Stone & Wood define their Counter Culture releases as beers that "go against the grain". When you're looking at a fruity imperial Berliner Weisse, French toast in a glass or a Berocca-aping beer (not Hydralyte as I said in the write up...), you can see where they're coming from. But a hazy double IPA? Swimming with the tide, you might say. Although, in this case, maybe it's that the brewers have got something against the grain? After all, they are asking it to do some pretty heavy lifting, with heaps of fresh Galaxy hops added to the mix – thirteen times the dry-hopping of their Pacific Ale, in fact.
Why the need to reference Pacific Ale? Well, G3 is that beer's latest evolution, following the Pacific IPA that was The Prequel. So, as well as registering thirteen times as much dry-hopping, it's not far off twice the strength and ratchets up the original's haze into something distinctly foggy.
The Galaxy certainly presents as fresh, with a natural hop cone feel accompanying the better known passionfruit and light citrus character. They're not left alone as much as they are in a Pac Ale, however; with more hops comes more malt to offer balance and support, thus turning the aromas from flighty into something more grounded. And with more malt comes more booze, adding a little warmth as the glass empties. Both creamy in texture yet with a little prickle on the palate, it's another fine additional to the groundbreaking original's story.
James Smith
NB: Stone & Wood's Caolan Vaughan will be joining The Crafty Pint and Matt Houghton from Boatrocker on the Beer Together YouTube channel on April 7 at 8.30pm AEST. If you've got any questions for either of them, hit us up
Published April 3, 2020 2020-04-03 00:00:00
