Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Mountain Culture Beer Co
If you ever descend on terra australis and happen to find yourself on the East coast, a visit to the Blue Mountains is mandatory. Apart from scenic lookouts and fantastic trails around the National Park, the region has established itself on the radar of connoisseurs for all kinds of crafty emissions and Mountain Culture Beer Co is no exception.
Inspired by their beautiful surroundings, the colour palette of which also manifests itself in the décor of their liquid emissions, Mountain Culture made quite an entry on the ever expanding Australian craft beer scene as their portfolio ranging from session ales made to lagers and especially their much sought after one-off limited releases have been of a consistently high standard.
Having originally come to Australia to head the launch of another great Australian brewery, i.e. Modus Operandi, DJ and Harriet McCready fell in love with the Blue Mountains and eventually opened a brewpub.
Now, we have covered Modus Operandi before and if you are vaguely familiar with their exquisite brews, it should not come as a surprise that with how Mountain Culture channels its alchemy, you are in for a treat.
A personal favourite and discovery of 2020 has been their Double Red IPA, which takes hoppy awesomeness to the next level: Double dry hopped with the cream of the crop of American hops, the beer is immensely flavourful without falling prey to venturing out into novelty territory like to many of its contemporaries. At the core, a dominating fruitiness based on passionfruit and mangos accentuates the foundation of dry hops, pervaded by citrusy highlights and a savory malt foundation that elevates the perfectly calibrated finish. The fact that the fairly high alcohol content of 8% ABV hardly registers, should give you an indication of its flavourfulness.
Having paired it with an Ardbeg Corrywreckan, it has redefined the joy that a well paired boilermaker brings.
While I find the Double Red IPA hard to be topped, Mountain Culture’s line-up has a range of interesting brews, of which the Moon Dust Stout stands out with its subtle melange of cocoa and coffee notes, the nuances of which soar high before descending with a creamy bitterness that ticks all the boxes of what a Stout should be, yet it less heavy and much more sessionable than other variants.
Summa summarum: Mountain Culture Brewing is one to watch for anyone remotely into liquid hoppy treats and I hope to be able to shed light on their future releases.
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image from company website
