It ain’t easy keeping up with One Drop's releases. But dammit, we’re always keen to give it a shot.
It’s been over a year since One Drop’s first Double Take release, and after five variants they haven’t gotten any more sensible. Double Take Strawberry has a ridiculous 420 grams of fruit per litre of beer, which apparently works out as 15 strawberries per can.
This vibrant hot pink liquid with a candy pink head smells like you’ve just cracked open a punnet of fresh strawberries. Sourness is on the cards, but the sweetness is even bigger, bringing a strawberry syrup vibe. It took me a while to figure out what confectionery this beer reminded me of, but finally I realised: Strawberry Nerds. I used to skip sprinkling a few out onto my hand and just pour the whole lot in my mouth, and the hit of pink sugary sourness was a nice jolt to the system. So is this.
Moving on to hops for a short break, Necta Hazy IPA is throbbing with the little green delights while being surprisingly gulpable. While it looks like cloudy pear juice, Necta’s aroma is more in the summery-stonefruity-tropical arena, showing off hops in the form of Nectaron, Amarillo and Mosaic Lupomax. A softness on the tongue and a little bitter ping in the finish make this flow down the throat with ease; a hazy IPA that drinks like a pumping pale.
Back to the fruit sours, but beware. In The Red Raspberry Sherbet Sour looks similar to the Double Take – glowing magenta with a soft pink head – so you’d be forgive for expecting another syrupy sweet number. The aroma of red cordial doesn’t do a thing to assuage you of this notion, either. But the acid hits much harder on the palate in this one; fresh raspberry purée plus bags of sherbet plus sorbet powder plus lemon and lime zest will do that, I suppose. Intense tartness takes hold and doesn’t let go, like you’re licking a raspberry lime ice block coated with sherbet. Head brewer Nick reckons this is one of the best ones they’ve done, so try to drink some up before he guzzles it all and destroys his stomach lining.
Mick Wust
Published December 3, 2021 2021-12-03 00:00:00
