27 May, 2024
The Crux Double IPA with Pacific hops
Summiting a mountain often involves negotiating a tricky part of the route called the crux. The crux can be steeper and more technical than the rest; it requires you to dig deeper and work harder. But that evening, whilst you relax and enjoy a beer, you look back and realise it’s the most rewarding aspect of the climb, the part of the day you’re most proud of.
The Crux is a punchy Double IPA designed for sipping after a day of adventure. Fermented with low-attenuating ale yeast for maximum juicy flavour, it includes our favourite Pacific hops: we used Amarillo from Washington State in the kettle and New Zealand’s Motueka as a dry hop. All those tropical citrus notes will brighten your memories of a day in the mountains.
Style: Double IPA with Pacific hops
Malt: Irish lager malt, wheat.
Hops: Loral for bittering, Amarillo from Washington State in the kettle and dry hopped with Motueka from New Zealand.
ABV: 7.7%
IBUs: 53
Tasting notes:
Colour/appearance: a rich burnished gold in the glass.
Aroma: up front fruity sweetness on the nose, with mango and stone fruit, especially peaches and apricots, to the forefront with a hint of desiccated coconut. Much debate during the tasting about whether it reminded us more of jelly tots or fruit pastilles – take your pick!
Taste:it’s a full-on hit of ripe fruit with lots of lip-smacking, juicy, luscious sweet stickiness in the glass. There are succulent mango juice flavours here, with a light boozy sweetness and a deliciously bitter twist of grapefruit and lime coming through towards the end.
Aftertaste: a gloriously lingering bitterness with the zest of Rose’s lime marmalade. This is a beer that stays on the palate and encourages you back for another sip.
Food pairings
The Crux Double IPA plays well with smoke, bringing lots of tropical fruit to the party. Big and bold, these flavours will complement the rich flavours of smoked beef brisket or smoked pulled barbecued jackfruit for a summer’s day lunch in the sunshine. Use the grapefruit and lime bitterness to contrast with a great Irish farmhouse blue cheese: we’re unashamed fans of our local Cashel Blue, the older and funkier the better. For something a little more subtle, pair the beer with a crème brûlée – perhaps one flavoured with orange and cardamom – taking full advantages of those boozy notes to cut through the creamy dessert.
Availability: 440ml cans, limited draught.
Launch Date: May 2024.
Get social: #TheCruxDoubleIPA
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