“To kick off this year’s first Quarterly Core IPA – the third in our series – we celebrate the return of a beer that we rightfully named Force of Nature. This Murky IPA sports a murky yellow-gold color, a fluffy white head, and features a hop trio including Nelson Sauvin from Freestyle Hops in New Zealand, hand-selected Citra, and Amarillo. Citrusy, tropical, and pine notes flow from the glass to your senses, finishing with just a touch of bitterness.”

Glassware: IPA.

Appearance: Pours a super hazy off yellow hue with a big and frothy three finger head. Excellent retention and oodles of lace clinging to the glass as we hook in.

Aroma: Super fruity and super resinous. Those classic luscious evergreen qualities so synonymous with Nelson Sauvin also shine through with vigour. Fairly big juicy notes on it too…lots of nectar-filled fruits like peach, nectarine and mango and also some pithy citrus i.e grapefruit, orange/rind. Super smooth and creamy oat-filled malt bill. Oohh baby.

Flavour: A nice tight bitterness kicks off then the pithy orange rind and grapefruit follows on. Definitely tasting the subtle green and vinous notes from the NS. Juicy stonefruits and a faint touch of Frosty Fruits/juice concentrate developing late then rounding off on a slightly resinous and bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Really smooth and creamy even though there’s a discernible bitterness. Finely carbed, mild-medium body. 6.5% ABV is well concealed.

Overall: We’ve been big fans of this brewery ever since we visited them in San Diego a few years back. It’s awesome to see their beers on Aussie shelves too. Solid drop.