Bright Brewery Leaf Peeper Red IPA & Raspberry Sweetart

Style
Red IPA & Raspberry Sour
ABV
6.5% & 4.3%

There's not really a bad time to visit the Victorian High Country, but we're sure plenty would pick autumn as the finest. It's a stunning enough region as it is, but when many of the trees start turning shades of red, orange and yellow it's like a new postcard scene every time you turn a corner.

In the beer world, you can generally tell when autumn is here by the arrival of a wave red IPAs. So, when you've got autumn and a brewery in the heart of the High Country, it can only mean one thing...

Say hello to Leaf Pepper, tagged a red IPA but more the autumnal amber of the leaves on the can it pours from and, indeed, I'd argue more an American amber than a red IPA. If you've enjoyed their Red XPA (which, if you've had one, you have), imagine a drier, more toasted version: there's no extravagant hop explosion, but there is a tight blend of burnt toffee brittle, a hint of cacao, and a good bitterness with an earthy edge that brings to mind Riverside's 44, once a cult fave in Sydney circles.

With their Raspberry Sweetart, it's a step beyond red to violent crimson. Whereas I've found some past entries in the series a little cordial like and sweet, here there’s more of a balance towards sour, reminiscent of the experience of biting into a slightly underripe berry. The lacto’s creamy funk is there in the aroma too, while there’s a kind of natural earthiness to the fruit character of a beer that ticks the boxes marked "tart" and "quenching".

James Smith

Published March 17, 2021

Name
Bright Brewery
Address

121 Great Alpine Road
Bright
VIC 3741

Phone
(03) 5755 1301
Open Hours

Daily: 11am to evening

Regular events

Sundays: Live music in the beer garden

Tours

Last Friday of every month (excl PH)
Every Friday of Vic school holidays from 3pm
$35 for guided brewery tour and tasting paddle

Black Bad Boy Bao 2024 B
CBCo Goldy

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