Extended cold conditioning, or lagering, provides pilsners with an opportunity to settle, develop nuance and, ultimately, elegance. While the Czech archetype typically spends around 40 days cold chillin’, Nowhereman have tripled that, in what another brewer noted as very pleasing "lagering arms race" going on in WA. And why not put some zombies on the can for a little cinematic contagion?
Originally brewed back in July, 123 Days Later there’s inviting clarity, and a bready nose flecked with noble hop signatures. The tease of malt sweetness is soon rinsed with a classy dry / bitter wash, one that lifts a moreish spicy hop allure – the kind of celebratory crusher which befits finishing a day of slaying, be that spreadsheets, or the undead.
Also available from Nowhereman is Birra Negroni, a grain-based riff on the classic Italian cocktail, with the gin-focused Perth small bar Frisk. Considered the IPA of cocktails, the collaborators used a bold amber ale based they plyed with blood orange, coriander, juniper and orange peel – Citra works a little magic here also. BN’s sweet / bitter / herbal balance plays throughout, although actual hop bitterness is sagely cloistered, allowing the idea to shine.
Guy Southern
Published October 14, 2022 2022-10-14 00:00:00