BREWERY // Mountain Culture got off to an astronomical start when they opened as the first brewpub in Australia's Blue Mountains just 2 years ago when they were received with great acclaim by drinkers and beer judges alike scooping up awards and upsetting beer fans by selling out as fast as they could brew. Originally from North Carolina, brewer DJ McReady had an excellent pedigree from brewing at Oskar Blues & Modus Operandi when he and his wife Harriet decided to convert an old Civic Video store into a community brewpub serving the sort of beers that captured the zeitgeist of the time. After 18 months hard slog on renovations they opened to a world of bush fires, biblical floods and Coronavirus. Luckily good beer will always find an audience and drinkers immediately started making a pilgrimage to the brewery and their webstore. Mountain Culture brewed as much as they could and upped the tanks several times but were constantly sold out. We've been chatting to them about NZ exports for a long time so were extremely happy to hear the news of the new production brewery that has just been finished, finally giving more people a chance to try their beers.
BEER // Would you just look at that magnificent half litre pipe of dense fruity hop juice? Lightspeed was one of the first NEIPAs Mountain Culture released and it has entered into their semi regular rotation as people can't get enough of the Starburst mouth party. Back in 2017 'oat cream' IPAs popped up on the radar of brewers worldwide after a Brooklyn brewery called Other Half started brewing them and seeing queues around the block with entire batches selling out instantly. The key to this magical elixir is something stouts have been doing forever - incorporating oats for big body and a silky mouthfeel as well as lactose for a creamy sweetness. This makes for a very solid platform to showcase aromatic hops that are added in frankly astronomical volumes. Lightspeed is hopped with possibly the most in-demand variety in the world - Galaxy. This variety arose from Australian breeding programs and was released a decade ago. It has one of the highest percentages of essential oils known with unique characters of musky tropical fruits - passionfruit, guava, apricot - and earthy blackberries. Mountain Culture tickled up the tropical milkshake aspect by adding a little passionfruit puree to the recipe.
BREWERY // Mountain Culture
BEER // Lightspeed
STYLE // Oat Cream IPA
ORIGIN // Katoomba, Australia
ABV // 7%
TEMPERATURE // Cool - 7-10C
FOOD MATCH // Burger & Fries. Vegetable Biriyani. Fresh Soft Cheese
VESSEL // Shaker or Tulip Pint Glass