As we all know, International IPA Day is celebrated on the first Thursday of August every year. This dearly beloved and internationally celebrated day was first observed in 2011 as a US only national day started by the prophet, The Beer Wench. A mere decade later, on August 5 2021, people across the globe raised a glass of IPA to their lips and whispered a quiet prayer to the humble India Pale Ale, in all its glory.
On the east coast of Australia, many of those glasses contained the Grand Tour IPA, Akasha Brewing’s liquid acknowledgment of this truly momentous occasion. Grand Tour is a 7.2 percent ABV West Coast-inspired IPA containing hops from Australia, New Zealand, USA and Europe set against a tightly stripped back malt base. Grand Tour pours an extremely pale straw with juicy fruit and floral bouquet. We’re talking orange, mandarin, white peach, rockmelon and lychee. Most notably on the palate is an earthy/peppery spice and a sort of hard candy mild sweetness with a surprisingly gentle bitterness for an Akasha WCIPA. Apart from that, it’s a textbook Akasha clean and dry finish that belies the fact it’s more than two standard drinks per can.
Unfortunately, if you missed IPA day this year, you aren’t allowed to drink this lovely beer, or in fact any IPAs until August 4 2022. I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules, the Beer Wench does.
Judd Owen
Published August 9, 2021 2021-08-09 00:00:00
