Smiling Samoyed IPA

The first time we came across this beer was during preparations for a public blind tasting we were hosting at The Wheaty in Adelaide. Venue owner Jade had offered to source some local IPAs to go up against a selection from other Aussie states. Among them was Smiling Samoyed's, which she had never tasted. We shared a bottle as the venue opened to see how it might stack up and were pleasantly surprised: here was a young brewery holding little back with an IPA and creating a tight package to boot.

The punters agreed, with the beer finishing in the upper reaches of the ladder. It's gone on to become a popular staple of their range, combining classic citrus and piney US hop characters (from hops added liberally and frequently throughout the brewing process) with a biting bitterness.