It's getting close to two years now since we figured hazy pales were set to have their time in the sun – dedicating a feature and blind tasting to the emerging style – and, as summer 2022/23 approaches, they're appearing in ever more brewers' lineups. Joining the party here are Mismatch, with the SA brewers pitching theirs as an "everyday version" of their AIBA gold medal-winning Imperial NEIPA – one featuring no less than seven hop varieties from the US and Europe as well as plenty of oats and wheat for the haze.
You know the drill by now and here you have: hazy yellow orange appearance – check; fluffy white head – check; aromas like the fruit crème from inside an after dinner choc or tropical sorbet whipped through vanilla ice cream – check. Once it hits your mouth, however, things become rather more aggressive than is typical for style. If anything, the grippy bitterness that kicks in early and carries on swinging like an old school IPA is more potent than in said Imperial NEIPA. A wolf in sheep’s clothing if ever there was.
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