Noodledoof return to two of their favourite styles as they open proceedings for 2024: a hoppy, fruited sour and an IPA.
In the former camp is Peach Bellini Berliner, which follows the substantial hit of last month's Mangodelic with something rather gentler and summer session friendly. It's Peach Bellini in character rather than appearance, employing peaches and a liquid form of Nelson Sauvin hops to create the smooth peachy, tropical fruits that are underpinned (undercut?) by a serious lacto tang that takes it closer to the original German Berliner weisse than many local offerings that are sour more in name than actuality.
There's no funky name for their latest IPA, just the straight-to-the-point West Coast IPA. That's much like the beer itself, which pours copper due to the slightly sticky specialty malts charged with the unenviable task of trying to keep the hops in check. The choice there is pretty new world – Mosaic in Spectrum form plus Kohatu from NZ and classic IPA hop Citra – yet they come across in such a way that their fruitiness is subsumed as part of the whole, with the deep, "let me into the very soul of your taste buds" bitterness the memory you'll be taking away with you.
James Smith
Published January 23, 2024 2024-01-23 00:00:00
