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In 2021, our new Six Tastes IPA series will explore new directions in the style. Learn more about our first release Kan exploring the perception of “sweet” in what is normally a bitter style

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As we discussed in more detail in a recent blog post, our questioning of the homogenization of the IPA style became the inspiration for our new Six Tastes IPA series. With IPAs becoming so one dimensional, we felt that exploring the portrayal of the six taste sensations (sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, and savoury/umami) through a variety of IPAs would remind us all that there is more to the style than just one dimension. Thus, new installments of this series will be released periodically over the year, each one exploring a different taste sensation.

The first release explores sweetness. Don’t worry—we didn’t set out to make a sweet IPA with lactose and vanilla. Instead, we decided to explore two things: the “sweet” smelling and tasting nuances of hops and the bitter perception that hops can portray even without being boiled. To accomplish this, we crafted an IPA that is very low on bittering, but very high on hop flavor and aroma. Hop varieties Citra, Ekuanot, and Sabro give hints of orange, apricot, passion fruit, and coconut. The malt recipe uses Golden Promise, Vienna, and wheat to lend a sweet and round character to the base flavour of the beer. All of this is tied together with an addition of coconut milk powder to further enhance the sweet characteristics of the hop flavours and aromas while still ensuring this is very much an IPA.

We are excited to share this first release of a new series of beer and to see what your reaction is to our exploration of what it means to be an IPA!