In the spirit of IPA Day, Hawkers have released the third instalment in their Experimental Series. Release one was a trio of IPAs featuring Citra from different American farms, then we had early versus late harvest Nelson Sauvin, and with Trio of Dips we have the most well-travelled yet: three West Coasts hopped with Cascade grown on three different continents.
They're certainly unique beers too, so much so that, as a writer, I'm left to wonder just how significant the power of suggestion and is; each of the Dips seems to really capture the hop aromatics we so often associate with the UK, America and New Zealand.
UK-Grown Cascade features hops from Charles Faram Farms in the West Midlands and the crystal clear, golden beer immediately provides a floral bouquet and decent earthy spice, citrus and a bitterness that, taken together, brings to mind the kind of traditional marmalade you only get when you use Seville oranges.
US-Grown Cascade comes courtesy of Yakima Chief Hops and here the aroma is a little like freshly-cut grass while, flavourwise, it's all resinous pine, grapefruit and a very dank side that couldn't be closer to cannabis.
With the third and final beer, you might be wondering if NZ-Grown Cascade is more about many of the stonefruit, tropical and white wine type notes the country has become known for and you’d be entirely right. That fresh stonefruit leans towards white nectarine, while there's also melon rind and further tropical elements plus a touch of resin connecting this Kiwi hop to its American sibling.
tl;dr: You’re always going to be a hit if you bring a trio of dips to a party; bring this trio to a house full of hop heads and you’ll be lucky to get a sip and a word in as the discussion runs deep. If you want to have a lot of fun (well, beer nerdy fun), make sure you present them blind and see if anyone can pick a country – I know that's how I'll be drinking any future Hawkers Experimental Series beers.
Will Ziebell
Published August 3, 2023 2023-08-03 00:00:00
