Gage Roads' VHA (Very Hoppy Ale) has been quietly winning medals for the best part of 2019. Kicking off with gold at May’s Australian International Beer Awards then the Sydney Royal Beer and Cider Show and, finally, the Perth Royal Beer Awards, it was easy to start to wonder if this accolade-grabbing beer would actually be made available for punters or just people in white coats faced with the arduous task of evaluating hundreds of beers each day. Well, reader, the beer with the initialised sobriquet is finally able for you to sample; white coats are optional.
With no particular design brief, the brewing team’s only focus was to showcase the tropical punch of Galaxy, Mosaic and Azacca hops. In this double dry-hopped pale ale, they play out with passionfruit, tropical juicy fruit chews and dried mango aromas, which become more cohesive on the tongue. Heritage barley malt provides a beautiful golden hue and a smooth base for VHA’s length to run dry, complete with quaffable bitterness.
Guy Southern
Published November 6, 2019 2019-11-06 00:00:00
