Beer #154 - ParrotDog / Kōwhai

Beer #154 - W/C 5 February 2018

BREWERY // The ParrotDog story is pretty short and they have come a long way in just a few years. Matt and Matt were studying in Wellington when they developed a taste for good beer. After a glorious summer of sampling the best beers they could get their hands on they became inspired to pool their cash and start brewing in the dingy basement of their Aro Valley flat. Ramping up production of their well received beers (and adding a third Matt to the team), they quickly scaled up to a very cool brewery in central Wellington. They crowdfunded over $1M last month which is going toward ramping up distribution, growth and most excitingly a New York style deli sandwich bar and music venue at their new Lyall Bay cellar door. There's also a mini test brewery at Lyall ay where they are pumping out very limited amounts of the LB series. Grab them wherever you see them.

BEER // The Kōwhai is our national flower- the name of the distinctive blossoms is the same as the word 'yellow' in Te Reo. It's a fine name for this truly Antipodean beer made with a vast amount of Riwaka hops from near Nelson. ParrotDog wisely decided to get some Australian hops in on the action too including an enormous amount of Vic Secret. These hops make for a DIPA with tonnes of citrus and tropical fruit aroma and flavour as well as a lot of dank resin. The 'double' comes from the large amount of malted barley used to give this IPA a solid foundation for the floral hops to shine. It also makes for a not-insignificant 7.9% abv.

BREWERY // ParrotDog
BEER // Kōwhai
STYLE // Double IPA
ORIGIN // Wellington
ABV // 7.9%
TEMPERATURE // Cool. 7-11 C
FOOD MATCH // Spicy charcuterie.  Carrot & Coriander Soup. Horseradish-crusted filet. Sticky stem ginger cake.
GLASS // IPA Glass