毬子 (Mariko)

Throughout the world, breweries are creating more products with a juicier hop character. Most of these beers are made with American ale yeast, but this beer was born when we decided to see what happened when we applied the same ideas with our house Belgian yeast strain. While the spicy flavour and aroma of most Belgian yeasts often clash with the tropical and citrusy character of hops that currently dominate the realm of IPAs, we are fortunate that our version and its apricot, banana, and even pineapple nuances not only blend well with the latest hops that have come on the market, but actually enhance them, producing an even more intense juicy experience than we could hope for with any other yeast strain.

Through all the experimentation we have carried out so far, we think this beer is the best application of both yeast and hop character to accentuate a juicy flavour experience to date. Bitterness is very restrained, but the juice flavour and lingering aroma are intoxicating and make for a very easy drinking juice bomb of a beer. There are so many layers of hop and yeast flavour that it is really hard to describe what the beer is like. You will just have to experience it for yourself!

Naming: We have happy news to share!

A younger sister to our recently released beer Mario has just been born! We have fittingly decided to name her “Mariko”, with the “Mari” also coming from the word “Marihana”, often referring to the hop flowers or “cones”, and “ko” being a popular last kanji in Japanese female names.

Mariko was born from the same Belgian yeast strain as Mario but, in comparison, is a tad less aggressive than her older brother at 6% and also has less of a bitter streak.

Mario and Mariko’s papa, Chris, couldn’t help but state how pleased he was with Mariko and how much of an easy-drinking IPA she was. I guess fathers always do tend to favour their daughters over sons...

Style: Belgian IPA

Malt Bill:

Pilsner, Wheat, Vienna

Hops:

Bittering: Merkur

Flavour/Aroma: Mosaic, Citra, Equinox

Yeast: Belgian Ale

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 31

Gas Volumes: 2.4