For me, Blackman’s Brewery’s Needs More series is like an old friend. We spent a lot of time chatting during lockdown and you don’t catch up as often as you’d like but when they appear, you drop everything and immediately make sure you get back together.*
Vic Secret has a similar vibe too; the hop variety might not have the internationally renowned love of Galaxy but it’s a significant force in a beer, you feel like you can’t get enough. It’s also the custodian of the best description I’ve ever heard a beer receive when a Serbian brewer told me he thought of it as a dancing hop. That hop is certainly out in force in Blackman’s Needs More Vic Secret, with the brewery triple dry hopping with the latest crop of the stuff in a delightful West Coast. The pale, crisp and very lean beer brings pineapple so sweet it's a little like being stuck in a truck full of them while at times, it comes across more like a lolly than a fruit. As that tropical fruit subsides, there's also loads of lime and piney aromatics that work seamlessly with the beer’s soft bitterness.
Will Ziebell
*Apparently this release is the 13th Needs More release - if only I had that many friends.
Published October 23, 2024 2024-10-23 00:00:00
