Although they’re heavier than traditional summer smashers - crisp lagers, fruit sours, pale ales [Are fruit sours already traditional? That happened fast! – Editor] - fruity IPAs still feel like a summer beer. Good thing for Ballistic that Queensland winter’s as sunny as summer in most of the world.
Down Time Down Under was made in collaboration with Collective Arts for the Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival, and bears a road trip themed label like the others in the series - it’s essentially a picture of Mad Max enjoying a mandarin in that intense way that only the Road Warrior himself could pull off.
You don’t need combat boots and three-day stubble to enjoy this mandarin IPA, though. You just need an appreciation of bitter West Coast IPAs and citrus fruit. While 200kg of fresh mandarin puree went into the beer, it’s not overpowering; it simply adds a mandarin twist to the citrus notes that the Mandarina Bavaria, Magnum and Amarillo hops already bring. Despite the post-apocalyptic artwork, this isn’t a dangerous beer - it’s easy to drink, fresh and fruity in the mouth, and the dry finish is far more inviting than the desert wasteland on the label.
Mick Wust
Published July 31, 2019 2019-07-31 00:00:00