Meet Phantasmic Mr. Hops - our new Brewers B-Side
Introducing Phantasmic Mr. Hops! Masterful, tricky and truly adventurous, we've gone places with this beer that we've never been before. The result? A beautifully balanced, sensory-pleasing experience of colour, quirk and taste. Read on to learn more about our new limited release Brewers B-Sides brew, and enjoy our launch video ode to the king of beautifully balanced things - Wes Anderson.
What is it?
Phantasmic Mr. Hops (PMH) is a 7% ‘Experimental’ IPA.
Pale and super Hazy, PMH represents our first release in the B-Sides series for 2023, born from Head Brewer Searlzy’s desire to use raw materials and processes that we'd never used before. In his words:
”We wanted to make a beer completely untried and innovative, whilst staying safely within a trusted style like a big hazy IPA. I guess it sounds quite risky on paper, but it was really fun for us to build a recipe with all that in mind, and then to experience all these new things for the first time and see what they brought to the table.”
What makes it so ‘Experimental’
According to Searlzy, the team used 3 hops in the dry hop in equal amounts. Simcoe Cryo was one, while TWO experimental hops known as HBC 1019 and HBC 586 from Yakima Valley Hops in the United States completed the set.
While Simcoe Cryo was planned to be the 'hero hop' with its juicy, resinous flavours, the two experimental varieties ended up being the real MVPs. The combined trio deliver a massive hit of flavours including caramelised coconut and cooked pineapple, over the top of a really nice base of citrus… Pina coladas anyone?
In addition to the hop varieties, the brewers also messed around with some experimental ingredients focused on increasing the production of ‘thiols’ in the beer. For those playing at home, thiols are aroma-active compounds derived from hops that can give very intense fruity flavours to the brew.
One of the ingredients used to jack up these flavours is a form of powdered grape skin from NZ, known as Phantasm. Phantasm is pretty damn fascinating, and starting to get a lot of attention from brewing communities around the globe. In fact, we’re so damn fascinated that we hit up Searlzy for a bit of a Phantasm masterclass that you can read here.
A true sensory overload unlike anything we’ve previously brewed, we’re super excited about this B-Side and can’t wait for you to try it. Click here to find the beer near you or shop online.
All photos by Yeah Rad
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