Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Rocky Ridge Brewing Anniversary releases
Rocky Ridge Brewing Co is a truly unique entity on the firmament of Australian quality craft beer breweries as its focus is not only set on sustainable practises and locally sourced ingredients, but also on pumping out quality brews that consistently push the envelope without ever running danger of entering novelty territory.
Located South of one of the most remote cities on this earthround, i.e. Perth, in the Margaret River region, all ingredients are grown within the confines of head brewer’s Hamish Coates family farm, with H2O sourced from rainwater and the operations being propelled forward via channeling the power of the sun.
Needless to say, the fact that I have yet to come across a Rocky Ridge release that I do not immensely enjoy does not hurt either, so when I got wind of an array of special releases being released to celebrate their fifth anniversary, I got mildly excited especially as some of those were to be created in collaboration with other craft brewers and thus offered the opportunity to introduce hops from other regions into the mix.
If you have followed this series with an iota of interest it should not come as a surprise that two of my favourite expression from Rocky Ridge’s limited anniversary releases are India Pale Ales, one of which is based on Rocky Ridge joining forces with what could be considered their Australian West Coast equivalent in terms of ingenuity and quality, i.e. Mountain Culture.
The collaboration culminated in the release of an expression named That John Denver is Full of Sht**, which is quintessentially a tour de force in terms of bold hoppiness, accentuated by dominant citrussy and resinous notes and backed by a distinct bitterness.
With an ABV clocking in at 10% this dangerously moreish little number makes for a hell of a boilermaker with a dram of Octomore 6.3.
The other DIPA I instantenously fell in love with Rocky Ridge’s hoppy The Shape of Trub to Come, the artwork of which is a thinly veiled homage to Refused (and them imitating Rye Coalition’s cover artwork of Teen-Age Dance Session, which in turn was a reference to Dan Terry’s album of the same title).
Based on a melange derived from the best the quartet of El Dorado, Galaxy, Strata and Citra hops have to offer, The Shape of Trub to Come tickles the nostrils upon approach with its punchy aromas and what the nose promised is seamlessly transitioned to the top of the mouth with a pronounced juiciness with only the faintest hint of bitterness.
An expertly calibrated, sessionable DIPA that sets the mark high for Rocky Ridge’s future releases.
