene beers, partnering with a medicinal cannabis company to brew IPAs that perfectly emulate the aroma of specific cannabis strains like Zour Apple, without using any actual cannabis. We also dive into their massive success in the low-carb space with the launch of their new SoCal hazy pale ale, and we get an exclusive podcast scoop: the highly anticipated return of their unique “Blender” twin-pack cans, which allow drinkers to mix two complementary beers together.
But it’s not all just wild experiments. Bruce opens up about the bittersweet realities of the craft beer business, sharing the disappointing news that they’ve just done their final canning run of his personal favorite traditional beer, the Brixton Pale Ale, to make room for changing consumer tastes. Finally, we talk about the incredible, unexpected phenomenon of “Burgernaut,” their in-house smash burger kitchen that has become such a massive draw that some customers don’t even realize they’re standing inside a brewery. Grab a pint—or a twin-pack—and join us for this highly entertaining romp through all things Urbanaut!