The power of (beer) media

This year the New Zealand Brewers’ Guild changed its “Beer Writer of the Year” award to a “Beer Media” award. It was good move, as it opens the award up to a wider range of discourse on beer. This year’s winner – Denise Garland – is an example of that. While she’s a semi-regular writer for The Pursuit of Hoppiness (as well as being deputy editor) and The Spinoff, it was a single powerful and motivating article on Māori cultural appropriation in the brewing industry that led to her deserving recognition.

 Most readers of Pursuit will have read Garland’s piece Cultural Confusion. It can be found in the August 2018 edition or on The Spinoff. What they may not know is that the piece was translated into guidance that was distributed throughout the Guild’s membership, and to brewing associations internationally. The purpose of that was to help guide the decisions brewers, breweries and their marketing teams, and other related suppliers might make about how they celebrate New Zealand terroir in their beer. One recipient commented it was the most helpful piece of advice they had received from within the industry.

 Through shining a spotlight on Māori cultural appropriation, Garland created a connection with cultural advisor Karaitiana Taiuru. He continues to offers free initial advice on Māori branding and culture. “It highlights how deeply Māori feel about this and the deep lack of understanding [around cultural appropriation] even in New Zealand,” Garland says. 

 The connection she made with Taiuru was important to Garland as she recognised that, “as a white woman with colonial blood”, addressing the issue of cultural appropriation required more than just her pointing out that the imagery and the association with alcohol was wrong. It needed a Māori voice. 

 Their voices have led to a number of overseas breweries changing their beer labels or changing their marketing plans. This is an acknowledgement that Māori are a people (Tangata Whenua). They are the first people of New Zealand. Their culture is sacred (taonga). As Garland notes “Māori” is often substituted as a term for New Zealand across the United Kingdom. “Māori is not a synonym for New Zealand,” she says, adding everyone in New Zealand’s beer community needs to remain vigilant and address issues of appropriation as we see them.

 Garland’s motivation for the article was that need to address the issue after seeing “in the flesh” one of the offending tap badges. She was living and working it Scotland at the time. She admits that she doesn’t know a lot about New Zealand’s history, but she does know that the country was alcohol-free before colonisation. It’s a difficult subject to commentate on but there are modern-day challenges faced by some Māori and their relationship with alcohol (as there are with many). 

 When she saw the tap badge, Garland inherently knew something was not quite right. Since connecting with Taiuru and working on the subject, she has subsequently learned of the inappropriateness of using any Māori cultural images without permission, and the especially using the imagery in relation to things that you might touch. Hopefully, her award will enable the spotlight to continue to linger on this issue, as we’re not immune here in New Zealand. We also see inappropriate use of Māori imagery across the ditch, especially around Waitangi Day. Garland’s work provided a foundation for calling out more than one bar’s marketing this year.

 It was Garland’s partner who tweeted about that initial, offending tap-badge and then emailed the brewery. It was through the power of Twitter and her partner’s New Zealand friends that the tweet was seen by Taiuru. He also then contacted the brewery and his efforts were rewarded with an apology and an undertaking not to use the image again.  

 Garland then identified a number of other images and followed a process of notifying them and introducing them to Taiuru. Her articles were a way of reaching a wider audience. As Taiuru has, distressingly, realised, there are thousands of offending names and images on Untappd alone.

 As for her beer drinking and her other beer writing work, Garland’s always had beer in her blood. The daughter of a brewer, she’s always been a beer lover, although at 18 she once told off by both her parents for spending money on a six pack of Speight’s for a party. When her mum saw it in the fridge she said, “don’t tell your dad that, he’ll be so angry”. He was! Not in a serious way, but because he had a fridge filled with free beer. As he said “if you spend money on it again, you’re in trouble”. Garland has, however, moved on from the Speights, Canterbury Draught and Southern Gold of her early days (and spent a bit of money in the process).

 When she won the award, Garland sent a message to her family’s social media chat – “I’ve won a thing” – but her dad doesn’t do social media! He texted back and said, “you have a very proud dad, well done and well deserved”. A text, she chuckles, that would have taken him at least 10 minutes to type. 

 Garland’s been a beer blogger and writer since the early days of SOBA. You can still find her early beer blogs online. She was asked to be a PoH contributor very early in the magazine’s life. She also posts under her moniker, @agirlandherpint. 

 She uses “girl” to make herself less threatening and comments that she is just learning to be more confident in herself and her female voice in the industry. She considers that some of her success has been because she’s minimised herself and moderated her message, often working behind the scenes. Even here she succeeds. An email she sent to a beer podcast calling out their homosocial approach to talking about beer, was then discussed in their next podcast in a less than warm and understanding manner. This, in turn, led to the podcaster being approached by a number of people calling out their offending commentary. While they didn’t change, it was another example of Garland’s view and voice – and her values – being an indicator of the good in the beer industry and community.

 Hopefully, in winning this award, Garland, who is a qualified journalist and works for our national broadcaster, recognises the power of her voice in beer, and as a woman in beer. And, hopefully we continue to read and hear more of it in the years to come.