Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Reckless Brewing and Moo Brew’s Gin Boilermaker
Having honed and refined channelling her alchemy in the creation of craft beers, the quality of which has left an indelible mark on the firmament of Australian craft brews, Reckless Brewing’s co-founder Grace has and continue to contribute to shaping the DNA of one of the country’s most prominent and prolific breweries, i.e. Akasha, an accolade decorated brewery whose fantastic beers we have extensively featured before as part of this series.
Reckless Brewing is essentially Grace’s side hustle, for which she teamed up with her husband and another long-term friend to brew her own idiosyncratic signature range.
Given my preference for Akasha’s IPA, I could not wait to try Reckless’ unpasteurised, unfiltered and preservatives free emissions:
Clocking in at 6.5% ABV, Reckless’ Summer IPA rests on a deliciously hoppy foundation comprised of a melange of Mosaic and Galaxy hops and lives up to its name in that it rests on the crisp, citrussy and refreshing end of the flavour spectrum, with the Mosaic hops adding just the right amount of floral and piney nuances.
A passion fruity brew that will definitely enter the rotation once warmer days come around as due to its sessionability, it is one that you want to come back to again and again.
Reckless’ Red IPA, as the name does suggest, completes the cycle as it the winter equivalent to the aforementioned Summer IPA.
With the same ABV and Galaxy hops being replaced with Citra hops, which adds a fruit bowl of flavours and aromas ranging from mangoes and passion fruit via pineapple to peachy highlights set against a massive backbone.
Given the quality of what I have had the chance to sample, I can only hope that the release of Reckless Brewing’s own DIPA is only a matter of time.
Let’s head South, to Hobart, Tasmania.
The fact that I harbour a deep appreciation for MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, its festivals and pretty much all of what it has spawned, is not exactly the most well-guarded secret, as our manifold coverage of the entities it holds under its umbrella is testament to.
Moo Brew is, as the name would suggest, the brewing branch of MONA and has since its inception sixteen years ago yet to release an expression that not only masters the respective brewing style, but infused it with its idiosyncratic twist and “je ne sais quoi”.
Things get specifically interesting when Moo Brew ventures out to complement its core range with often unique limited releases, of which the one I would like to shed light on today is one I have neither tasted nor tried before.
Last year I missed Moo Brew’s collaboration when they took the concept of a boilermaker and created their very own ready-to-drink one by joining forces with local distillery Lark to blend their fantastic IPA with a single malt. Sound like it would be right up my alley? You bet and I still have not given up on tracking down a can.
What I have in front of me today is the gin equivalent, i.e. the combination of pilsener and Lark Distillery’s Forty Spotted gin.
Sounds weird and intriguing? It is and while it sounds like a mere novelty concoction, it is interesting to see that it works.
Upon approach, the botanicals of the gin tickle the nostrils and unfold their floral, grapefruit and juniper nuances set against a solid backbone of malty, biscuity flavours, rounded out by a delicate bitterness.
Clocking in at 5.5% ABV, this “pink pilsener” is extremely sessionable and makes me regret even more that I missed out on the whisky equivalent.
Back in Sydney it is business as usual, at least when it comes to Wayward Brewing pumping out highly delicious quality beers.
Case in point this time: Wayward Son Lupulin IPA, their hoppy homage to the band Kansas.
Wayward Son is Wayward Brewing head brewer’s way of celebrating the birth of his offspring with a delicious series of limited releases, which in this case results in one of the best IPAs I have had this year.
This year’s batch takes things to the next level as far as all-out haziness and sweet juiciness is concerned. I usually enjoy my IPAs along with a peaty dram from Islay and while in this case the Octomore 7.2 fills up the room with deliciously smoky notes, the Wayward Son rivals it with its stonefruity and tropical aromas and highlights on the citrussy and mandarin end of the spectrum with just the right amount of bitter hoppiness backing it all up.
In the hop department, the Citra variant takes centre stage with its yellow gland, i.e. the Lupulin, and its pollen rule supreme. In essence, Lupulin is the very concentrate of hop flavours, which is created via a cryogenic separation process and results in double the amount of aromatic oils and other goodness.
The result is an intense brew that thanks to the use of Lupulin is not a tad astringent – a veritable juice bomb that would never have you guess an alcohol content of 7.3%.
Wayward goodness par excellence.
