Juicy, hazy IPAs have been one of the defining beer styles of the past few years. Plenty of local brewers have put significant time and focus into making them central to their offering, some earning the admiration of beer lovers far and wide for theirs. But could it be that Dangerous Ales, the tiny operation based in Milton on the NSW South Coast has become the finest proponent of them all?
Before we get to addressing that questions, however, something simpler...
Scrolling Instagram, I saw Dangerous Ales had released a helles lager, one of my favourite styles of beer. Using (and potentially abusing) my Crafty connections I commented: "So mine's in the post right." Not only was it in the post, it was one of six recent releases making their way from Milton to the Blue Mountains.
Pouring translucent golden-straw, Helles Lager packs aromas so purely malty that your resulting grunt may startle nearby dogs. On the palate there’s an enriched sweetness balanced by and earthiness, herbal bitterness and a little punch from the 5 percent ABV. The carbonation is subtle and the finish crisp, ensuring it slips down a treat, invigorating your cheeks as it goes.
Suitably invigorated, time to get back to the juicy, hazy conundrum. Or should that be Juicy-Hazy?
In 2023, Dangerous Ales picked up said trophy at the Indies for Fighting With Lightning, founder Damo's mates famously hoisting now-retired US Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease onto the shoulders onstage, much to his surprise. Earlier this month, they not only won the trophy again with a different beer, but one of their other juicy, hazy IPAs ran it close.
Starting with the latter, Nelson Ha-Ha is named after The Simpsons' schadenfreude specialist Nelson Muntz and Nelson Sauvin hops, and enters the glass opaque and a fitting Simpsons yellow, although with a bit more orange to the gradient. In terms of fragrance, it smells so good it could be a concept beer from the future intended only to be sniffed: pine, grapefruit and certain herbs that are legal in California all present. Nelson Ha-Ha hits your mouth with a velvety smack that you might associate with lactose or oat cream although there is none to be found here. There's a fruity, saucy and intense quality to this viscous beer that manages to bring the 7.2 percent ABV to the forefront without being overpowering. Just don’t sip it too quickly or you might find yourself laughing at someone’s appearance while they’re driving their automobile.
It’s always good to finish on a winner and Mt Cooked Hazy New Zealand IPA is just that. Standing a solid harvest gold, it opens with tingling aromas of honey, citrus and Wizz Fizz. What an intriguing beer this is on the tongue. An initial sip might have you thinking, "Is that it?" before it hits you with a phantom sip of deeper, danker flavours. This complexity comes via thiolized yeast strains and hemp seeds, which act as the velvet glove over the iron fist of the 8 percent ABV.
Lively, sippable and certainly something to savour. Not sure what you’d pair this with but the can art might be dropping hints...
Benedict Kennedy-Cox
Published August 14, 2024 2024-08-14 00:00:00
