Posted on 25/05/22
There’s lots of good stuff to celebrate this week, with the release of Northern Monk’s 2022 batches of Death Imperial Stout and Glory Triple IPA, as well as Vault City’s new out-there collaborations with S43.
Still, for me, the biggest news this week is something most will overlook…
Cause Northern Monk have mastered the session IPA!
This week I have to kick off with Northern Monk, who’ve brewed up a session IPA in North Sea Sessions DDH Session IPA that’s just outstanding. Session IPAs aren’t easy to get right: you want something full of fruity flavours but without a massive ABV. But just check out what Monk (and collaborators Chainhouse) did:
Beginning with a murky base of Super Pale, Vienna, Oats & Wheat, they added the dripping-with-juice US hops Idaho 7 and Citra for pineappley-citrusy deliciousness, then they piled in with the NZ hops Rakau, Riwaka, and Motueka for waves of peach, passion fruit, grapefruit and lime, all over a silky smooth body that’s a cuddle in a can. If that doesn’t have you drooling nothing will.
Get this in – Northern Monk have mastered the Session IPA!
What, you prefer your IPAs to have a little more booze?
Well in that case, you’ll be pleased to hear Northern Monk also released Glory 2022 this week, their annual celebration of modern brewing that’s always a fabled TRIPLE IPA!
Glory 2022 is as fresh, as thick, as fruity and as boozy as they come.
A 10.5% monster IPA. This is a worthwhile Jubilee beer.
Elsewhere on the hop-front, rising stars Floc’s new 6.1% hoppy offering Passage IPA nestles neatly in between the two beers above.
An expert combination of Galaxy and Mosaic makes this haze-bomb mango and peach forward, and the mosaic even adds an edge of blueberry-bubblegum. This is lovely.
For me, Floc are on course for rising star of the year. Check em out!
Another week brings another trio of brilliance from Vault City, who’ve unleashed a new fan favourite in Wagon Wheel Marshmallow, Jam & Chocolate Pastry Sour.
Still, for me, Vault City’s S43 collab White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is even better. Sour raspberries intermittently cut through sweet white chocolate, all in a cocoon of vanilla sprinkled double cream.
An outstanding beer that covers all bases – fans of fun sours, this is where it’s at!
Actually, fans of fun sours will also want to check out Play Brew Co’s new brews this week, starting with the delectable Cherry Marshmallow Fruity Sour.
This holds back on the face-scrunching and leads with lovely, lingering marshmallow, while the cherry weighs in much more fruity than tart.
It’s still a sour, but on the sweeter side.
This is perfect for the garden parties this Jubilee weekend.
Fans of more serious matters will be glad to see the return of Ampersand this week, whose new saison is all full of dry and funky unusual goodness.
Windrow DH Saison is almost like a hopped up West Coast with added funk and spice – it’s yet another impressive summer sipper I’d urge saison fans to pick up.
Norther Monk’s Death – Glory’s dark counterpart – is back for 2022, and I’m pleased to report this is as thick and flavour-laden as it’s ever been.
There are no adjuncts whatsoever in this monster – and yet it’s choc-full of roasty coffee and chocolate, while its defining characteristic is definitely its mouthfeel.
Death this year is a glass of boozy, 12%, dark chocolate velvet.
A must-try for dark beer fans – Death is back!
Meanwhile S43’s other Vault City collab The Big Show Imperial Cherry Cheesecake Stout has to take second dark spot – even though, admittedly, the can art’s a bit naff.
But don’t be fooled!
This begins as characteristic chunks of chocolate, which segue in to blackforest cherries, all while a malty, biscuity base lingers in the background.
Sweet, creamy lactose tops things off. This really is a cherry cheesecake stout!
My final dark hat-tip this week goes to Phantom Brewing’s Close To Tragedy Black IPA.
I’m not sure why they named this Close To Tragedy, cause the end result really is anything but.
From the hops you get unexpected fruitiness plus a big dose of pine, which all remains mind-bending thanks to this thing looking like a stout.
The black IPA is an underrated style. Get one of these in and tell me otherwise.
Wrapping up the featured darks this week we have the chewy Brown Paper Bag Oatmeal Stout from S43, a Vanilla Version from Brew York, and Ampersand’s Torpor Oak Lagered Baltic Porter. All sound interesting, but Torpor? A baltic porter made with lager yeast and aged in second fill whiskey barrels? More people really need to check this out!
Sticking with Ampersand, Bluegrass Lemongrass Summer Gose is as refreshing as beer gets, and Play’s Blueberry Lemonade Sour is in the same ballpark – just with more fruit. Gravity Well’s Spectral Lines Fruit Sour dials the fruit up further courtesy of Pineapple and Lychee… and of course you have fruited sour masters Vault City’s Peach & Mango Session Sour at the top of the pyramid.
Play Brew Co, in all their weirdness, added oranges to their single-hop Tail Slide IPA, while Phantom relied on good old Strata, Mosaic and Bru-1 hops to brew the fruity Time Travelling IPA.
Gravity Well’s Gauge Fields Pale Ale is bright and drinkable, Brew York’s Grapefruit Lupu Lion APA is pithy and bitter, S43’s Taika NZ Pale is underrated, and Ampersand’s Bidon shows it is possible to make great sub-4% beers.
Finally, Burnt Mill’s hop-forward Frequency New England Pale Ale is soft, thick and rich, packing a flavour punch well beyond its 4.6% ABV.
As always, I really hope you get to try some of these outstanding beers this week. Jubilee weekend is nigh!
Cheers and happy drinking!
Oli, Olly & Charlie
(The three people behind Craft Metropolis)
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
