Cheeky Monkey’s popular Surf Break series rolls into 2024 more like a tidal wave then a barely surfable ripple: Mousetraps is a 9 percent ABV hazy IIPA. Watch out groms, this is a biggun.
Pouring with a texture, carbonation and colour palette more akin to apricot nectar than an IPA, Mousetraps is loaded with ripe fruit character to match its fruity persona. Superdelic and Simcoe are the hops of choice here, imparting peach, passionfruit, grapefruit, blood orange and candied citrus peel. Sticky, resinous pine also features along with a faint but refreshing eucalypt note.
Bitterness is soft, as is the base beer, with oats or similar providing a moreish and oleaginous texture that carries those hops well into a late finish after each sip. The one caveat here is that the booze will sneak up on you, tucked away behind those hops and the fulsome texture in another dialled-in Surf Break release.
Jono Outred
Published January 19, 2024 2024-01-19 00:00:00
