Bowden Brewing's mission to combine cartoonish, comic book-esque cans with beers that explore pretty much every corner of the beer world continues unabated with a trio of liquids yellow, red and black.
Starting with the lightest, at least in terms of colour, and we have Clown Cover, a hazy IPA starring hops from three nations embellished by a dash of Phantasm powder for added tropicality. Bowden already have a hazy IPA in their core range, but this is a rather larger affair: pineapple and stonefruit lead the way, accompanied by a touch of resin, in a beer that’s rounded without being flabby, juicy without being overly sweet. As a result, it drinks like more like a punchy hazy pale than a 7.5 percenter. At least until the clowning starts.
Battle Ducks is the red one – or should that be mahogany? – that's lively on the nose courtesy of the toffee malts goiing up against Centennial, Citra, Eclipse, Kohatu and Motueka hops. Yet there’s a toasty dryness that puts it in more refined, almost austere territory. Let it warm and the specialty malts come to the fore, with plenty of sticky yet drying toffee treacle plus a touch of chocolate and toastiness that drags it towards amber / dark ale territory.
Which brings us to the black one, or dessert. Maurice and the Cherry Temple is what I'd imagine would happen if a Black Forest gateau had a kid with a Cherry Ripe. The appearance is a lighter end of all things stout with a red tinge presumably from the cherry purée addition. The only other non-traditional addition is cacao nibs yet close your eyes and you can picture a dusting of coconut in the mix too.
James Smith
Published June 12, 2024 2024-06-12 00:00:00
