They met when they were both brewing in Western Australia; these days, they live on opposite sides of the country. But a mere 46 hour drive between the pair wasn't enough to stop Ross Terlick from Rocky Ridge and Charlie Hodgons from Woolgoolga Brewing from collaborating on Frostbite, a Cali IPA that’s bright as bright can be, pale as pale can be, and flavoursome as flavoursome can be.
My first impression of this beer was "restrained"; the aroma struck me as offering up some mixed citrus and fresh cut grass, but little else. Pleasant, but nothing to write home about.
But the moment the beer hit my tongue, somehow everything changed. It opened right up with an avalanche of fruit, from stonefruit to citrus to tropicals aplenty. It’s like those "modern and innovative hop products" mentioned on the label – Cryo Pop, Rakau SubZero Hop Kief (hence the name Frostbite) and Kohia Nelson – all showed up at once. Even the aroma seemed to be full of more character than at the beginning.
And, when the grassy bitterness allowed a lick of passionfruit and melon to join it in the finish, I was forced to admit that maybe, just maybe, these Ross and Charlie fellas know what they’re doing. To be honest, I wouldn’t be mad if these long-distance friends got together a little more often.
Mick Wüst
Published December 6, 2023 2023-12-06 00:00:00
