It’s August, and we’ve rustled up a knock-out FRESH IPA for y’all.
No surprises in the malt grist. We’re playing it safe with light lager, creamy fat rolled oats and chit wheat, that only ever-so-slightly malted grain that helps deliver mouthfeel and foam to our FRESH. Now the hops. In the Whirlpool we’ve got Simcoe Cryo and Nelson Sauvin T90 from Garston, the world’s southernmost hop farm, in the mountains of Southland. Then in the dry-hop there’s three types of Simcoe (T90, Cryo and liquid Hyperboost), more Garston Nelson Sauvin, Yakima El Dorado and some Oregon-grown Lorien for good measure.
Warning: if you couldn’t give a fuck about nerdy brewing process, please just skip to the next paragraph about how yum this tastes!
For the rest of you, this brew involves a new technique spearheaded by Josh and Zane, two of our brewers who tirelessly bring you FRESH each month. Verdant, our go-to yeast strain for all FRESH beers, is an awesome workhorse that reliably brings the haze and loads of juicy peach ring and pear drop hard candy esters (aromatic compounds) and a distinct Hubba Bubba bubblegum character. Nothing wrong with that per se, but at times these yeast esters can be so prominent that they threaten to overwhelm the hop character. In the spirit of trying something new, Josh and Zane were keen to trial a method of brewing under pressure. This involves letting the natural carbon dioxide produced by the ferment build up pressure in the tank, in theory reducing ester formation and producing a cleaner ferment.
Welcome back to those of you who just skipped that last paragraph. Wow, this beer is yum! Lush light hazy yellow (Arabian Gold #F4CA3E I reckon) topped with signature dense white foam. The aroma? Clean, sweet citrus, led by Meyer lemon and tangerine, followed up with passionfruit and tinned pineapple, warming to lush Anwar Ratol mango and finishing with subtle resin. Then on the palate it’s sweet lemon tart with shortbread crust and vanilla cream, with a touch of 7up and passionfruit puree. All this with hardly a hint of Hubba Bubba or pear drop (see previous paragraph if you’re confused). It’s a cracker.