Brewers are ''pushing the envelope'' of beer creations to get a slice of a competitive market, but do not expect a stag semen brew anytime soon, Emerson's head brewer says.
Emerson's Brewery head brewer, Jim Falconer, said yesterday he helped recreate the winning brew from the home-brew competition at last year's Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival.
The brew would be served at the festival, to be held this year on November 7.
The brewing industry was in an ''exciting'' stage, with more brewers vying for the attention of beer drinkers.
''There are so many little guys getting on board. I don't know if it's sustainable for all of them because we are all competing for the same slice of a relatively small pie.''
The market was expanding because people were ''waking up'' to appreciating good flavours, he said.
The ''healthy'' competition had brewers ''pushing the envelope''.
Wellington brewery Choice Bros recently launched a stout laced with the semen of Hannibal, a 7-year-old Geraldine stag.
''I can't see us making a semen beer anytime soon,'' Mr Falconer said.
Emerson's was creating some ''interesting'' beers for the festival, but they were ''top secret''.
The 2014 festival home-brew competition winner, Brett Houliston, said he began brewing 250 litres of his winning beer - a bourbon-oaked porter - at Emerson's yesterday.
He would return to the brewery in a week and add oak chips from old bourbon barrels to give flavour and character to his brew.
''It's a robust porter, which is thick and creamy and black.''
The beer would have an alcohol content of more than 6%.
Otago University Students' Association events manager Dan Hendra said this year's festival would be the biggest in its three-year history, with 38 beer vendors - eight more than last year.
This year, vendors approached the festival, as opposed to past years, when the festival approached vendors, he said.
''It's really exciting.''
This year, the festival would be held on the pitch at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
About 30 food stalls had been confirmed, a record number.
Stallholders were coming from across the South Island, including Hokitika, Twizel and Wanaka.
Tickets to the festival would go on sale on Monday.
The ticket price had risen $5 to $35 but the beer prices would remain the same, he said.
Wellington band the Black Seeds was booked for the festival.
''We are absolutely rapt ... with the growth of the event we've managed to pull in a larger act.''
Brewers Guild of New Zealand chairman Bob King said New Zealand's $2.2 billion beer-brewing industry was set to continue its growth as more professional brewing operations opened.
''We're enjoying a golden era for brewing in terms of the variety and quality of beers produced.''
In the past five years, the number of professional brewing operations in New Zealand had almost trebled and beer exports had almost doubled, he said.
