Looming CO2 crisis could cripple industry

The story behind Three Sisters unusual collab with a Basque brewery. Thumbs up for Two Thumb. Is beer really recession proof? Why beer history is often wrong. Bread beers on the rise. A sober moment.

There’s lots and lot to get through in this edition of Friday Night Beers, your one-stop shop for all the beer news of the week and recommendations for your weekend drinking.

First up is the looming carbon dioxide crisis.

This has been on the radar for a while now and we’ve previously talked about its impact on cost of beer (and more on that later in this email). But even I was shocked by the comments from Jos Ruffell of Garage Project in a story on Radio NZ.

Ruffell said GP (and I’m assuming he was talking about the Aro St brewery) was currently operating at 50 percent capacity and often goes weeks at a time without being able to package beer!

"It's a difficult combination of events for independent brewers; we are getting squeezed in all areas and we need to get this sorted or it could be very painful for the industry."

You can read the full story here, and I can assure you Jos is not alone in voicing his concerns. The CO2 crisis has been created by the closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery (CO2 being a by-product of that process) and many producers are scrambling for imports, alternatives (like nitrogen) or investing in CO2 recapture (expensive).

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Funk on the Water

On Sunday, October 23 (ie Labour Weekend), there’s a boutique festival on in Wellington that offers one of the most intriguing line-ups of beer I’ve seen for a while.

Funk on the Water is being held at the Boatshed on the Wellington waterfront and it’s worth going along if you’re into rare and unusual beers.

The most alluring is the return of Wild & Woolly. The brand has been in hibernation for a few years but is back with a Brett IPA and (my head is spinning at this one) Meagcherryum, a chocolate cherry imperial saison.

Cult brands Wilderness (wild blackberry ale) and Cell Division (apricot & pommeau sour) will be there along with an Oud Bruin from 8 Wired x Small Gods and a super-rare appearance of Nine Barnyard Owls, with a gueuze. There will also be cheese plates and a taco truck. More info at https://www.funkonthewater.nz/

And voting is now open for the annual GABS Label Design contest. You see the entries (only 37 this year, which seems low) and can vote here. You get to vote three times and the top-10 as selected by the public got through to final judging.

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Beer of the week No 1

You know I love Alibi Brewing, right? And Black IPA? And Cold IPA? So when all three come together … wham! Given the weather we’ve had this week — my fingers are ice as I type this missive — I thought this beer would be perfect against a wintry backdrop. I even lit a fire (in October!) to enjoy it in front of. And what a ripper of a beer, made as part of the trans-Tasman collab box organised by Beer Jerk. It’s big and bursting with flavour. The first wave roasting coffee and light chocolate rolls over your with a good thump and it’s closely followed by the citrus-pine hit and before you know it they’ve melded together and you’re chest-deep in flavour. Big yums.

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