There's little doubt that the story – or at least the one that will have blindsided most people – at the 2018 Australian International Beer Awards was the huge swag of trophies taken out by Beerland Brewing, the brewing side of the Northbridge Brewing Co and Whitfords brewpub in Perth.
With twin breweries it's an operation with plenty of new releases on the schedule and, as many other Australian breweries are releasing red IPAs and brown ales that line up neatly with autumn’s cool slide into winter, for its latest, Beerland plays straight to the Southern Californian weather Perth enjoys. Two weeks straight of 25 degree days in late May? Yep, a quaffable XPA will do just nicely, thank you.
This year's revisit shows another side of the broad XPA church. Whereas last year’s debut for Mosaic's Beard exhibited more hoppy dominance, the 2018 release is more an expression of restraint. Understated citrus and tropical melon features show this is a beer built with sessionablity in mind. Likewise, the subtle yet lingering piney bitterness extends past the sweetish but lean malt characters, providing dryness that urges repeat sipping.
Guy Southern
Published May 22, 2018 2018-05-22 00:00:00