Konvoy kegs
I’ve been slightly obsessed with idea of Cold IPA for a while now. The idea of a lighter bodied, dry beer with the full hoppiness of an IPA sounds like something I should love, but I’ve struggled a little bit with a few I’ve tried. They’ve all been OK-good but not amazing-good. Simplistically I see Cold IPA as the other side of a line from an India Pale (Japanese?) Lager. The “cold” references the fermentation temperature in that they can be brewed with an ale yeast at lower temperatures to minimise esters, or alternatively a lager yeast at a higher temperature for slightly more vigorous fermentation that reduces the trademark sulphur notes of lager. Either way it’s about creating a blank enough canvas for the hops to shine. And when I had Good George’s Cold IPA this week, it clicked for me: it was dank, tropical and citrussy with low esters and good bitterness pushing towards astringent relative to the light body. It was slightly low on carbonation but too much CO2 would have pushed the perceived bitterness too high. The question is whether these beers have a home with consumers. For lager drinkers it could be way too hoppy, for IPA lovers it might be too light-bodied. But I loved this one.

Kegstar Picks Up Distressed Konvoy Kegs

Concerns about a shortage of kegs in New Zealand have been averted after Kegstar concluded negotiations to purchase their financially-stricken rival Konvoy Kegs. The two companies controlled the keg rental market in New Zealand and Australia until Konvoy went into...

Brothers Beer Limey B*Stard West Coast Pilsner

Much as I may still suspiciously view the West Coast Pilsner style as the former (and I thought far more indicatively named) IPL style re-entering the market with a fake moustache and glasses, it does seem to be sticking around, and more importantly, producing good...

Winter Beer Selection — 20 Beers For The Colder Months

Looking for a beer to keep you warm during the winter months? We've got you covered with our Winter Beer Selection Emerson's Deaf By Chocolate 9% / $17.99 500ml bottle Richard Emerson loves it when his ears burn. It either means he’s being talked about, or he’s...

Brewing Up Fun — Double Vision Brewing

It all started when four friends, Mario, Warren, Evarn and Harry, decided to brew some beer together for fun. It soon got serious, leading to them building a brew bar in Miramar, just down the road from Weta, in 2018. Cash-poor, they did a lot of the work themselves....

Instagratification: Dusty’s Best of the Winter releases 2025

Photographer, beer-lover and Instagram influencer Dusty, picks his highlights from the latest releases from this winter. 8 Wired Betelgeuse Red IPA Cold snaps require comforting brews and 8 Wired brewing fill that brief here with their 6% Betelgeuse Red IPA, it's...

Peter Lines — ‘Rest Easy Mate’

Peter Lines (July 29, 1957 — June 28, 2025) grew up surrounded by hops and spent more than 50 years working the land — which is exactly what he was doing when he died in a freak accident on June 28. Peter died when he was struck by a tree when trying to clear flood...