Felons brewed the Blueberry IPA beer for their Extravaganza open day event, and it seems the frivolity and festivity of the live music, street art, roving circus performers, face painting and balloon twisting managed to seep their way into the liquid. (They certainly overpower the ominous mood of the 6.66 percent ABV.)
Three hundred kilos of organic blueberry purée, which came from a farm just two hours from Brisbane, were pushed into the whirlpool on brew day. That equates to around half a punnet of blueberries per pint of beer, and the berries certainly make themselves known: they turn the beer a deep maroon that shows off its purple when held up to the light, an aroma that captures picnicking in a field of flowers with an open jar of berry jam, and enough sweetness to blanket over the IPA’s bitterness. But, since the fruit was added pre-fermentation, the sweetness is restrained enough to let the Mosaic and Azacca hops shine through and complement the berries with their own fruitiness. The result is a rush of flavour followed by a dry, cleansing finish.
The fruitiness continues with Lime and Lemongrass Gose, but here the sensory experience is less complex. For, despite its salted sour base and additions of lime and of lemongrass, this beer looks, smells and tastes like one thing: Bickford’s Lime Juice Cordial. With its sweet but sharp flavour – sweetness and acidity in the front, sourness in the back – it captures one of the fancier non-alcoholic drinks to make an appearance at family gatherings. Uncanny.
Mick Wust
Published February 7, 2021 2021-02-07 00:00:00
