This opaque nectar of a beer is Cupitt’s first foray into the world of double IPAs. But rather than think of it as the "first attempt" of anything, you’d do well to think of it as an extension of the top quality hazies the brewery puts out each year.
It has a head like fluffy meringue.
It’s ripe with enough tropical fruits to conjure up images of Christmas fruit salad: notes of stonefruit and passionfruit and mango and pineapple.
It’s made with all Southern Hemisphere hops; with Galaxy and Vic Secret on one side and Nectaron and Nelson Sauvin on the other, this beer is a kind of face-off between Australia and New Zealand.
Is anyone else seeing the makings of pavlova coming together?
But before we get ahead of ourselves: there’s not much sweetness here. The fruit flavours are held up with enough malt body and alcohol to keep them aloft, but a soft grainy bitterness comes to settle in the finish, adding a grounded note that balances out any sweetness and keeps this far from being a desserty NEIPA.
Mick Wüst
Published July 11, 2023 2023-07-11 00:00:00
