Posted on 28/07/21
Oli Meade
This week, I’m taking a look at a big new Triple IPA from Wisconsin’s The Brewing Projekt, one of the best pilsners I’ve ever, ever had and Beak’s new “near perfect” West Coast IPA!
Before all that though, when Wiley Roots sent us a new beer called Thomas the Dank Engine, I had to check it out.
My thoughts?
Read on, read on. All will be revealed…
Colorado’s Wiley Roots delivered us six of their lines this week, including an Orange Milkshake DIPA, a Vanilla Milkshake IPA and a Chocolate Marshmallow Impy Stout, so it’s saying something that I’m highlighting Thomas The Dank Engine in particular.
But then I had no choice: this is a stand-out piney DIPA that’s as dank as they come!
Funky, green, thick and oozing resin, it deserves the name, the can art is great, if you’re going to try one Wiley Roots brew this week and you’re into your hops, give this a bash!
The Brewing Projekt are another new US brewery just in this week, again with a smorgasbord of beery deliciousness for you to choose from.
They’re the people behind the wicked Puff Tart XL Pineapple Mango and Puff Tart Raspberry/Vanilla/Guava sours, and they’re also behind two new in TIPAs, including Triple Header TIPA.
This new TIPA is smooth, it’s juicy, it’s hoppy, it’s sweet, it’s also wonderfully boozy, it really does have it all.
Our haul from Tennessee’s Southern Grist, meanwhile, was very much sour focused – and exotic sours they sure as heck were!
I mean, a Peanut Butter S’mores Sour? How does that work?!
The Mango Coconut Sour is equally as outrageous, but the Blueberry Banana Pancake Sour is my pick of the bunch.
Lactose makes this super smooth, banana brings in sweetness, the blueberries introduce tartness and then maple syrup tops things off. Superb!
Gurr is what I *think* is Beak’s first ever West Coast IPA, which has been described on Untappd as “damn near perfect”.
It holds back on the juiciness of the NEIPAs of Beak before, instead ramping up the resin to syrupy heights.
A bitter, hoppy finish lets you know what you’re dealing with.
Another Beak, another brilliant, brilliant, brilliant beer.
(Gurr’s juicy cousin, Locals IPA, is now in, too!)
Juice maybe isn’t something you’d associate with West London’s Weird Beard, but in The Manipulated Dead DIPA that’s exactly what you get.
In this amped up DIPA version of The Manipulated Living IPA, expect lashings of classic Galaxy, Amarillo, and Mosaic for big, juicy, hoppy flavours, plus oats and wheat for a smooth and delicate mouthfeel.
Pressure Drop’s 150 Friends is also fresh out the blocks and receiving rave reviews for being a perfect tropical NEIPA for summer nights.
As the name implies, get a few mates together outdoors, and crack one or two cans.
Lots of pineapple going on here, dark and rich juicy goodness.
Rothaus Pilsner is hands down one of the best pilsners I have ever, ever tried!
I’m embarrassingly late to the party here considering the Rothaus set up has been rolling for centuries, but this truly is exemplary brewing. Clean from the off which develops into a subtle bitterness, it’s got me hooked and I keep coming back time and time again.
Like everyone I’m absolutely loving rediscovering great lagers at the minute and I’m excited to have a MONSTER pallet of these sorts German/Czech style beers on the way. Until they arrive I’m on this – and you should be too!
Where Rothaus respect time-honoured brewing traditions, Yonder rips up the rulebook and still comes up good with their new Peach Peng Peach and Green Tea Sour.
It kind of sounds a bit nuts on paper but think of it as big, juicy peach sour with a subtle herbal undercurrent to make sure things don’t go overboard on the sweetness.
It’s an expert twist that makes this a summer delight.
Slim pickings on the dark front at the moment, I know.
Rest assured we have a lovely back catalogue that’s been aging nicely, stuff like Amundsen’s Coconut Choc Chip Cookie Barrel Aged Dessert in a Can and, of course, Hammerton’s Crunchier Imperial Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout Milk Stout, but on the new-in front, how does Unbarred’s latest Imperial Bueno Shake sound?
Chocolate. Wafer. Vanilla. Hazelnut. It’s a Kinder Bueno of a beer!
Watch out Amundsen, this is Unbarred’s “pudding in a can”.
On the alcohol-free front we have more Rothaus, in particular an AF hefeweizen and also a beautiful AF pilsner. (We’re ramping up our AF section right now – we’ll probably even have a load more Big Drop AF stuff online by the time you get this!)
Meanwhile SMOD have never been scared to brew just what they want, as their new Köelsch proves. A hopped up kölsch for summertime fun. Pressure Drop are also in on the lager charge with Synth Division Köln Style Beer.
Phantom’s new Blackberry & Pomegranate Sour Echoes caught my attention this week. As did Dig’s Raspberry and Madagascan vanilla sour ale. And how good does Howling Hops’ sweet apricot and guava sour Whisper Kicker sound?!
Weird Beard’s Pucker The Pain Away Peach Melba Sour is of the same ilk… with a sprinkling of vanilla to keep things sweet.
Burnt Mill prove they’re as sophisticated as ever with tropical hop-bomb Cassiopeia NEIPA, and Pressure Drop follow with their Nelson Super Pale, while Phantom’s hop contributions this week include Summer Pale and the dripping-in-pineapple Sleeping Lions IPA.
This week, of course, the imports ruled, so have a root around and see what you can find. Hop-wise, the Brewing Projekt’s Serious Business NEIPA is worth a gander, as is Gunpowder IPA, while Brix City’s Sunrise Juice Milkshake DIPA is well titled and Just Another DIPA is anything but.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, so get stuck in and see what you can unearth. It’s a goldmine over here.
As always, I hope you get to try some of these new beers this week.
Cheers & happy drinking!
Oli
(The founder)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
