The annual City2Surf typically marks the point at which Bondi starts to shrug off winter and look forward to the mercury rising and people flooding back to the beaches. And in 2024 the event came with a bonus: a new beer brewed right there on the front at Curly Lewis. To mark the occasion, the brewers welcomed mates along for the day too, creating their first ever collab with the team from Mountain Culture, who travelled down from the mountains, took a post-brew dip in the ocean, and provided the "turf" element of the title.
Given the occasion of Surf 'n' Turf's launch, it was never likely to lean into the higher ABV styles for which Mountain Culture have won over many a fan; few people would want to rehydrate after a 14km run with a double hazy IPA, after all. Instead, it's much more in keeping with the easygoing session beers Curly Lewis like to pour through their taps, albeit with plenty of haze at play too.
It pretty much goes without saying that a hazy session ale created by such a partnership is fruity and refreshing, but what marks it out is the form its fruitiness takes. Many thousands of hazy pales and IPAs have been released in recent years but not too many with this aroma / flavour combo. Sure, there's citrus in there and tropical elements too, but from the lively lime top note through to the not-quite-ripe grapefruit bitterness via pithy brekkie juice there's enough to differentiate it from the masses.
James Smith
Published August 19, 2024 2024-08-19 00:00:00
