BREWERY // The New Zealand beer landscape looked pretty different back in 2011 but old school friends Paul Brown & Jarred Maclachlan had a plan for success. They chucked in their jobs and started a brewpub with hospitality expert Scott Taylor in the heartland of beer-loving British ex-pats, Auckland's Brown's Bay. After closing the pub each night at midnight, they would work through the night to brew more beer. After just a few months, they reached capacity and started looking for a dedicated off-site brewery space which is when they tempted an extremely talented brewer, Hamish Ward, to leave his day job as a genetic research scientist and head up the brewery. Their success over the past few years has been huge and they keep racking up awards including Champion Medium International Brewery at the Australian International Beer Awards last year.
BEER // For craft beer drinkers it's hard to remember a time before Hazy IPAs but they are a relatively recent phenomenon. A few years ago a completely different type of IPA emerged in Vermont as a counter to the bitter, resinous West Coast versions. Key to these New England IPAs are the yeast strains that create more esters (fruit flavour & aroma) to give a sweeter, fuller impression. Plenty of oats and wheat are usually added to the malt bill for a big, round body with a smooth mouthfeel. In a nutshell, a Hazy IPA should have low bitterness, lots of body and be packed with juicy hop flavours and aroma. Utopia is a truly brilliant example of a Hazy IPA and one of the best we've ever tried. Dry hopping means adding aromatic hops at the very end of the boil to bring out flavours and aroma but none of the bitterness. Deep Creek dry hopped Utopia three times to shoehorn in as much tropical hop deliciousness as possible. Look out for notes of papaya, pineapple and passionfruit.
BREWERY // Deep Creek
BEER // Utopia
STYLE // Double New England IPA
ORIGIN // Silverdale, Auckland
ABV // 8%
TEMPERATURE // Cool - 7-10C
FOOD MATCH // Burger & Fries. Vegetable Biriyani. Fresh Soft Cheese
VESSEL // Shaker or Tulip Pint Glass