State Of Play Beer

17/08/2026

Big breath. We've signed a warehouse lease. Exhale
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State of Play is moving into our own warehouse — the first time we've had a physical home.
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So far we have operated without fixed overheads - and it's been run lean. It's a competitive category and margin is tight - we want to invest in getting the brand in front of more drinkers this summer. We've had a good review of the operation.
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There are three cost buckets - brewing, packaging and logistics.
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As we grow we access scale savings for brewing and packaging.
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We have taken the leap to take logistics personally.
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With our new warehouse we have control over how we work, more room to move, and a base to build from as we head into what's shaping up to be our biggest summer yet. We also get our garage back.

03/08/2026

New team member announcement

Say hello Domdom aka Domino aka Domdominator aka Dommo

He’s a Sheepadoodle.
This photo on the three hour drive down from Kamo.

Three years since Cooper the original State of Player dog delivered his last box of beers.

Dom, will be a good listener of strategy, dismissive of procrastination, offer up a walk when the mind is cloudy and sit under the desk until each customer is happy.

Those inbetween dog years seemed fancy and free.
Thank goodness they are over.

Every brewery needs a dog.
This dog is going to do a lot of cool s**t.

30/07/2026

The family portrait got some bling!

Australia international beer awards and NZ Brewers Guild awards season is now over for ‘26.

What’s the point - Does it sell any more beer?

Directly - we have sold more of our new beers and managed to get extra ranging in stores. Beer is quite a trust game so these ‘official endorsements’ make a difference.

Indirectly - the judges notes and scores are good to use as a third party assessment especially rated against the other entries in our class.
Plus it’s a nice little motivation boost to have a celebration that the beers, especially the new ones are world class.

Above all, the quality consistency is awesome and we know we are on the right track.

Our drinkers are the ultimate judges and each purchase is a vote.

Thank you to all the at home judges out there!

26/07/2026

Big night at the Brewers Guild BrewNZ ‘26. We were awarded 5 medals out of the 15 non-alc (less than 0.5%) medals. Congratulations to Bach Brewing IPA for the trophy win. If you want a beer for every occasion anywhere get a State Of Play case-of-everything.

17/07/2026

Did a beer and gear review with my friends at Further Faster

We talked ales and then the trails. Aarn backpacks, shoes, socks, gaiters, poles and one unexpected item.

I recommend going in to get a fitting for the backpack.
In Auckland the team at Living Simply will sort you out.

https://youtu.be/0zNy5QwE824?si=CC2nRqYY0q4Dg5Ma.

15/07/2026

Probably the best review we have had on untappd. 

No mention of aroma, flavour and mouthfeel. 
No critique of carbonation 
Absence of comparison 

Just one word. Tasty. 

Ahhh so good.

13/07/2026

07/07/2026

The impossible Double IPA

We talked different hops, different formats and timing across the brew.

Art and science. Sibling magic

02/07/2026

What a SELL OUT!
Ales and Trails 3 at Further Faster Outdoors NZ last night was full to the gunnels sold out of seats for with beer lovers, Camino prospects and adventurers.

$1200 raised for the Kiwi rehoming project in North Canterbury.

Fresh from the Lisbon to Santiago Camino I talked the differences in the Camino trails. How fast it is changing, where and how to be spontaneous and the times to plan ahead.

Why I reckon the Camino Frances has to be on your mind. And if you prefer the Portuguese you need to hurry up.

We talked gear and of course beer.

Our new Double IPA a hit and equally a topic to chat.

Thanks to Julz and Rocky for organising such a cool space for us all.

Buen Camino

30/06/2026

The same: I love beer
The change: alcohol free
The how: Dry July 2020
The why: fat bastard
The now: alive (haha).

Just one new habit.

At the time there was a lot of relearning new routines.
It was weird realising how much of my day was preparing, imbibing and surviving booze.

When I stopped boozing I had a lot of time.
Little did I know then was how much my life in that alcohol vacuum would fill up with cool s**t.

It’s at this time every year, the soberversary, I take a moment.

I’ll enjoy a State of Play alc free Double IPA

If you are going dry this July I have a few tips.
Go day by day.
It’s not about having less, replace your shop with new food and drink (evenings are a bit weird at the beginning without the wine fog). Breathe in the mornings- these will blow your mind (this is the payoff, a free drug).
Treat yourself
Try nonalc beers and premixes (Alta Ego are great).

For an extra incentive you can Raise some money and awareness of Dry July for cancer research.

On the State of Play website we also have a feature to send beer as a gift.

It’s a great exercise to assess what a month alc free does for you.
Most go back to drinking with non alc continuing to feature.

For some, like me, the change was so good and great I kept going.