It started as a Burleigh Brewing Taphouse exclusive beer… and the people there loved it. So it made its way to Crafted Festival and Beer InCider… where it sold out. The Burleigh Brewing crew can take a hint, so they went and brewed more of this people pleaser, and now the pink stuff is available in a limited run of four-packs of tinnies.
I say "pink", but it looks almost exactly like a light red wine - the low carbonation even has the head dissipating quickly to maintain the illusion. The smell is clearly berry, but with enough hop character blended in to give it a distinctly different character. When the flavours pour into your mouth that balance is flipped, with sweet hoppy flavours tinged with tart berry. The use of lactose adds sweetness and a silky texture; couple that with a surprisingly low bitterness, and this 6.8 percent ABV beer is dangerously easy to drink.
Overall, Wild Berry IPA evokes memories of grape juice, raspberry cordial and cherry cough syrup (in a good way), yet none of these quite hits the mark. It is very much its own thing.
Mick Wust
Published September 27, 2019 2019-09-27 00:00:00