Beer #350 - W/C 1 November 2021
BREWERIES // Auckland's Small Gods are dedicated to historical and experimental beers aiming to keep history alive by bringing these recipes and legends into the modern age. It was the name of Beer Jerk co-founders, Luke & Brent's, home brewery and it stuck when Matt joined the team and they decided to scale up. Inspiration for their beers comes from everywhere but especially cuisine, history and pushing boundaries of how beer can be experienced.
Boatrocker is an iconic Melbourne brewery known for their barrelroom where drinkers can try the latest releases surrounded by many hundreds of barrels. It all started with husband and wife team Matt & Andrea who have steadily grown since they opened their doors almost a decade ago. While they are possibly best know for their barrel aged beers, they are just as passionate about crafting great spirits, lagers, IPAs and other styles.
BEER // When Boatrocker decided to hop the Tasman for Wellington's Beervana Festival in August, the Small Gods immediately got on the phone to line up a collaboration brew. Due to Covid, they weren't able to leave Melbourne and it ended up being a remote collaboration. An early phone call revealed a shared love of grapefruit IPAs so they set about crafting a recipe where the citrus would work in perfect harmony with the hops. Elvish Juice is a pretty resinous West Coast IPA with assertive hoppiness, a light body and a bitter dry finish that keeps you coming back for more. The citrussy Centennial, Citra & Strata hops perfectly complement the zest from a wheelbarrow-load of grapefruit harvested by the Small Gods team in Auckland. It makes use of the Dip Hopping technique to boost pleasant hop flavours.
BREWERY // Small Gods & Boatrocker
BEER // Elvish Juice
STYLE // Grapefruit IPA
ORIGIN // Auckland
ABV // 7.5%
TEMPERATURE // Around 7C
FOOD MATCH // Thai Coconut & Pumpkin Soup. Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Grapefruit Sorbet.
VESSEL // IPA Glass. Leathern Flask