The fastest-selling beer in Sydney GABS 2024. That’s surely all the introduction you need for Guava Lava, an India pale lager by 7th Day Brewery, complete with artwork by regular collaborator Nat Welsh, whose work now adorns one of the taproom's walls.
Once out of her spectacularly-decorated cans and into your glass, Guava Lava holds a delicate foamy head above a warm shade of harvest gold. Thanks to a spot of double dry-hopping, the aromas are pronounced and pungent with mango, pineapple and bittersweet orange sherbert.
On the tongue, it's creamy and complex with an almost mulled wine-like cast of flavours [I'm assuming you mean in terms of depth, Benny, and not that you'd consumed your warm... Editor]. The guava harmonises with the hops and adds a luxurious sweet note to the IPL without drying your mouth out. The real kicker, however, is the face-reddening 7.5 percent ABV which encourages smaller sips to best savour this succulent beast of a beer.
At the time of writing, there were only 20 cases left so get in now (or wait for the next batch, which may or may not already be confirmed, you didn’t hear that from me, I was never here).
Benedict Kennedy-Cox
Published June 27, 2024 2024-06-27 00:00:00
