A warm breeze ripples through the palm fronds overhead, causing the lanterns to rock gently back and forth. From one side comes the sound of waves breaking on the sands; from the other, Manu Chao is singing of his Bongo Bong. From the glass in front of you rise distinctive tropical fruit and coconut aromas. Yes, it's time to imagine you're whiling away a night at a Thai beachside bar. Because, let's face it, imagining such a scene is the closest you're going to get for some time yet (unless you're reading this at night at a Thai beachside bar).
Assisting you on your mission are Mountain Goat, with their first canned Rare Breed release. It's a big Berliner Weisse in which the pineapple tries to land a punch, only to be caught and deflected by the coconut, which combines with the 6.5 percent ABV to create a fulsome mouthfeel, underpinned by an acidity that's more texture than aggressor, with a sherbety edge completing the tropical setting.
The other limited release to hit fridges in recent weeks is their P.O.G. IPA and, while it's got passionfruit, orange and guava juice from Eastcoast Juice in the mix, it's less tropical and sits sweetly in the canon of excellent Goat IPAs of recent years. At a time when some fruit beers are more fruit, less beer, here the P.O.G. addition gently embellishes rather than swamps the specialty malts from NZ contributing the bold rusty hue and light toffee malt flavours and the citrusy quartet of US hops that add a tidying bitterness. Elegantly poised.
James Smith
Published April 3, 2020 2020-04-03 00:00:00
