14/08/2026
The collective beers coming out of this year’s Malthouse West Coast IPA Challenge look set to make it a vintage year for IPA lovers. And it’s turning out to be a vintage year for Beer as well. They had an outstanding return at the NZ Beer Awards last month with golds to Armageddon IPA, Full Send IPA, Hop Zombie-r Triple IPA and Joose Party Hazy IPA. And they finished on the podium at The Malthouse with Standing Ovation (6.7%) in third place.
This beer utilises a classic IPA oomph hop, Colombus, in tandem with the more modern Mosaic. Colombus was hugely popular in westies circa the early 2010s when bitterness was king but it’s use here suggests there’s room for a comeback. Hugely resinous and oily, punchily bitter yet brightly citrus — it pays homage to West Coast IPAs of yesteryear before the richly fruity Mosaic character brings you firmly back to the future. Loved it!