If you’ve been on the Helios train for a while, you may have encountered a beer called Dionysus before. Previous head brewer Charlie used to be unsure of hazy IPAs, but Dionysus was his foray into the style in 2019, and he went on to tinker with an annual release of the double NEIPA four years running.
Now, the spirit of Dionysus lives on in a slightly different incarnation: head brewer Jake has reimagined it as an oat cream double IPA, a style outside of his comfort zone.
“Oat creams aren’t something that I really do a lot of,” he says in a video about the beer. “I had to go back to school a little but on this one, and tweak a few things process-wise.
“And I’m really, really happy with the result.”
Hoo boy, is this thing pumping with hops: Citra, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin, with a boost of flavour from Motueka SubZero Hop Kief, an innovative liquid dry-hop* product that carries a concentrated dose of lupulin. It’s an explosive fruit salad with plenty of citrus notes, all pulled forward with the clear sweetness of lactose and finished with a sizzle of bitterness. The lactose and oats also give a soft and smooth mouthfeel that’s just a delight. If you rubbed Dwayne Johnson’s head with one hand and Vin Diesel’s head with the other hand, then chose which one was smoother – this beer is that smooth.
“I think it’s one of our best releases of the year,” says Jake. “Hands down.”
Mick Wüst
*Insert witty comment about "liquid dry-hop" being an oxymoron here.
Published November 30, 2023 2023-11-30 00:00:00
