When you've got ten years of recipes to dip into, you're spoilt for choice when it comes to picking just three to mark a milestone – especially when your output is as diverse as Wolf of the Willows. And I'm happy to report they've picked a trio with which I'm very happy (which I'm sure was a key part of the decision-making process...). One is a very contemporary reworking of their launch beer, one a collab that I still vividly remember first encountering, and the other as popping an IPA as any of the many they've put out since 2014.
Starting where they started (and are now) you have X, a version of their OG XPA which has been dialled up in a couple of ways: a new hop combination in the shape of Citra, Mosaic Cryo and Krush plus a selection of terpenes – aromatic and flavour compounds found in nature. Want to know more about them? Then check out our podcast episode on the topic featuring Wolf co-founder Scott McKinnon and Sam Bethune from Bintani.
As with a number of prior releases, they've selected terpenes that will very much remind those who partake of such things of fresh marijuana buds. There's more than that, however, as they work in combination with the Juicy Fruits-like hops to take X deep into dankness in what's a much punchier, earthier take on their flagship, with a bitterness that's both drying and sticky.
As for Tom Collins, this cocktail-inspired joint venture with Patient Wolf sees them combine a kettle-soured base with the distiller's signature botanical blend of juniper berries, coriander seeds and tonka beans. Renae handed me a sample as I was leaving a session of GABS in 2018 (when the beer debuted); it takes something to be taken aback when you're leaving a GABS session, but taken aback I was. Pouring clear ingot gold, its big, fluffy head is home to massive aromatics: zesty lemon citrus-led herbal botanicals. Light, tangy and cleansing on the palate with plenty to remind of the cocktail original.
Latitude 37.8 is a more recent vintage, this time a collaboration with their mates at Original Pattern, the name inspired by the fact both are situated at 37.8 degrees latitude on their respective sides of the equator. It's an appropriate release for a major milestone as the aromas could be described as bringing fireworks. Crystal clear candied fruits coalesce in a citrus-meets-sweet berries mélange. For all the juiciness on the nose and lingering fruity bitterness, however, it’s as lean and crisp as you could wish for, something of a Wolf signature.
Happy birthday, Scott, Renae and team!
James Smith
Published November 7, 2024 2024-11-07 00:00:00
