“How far can you go, and still be on the Northside of “polite”? If you need to be told, this IPA certainly tells you. If you already know, well here’s to old allies eh? – Pick your battles. This IPA doesn’t mince words. Biscuit and caramel malts accentuate hoppy bitterness, which is driven by US west coast hops. Proving that we can make a strategic alliance work when it suits, this bilateral ale is all Aussie at heart.”
This is our first entry for this relatively new brewery from Brisbane, QLD. It is one among a handful of new breweries that are now successfully putting Brisbane on the craft beer map in Australia. Check, it’s now on the brewery visit list under Fortitude brewing next time we head north of the NSW border. Served in an IPA glass and pouring to a bright golden orange glow. A slight haze runs through with active bubbles streaming up to form a modest fingers worth of beige foam to cap it off. Nice, spotty lace patterns are left clinging to our glass as we imbibe. We were pleasantly surprised by the caliber of the aroma. Hefty and quite pungent with a solid citric hop presence. Wafts of grapefruit, passion fruit and pineapple ensue, along with a subtle rye-like spiciness. A somewhat buttery biscuit malt softens the hops and provides a good malt backbone. Good start to this IPA. The mouth feel isn’t anything aggressive, a medium body offers a vibrant Co2 level and the approachable 64 IBU brings a little drying bitterness to the tongue with it’s soft, dry texture. It’s all about sweet tropical fruits and citrus on entry as the bitterness develops early on through the mid. A delicate warmth from the 5.9% ABV creeps in as the hop bitterness gradually intensifies. It crescendo’s late in the mid and leads to a dry, crisp finish that shows good legs. Pretty happy with this, and if we were the brewers we would be too. It’s a testament to these lads who are literally brand new on the scene. Nice way