Beer #77 - W/C 15 August 2016
BREWERY // Outlier Cartel begun life in 2010 when Carlos and his flatmates decided to throw a flat warming party. They invited everybody in the building but only two people turned up, fortunately one of them was Mark. They quickly bonded over a love of good beer and in December 2015, Outlier Cartel officially launched. The name was inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers (you'll have to read it to see why). Mark and Carlos are immigrants to New Zealand which probably informs their slightly different approach to brewing. Brewer, Carlos brings 12 years of winemaking experience which imbued in him a sense of the importance of place and terroir. The idea of making 'beer from here' was important to them from the outset and they source ingredients locally whenever possible. Outlier Cartel share all of their recipes online for home brewers to try their hand.
TASTING NOTES // Another Beer Jerk Bottle Exclusive! Kerikeri is a seasonal IPA which is brewed to the same recipe but with a different NZ citrus addition each time. Inspiration for this citrus beer came partly from drinking Schöfferhofer's Shandy and Hitachino Nest's JPA. The Harwood Orange is a New Zealand variety closely related to Valencia. They were grown in an orchard next to Hallertau in Riverhead, Auckland where they brew. The zest and juice was added early to the mash, to the whirlpool and finally 'dry-oranged' as well as hopped. For all that talk of oranges, the beer itself is not overwhelmingly orange-y but extremely well balanced. The heavy dose of hops in the recipe compliment the malt base to make for a bitter, slightly sweet and fruity IPA. This very quaffable, full bodied and smooth beer goes down very easily and belies its 7.1% ABV.
BREWERY // Outlier Cartel
BEER // Kerikeri. Harwood Orange Edition
STYLE // IPA
ORIGIN // Auckland
HOPS // Ahtanum, Cascade, Mosaic, Falconer's Flight, Riwaka
MALTS // Gladiator, Toffee, Shepherd Delight, Acid, Red Back, Pilsner
ABV // 7.1%
IBU // 41
TEMPERATURE // Cool- 10-14C
FOOD MATCH // Smoked Kahawai. Pork Belly & Kimchi Burger. Smoked Portabello Mushroom Sandwich.
GLASS // IPA Glass, Tulip