Given the past pattern of seasonal IPAs from Ocho, you’d be forgiven for expecting something dark and hoppy for the latest winter instalment. This time, however, brewer Stu Grant has flipped the bird at your expectations and delivered a juice bomb for which even the fussiest haze-heads (or haters) will be lining up to demand seconds. Who said you can’t have juice in winter?
There are no adjunct tricks in this 6.5 percent ABV pillow fight. Although when we say pillow fight, we really mean cloud fight as the texture is soft as any, and presents with aromas of mango and mandarin. It's slightly on the drier side when compared with other iterations of the style, leading to a more balanced finish, with a pleasant 10 grams per litre hop bill made up of varieties from the US, Australia and NZ overdelivering on flavour without leading to astringency.
As well as peak contents for the Ocho seasonal IPA series, we may have hit peak can too with the purple sheen likely to catch many an eye on a crowded shelf.
Dorian Broomhall
Published June 2, 2020 2020-06-02 00:00:00
