It's fair to say that a beer loaded with a "maelstrom of hops" that weighs in at 7 percent ABV isn't the sort instantly associated with Sailors Grave, yet Squid vs Whale has proven so popular it's now up to its fifth edition. V comes in a smaller can than its predecessors, but packs no less character. If memory serves correctly, it doesn’t seem as dense visually but delivers familiar oat cream characters. It's all about rich, creamy oranges and apricots from start to finish, with said maelstrom coming across more as citrusy sweet hop oils than anything wantonly bitter. Not your typical SG beer but plenty of fun.
Their other new release for summer 2021/22 is much more in the East Gippsland brewery's DNA: it's a farmhouse ale brewed with grapefruit from the Moore family's own chook yard orchard, chrysanthemum flowers, Centennial hops from organic grower Ryefield Hops, finished off with a spot of dry-hopping with the US Cashmere variety. It's a combo that ensures Grapefruit & Chrysanthemum Flower Farmhouse Ale delivers a pretty potent floral punch atop the fruit- and hop-derived fruitiness, which enhances the beer's herbaceous side. There's heaps of lemon / lemon myrtle character – presumably due to way the homegrown ingredients are interacting with the purchases hops – before a dry, hay like finish brings you back from the orchard to the farm.
James Smith
Published December 8, 2021 2021-12-08 00:00:00
